Your Mind

Your biggest sex organ is your brain. That is why nothing is more important to your recovery than what you do with your thought life. The Bible says, “Serve him with a willing mind” (1 Chronicles 28:9). Here are six ways to serve God with a willing mind: Vincent Van Gogh said, “I put my…

Green Apples

I know what it is to feel “less than.” When you wear Coke bottles for glasses at the age of eight, and when you stutter your way through school, you can’t help but feel unimpressive. That’s why I love the words of Alice Chapin: “Green apples are apples too.” The God who is not limited…

Ducks

I have the same routine every morning. I step outside on my lanai, and a zillion ducks come rushing up from the pond out back, like a battalion of soldiers storming the beach at Normandy. They know what’s coming, because I’ve been doing the same thing, very consistently, for five years. I reach into my…

To the End

There is not enough space to write all the supremely wonderful things Jesus did during the three years of his public ministry. But if we could identify the top ten statements of what Jesus did, this one would rise to the top: “He loved them to the end” (John 13:1). Jesus loved his disciples through…

Titles and Towels

The Holy Spirit exhausted the alphabet in describing Jesus. He was the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is the Christ and the Creator, the Daystar of David’s seed. He’s the Everlasting God, Friend of friends, and God of grace. He’s the Helper to the helpless and the Incarnate One, the Just…

Popeye

Do you remember Popeye the Sailor Man? He was a popular comic book hero who later had his own TV show. I watched it every Saturday morning as a kid. Popeye had tremendous forearms, and always had a pipe in his mouth. He faced his archrival, Bluto, at every turn. Bluto had every advantage over…

Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant was one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Speaking at the ESPYS, he revealed the secret to his success: “Rest at the end, not in the middle.” In recovery, too many of us rest in the middle. We take a break from groups and other recovery work when we aren’t done…

A.G. Spalding

Before A.G. Spalding was a sporting goods magnate, he was a great baseball player. He was arguably the first great pitcher, winning a remarkable 252 games over a seven-year career, including 52 wins in one season. But it was one move that by which Spalding made his lasting mark. A.G. Spalding was the first baseball…

How to Live Four More Years

A few years ago, Tamekia Reece wrote an article for Prevention. Reece identified ten habits of people who lived to be 100. At the top of the list was one thing. Mix and mingle. She wrote, “People live longer and happier lives if they make new friends and keep old ones.”  Another study conducted in…

Where the Time Goes

Do you ever ask yourself, “Where did the time go?” We have answers. Over the course of our lives, on average, we spend twenty-six years sleeping and another seven years trying to sleep. We spend thirteen years at work, eight years watching TV, four years eating, three years on social media, three years on vacation,…