I wonder how much easier it would be if we considered all the hardships we face a battle we have to win? I guess probably not much, because when we are in bondage to something, nothing seems like it can make it any better. The physical weight of what we carry is totally and utterly unsurpassable, or at least in the moment it feels like there is no way out. The hopelessness I have found can be so great that many people give up trying.
I feel like addictions have generally been stigmatized as being a negative thing. When you think “addict” I’m sure the first thing that pops in your mind is of course the strung out drug enthusiast attending rehab. Oh then there’s the people that watch porn, and don’t forget the people that smoke. I could continue but I think you get the point. However, not all addictions are so blatantly obvious nor all of them bad.
I believe there are all things we struggle with in our lives, because face it, we were born into a compromised world. I think half the battle is recognizing the bondage we are stuck in and the other half comes in creating an atmosphere to overcome. It’s about a good plan, a system of support, and determination to press forward even after you’ve messed up. Ultimately, we are slaves to the things we can’t say no to. That becomes a scary thought for the people like me that value control so much. However, once you experience the first time of walking away, saying no starts becoming a piece of cake. It then is just about learning the good things you can instead say “yes” too.
This is a cool song that fits really well with what we’re talking about.
“Creating an atmosphere to overcome…” This is good stuff.
Kristen-
I so responded to you on your last comment on here! I love that you read all my blogs and give me feedback! You’re the best!
Hi Rachel,
I Love all yours blogs!
Your words are really encouraging thanks!
I am facing a huge battle right now, it’s the hardest trial I’ve ever came faced to. And it’s very hard to keep going each day but I’m trusting in the Lord completely..
Thanks for letting God use you!
Just realized how much my past has hindered me from succeeding. I really need to get out and say no to the bad addictions and yes to the good ones. I can’t stop what happens to me but can control how I feel about it. Thanks.
Tayo-
I’m sorry you’re struggling with things that have happened in your past that may be affecting your future. We all have made mistakes, some bigger than others. I don’t think it is ever really hard for us to figure out the things we should probably say no to in our lives. However, I think we really come to the cross roads when trying to figure out how exactly we should go about saying no. Like I said in my blog being aware is half the battle but to finish strong you have to be prepared with a plan. I don’t know what you are facing or even yet all you’ve gone through, but if you want some ideas on how to get started let me know! We can work on some ways to make saying no easier. Praying for you friend!
Hi Rachel-
That’s right… there comes a point where we must say “STOP”, say “NO” to any addiction_ whether big or small; recognizing the bondage we are stuck in, realizing that only Jesus can take us out of it and give him thanks for he already washed our sins away on the Cross of Calvary.
Rachel if you allow me… I just wanna say some words to those who feel too guilty to make these steps or who feel disappointed being misunderstood by relatives or even by a church leader.
Jesus just wanna tells you :: “I LOVE YOU”, he is not telling or ordering you to change, he just wanna let you know that he loves you. JESUS LOVES YOU like you are. Be sure of it, be conscious that JESUS LOVES YOU, despite what people have said, they may have let you down. But Jesus, the divine God who came to die for us, he the Eternal God wants you to know it and be convicted about 1 thing:: Me Jesus Christ:: I LOVE YOU ALWAYS.
Love, his love is the powerful remedy, the key to our freedom. “There are 3 things that remain-faith, hope, and love- and the greatest of these is LOVE.”(1Cor13:13) Let his love penetrates you, give him the chance to love you. “God so LOVE the world that he gave his only son” for you.
Jeremy Souci-
First off I love that you comment on my FB blog page, send me messages on my personal FB, and still manage to have time to comment on my actual blog page! You my friend are SUPER plugged in and I LOVE it! I think it is super thoughtful of you to take the time to encourage the few others that might glance across your comment. Who knows the lives you could impact? Even if it’s one person that reads that and rediscovers hope, how awesome would that be? I hope you will continue to stay connected, you are a blessing!
