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breaking free

The Unraveling

by Corine Channell August 16, 2021

My unraveling, I have always had parts of my life I couldn’t remember. Either by trauma or just time moving on; I really didn’t know.

I had prayed if there were things I needed to recall, that I would be able to, when I was ready. I had a feeling they were dark. And I knew in my gut that whatever I couldn’t remember, I had forgotten for a reason – maybe unintentionally on purpose. I say unintentionally because when you’re a child, what do you actually know to be good or bad, or true or a lie – you just upload and store. It is all there, people. All the things. All the memories. And only God can heal the damage from the abusive ones.

As I began journaling over the past few years, it really felt like my story started writing itself and I was the unwilling author. But the more I let out, there came a time when there simply was NO going back. I was shattering my own silence – first to myself, now to everyone else I guess.

I have realized I am unraveling. To unravel is to “undo twisted, knitted, or woven threads”. It is an unwinding of what was tightly entangled or knotted. Voila’ – ME!

Unraveling is part of my healing, even maybe a BIG part. I MUST unravel. But boy, it is scary and unfamiliar and many times I hear myself saying (to myself) WHO are YOU!?

UNCOVERING WHAT WAS HIDDEN

In my unraveling I discover new parts of me I never knew, or parts of me I have never experienced, and parts of me that were never allowed out. It is quite the party for one. NOT really a party, but trying to find humor in this. I feel like one big knotted and twisted braid, wrapped up so tight that there wasn’t even room for a bird to make a nest in the braid. In my unwrapping, there are a lot of ‘Ta-Da’ moments. I can go from shocked to angry to surprised to happy to embarrassed to devastated, all in a matter of hours. I am traveling rugged terrain I’ve never ventured upon.

All my suppressed feelings that lay dormant for 50 years are all standing at attention now. They all demand some sort of attention, and each one is saying – HEY! Notice me!

I could just stop right here on my journey to healing after abuse, and go no further. BUT I am NOT! So, there’s THAT. I started this thing, and I will finish it. And I remind myself that THIS is a good thing and a long overdue thing. And, God is the one doing it. “You will do everything you have promised; LORD, Your love is eternal. Complete the work that You have begun.” (Psalm 138:8)

HEALING BRINGS FREEDOM

“The Unraveling” by Cory Asbury –

“I’m coming apart at the seams
And everyone’s pulling at me
And I am unraveling
The smile isn’t quite what it seems
But it does well to hide what’s beneath
All the pressure is staggering
In the unraveling, Father unravel me
When I can’t feel a thing
Have mercy and let me bleed
I know it’s dumb
But I have been numb
For way too long
I don’t want to be alone anymore
I don’t want to just survive anymore
And I want to feel, so unravel me
Yeah
Unravel me
I’m coming apart of the seams
It’s worse than I thought it would be,
But I’ve never been happier.” (WOW. All the wows.)

WE are each unraveling to our freedom, from the inside out. First it hurts – then it heals.

___

Childlike Faith: The Earthly Mindset Vs. The Eternal Mindset

by Joanna Flavin June 21, 2021

written by Joanna Flavin

As parents we are fixers. Our child is sick and we work on solutions: ibuprofen, steam showers, and doctor visits. We can fix it. Or maybe our child is struggling socially. We spring into action: playdates, sports teams, and anything we can do to help them feel more confident among their peers. If our child has a problem we do our best to fix it. But what if we can’t? Maybe our adult thinking requires some sort of simplifying that only a childlike faith can fix…

When Fear Takes Over

Recently, our family has been undergoing some stress. Out of respect for my kids’ privacy, I won’t reveal too much information but one of our sons developed a really intense fear of dying. As a parent, it was so painful to see our precious child suffering mentally. Developmentally it is natural and normal for children to come to a place where they question their mortality and seek a lot of information about it. It is even normal for them to fixate on death for a period of time. But we were not prepared for the distress that the fear of death would bring to our particular son.

For a couple of weeks, we tried everything we could to ease his mind. We prayed with him and we prayed over him every night and multiple times of the day. We wrote our worries in journals, we put them in a “worry box” and asked Jesus to take them away. We sought professional guidance through books and counselors. It felt like we were taking two steps forward and one step back.

Childlike Faith: Heaven

One day, in the midst of a fearful struggle, my other son popped in with a truth bomb. He said, “You know you don’t have to worry so much about dying, we all live forever in Heaven anyway.” Boom. You could see the stress and fear leave my other, struggling son’s body. It clicked. He realized he didn’t have to worry so much about dying because once He died on earth he would move on to eternal life. And that life would be better than anything he could eve imagine here. The cure to my son’s crippling anxiety was a dose of childlike faith.

