Category Archives: Reconciliation

Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village

Posted on by

Every year, Doorway to Recovery participants have the option to take part in Life Recovery Outings to Greenfield Village’s Holiday Nights celebration in Dearborn, MI. These nights are filled with chilly air, warm cocoa, and the sounds of carolers in the air.  These nights bring about a sense of holiday wonder, but also a feeling of reunification– between those getting their lives on track in sober living homes and their families.  Nothing beats the sense of watching a recovering father, take his little daughter to watch Santa Claus, with his red-and-white clothing jollily bringing a sense of awe and wonder into peoples’ lives.

If only every night could be like Holiday Nights at the Village.  But alas, they’re not, and that’s like life in recovery.  Some days people have great days, life in pink, living in the clouds, enjoying every minute of it.  Sometimes the days aren’t as fun, and are just plain difficult; where burdens, stresses, and anxieties tear through one’s thoughts.  Sober living helps people learn to adapt to life, without the use of drugs and alcohol, through the ups and the downs.  Structured in sober living homes is the cornerstone to successful addiction recovery, and structure is the key to a full Life Recovery.

Boom-Boom’s Advice On Well Calculated Risks

Posted on by

For every success we experience, we have usually had to venture out into the unknown, to get there.  We have had to step out of what is comfortable for us, but sometimes our own personal comfort zone, is a zone that restricts our growth!  In order for us to move forward, often we have to take a well calculated risk.  There is always a safety net… ask God for his guidance… the good places you can go with Him are not always clear from your vantage point… we are not in control.  Let Him open the door for you.

A decision may bring you to the very edge of a wonderful new experience… a promotion, a fresh love, a new friend, a new destiny.  Listen carefully… you have asked for His direction… He may whisper, but He will guide you.  The opportunity before you may present itself only once!  Do not be afraid to try something new.  Don’t negatively “what if” yourself into a life of confinement or stagnation.  Take God with you on the journey of a well calculated risk.

Revelation 3:8, “I know your deeds.  See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.  I know that you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”  NIV

Boom-Boom LaRue Talks About Kiss N’ Clean

Posted on by

Yes, it is true, even “rockers” choose to stay “clean.”  Gene Simmons, lead singer from the popular group, Kiss, was quoted in the L.A. Times as saying, “I’ve never been drunk or high.  I am not here to convince anyone of my lifestyle.  This is what I want for me.“  He further sated he “does not understand why someone would choose to hamper their ability to succeed, by drinking and doing drugs.”  Simmons claims that his drug of choice is his own accomplishments!  Despite being in an industry that practically demands and expects participation in the drug and alcohol culture, Simmons has abstained from that destructive world to honor and respect his mother.  (5th commandment:  “Honor your mother and your father, that your days may be long upon the land, which the Lord, your God, is giving you.”)  She survived the unspeakable horrors of a Nazi concentration camp but most of her family lost their lives there.  Simmons is her only child.  (Leviticus 19:32  “Stand up in the presence of the elderly and show respect for the aged”)

Kiss is the #1 American Gold Record Award winning group of all time.  Simmons given name is Chaim Witz.

 

“It is better to walk alone, than with a group going in the wrong direction!”
Diane Grant, Canadian playwright and screenwriter.

11-29-16-gene-simmons

Becoming the Man God Designed Me to be

Posted on by

I’ve heard it said that a real man rejects passivity, accepts responsibility, leads courageously, exemplifies integrity, has reconciled with his past, is working on leaving a legacy and expects a greater reward!

As I spoke about at Woodside Bible Church in Troy and in my last blog, I haven’t always been that man. However, through Christ, with my family, friends and my brothers in Christ I am working on becoming that man in the following ways:

  • Rejects Passivity – Instead of ignoring the problems and issues and hoping they just go away, I am facing them head on and I know that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. – Philippians 4:13
  • Accepts Responsibility – I am taking full responsibility for my failures of the past and my actions of the future by submitting myself to God. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” – James 4:7
  • Leads Courageously – I will love and lead my family and business with the courage to always do the right thing even when it isn’t comfortable. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9
  • Exemplifies Integrity – I will be the example of integrity by being a man of my word and a man of The Word. “Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered, but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall.” – Proverbs 28:18
  • Reconciled with his past – I have faced my failures, accepted responsibility for my actions, asked for forgiveness and stand in the truth that “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” – 2 Corinthians 5:18
  • Working on leaving a legacy – I do not want to be remembered by my failures but by my love and the way I allowed Christ’s love to show through me, that is a true legacy! – “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. – John 13:34
  • Expecting a Greater Reward – I know because I have chosen to follow Jesus, I have a guaranteed reward “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” – Philippians 3:20-21

I hope you have made the choice to follow Him too!

My First Open Talk – Forgiveness and Reconciliation

Posted on by

I gave my first Open Talk at Troy, Woodside Bible Church in front of a large group of people.  This talk was a testimony of my storms, with and without Christ.  It was very scary to say the least, as I looked out and saw faces that I thought were there to judge me.  I closed my eyes, I asked Christ to come into my heart; to give me the words I needed to say, and as always he did.  As I talked about my sin, and how through that sin I have caused a lot of hurt, I found it to be very healing.  I spoke of me and my participation, and my character defects.  Christ was working though me because out of my mouth came love and forgiveness, not anger and resentment.  This was so refreshing.

At the end of the talk, which was about 45 minutes (that’s a new one for me); people all gathered around me to pray and let me know how surprised they were that I didn’t play the victim role.  Two of those people in the crowd were therapists.  After breaking away into our men’s group, the two male therapists shared how angry and mad they were at for me for the things that they had read and heard; admitting that they have their faults and sins as well, and who are they to hold those resentments.  But because of Christ and his love, and teaching of forgiveness, they were able to look at me in a different way.  I am so grateful to my friends at Woodside Bible, Larry, Gail, Tony, Mark, for allowing me to come in and openly confess my hurts, habits, and hang-ups.  I love Christ; I love Celebrate Recovery, my love to all of you.

Blessings your way,

 

Mark Burchell.