Thanks too Rachel… really feel honored.
again and again… you’re absolutely right 😉
I consider it as a privilege to write on your blog. As you just said.. if it is only to change one life_ so we just win more than gold. But am personally convinced that more n more youths will come to read your blog… because here they will receive the Positive message of the love of Christ ..testified by We Youths.
At church, dad is teaching about the Grace of God… I feel that it is very important for us to share about the LOVE and the GRACE of God to people.. Too many of us just focus on our mistakes: I must not do this, I did that, I made too many mistakes_ I need to pay for them_then I will be able to receive the forgiveness of my sins’
You see..we people just forget the essential element of the LOVE & GRACE of God. we often picture him as the old guy with long white beard and his stick in hand..ready to punish us of our faults. Reality is that God is the complete opposite.. he’s very handsome light whose will is to shine in our life. He loves US so much, we simply have to believe to receive his GRACE.
(apologies for writing so long..but thanks for reading)
Addictions come in so many forms….and yes they can be the negative strongholds. I want to view my addictions differently… as something I have complete ability to overcome.
Thank you Rachel, for great words!!!!
Glenna Shaw-
I’m so glad you were able to find my blog and I’m so GLAD you are reading. How cool is that? How are thing’s for you since we last talked? I’ve been praying for you! Stay positive in your thinking, great things are headed your way!
Dear Marcus and Joni Lamb,
Hello my name is Virginia I am 54 years old, I have been watching you and all the wonderful pastors and ministers on day star for about a year now. I am born again a christian praise to god. I was an alcoholic, PCP user, and a smoker. I thank God for the blood that Jesus shed for me and you, my sins have been washed away . I no longer drink or smoke I have been saved for nine months thank God amen. I need your help brothers and sisters, I am disabled with three slipped discs in my back arthritis in both knees needing surgery. Please beloved I have fallen back on my property taxes, I am on a fixed income and my spouse left me and our son with no help financially who is a alcoholic and drug user. Please would you please see it in your hearts to stretch out your hands and open your hearts to help me and my children to save our home that has been in our family for more than fifty years, please in Jesus precious name help, God bless.
Virginia Rangel-
Wow! What a testimony you have there, thanks so much for being so open with everyone. I know someone will just be so encouraged by how much you have overcome. If not anyone else, I am super impressed. I know how hard some of things can be, because I have had many friends struggle with addiction problems. Talk about a tough thing to beat, whew! How good does it feel to be clean and set free though? So proud of how much you’ve accomplished. I’m so sorry to hear about your financial difficulties, times are tough right now. However, I know if the Lord has brought you this far he isn’t going to give up on you now! He is our provider, stand on that hope! I have personally submitted your comment to the prayer department and we will continue to agree with you for a miracle!
Virginia, hang in there girl! God will supply when you lest expect him to. I am disabled also and on a fixed income. It’s very hard, but just let God handle these things (financial) and you may not see it now but look how far you have come in knowing Jesus? Look back and you will see that He provides for our needs! Hang on, He will be and is your everything!! Love ya, Martha!!!
Martha-
That was so sweet of you to encourage Virginia! It warms my heart : )
I don’t know about you all. I have been at war with sin since the day I was born. There will always be sin its the curse, BUT GOD! Does anybody have the “BUT GOD!” in their lives? because I have many. It’s by one and one thing only that we are ALL made pure and holy and its nothing the BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH. I’m talkin’ about GOD’s ALMIGHTY blood.
Just think of it as taking a shower inside your heart it might hurt for a bit, but that’s just the spirit trying to feel its way in, try to be led by it each day to have a positive one. peace.
Creating an atmosphere is definitely important! And its important that we create that atmosphere the right way. An atmosphere based on our own ability to conquer will sometimes never work, sometimes it will work but only for a short time, and then sometimes it will work and continue to work in one or two areas as long as we are willing to keep fighting for it. What I’ve found though is that when I focus hard on attaining victory by my own determination alone, its empty and it is draining. I’m still in the process of learning the balance between giving it all I’ve got, and letting the Lord lift me up so I can rest in HIS strength.
ps. awesome topic 🙂
Amazing blog. Supportive communities are of incalculable value. One arrow can easily be broken, but not ten in a bundle. Great community. Keep up the good work.
