When God stirred John Baker’s heart to go to Pastor Rick Warren to start a group for their church to help those who were struggling with alcoholism, Celebrate Recovery was born. And God has been leading this ministry ever since.

After a while of so many people coming to them for help, it became a tremendous burden for Pastor John & Cheryl to lead Celebrate Recovery by themselves. Reminds me of Moses trying to lead the stubborn sinful Israelites while wandering in the desert. Moses was trying to do it alone too.

So like Moses, Pastor John, started delegating. He asked for wisdom from God while looking for people with sobriety, with humility, honesty, God-honoring people.

Moses wasn’t perfect. He made mistakes. And Pastor John will tell you he isn’t perfect either. In fact, we have a saying in CR, no perfect people allowed.

When Moses sent out 12 spies to the Promised Land to see where they should enter, 10 of the spies came back concluding that the land wasn’t worth the obstacles. They were filled with fear and became skeptics. The negative opinion of 10 men caused a great rebellion amongst the people.

People love to accept opinion as fact. We must be careful about spreading our negative opinions as what we say may heavily influence the actions of those who trust us to give sound advice.

BUT there were 2 spies that had a different spirit and followed God wholeheartedly, Caleb & Joshua! Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it!” Numbers 13:30

The other 10 men said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are. All the people we saw there are 7-9 ft. tall! We are like grasshoppers to them. They have fortified cities with walls 20 ft. thick and 25 ft. tall.” This struck fear into the hearts of the people and they stopped trusting God.

Caleb and Joshua encouraged the people to act on God’s promise and move ahead into the land.  Caleb and Joshua followed God with all their hearts and were rewarded for their obedience.

Today, the Celebrate Recovery National Team and CR leaders all over the world have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and ask forgiveness for our sins. We read and follow God commands in the Bible. And we are committed whole heartedly to stick with God no matter what happens in this world crisis.  

God is sovereign and He will keep His promises. Whether we are resisting temptation or battling fear in these uncertain times, God has promised to fight with us and for us as we obey Him.

Moses told the people, “Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time.” Deuteronomy 4:39-40

We are in a world crisis like we never have been in before in our lifetime. Jesus assured us trials are going to happen while on earth. But we can avoid the misery that directly results when we go back into our unhealthy hurts, hang-ups and habits.

We know that God has a great treasure awaiting us in Heaven.

Keep pressing on for the sake of Christ, fellow soldiers.

Yesterday we went down the mountain to Colorado Springs to see if we could find some cupcakes to take to our granddaughter for her 9th birthday. We had one hour before a Zoom call scheduled with our Celebrate Recovery National Team. So we decided to go in Costco and get a few more things. We pulled up in the parking lot at 9:00. Costco opens at 10. There were 2 long lines of people with shopping carts wrapped opposite ways around the building.  We got in line. They opened the doors early with employees directing the traffic calmly into the building.

Everyone was quiet. Everybody was on a mission. We saw a friend and prayed for them silently. I was so thankful for the way people acted in Costco. The toilet paper shopping cart line formed from the back of the store going back towards the check out lines. Nobody got angry as the employees allowed one case of toilet paper and two cases of water for each person. 

I was reading in I Corinthians 10 this morning about the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years was written down for us as a warning to follow God and not grumble like the Israelites. They didn’t have toilet paper or bottled water! Fast forward to the Corinthians’ culture that was filled with moral depravity. Paul gave the Corinthians strong encouragement about temptation in verse 13.

Fast forward again to today.  The news shows so much anger and turmoil going on. Many people are grumbling, what are we going to do? We can’t survive without going to the church on Sunday morning! We can’t make it without our Celebrate Recovery meeting!

Paul said in I Cor. 10:13:

1.  Wrong desires and temptations happen to everyone, so don’t feel singled out.

2.  Others have resisted temptation and so can you.

3.  Any temptation can be resisted because God will help you resist it.

God helps us:  

a.  Recognize those people and situations that give us trouble.

b.  Run away from anything we know is wrong.  

c.  Choose to do what is right.

Pursue God’s people for encouragement, support and strength.  The church is not in the building. The church is God’s people!  Talk to your Accountability Partners, Sponsor and Mentors all throughout these weeks we are asked to practice social distancing. 

Instead of grumbling about what we don’t get to do, there are positive things we can do.

Paul’s charge to Timothy in I Timothy 6:11 says, “But you, man of God, flee from all this (he just said in the previous verses to stay away from people who just want to argue) and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith.  Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

Paul uses active and forceful verbs to describe the Christian life:  flee, pursue, fight, take hold. Let’s have active faith.  Let’s obey God and follow Him with courage.  

Now is the time for us to be strong in the Lord and give others hope. 

