Sexual Purity Support & Recovery Group
John discusses his denial, losing his marriage, hitting rock bottom, and entering recovery. He talks about attending his first recovery meeting and what recovery has done for him and his life.
“I’m at the bottom, I’ll do anything. And she suggested I go to a meeting.” – John; speaking about the advice his knowledgable therapist gave him about his sexual addiction and getting help.
Please visit http://www.addiction2recovery.com for more videos and information.
The mug shots below are of members of society that were arrested or tried this month (July) for their sexual crimes. Not all of these people are “sex addicts” but I believe there is some sort of disorder within these people to have them commit these crimes against others.
I am not posting these mugshots to punish these men and women; their punishment is already coming at the hands of the courts and our legal system. I post these images so that everyone can see that these men and women look like anyone else in our community; our teachers, coaches, fathers, mothers, pastors, police officers, etc… The addiction has no boundaries, it affects anyone and everyone. My sponsor once made a joke about attending his first recovery meeting, stating that he was expecting to walk into a room of a bunch of men wearing fedoras and long overcoats as is the typical stereotype of “flashers” or “sex addicts” in our American society. This may be true in some cases, but a large majority of sexual addicts are just everyday people, like you or me.
You should be able to hover over the pictures and see a description of their crime.
The above men and women entered into what is considered Level 2 and Level 3 sexual addiction. The reality of the addiction is that if you took a brain scan of a sex addict acting out with Level 1 behaviors versus the above, the scans would be nearly identical. That is to say, there is very little difference to the human brain, the high one gets from acting out with masturbation and pornography and those acting out with level 2 and 3 sex crimes. Level 1 includes sexual activity “socially acceptable” by society; masturbation, viewing pornography, visiting strip clubs, prostitution, etc… Levels 2 & 3 include sexual activities that are not socially acceptable and in some cases, morally offensive as in the case of Jerry Sandusky and a few others shown above. To learn more about the three levels of sexual addiction, please read Chapter 2: The Levels of Addiction in Out of the Shadows: Understanding Sexual Addiction by Patrick Carnes, Ph.D.
All the above are representations of “The Empty Chair” that sits in the middle of our recovery meeting circle. The empty chair represents those members that have left the sexual addiction recovery program in search of their true bottom, those that are suffering the consequences of their addiction in prison, and those whose disease drove them to take their own life.
May God grant these people serenity.
Take what you like and leave the rest.
In today’s meeting I read the scripture below from Luke 18.
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
In working the 7th step (and in our recovery), we need to understand what being “humble” really is, and what it will gain us. When we humbly ask Him to remove all of our shortcomings, we are coming to him like the tax collector, asking for God’s mercy because we are sinners. Even in our most perfect of days in recovery, we still can sin. It is important to always remember that it is progress not perfection and that pride comes before the fall. The moment we become like the Pharisee and “show off” all we do in our recovery for our own glory, not God’s, is the moment the relapse back into our old ways begins.
Take what you like and leave the rest.
Due to The Fellowship at Cinco Ranch’s Fun Fest (VBS) to be held in the evenings beginning Monday, July 30th, the Castimonia Men’s Sexual Purity Support and Recovery Group meeting will be moved to Grace Fellowship United Methodist Church which regularly hosts the Thursday night meeting. All information is written below. The Monday night meeting will return to it’s original location the following Monday. Please note the change and sorry for the inconvenience!
MONDAY, JULY 30th – MEETING LOCATION CHANGE:
This change will only affect the Monday, July 30th meeting. It will return to it’s usual location on Monday, August 6th.
Time: 7:00PM – 8:30PM
Location: Grace Fellowship United Methodist Church – Mansion, Room 203
2655 South Mason Road
Katy, TX 77450
281.646.1903
Map to Church Campus Map
Below is a graphic that displays various statistics of the consumption of pornography, most of which is produced in the United States.
Tomorrow, I’ll discuss why internet filters are a must for ALL families!
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.
