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Sexual Purity Support & Recovery Group

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Castimonia

August 20, 2023 By Castimonia

Phone Muscles

Originally posted June 4, 2012

Phone Muscles

I received a phone call one Friday afternoon from a friend in my recovery program whom I met at the Journey of Hope Retreat #16.  With his permission, I am able to use his first name, Mike and discuss what we discussed over the phone.  Thanks to him, I was able to come up with this particular blog topic I titled “Phone Muscles.” 

During our conversation, Mike mentioned he was making the call, not because he was in danger of acting out or in a bad place, but because he needed to get back to making daily recovery-related phone calls and strengthen what he called his “phone muscles.”  What an awesome yet simple term to use.  I have always commented to my sponsees that they need to make at least one recovery-related phone call every day and if they cannot actually speak to someone, then at a minimum they need to leave three detailed check-in voicemails with their accountability partners.  However, until my conversation with Mike, I didn’t have a good term for the practice of making daily phone calls.  Now, I do!

As a former professional athlete (I jest) I am accustomed to a daily workout regimen to maintain my performance.  If I don’t train my muscles daily, then I won’t get stronger and my overall performance will drop.  Furthermore, there is no way I could just get into the gym and bench 405-lb without having trained on a daily basis, I would get crushed!  I have to start slowly, one work out at a time, one day at a time and build up to that amount of weight!  Such is the case with recovery.  If we don’t practice our recovery tools on a daily basis, we will not benefit from those tools.  We will not train ourselves to use the tools when the time comes; when we most desperately need it!

It begins with small increments in recovery; to try to do everything all at once can seem like a monumental task.  Make one phone call a day when you are healthy, the odds are, if you have been doing this regularly and establishing good friendships in recovery, you will be able to make that phone call when you are struggling!  Although the phone may seem like it weighs 1,000 pounds, your “phone muscles” will have trained well enough to be able to lift that weight without hesitation or strain.  However, if you neglect “phone muscles” then the 1,000-lb telephone will crush you.  You won’t be able to make that phone call you desperately need to make.  Then, you can begin incorporating more tools in your daily recovery regimen.  The phone is only one tool of many that can be implemented on a daily basis.  Other tools such as journaling, prayer and meditation, recovery reading, internet filters, and such will be discussed in later blogs, but it is possible to get to a point where you are incorporating all of these tools on a daily basis, one day at a time!

Take what you like a leave the rest.

Filed Under: Sexual Purity Posts

August 16, 2023 By Castimonia

How to Pray for Purity

I read this post from Pure Hope and was in awe of the prayer at the end.  Please visit Pure Hope’s Blog, it has great information on Sexual Purity, some of which, I will repost here.

How to Pray for Purity.

How to Pray for Purity

Posted on May 2, 2012 by pureHOPE

by David Schrock, M.Div.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17, Paul says that we are to be constantly in prayer: “Pray without ceasing . . . for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Earlier in his same letter to the faithful Thessalonian church, he states, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (4:3). In those two statements, you have a clear declaration of God’s will for our lives: that we prayerfully strive for the holiness of Jesus.

There can be no mistaking the will of God about prayer and purity, but perhaps we forget these basic truths, or perhaps we in our sinfulness do not know how to approach a holy God about our sexual purity. And it is probably the case that few of us have heard such prayers in our churches. So how do we learn to pray for purity?

Recently, I was reading through Scotty Smith’s prayer book, Everyday Prayers, and I came across a model prayer by Pastor Smith based on 1 Corinthians 6:14-18. It is a prayer that meditates on the “brokenness and beauty of human sexuality.” Take a listen:

Holy and loving Jesus, so many thoughts are swirling through my head this morning. I’ve never been more aware of the pervasiveness of sexual brokenness—everywhere I go, everywhere I look, including in the mirror. It’s like we’re living in the Corinth of Paul’s day. So many of us bear the wounds, feel the shame, know the disconnect of our sexual brokenness and sin. And yet the gospel dares us to hope.

Indeed, hope—that’s the greater impulse of my heart this morning. In fact, as I ponder what Paul was saying to the Corinthians, I am left speechless—overwhelmed at the beauty, Jesus, of belonging to you, being desired by you, being “known” by you in the most intimate of all ways.

Dare I say it, Lord Jesus? Whatever the “best sex” is between a husband and wife, it’s only a hint and a whisper of the intimacy you intend for yourself and your bride. Jesus, give me a greater capacity to understand, believe, and enjoy the wonders of the relationship you’ve established with us.

Why should I flee all forms of sexual immorality? Simply because it’s what I’m supposed to do as a Christian? Only because it’s “the rules”? That would never be enough to keep me from acting out in selfish and destructive ways. I’ll flee sexual immorality because you flee to us in the gospel.

You’ve died for us; you’ve been raised for us; you’ve married yourself to us; you’ve united everything that we are to yourself. We’re already one with you “in spirit,” and we await your return and our resurrection. Whatever the future and fulfillment of sexuality is, it belongs to you.

Until then, Lord Jesus, help us flee all forms of sexual immorality by fleeing to you, our great and gracious bridegroom. In our marriages, in our singleness, in our brokenness, in our need for repentance and healing, be glorified. I pray in your peerless name. Amen.

Smith’s prayer is the kind of prayer we must pray if we are to strive towards purity and holiness. It both recognizes our sin and shamelessly confesses it to our Lord, and simultaneously, it rests in the matchless beauty of the gospel.

May God use this prayer to spur you on in your prayers for purity, for indeed you have this promise from God that he gladly answers the prayers that are in his will (1 John 5:14). And knowing that purity is God’s will for your life (1 Thessalonians 4:3), you can pray with bold faith that God will give you wisdom to walk purely as you daily turn to him in prayer (James 1:5-7). In this way, you and I must pray continually to be pure and holy in a Corinthian age.