We all have more time right now to get into God’s Word while we are home. Fill your mind with praise and worship music. Saddleback worship has created a Songs of Hope Spotify playlist that will remind you of the hope we have in Jesus.

Let us not complain about all the things we are having to give up during this pandemic while people all over the world are suffering. Let’s practice the compassion of Jesus.  Be creative in ways you can help in your community. Seek out the elderly to help shop for them for their groceries. 

Let’s have a plan and a purpose during this pandemic.

We already have the prize of an eternal inheritance!

Now is the time to share the peace that passes all understanding.

I read this morning: This resurrection life I received from God is not a timid, fearful life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him!  Romans 8:15

This photo popped up in my photo memories of Josh and Rex, our son-in-law and youngest grandson. Makes me smile thinking of our Father who loves us even more than we love our children and grandchildren.  Little Rex has no idea what’s going on in our world today. But his father is watching over him and his family. His father will protect them and give them what they need.

Little Rex may not get everything he wants. In fact, yesterday, Cherry, his mama discovered he somehow ordered 4 kid movies off her iPad. He doesn’t get to keep those as his parents know better than he does what he needs.

Our Father is right here with us. He knows what we need. We will keep following Him through this until we get to the other side.

Another thought, this photo reminds me of is those who are strong in the faith. They are the tall one in the picture. If you are older in the faith, you have others who are looking to you, those that are new babies in Christ. They need your encouragement, your prayers and to see your faith in action in the Father!

We are not hiding in fear.

We are not sitting in front of the TV all day.

We do check the news in the morning to be informed as things are changing rapidly.

We are praying.

We are listening to praise and worship music.

We are building our immune systems up.

We are going outside to exercise in fresh air and sunshine.

We are writing down Bible verses on 3×5 cards.

Every time a worry thought comes to mind, we replace it with God’s promises.

We are finding ways to connect with people to listen to their hearts and encourage them.

We are remembering times in the past where God has been good to us. We are adding to our gratitude list.

We pray God’s light and hope will be seen in us and more will come to know Him through this dark time.

 “I want to report to you, friends, that my imprisonment here has had the opposite of its intended effect. Instead of being squelched, the message has actually prospered.” Philip. 1:12

Only God knows the full extent of what’s going on today. He is allowing it for some reason. Here’s what we do know:

“We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance!”

One of our grandsons was singing in the car, Clear Eyes, Full Heart. Can’t Lose. I smiled as he sang it with conviction. It reminded me of a journal entry I wrote on January 1, 2020.

It’s so good for me to go back and reflect on what I’ve written in the past. This week I started going back through my journal from 4 years ago during my concussion recovery reading my entries.

It is faith-building for me to remember where I was and how God brought me through that hard time. 

Psalm 90:12, “Teach me to realize the brevity of life, so that I may grow in wisdom.” I wrote that verse down on Day 7 after my car accident. During that time I had to lay in the dark; motionless for weeks, I kept praying for God to heal me. 

Then the next day I would wake up in the same crisis.  I didn’t give up though. When fear would try to take charge of my mind, sometimes all I could do was say over and over to myself, God is good. God is good. 

As I went back to look at Psalm 90 this morning, verse 4 jumped out at me: “Indeed, in your sight a thousand years are like a single day, like yesterday-already past- like an hour in the night.”  God sees time in a different way than we can even fathom. Since the creation of our world, God has always loved His people and ready to redeem anyone who comes to Him.  That is comforting to me knowing God is way bigger than what we are going through right now.  The Sovereign God who created all things is all powerful, all knowing and He will never leave us.

Our world has been hit in the face with the reality of how short life really is. Mac & I will make the most of each day asking ourselves:  What small step can I take today that will make an eternal difference?

“May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us—–yes, establish the work of our hands.” Psalm 90:17

God is with us. God is for us. God is good.

After a car accident 4 years ago, I was in recovery from a double concussion. I recall the verse; I am wonderfully made by God! Our bodies can actually heal, amazingly in time, when we take care of them.

At one of my doctor visits, a physiotherapist showed me a model of the brain and how it’s not just one piece. The skull is actually several different sections that fit together like a puzzle. It’s fascinating!

The concussion caused parts of my skull to shift which was causing bad headaches.  The doctor gently moved part of my skull at each visit. Each time he did the adjustment, I would go home and sleep for hours. My brain was tired from the adjustment. It took time for my brain to accept the correct position. But it did happen.

For the next week, Mac & I are going to slow down and stay home. It takes unknowing sick people to keep going around in public for the virus to keep multiplying.  I know it’s going to be hard for people to stay home but it makes sense to do this.

We are going to connect over the phone with our sponsees, sponsors and accountability partners.

We are NOT going to be constantly watching the news.

We are going to watch worship services online.

We are going to add to our gratitude journal.

