Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Think about your middle circle behaviors. Sure, you can watch certain movies, you can go to certain places, and you can look at certain social media posts. None of those will be a breach in sobriety, and they can seem pretty harmless in the moment. …
I recently revealed a survey from my Life Recovery Groups that found that the old anacronym H.A.L.T. was really not relevant. While most of the guys are triggered by anger, loneliness, and tiredness, no one said hunger was really a problem. And the groups agreed that two other triggers should be added to the list:…
A shopper entered a country store and saw a sign that read, “Beware of Dog!” Then he noticed a harmless hound dog sleeping in the middle of the floor. The man asked the proprietor, “Is that the dog I’m supposed to beware of?” The worker said, “Yep! That’s him!” The shopper said, “Your dog doesn’t…
Okay, baseball fans, what happened on August 9, 1925, that never happened in any other game in history? I’ll give you a hint. The batter was Bobby Veach, of the New York Yankees. Veach compiled a lifetime batting average of .310, and from 1915 to 1922 had more RBI and extra base hits than Babe…
A good friend recently sent me a picture of a sign that read, “My next husband will be normal.” Good luck with that. Alfred Adler, 18th century Austrian psychotherapist, quipped, “The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well.” Here’s my challenge. Quit looking for the right spouse and become the right…
I’ve written a lot on triggers lately. A friend who faithfully reads the Recovery Minute sent me an email, identifying a huge trigger which I have missed. “Victory,” he said. And he has a really good point. Through the years, I have noticed that a lot of relapse occurs on the heels of victory. A…
Recovery is a team sport. Even in childhood, Jesus gave us an example of community. One day, his parents went looking for him, only to find him at church. The Bible says, “They found him in the temple. And he said to them, ‘Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?’”…
“He made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side” (Mark 6:45). I’m guessing that when Jesus did that, his followers yawned, then mumbled to each other, “Here goes another boring boat ride; I wonder what Jesus will have for us on the other side of the lake.” Fast…
I read about an off-duty police officer in Newark, NJ. He had a pistol-shaped cigarette lighter, which he had been using all night while drinking at a local tavern. After hours of drinking, he apparently mistook his .32 caliber revolver for the lighter. When he went to light his cigarette, he shot and killed John…
Don’t be defeated by your defeats. Defeats are inevitable, but being defeated by defeats is a choice you don’t have to make. Tom Landry said, “Something constructive comes from every defeat.” Zig Ziglar said it like this: “Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street.” Here’s the lesson – You can’t rewrite history, but you…