Caleb Addy-
I love that quote, “One arrow can easily be broken, but not ten in a bundle”. I’m going to use it as a Facebook status! haha
Hey Rachel,
You are a good writer. Great blog!
Blessings,
Sujo
I’m 23 and I’ve seen the commercial for your blog on Daystar and automatically thought “here is another so called Christian. I bet her blog is about being popular, cool & everything I can’t stand”! I was so wrong. I’ve been hurt so much by so MANY “so-called” Christians that I grew up with and from other churches I visited around the country some well known ones too that for a long time I just believed that every Christian was the same way, out to get your money or some type of evil devil & so I made no room in my heart for them or God. It got so bad to the point where I was against church, God, Christians and spoke out boldly against them on a blog I had. I even “converted” to Islam when I was 15 & denied Jesus Christ as my Lord & Savior. My mind was warped BIG TIME! The whole while I was getting angrier, hateful and it started spilling over to everything else in my life, even towards my mother who is also my best friend and mentor. To make a long story short, Jesus called me back to him this past December & I tell you my life could never be better! I didn’t realize that not only did I leave the Savior of the world but I left my best friend. So, getting back to what I was saying: So when I saw your commercial on Daystar my mind went back to the same old thing but I decided to give it a chance anyway, and this is my first article that I’m reading and it’s helped me so much.
I still struggle with being a Christian, going to church as well as my natural desires but I know it will get better the closer I get to Jesus even though I’m a bit impatient and get angry at times. I know He’s still working on me and that it’s a process. The closer I get to Him the further these struggles will be. So, I just wanted to say “Thank You, for being different than what I expected” and “I’m sorry for judging you before I even gave it a chance”
THANK YOU!!
Ash-
I’m so happy you came to check out my blog, even against your own inhibitions. I can’t even begin to tell you how timely your comment was for me. The night before I received your comment I was feeling so defeated and discouraged. My blog takes a lot of my time and I was beginning to wonder if it was even worth doing. I think it was mainly a lot of small things that finally combined to push me over the edge. Needless to say, I was really down on myself.
The next morning I read your comment and I felt as if the Lord was saying to me, “Just in case you wanted to give up, remember why you started writing”. I began to cry because people like YOU are the very reason why I started this blog.
I was involved in a ministry and at the same time was going through a lot of struggles. One day another staff member asked me how I was doing. I replied saying, “Do you really want to know”? He said, “Yea, what’s going on”? I begin to spill my heart out and right in the middle he stopped me because he had to have “prayer time” before the service. As he walked away, I stood there broken. My immediate thought was, “Here we are trying to reach out to the people in our community, but if we can’t even help the people right in front of us, how are we ever going to make a difference”? I became bitter instead of better.
I think a lot of people have experienced the same feeling. It certainly is hard to forget because we so much associate the “church” with “Christianity”. The more I thought about it though, it dawned on me. I don’t come to church because of the people that go there. I go to church to feed my spirit and grow in my relationship with the Lord. So it shouldn’t matter what anyone had ever done to me there, because my purpose in attending was so far beyond a person.
I also learned I had no expectations of people “in the world”, but Christians were a different story. I mean they were followers of Christ so I expected them to be a certain way. So when someone that wasn’t a Christian did something wrong to me, it was like water off my back. Conversely, when a “Christian” did something to me I was all offended. Expectations are a really difficult thing to erase. I think it’s important we realize other people, like us, are not above our expectations. They are faced with all the same temptations.
I’m so sorry about the hurt you’ve experienced in the church. I’m even sorrier no one reached out to you when you were feeling like that. I’m so glad to hear though, that you have come full circle. You have a truly amazing story of God’s redemptive love.
