The #1 Recovery Weapon Everyone Needs Ep.13

Sarah Annie Schneider: you the Addicted to God podcast. I'm your host, Sarah Schneider, and I'm addicted to God. The Addicted to God podcast is a safe biblical space where hurting people learn to transfer their addictions, whether it's from substances, approval, relationships, pain, success, or anything else, into a life-giving addiction to God Himself. It's for anyone who knows that something has to change. If you're stuck in cycles that are stealing your peace, relationships or future, And you sense God is the only real answer? Through honest conversation, scripture-centered teaching, and real stories, we will help you break free and pursue God with the same desperation that you once chased something else. I'm sincerely glad you're here. So welcome, and let's get addicted to God together. Today I want to share one of the most powerful tools that I have used for over a decade while mentoring women in our local jail. That resource is called The Life Recovery Bible by Tyndale Publishing. I want to disclose that this is not a paid sponsorship. I have no benefit in giving this resource an entire episode, but I want to talk about it because I've seen it change countless lives. I've been using this Bible in jail ministries as one of my primary resources to help guide women into scriptural truth. This Bible is a true gem in the recovery space. I hope this episode gets shared far and wide and this Bible sends sales skyrocketing. It's that good! I wish I could personally thank its creators, Dr. Steve Arterburn and Dr. David Stoop, who are the two men who created and edited the Life Recovery Bible. I want to extend my condolences to the Stoop family for your loss of Dr. David in 2021. If someone has passed this podcast on to you, please know his legacy has changed many lives, including mine. I love this Bible so much and for many reasons. I'll start by giving you my six top reasons why this Bible is a true asset for anyone seeking victory over their worldly strongholds and looking to find freedom in the one and only healthy addiction. And you know, that's God. So, my first reason for loving this Bible is that it was written specifically for people who are new to scripture. And it's also good for Bible addicts like me. It's available in the New Living Translation Version, the NLT. which means it's written in the most comprehensible format. I'll talk about Bible versions in a different podcast on a different day, but the NLT version is easy to read and understand when the Bible feels overwhelming for new readers specifically. My second reason I love this Bible is because it's available in soft cover, which is the only type of book allowed in jails and prisons. Which leads me to my third reason, means paperback Bibles are not that expensive. I actually splurged and bought myself a leather cover one because I wore out my paperback versions really fast. All that to say, my life recovery Bible is well used. I practice what I preach. The famous theologian Charles Spurgeon coined the phrase, and I love this phrase, a Bible that's falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn't. There's so much truth and power in this quote. I take that to heart when I look at some of my pretty tethered Bibles. The fourth reason I love the Life Recovery Bible is because the Bible footnotes at the bottom of every page explain the passages that you just read. What is unique though about these footnotes compared to other study Bibles is that they put in context for people in recovery or anyone who's seeking to develop new habits or disciplines in God's Word. It's relevant to someone who's trying to process how God's Word applies to everyday life and specifically how to apply it when you're seeking to overcome strongholds, bondage, idols, all the things we've talked about on previous podcasts. And then my fifth reason for loving this Life Recovery Bible is that there are three devotional reading plans in it. One is built on the 12 steps that most people in recovery are familiar with. And this Bible takes those 12 steps and connects them to Scripture. It's so good. It contains 84 Bible-based devotionals for 84 days in this 12-step version. And then The next reading plan is the Recovery Principle Devotion. This one has 56 devotionals or 56 days of learning principles that are important in the recovery process. And then last is the Serenity Prayer Devotional Reading Plan. And that is made up of 29 devotionals or 29 days related to the famous Serenity Prayer. In total, if you do the math, and I had to, that's 169 days in God's Word if you do them every day and follow its path. And if you repeat these Bible reading plans twice, that's almost reading the Bible day by day for an entire year. This is an excellent way to get introduced to God's Word and learn how it applies to your life and recovery. One of the barriers women face, men face, when they're first opening up the Bible is, I don't know what to read. And after you read something, I don't know what to read next. That's what's so beautiful about these reading plans. It guides you through scripture. And not only does it give you application and explain what you're reading, but it provides a path to reading it. You don't have to wake up every day wondering where you're going to go in your Bible. It's already there for you. It's so powerful. I just really want to emphasize that. And then sixth, The sixth reason I love this Bible is because it is written so powerfully. And the only way for me to truly explain is for me to read a small portion of the preface within it for you to see a small glimpse of what I'm talking about. So, bear with me. I quote, the Bible is the greatest book on recovery ever written. In its pages, we see God set out a plan for the recovery of His broken people and creation. We meet numerous individuals whose hurting lives are restored through the wisdom and power of God. We meet the God who is waiting with arms outstretched for all of us to turn back to Him, seek His will, and recover the wonderful life that He has for each of us. Many of us are just waking up to the fact that recovery is an essential part of life for everyone. It is the simple but challenging process of daily seeking God's will for our life instead of demanding to go our own way. Recovery is letting God do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. While also taking the steps necessary to draw closer to our Creator and Redeemer, is allowing God to heal our wounded souls. so we can help others in the process of healing. All of us need to take part in this process. It's an inerrant part of being human. Let us set out on the journey toward healing and newfound strength. Not strength found within ourselves, but strength found through trusting God and allowing Him to direct our decisions and plans. This journey will take us through the 12 steps and other materials designed to help us focus on the provisions our powerful God offers for recovery. The Life Recovery Bible will enrich your experience and expand your understanding of the God who loves us and who sent his Son to die that we may be made whole. Without God, there is no recovery, only disappointing substitutions and repeated failure." Wow. Honestly, friends. Everything I am trying to encapsulate in the Addicted to God message is perfectly articulated here. And that's just the intro to the preface and that Bible. Once