Matthew 18:3, “And He said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.'”

Final Words: Childlike Faith

What would it look like for us to go back to a childlike faith as adults? And to trust that even though our days on earth are numbered we are living for our prize in Heaven? I think it would remove a lot of the stress of our daily lives. When we focus so much on the tasks in front of us we lose sight of what really matters. But when we focus on Jesus taking care of our every need here and offering us a seat next to Him in eternal paradise, peace and joy are restored.

Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

June 21, 2021 0 comment

Faith

A Cycle Can Be Broken With Jesus!

by Corine Channell March 17, 2021

written by Corine Channell

I wonder if you can make it all the way to the end, after a tumultuous journey, and STILL manage to go left when you should have turned right. I tend to do this. And I always wonder why. Do I self-sabotage? Or am I actually afraid of succeeding, after being used to failing? A friend once referred to this as “security in bondage”. I wonder if THIS is the cycle I am caught in? And what if I can catch myself THIS time before I fall? I wonder if recognizing my enemy THIS time will allow me to slay it before it slays me. Again, I wonder.

CYCLE (S)

What is a cycle? It is a “recurring succession of events or phenomenon that usually leads back to the starting point.” BAM! As the saying goes, “Pete and Repeat were sitting on a fence. Pete fell off. Who was left? Repeat. Pete and Repeat were sitting on a fence…” You get my drift.

I am SO over being caught in the chains of cycles. I feel like the enemy of my soul knows me so well. There is a song called CYCLES by Jonathan McReynolds. It expresses how I feel to a T! “See the devil, he learns from your mistakes – even if YOU don’t. THAT’S how he keeps you in cycles.”

And there it is folks. We all too quickly fall back into our familiar patterns, judgment lapses, and those infamous cycles. We return to the things we recognize and feel acquainted with, and are drawn to the tarnished securities of bondages.

BONDAGE

I feel like I need to also define the word bondage, “the state of being a slave.” So, whatever owns you, you are a slave to it. That can definitely be a relationship, a habit, an addiction, maybe even a state of mind. I am used to feeling this way, so I return to it. And I am used to being treated this way, so I return to it. I am used to being a slave – uh oh – so I return to my bondage. And thus, is the pattern of cycles.

I wonder if there are triggers to cycles. Maybe a relationship though wrong brings endorphins to the mind making it harder to let go of. Or maybe a state of mind is so much a part of who you are, that you feel dysfunctional without it. Maybe a pattern of abuse has become your only recognizable place. Or homelessness…sometimes freedom looks a whole lot more threatening. Familiar always feels safe. Even when it is a false front.

FINDING FREEDOM

I realize I have somehow been looking for some AHA moment. Or even a tried and true answer. Perhaps a magic wand would even do (so to speak). And the answer lies within me. It would be easier if it wasn’t boiling down to my own choice. It would be easier to have someone lay hands on me and command deliverance. Or the skies to open and freedom to descend on my brow. Nope. It is denying one’s self of something you so desperately wish to keep hold of. Even if all that really is, is the familiar secure pull of bondage.

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24) I need to ready myself to crush and dismantle the cycle. Why? Because God said so. The Bible says He doesn’t want our sacrifices. He wants our obedience!

Obedience at any age is difficult, whether you’re a tantrum-throwing two-year-old, a rebellious 13-year-old teenager, or a stuck in a cycle 64-year-old. Basically, I need to break my own cycles by denying myself whatever it is I am enslaved to.

“Let your Yay be yay and your Nay be nay!” (Matthew 5:37)

March 17, 2021 0 comment

Articles

Breaking The Chains Of Addiction

by GOD TV August 16, 2019

written by GOD TV

Not everyone who is bound wants to break chains of addiction off their life until they finally come to terms with their situation and call out for help. The good news is that with God it is possible to break chains of addiction and be completely set free.

You can break chains of addiction

The simple solution is repentance. As Jesus said to the woman caught in the act of adultery, “Go and sin no more.” Repentance means turning around from the way you’ve been going and to start heading in the opposite direction! It involves coming to terms with the fact that you have a problem and making a decision to turn your back on it.

This means naming the issue. It could be anything from overeating to binge watching TV to all kinds of things that steal your time, health and relationships, robbing you of your family, vocation, and destiny. There is no doubt about it, sin brings devastation. The Bible says the result of sin is death. It also tells us that the enemy comes to kill, steal and destroy. That is what addiction accomplishes for us. Yet many of us continue to flirt with our addiction and its false promises. It may offer temporary comfort but ultimately it will lead us down a trail of destruction.