I just wanted to say thanks again for allowing God to use you to encourage me. I have been meaning to write you back sooner but got busy with school. You truly inspired me that day, and for that I couldn’t thank you enough. Please know if you ever need anything you can come here. I want my blog to be a community of people reaching out to one another. I will be praying for you as you still work out some of the emotions from everything you’ve been through.
: )
Hi Rachel!
I am a huge fan of your parents and I have just started reading your blog! I really like this one. This line really stuck out to me… “It’s about a good plan, a system of support, and determination to press forward even after you’ve messed up”
I feel like this is something that I struggle with, especially in mind battles that I’m trying to get rid of. My best friend knows what I battle with and when you said that line it just makes me feel like I really can overcome this. I am excited to read your other blog postings now!
You are a great blessing!
~ Michelle
Michelle Lucero-
I’m so glad you found my blog! That line you mentioned is a good one! I feel like those three things are important when trying to conquer additions. I also think that you shouldn’t beat yourself up to much about when you do mess up, because it will make it even harder to move forward. I will be praying for you, that the Lord will help you overcome! Thanks for reading girly <3
P.S. You have a pretty name, it's my middle name : )
Thanks Rach for the words you blog!!!! I have struggled with smoking for almost 35 years and it is a hard thing to say “NO”. But I’m finding it easier to say YES to no smoking!! Thank you and God Bless everyone!
So, so true, Rach. <3
Hey Rachel, just wanted to say “Hey” and wish you a good week! Hope college is going good for you and just can’t wait for a new blog. All of these have helped me so much!! Wish you the best and for your parents too!! God bless all of you!! Peace, Martha
Martha-
You can do it!!!!!!!!! I have faith in you!
I have always had an “addictive” type personality, I’m told. When I became sold out for Christ, I made my addiction the Word. I like to think of it this way; God doesn’t take our excitement away, but changes the things we get excited about. I served the world to the best of my addictions, and now, I serve God (empowered by His Grace), even better through my addictions. Like you said Rachel, addictions are not always a bad or negative thing. God Bless : )
A good word, sister! I really like the song too. Thanks and God bless you!
In this journey called life, we so often find ourselves entangled in habits. Good and Bad. Once we receive Jesus as Lord of our lives, the gentle searching voice of the Holy Spirit begins to illuminate and reveal the perfect will he has for us. One of the toughest things a Christian has to do is walk away from the habits that seem to make us blend in with the crowd. We are called to be Kings and Queens reigning with Christ. As Christians we are called to “Rep The Crown”! The question we find ourselves left with is, Do your habits reflect who you represent? No matter how heavy the burden, no matter how tough the trial. Have faith and trust in God and He will bring you thru and into another level of peace. P.S. Lacrae is off the chain! God is enough!
John Schulte-
I love how you brought that back to be positive. “God will bring you thru and into another level of peace”! Good word! I totally love Lecrae, wasn’t that song legit?
I was thinking last night about what I could compare all the struggles in life too and how we approach God about it all. God knows all and all about our thoughts, our attitudes, and even our motives…and yet…He wanted us who believe in him to be free and clean of all the negative stuff and its effect on our lives. Yes Rachel, I believe that we can have “positive” addictions in many ways to the things we can say yes to. Ohh, wait, my comparison I wanted to share: we all are at different places in our lives and we all have a “struggle” or difficulty at one time or another…God’s picture to me is this, how much I allow him to come and effect my “struggle” depends on my choice to either let him poke a finger into my heart to “plug up” a hole in me for a quick fix or let him come and transform me by doing a complete heart transplant giving me his heart in place of mine. I think that is how I have overcome many barriers in my life. His love is shed abroad in me because He gave me his heart in place of mine.
Rachel,
Great blog! I had always seen addiction as a negative point-of-view myself. It is unbelievable how powerful the mind is over the body, physically as well as mentally! I’m 19 and I have never smoked or drank. I thought to myself if people really convinced themselves that they “needed” something like a cigarette (which in turn can turn into addiction), I wondered if there was a way to convince ourselves that our body can do the opposite. So I decided to test it. I started convincing myself in my mind that I was allergic to cigarette smoke. Every time a family member lit one up while I was around, I made myself cough. Over a short period of time the coughing became real, followed by watery eyes & headaches. Even though the smell never bothered me at all when I was younger, I am now allergic to the smoke. Wouldn’t it be awesome if it were just that easy for everyone? Even with drinking and drugs. But then again, Jesus never said it would be easy. Only that we wouldn’t be alone.
