Nothing is so devastating as discovering that your spouse is addicted to porn. But there is hope. Sharon Salzberg said, “Even in the midst of devastation, something within us always points the way to freedom.” That is true for the addict and his/her spouse. God promised, “I am the Lord your God who takes hold…
Reginald dropped out of high school to pursue his musical aspirations. It seems this was a good decision. In 2013, Billboard ranked him as the most successful male artist of all-time. He is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is the winner of multiple…
In a comic strip written by Bill Watterson, Dad said, “The world isn’t fair, Calvin.” Calvin responded, “I know, but why isn’t it ever unfair in my favor?” If you are an addict – or are married to one – you can identify with that sentiment. Life isn’t unfair in your favor. Author Sherrie Bourg…
Sixty-one years ago today, on November 15, 1959, a singing group known as The Quarrymen lost in the preliminary round of Carroll Levis’s TV Star Search competition. This was the third time they entered the competition and lost. They lost to a woman who played a tune on her spoons. The Quarrymen found little success,…
Don’t overthink things. Confucius said, “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” Recovery is like that. We never fall because we don’t know what to do, but because we don’t do what we know. Here’s my advice – seek God more than you seek recovery. In my experience, when I seek…
George Carlin said it well: “In the United States, anybody can be president. That’s the problem.” Carlin’s point is well taken. In America – and many other countries – a person becomes the sum total of his decisions. If he strings together enough wise decisions, he will enjoy the intended outcome. But what about addiction?…
Visit any recovery meeting and you will hear addicts describe how they “fell into addiction.” May I respectfully disagree? It is my observation, after knowing and working with hundreds of addicts, that no one ever falls into addiction. We slide into addiction. To fall implies an unintended slip or stumble. But the way we got…
If you are a recovering sex addict, you probably get frustrated that you don’t see progress and change as quickly as you might like. If you are married to an addict, you have certainly had moments of doubt when you don’t see God working in your spouse the way you had expected. Hold on! Salman…
A grocery store manager wanted to get to know his new employee, so he asked him a few basic questions. He led with, “Where are you from?” The young employee said, “Sir, I’m from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the home of ugly women and great hockey teams.” The manager responded, “That’s interesting. My wife is from Lancaster.”…
It was a weekly routine early in our marriage. We would run to the Blockbuster video store to rent a movie, which we could then watch as many times as we wanted for the next three days. Then on this date in 2013, the unthinkable happened. Blockbuster closed its doors for the final time, marking…