To find more daily prayers from Scotty Smith, click here to view his blog Heavenward

Filed Under: Sexual Purity Posts

August 15, 2023 By Castimonia

Castimonia Retreat Registration NOW OPEN!!!

Spots are filling up fast!

I pray that the Lord uses this retreat to help men in their sexual purity journey.  The link to register for the retreat is written below.

Friday, November 10th – Sunday, November 12th

The Castimonia Retreat is a retreat for any man who struggles with any type of sexual purity. 

If you are wondering about whether to attend this retreat, ask yourself these questions:

  • Are you fully equipped for the spiritual battle that is raging around us right now?
  • Are you a man who strives for biblical sexual purity?
  • Are you a man who struggles with maintaining that sexual purity?
  • Do you want a circle of brothers helping you in your sexual purity journey?

Join us for a weekend dedicated to equipping adult men of all ages, all walks of life, and various levels of struggle with the tools necessary to wage this spiritual battle and emerge on the other side as the sexually pure men that God intended us to be.

At the retreat, we will discuss strategies for equipping ourselves with tactics necessary for battling the enemy. We will discover the true meaning of brotherhood and fellowship. The leaders of the retreat will set the example of vulnerability and accountability. We hope to pave the way for all men to be fully equipped to wage war against Satan’s tempting assaults and emerge VICTORIOUS.

The ultimate affirmation for all men is to hear at the end of days, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

A wise man is strong, And a man of knowledge increases power. For by wise guidance you will wage war, And in abundance of counselors there is victory. Proverbs 24:5-6

Start: November 10 – 06:00 pm (check in begins at 4pm)
End: November 12 – 1:00 pm
Organizer: Castimonia Restoration Ministry, Inc.
Email: Info@Castimonia.org
Website: http://castimonia.org/retreat 

Location:
Cat Spring Retreat Center
14852 Hall Road
Cat Spring, TX, US, 78933

http://thecatspringretreat.com/index.html

Early Registration up until September 30th – $175

Regular Registration after October 1st – November 7th  – $195

*SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE, PLEASE CONTACT US FOR MORE INFO

Out of state guests receive free registration upon request!!!

Full refund minus fees up to September 15th. 50% refund minus fees after September 15th and up to November 1st. No refunds after November 1st (retreat credit only).

Filed Under: Sexual Purity Posts

August 4, 2023 By Castimonia

Wisdom

Originally posted at http://theresstillhope.org

You don’t relapse because you don’t know what to do. You relapse because you don’t do what you know.

Mark Twain was right: “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you in trouble.”

We don’t lack knowledge; we lack wisdom. David prayed, “God, look within the hearts of men and examine all their motives” (Psalm 7:9).

When facing your next test or temptation, ask yourself three questions:

  1. What is the wise thing to do?
  2. What does my friend say is the wise thing to do?
  3. What do my experiences say is the wise thing to do?

Wisdom trumps knowledge every time. In order to stay sober, you don’t need more knowledge, you just need to use the knowledge you already have – wisely.

Recovery Step: Ask God for wisdom.

Filed Under: Sexual Purity Posts

August 1, 2023 By Castimonia

Castimonia Retreat Registration NOW OPEN!!!

Here is some information on the retreat.  I pray that the Lord uses this retreat to help men in their sexual purity journey.  The link to register for the retreat is written below.

Friday, November 10th – Sunday, November 12th

The Castimonia Retreat is a retreat for any man who struggles with any type of sexual purity. 

If you are wondering about whether to attend this retreat, ask yourself these questions:

  • Are you fully equipped for the spiritual battle that is raging around us right now?
  • Are you a man who strives for biblical sexual purity?
  • Are you a man who struggles with maintaining that sexual purity?
  • Do you want a circle of brothers helping you in your sexual purity journey?

Join us for a weekend dedicated to equipping adult men of all ages, all walks of life, and various levels of struggle with the tools necessary to wage this spiritual battle and emerge on the other side as the sexually pure men that God intended us to be.

At the retreat, we will discuss strategies for equipping ourselves with tactics necessary for battling the enemy. We will discover the true meaning of brotherhood and fellowship. The leaders of the retreat will set the example of vulnerability and accountability. We hope to pave the way for all men to be fully equipped to wage war against Satan’s tempting assaults and emerge VICTORIOUS.

The ultimate affirmation for all men is to hear at the end of days, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

A wise man is strong, And a man of knowledge increases power. For by wise guidance you will wage war, And in abundance of counselors there is victory. Proverbs 24:5-6

Start: November 10 – 06:00 pm (check in begins at 4pm)
End: November 12 – 1:00 pm
Organizer: Castimonia Restoration Ministry, Inc.
Email: Info@Castimonia.org
Website: http://castimonia.org/retreat 

Location:
Cat Spring Retreat Center
14852 Hall Road
Cat Spring, TX, US, 78933

http://thecatspringretreat.com/index.html

Early Registration up until September 30th – $175

Regular Registration after October 1st – November 7th  – $195

*SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE, PLEASE CONTACT US FOR MORE INFO

Out of state guests receive free registration upon request!!!

Full refund minus fees up to September 15th. 50% refund minus fees after September 15th and up to November 1st. No refunds after November 1st (retreat credit only).

Filed Under: Sexual Purity Posts

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This site is intended for individuals who struggle with maintaining sexual purity. This information is posted for individuals at various stages in their recovery, year 1 to year 30+; what applies to some, may not apply others. Spouses are encouraged to read this blog with the caveat that they may not agree with, understand, or know the reason for some items posted. As always, take what you like and leave the rest.

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