Leigh Ann-
I can tell you smoking is one of the hardest addictions many people will ever battle. I commend people that force themselves to quit. That would be cool if we could reverse the process! Thanks for checking out my blog. How did you first hear of it?
I just finished re-reading this. It resonates. Personally, I tend to hear/see people who are in the public eye as being exempt from hardships. I’ll say, “Wow, ya know they just got it all together.” As you alluded to, which always comes back reminding me; NO body but nobody is perfect, everybody has some type of hangup. No matter what. Whether it’s a case of a potty mouth, a ‘wandering eye,’ a hunger or thirst to escape from reality or the ones you mentioned.
I don’t like to say “I struggle” or “I suffer,” but I know I deal with issues that just don’t want to let go. I hate it. It’s personal, but I don’t care to give any bad habit, problem, or addiction a right by saying “MY —- is.” It’s not mine, I don’t want it, and claiming MY bad habit seems to enforce a hold in my life. Anyways, that’s just me.
Really, the honest reason for writing is to say how good it made me feel when you admitted to being somewhat dyslexic. You may have been kidding, but it was of comfort to me. And again, I have to realize that nobody is exempt from life’s afflictions. A great reason why I enjoy watching DayStar. It’s all good stuff…we’re not alone in this world. God Bless ya & take care. I could go for some waffles about now…:-)
David
PS: Please let me know if you’re bothered that some bizarre, and sometimes passionately excited older guy is posting on your board.
David-
I can tell you first hand that I am not perfect. Trust me, if I were to air all my dirty laundry it wouldn’t be pretty. However, I think that’s all of us. We have all made mistakes.
Expectations are hard to deal with for all of us. However, I have found that no one lives above my expectations for them. Regardless, they at the end of the day face the same temptations I do. My parents have always told me to air on the side of grace with people because I don’t know when I will need that grace myself. So that’s the way I’ve tried to live my life. I hope someday if I mess up, people would award me the same grace.
Thanks for sharing, and no I do not think it’s creepy you write on my blog! I love all my readers!
P.S. I wasn’t kidding about being dyslexic either : )
Sometimes it’s just because we find ourselves in the wrong atmosphere so we become confused in choosing to walk towards the right direction, and I agree with this piece that you’ve shared Rachel.
First of all God has promised us that all things work out successfully if we believe in him and hence we should always put our trust in him.
I have been in the midst of friends who were drinking, womanizing, smoking and other stuff and I automatically developed that habit until one time I realized moving along with such friends will block my communication with God.
Since then my life has been wholesome in Christ.
I thank God for the divine rescue…
Ron Gyles-
I totally agree with you. You point out a really great point. The people we choose to surround ourselves with will be the people we ultimately become. That’s why it is so important to be wise in who we choose as our friends. I appreciate you becoming so vulnerable on here with your personal story. I hope people will be encouraged that it doesn’t matter what you’ve done, because God can STILL turn it all around.
2 Cor 1:6-7
You’re so right – saying “no” gets easier over time and great song! Sincerely, Cindy Eckhart
And by the way, I’ve found that I’m addicted to the intoxicating love of Jesus Christ. If I miss my hits of time with Him, I start going through a painful detox period of not Xperiencing His Presence, His Love, His all consuming ways. And, I’m finding it hard to not be here, in Rachel’s blog; it is for me, a powerful way to unwind relax and soak in the love of others through Christ. You’re addicted to the things you can’t say no to? I can’t say no to Jesus’ love for me & I don’t think I’ve missed a day here since finding out about it. Addict? Ok, I like that. A ‘love of and for Christ’ addict.