Redeemed and Restored
“I’ve taken a good look at my and my family’s year these past few days and if I look at it from my own earthly perspective I see something much different than if I ask God for His.”
Writers Nook
The Writers Nook is a place where we collect stories of recovery, hope and transformation. Writing our stories can be such a powerful tool to process trauma, rebuild self-esteem and support sustained recovery. Recovery looks different for every individual. Every story is unique, special and significant. We need all these messy, beautiful, and powerful stories to remind us that people do change and that transformation and recovery are truly possible with the power of Jesus!
40 Minutes to Touchdown
40 minutes. I boarded my flight from Norfolk, Virginia to Dulles (DC) with a level of anxiety – not so much about the flight, more so flying into my “home” airport for 5 years, being so close to my friends who turned to family, and being back in an airport of immense familiarity. Walk on. …
Ekklesia
By Christopher Bennett Recently I had the pleasure of hearing a sermon on community and its importance in spiritual life. Discussing the importance of community in recovery is “preaching to the choir” if such a thing has ever existed. Sobriety is a lifestyle shift that is foundationally built on community and social supports. You see …
The Miracle that Took Jesus Two Tries
The man at the pool in Bethesda had the courage and faith in Jesus to be open, honest, and vulnerable. Jesus knew the truth already anyway!
Active Listening
I cannot claim the writing below. This came out of a recent course I took on Motivational Interviewing. A huge part of Motivational Interviewing is listening, however I think we can all learn something from becoming better listeners. It’s truly an art form, and if we treat it as such, we can improve these skills …
Sustainable Joy
There is a lot of truth to the phrase “comparison is the thief of joy”. However, I think if we expand on this we could all agree that comparison isn’t only the thief of joy, but it also reveals the current source of our joy. Hear me out. Comparison comes in a lot of forms. …
Today I am Celebrating
Written by Krista Vann / Photo by Amy Belawske Today, I am celebrating! I sat down one day around the start of a new year and planned to make a list of resolutions. I turned on some worship music and thought to myself “okay, how am I going to be better this year?” I instantly …
When is Addiction Acceptable?
“True self-care is not salt baths and
chocolate cake, it is making the choice to build a life you don’t need to regularly escape from.”
Making Room
Written by Amy Belawske (Photo from the summit of Whiteface Mountain taken by A. Belawske) When it comes to God as “the Father”, my heart has been conflicted and embittered at times. There have been times when I couldn’t even make sense of this role of God and why it is so important when I …
Redemption
A few years ago I purchased an awesome sweater. It was wool, hand-spun from adorable doe eyed Irish sheep…and then a few months later, in a moment of preoccupation, I threw it into a load of laundry with my bedding…and it came out looking like a straitjacket for a two year old. For years this …