you get this amazing Bible in your hands, don't rob yourself of the outstanding introductory pages. It is loaded with inspiration, foundational truth, and incredible insights into the journey you are about to embark on. Are you intrigued? I hope so. So now I want to share a couple of tips that maybe you can apply to benchmark your success as you begin your Addicted to God journey. The first thing I want you to do is create a milestone list. A milestone list is a list of milestones or victories that you are experiencing as you read God's Word and as you start to apply it to your life. When I do this with women who are incarcerated, You would assume it would be easy since they're not able to use or drink. But this was the training ground for them to develop the skills and disciplines that they needed after release. The milestones list for them would list things like, I read my Bible five out of six days this past week. I didn't lose my temper when my cellmate took my snacks. Or when all the girls were bragging about how many drugs they've used or how many men they've slept with. I stayed in my cube. I read my And when I heard people gossiping about other girls, I told them to knock it off. You see, just because you're in jail doesn't mean you aren't facing trials and temptations. So I would follow up after celebrating this incredible list and ask them the question, how do you see God at work in your cell or in your life this week? And they would tell me things like, I didn't swear one time. Or the guard said he was going to recommend me for a cleaning job so I can earn a little money to buy stamps and send letters to my kids. As many little wins that I got to see, what my motive was, was to help them not only see God working in their lives by seeking after him and growing in his word, but to have these disciplines once they were out and they were facing those real temptations that would crash at them like waves. I learned from some of them, that the first year in recovery is a year of firsts and there are so many milestones to celebrate, but a lot of temptations as well. Things like my birthday party, Christmas with the family of drinkers, New Year's Eve when everyone else is clanging champagne glasses at midnight, golfing when they provide two free drink tickets, or girls night out. And you can document those milestones all sober. Other milestones or triggers are included being sober doing yard work, sitting by a bonfire, or they poured out the rest of that bottle that they'd been hiding or even changed their phone number to leave that old life behind them and all the bad influences that come with it. These are big deals, really big deals. I didn't have to come up with them. They did it on their own. And you can too. We all face life events. that are triggers for old habits. And it's really easy to fall back into old habits. When we start setting strong boundaries and intentionally reframing our focus on what would please God instead of pleasing people, we can do this together. A lot of women would immediately seek out a recovery group to help them and to find others who are on a similar journey, just as you might be doing as you listen to these podcasts. One of the girls who would regularly attend church with me told me that one of her hardest milestones was achieving the sobriety milestones. She always asked me to pray for her when she would celebrate her 30th, 60th, 90th, or any consecutive day that she would earn that next chip. She said that you live one day at a time in recovery and you set your goals to reach those next milestones. And once you do, the next one seems so far. She said that many people quote, fall off the wagon around these celebratory achievements because the only way they know how to celebrate anything is getting drunk or using. the poll is real, even when you are doing good towards those milestones. But we have to have that honest conversation. So let me ask you, what are you going to do when you get to your sixth month or one year? Let's talk about ways that would honor God for the strength He provided and the perseverance that you achieved. These women would come up with things like, I would crank up worship music and sing to God and I don't care if people are with me or not. Or they'd say, I'm going to go to church and just pray and thank God for another day of sobriety. Or I'll just open my Bible and read more and journal how I feel and celebrate with God. what a big deal this is because I know he's proud of me more than anyone. So friends, what will you do to replace whatever's holding you back from enjoying God's best for you? How are you seeing God show up in your life as you make great progress? When I asked that question for these ladies, I heard things like, I talked to my kids for the first time in years and they wanna see me again. Or I broke up with my boyfriend and I told him I just knew God had someone better for me, not an abuser, not someone who kept dragging me down. Or I got a job, I found an apartment, I was accepted into the treatment program that I'd been applying to. Or more physical things like I sleep better, I feel better, and my kids notice that I'm nicer. It's all powerful. And if you're listening and feeling like you're not there, I am the person to tell you, you can do it too. These practices, combined with the help provided through the Life Recovery Bible and God Himself, is not just for people who have substance abuse disorders either. I've used it to get my sugar addiction under control, and my milestone list included things like, I resisted donuts in the break room, I passed the candy dish without taking my favorite candy, or I declined dessert at the restaurant when it was offered. I've also seen people use it to keep their minds off their sexual and porn addictions, gambling, eating disorders, gaming, and even shopping. It's a great tool. It's a powerful book. And we have a loving God who will meet you in your fight. So friends, this is not the end of your story. It is the beginning of your rescue. I am truly thrilled to have you on this Addicted to God journey. Learning to trade every harmful addiction for the one and only true addiction that satisfies, and that is God, Jesus Christ and His living Word. If today's episode stirred something in you, would you share it with someone who feels stuck or hopeless? You never know how God might use it to spark freedom in their life. And I'd love to stay connected to you. Check me out on Instagram or on YouTube, Sarah Annie Schneider, Add Addicted to God, and subscribe while you're there. On Facebook, you can find God Girlfriends as a page and my blog is godlygirlfriends.com. If you're listening on Apple or Spotify, would you just take a few seconds to leave a review or a rating? It helps this message reach more people who need hope. I'm starting to get guest interviews. If your life has been genuinely transformed by Jesus, if you've experienced what it means to transfer your addiction to him, I sure would love to hear your story. email me at theaddictatogodpod at gmail.com. As we come to a close, please remember you are not defined by your past or your struggles. And when you transfer your addiction to God, He becomes your one and only healthy addiction. So I pray that this week you will fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith. So we'll see you next week, friends. God bless you and thank you for following and listening.