Things you can do to break the chains…

Renew your mind. As the saying goes, “Garbage in, garbage out!” If we have spent years putting garbage into our minds it may take as long to change our way of thinking. God’s Word is the only thing that cleanses us and we need to read it and replace our addictive thoughts with scriptures that inspire us towards godly living. Romans 12:1-2 instructs us not to conform to the ways of the world, but to be transformed through the renewing of our minds. We are called to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. Sin stems from rebellion against God and our sacrifice to Him is the exact opposite of that.

Fast. Jesus said that some spiritual conditions can only be turned around through fasting in prayer. God delivered me overnight from smoking years ago, but when it comes to overeating I’ve had to learn to live a fasted life. It’s obvious, what we feed grows and what we starve dies. Sometimes we have to cut off certain things, separate ourselves from people who hold us back and avoid particular places that perpetuate a weakness. Fasting is not just about what we eat, it can be about denying ourselves things we know will cause us to stumble. I sometimes do a liquid fast for three days and I feel the supernatural power of God sustaining me. I’m all too aware that I could never do this in my own strength and I encourage you to try fasting and see what God supernaturally accomplishes in your life.

Pray. Prayer is simply communicating with God, telling Him your deepest thoughts, including confessing your weaknesses. Run to God every time you mess up, don’t run away from Him. Remember when you have a setback you don’t go all the way back to square one, you can pick yourself up and get back on track. Through prayer, you can learn to come alongside God and walk in His strength to break chains of addiction.

Choose healthy environments. Be on the alert for situations that will take you back into your addiction. We all have triggers and it’s important to know what your triggers are and avoid them. Watching Christian TV is a great way you can learn to live above temptation. This is part of renewing your mind. It also helps connect you with the testimonies of others who have learned to walk in victory. Trust God to meet you where you are at and break chains of addiction.

Have vision for your life. Discover what God has called you to do. See fulfilling your calling as infinitely greater than wallowing around in your addiction. As the song suggests, trade in your sorrows, trade in your shame. Lay them down for the joy of the Lord. As Jim Elliot says “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

We serve the God of all hope, full of mercy and compassion. We as believers will always face temptation, but God promises us He will always make a way out. Let’s give up the things that hold us back, break chains of addiction and embrace all God has for us.

August 16, 2019 0 comment

Articles

The Serenity Prayer – Could It Be The Most Powerful Prayer We Pray Today?

by Al Gibson April 8, 2019

written by Al Gibson

The Serenity Prayer is said in support groups across the world each day. Perhaps in this age of rising addiction it is said more than any other prayer, even the Lord’s Prayer… so what is it and why is it so powerful?

The Serenity Prayer was written by the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr(1892–1971) and reads as follows:

God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as a pathway to peace. Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it. Trusting that You will make all things right, if I surrender to Your will. So that I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen.

The first part of the Serentiy Prayer has been widely used by Alcoholics Anonymous since 1941 and today is also said in other 12-step recovery programs. The Serenity Prayer obviously resonates with all who struggle with one form of addiction or another and who are looking to God to get their lives back on track.

The Serenity Prayer

Overcoming an addiction is not easy. It doesn’t matter what it is that has you in bondage, whether drugs, alchohol, pornography, gambling or something else. Each addict has their own ‘drug of choice’ that they use to self-medicate against the pain, depression, or whatever turmoil is taking place in their lives.

Breaking free takes a process of recovery and can also take a group of people around you who’ve been through the same challenges and overcome them. That’s why recovery programs are so helpful and of course prayer is a vital part of the process. When you are dependent on anything other than God you don’t have peace. And that is what serenity is… As the dictionary defines it… it is “the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled.”

So it’s really helpful to pray for serenity. And, attending a support group will help addicts in their journey to freedom. However the serenity prayer is only an initial step… What you really need is to have an encounter with the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.

He said that we would have trouble in this world, but that we should be encouraged by the fact that He has overcome the world. (John 16:33). He is the great deliverer. He came to set the captives free. And in John 8:36 we read… “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.“

As you pray the serenity prayer, stand in faith for God to deliver you from whatever addiction or challenge is facing you. Believe that He will take away every fear or anxiety that is plaguing you and give you His peace that passes all understanding.

The serenity prayer is so powerful because it helps us come to terms with the situation we face, the fact that we are reliant on something that is harmful to us, and challenges us to find a way to rectify that. It gives us the hope that God can work all things together for good, like only He can.

It also gives us hope to find forgiveness for the things that we have done wrong, that keep us bound in shame and a cycle of addiction. It’s a beautiful, God-inspred prayer that undoubtedly helps many people to find freedom.

And that’s God’s will for you. To walk in complete freedom. So pray it with faith that God will come through for you and your family.

Plus, here are 5 Steps to Help You Break the Chains of Addiction

April 8, 2019 0 comment