There is true freedom from Masturbation and Pornography and it is in Jesus Christ alone! He came to Set the Captives free!
Recovery Articles
Running Away
If your usage of a substance like alcohol or drugs, or habit like excessive shopping or sports-watching (or pornography/sex), ever prompted someone you love to say to you, “Too much,” listen up. The biggest mistake people make with addictions, alcohol and otherwise, is that they deny that they are over-doing it. They get defensive. They insist “I’m only drinking so much because …” They claim, “You do it too..” or “Everyone drinks like that..” They minimize, “I just drink….” Denial is tempting, and extremely self-defeating. Resist this temptation, and you have a chance at averting the potentially marriage-threatening consequences of an addiction that you persist in sustaining. The remedy: Take your loved one’s concern seriously. Seriously reassess your habit. Ask yourself, “If I look at my [pornography use/sexual acting out] in the best possible light, what is it meant to accomplish?” If the answer is that [pornography/sex] enables you to escape from stresses in your life, it’s time to face those stresses head on. Addictions usually are an alternative to addressing and resolving problems, marital and otherwise. Replace running away with talking about your problems with someone you trust. By clinical psychologist, marriage counselor and author Susan Heitler, Ph.D.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/resolution-not-conflict/201110/resisting-the-3-main-temptations-destroy-marriages
“Sometimes I feel as if I’m racing with my own shadow… But that’s one thing I’ll never be able to outrun. Nobody can shake off their own shadow.” – Haruki Murakami
6 Types of Erosion the Sexual Addict Can’t See
Posted: 31 Jan 2014 03:00 AM PST
Our sexual sin affects many things we cannot see, yet. Erosion brings a hidden, slow devastation. Erosion to soil can cause a house to sink into the ground. Erosion of the nuts and bolts in your car cause parts to go bad. Beach erosion causes houses and lighthouses to have to be moved. When we are struggling sexually and don’t talk about it, a deadly erosion takes place on many levels. Erosion of our spiritual life – Our relationship with God. Our prayer life. Our spiritual fervency. Our intimacy with God. Our focus on Kingdom things. We cannot be holy vessels when we are holding onto sexual sin. We cannot be sensitive to the Holy Spirit when we are in sin. Erosion of our authenticity – We can’t be our true self. A second person exists. We lack integrity. We pretend. We lie. Erosion of our sense of truth – We are slowly being deceived into thinking that keeping a secret is OK. We begin to convince ourselves that it would be better not to share; that there will be less carnage and consequence. We start believing lies. Even lies that our behavior is not that bad, or that somehow, it’s OK with God. We don’t realize how far we are straying from a sense of truth. Erosion of our relationships – We give less energy and passion to others. We are becoming self-absorbed, protective and private. There’s a part of us that we can’t offer to others. We cannot fully minister to others. When we do connect with others, it is devoid of the power of God from a clean vessel. Erosion of our passions – Our passion is not God, but ourselves. Our passion becomes our sexual habits. This is idolatry. We are giving ourselves to something God did not ordain for us. The energy that we could be using to serve Him, our spouse, and others is being given to porn, fantasy, masturbation or adultery. Erosion of other people’s lives – Some of us are involved in illicit relationships with other people. We may be having an affair, encounters with prostitutes, anonymous sex, or an emotional affair. In some cases a parishioner is involved; someone you counseled, a secretary, a teenager, a child. Other people become victims of our behaviors. When we are in the middle of our sexual sin, we do not see these types of erosion. God may have blow our life apart before we see the erosion. There is always degradation with sin, and sin always puts us on its destructive path. THE SOLUTION The key to stopping the erosion is to share the secret. The only way for the power to be taken out of the secret is to talk about out with safe people. Darkeness must come into light. The affects of erosion will contnue as long as the secret remains. Erosion will never magically disappear. It has to be arrested and counteracted with something bigger than ourselves. GET HELP FOR YOUR PURITY JOURNEY Jeff Fisher helps guys with their purity journeys through:
- Online / Phone Support Groups
- Accountability Coaching
- Personal Coaching
- Speaking at Conferences
Merimnao 5 Year Celebration Reminder (and Childcare)
On this upcoming Saturday, January 10th we will be having Merimnao’s fifth year celebration event. It begins at 3:30, the presentation part begins at 4 and concludes (we estimate) at 5, we will then spend time chatting with each other and meeting new friends. It is being held in the life center at the Fellowship, 22765 Westheimer Parkway.
Please make every effort to be there.
Some details:
We will have a combination of audiovisual and testimonies for the first part of the presentation. In the second part we will recognize some of God’s handiwork and some people, talk a little about what Merimnao is (for the visitors) and then discuss the vision for the ministry going forward.
Childcare is available for children up to 12 years. This is free for this event! Come a little early if you are dropping kids off. Childcare will be in the Student Building, rooms S101 and S102, it will be available from 3 to 6 pm.
Bring any and everybody you want, especially spouses. Invite people you personally know are engaged in helping ministry or recovery ministry, as leaders or participants.
We will have coffee, Kosmos will be open too and we’ll have some snacks and water.
MINISTRY LEADERS – Please make sure this is announced this week in each group meeting, and invite all present and past group members, because from these people as a group will come future leaders. E-mail the invitation as you see fit.
AND – We will have a resource center. So if there are some things you want to display please be sure to bring them.
AND – Make yourself available to talk to people, after the presentation, who might want to know about your ministry.
Finally – can we please ask that every person reply to this email in some way, so we know you received and read it. – Thanks!
VIDEO – The Cycle of Addiction
Steve Holladay, Founder and Director of Ultimate Escape, presents a humorous and interactive look at the cycle of addiction.