We are going to stay in prayer asking for God’s wisdom and to heal the sick.

We are going to rest in God’s presence that He is in control. 

We will reassess in a week.

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14 NIV

As I think of Valentine’s Day coming up, people have said to us, 

“You are so lucky to have such a great marriage.”  

There is no luck involved. It didn’t happen by chance. 

We’ve weathered many storms. 

We’ve summited mountains.

We’ve walked through the valley of the shadow of death. 

We try to see each other through God’s lens. 

We are a work in progress until Jesus returns.

No matter how much we’re committed to loving one another, we aren’t first in each other’s lives…God is our first love. And because of that, we are better together.  

Whether you are single or married, God has you written on His heart.

Valentine’s Day, and every other day of the year for that matter, it’s not about us. It’s about loving people into the Kingdom of God.

It had been snowing all day and our driveway was getting a little icy. I decided I could make it to my violin lesson. Driving out of the national forest, a man in a truck pulling a camper came around the corner. We both put on our brakes as we slid towards one another. The man decided to run into the snow embankment instead of plowing into my car!

I watched him spin his tires trying to get out of the ditch. I got out of the car telling him we lived not too far down the road and I could get my husband to help pull him out. He was grateful saying his 4wheel drive wasn’t working. I couldn’t turn my car around as the snow berm was high on both sides of the narrow road.

I tried to back down to our house but there was the steep hill that caused my car to hit a tree 3 years ago and give me a concussion. So, I decided to abandon my car and walk home to get Mac.

As I walked down the hill, I remembered the picture I saw earlier that morning from a friend who shot a mountain lion that looked like a prehistoric mammoth a few days before. They had seen his tracks near our property! So, I’m thinking as I’m walking home, I don’t have my gun with me. And I probably look like a tasty appetizer for a mountain lion out here all alone.

I started singing and clapping to make noise that I wasn’t scared! When I got to our driveway, I started hollering Mac’s name. Mac heard me shouting, threw all his tools down, as he was building the horse fences, and headed in his truck to find me. When he saw me walking down the driveway the look of fear came over his face. He thought I had another car accident.  I told him everything was ok, he just needed to help a man out of the ditch.

Next day Mac was leaving the house and saw my footprints on the hill from the day before. I laughed seeing this picture. I was walking so careful not to slip on the ice on one side and not get too far over on the other side and sink in the deep snow. I placed one foot in front of the other to make it home without sliding or rolling down the hill. HA!

And I’m hoping to never see a mammoth mountain lion except in the zoo.

I go to Vanguard Skin Specialist yearly for a skin check as I’ve had a basal cell carcinoma years ago. For many years my check-ups have been clear. I thought maybe I will just cancel the appointment this year.  Then Mac, who never goes to the doctor, was told by the dermatologist he needed to get a skin checkup. Surprise, surprise, Mac said, “I think I will go.”  So, I decided to go with him and make my appointment too.

Emily found a suspicious place in my scalp, a place I would never see hidden in my hair! The biopsy was sent to the lab. I’m usually the ultimate optimist and told Mac, “It’s going to be nothing.” 

A week later I got the call saying its basal cell carcinoma and I need to schedule surgery to have it removed. After Dr. Chung removes the cancer, I wait in chair for 45 minutes for the lab to look under a microscope to make sure all the margins are clear.

I’m reading a book and enjoying resting in the chair to hear the verdict. Dr. Chung comes back in and says, “I’m sorry, we have to cut more to get the margins clear.”  So here we go again. This time for another 45-minute wait, I’m not relaxing reading a book.  Instead I’m praying and taking deep breaths.

Dr. Chung comes in again and says, “Good news, we got it all!” I’m taken to another room for the MOHS surgeon, Dr. Archibald to sew me back up. I ask if Mac could come in to be with me.

Mac is sitting in a chair across from me.  I see a troubled look on his face even though he is smiling at me trying to comfort me. He was worried how I would react when I would see myself in the mirror after the doctor shaved part of my hair off to stitch me back up. He didn’t tell me until we were in the car that the hole on the side of my head looks like about 2 inches in diameter.

I was so thankful as it could’ve been worse if I had not gone in for my annual check-up thinking I could self-diagnose. Today may hair is growing back.  The scar has healed and looks amazingly good.

This lesson reminded me of being in recovery. Sometimes we think we can do life alone and self-diagnose while living in denial. We absolutely need mentors, a sponsor and accountability partners as a part of our recovery teams. They help challenge us and support us.

Your recovery team will walk by your side on your life journey. People who will tell you the truth even if it hurts when it’s uncomfortable. People who will listen to your heart. People who will celebrate with you in your victories!

Lessons learned: 

Go to annual check-ups.

Dig in God’s Word daily to know God better.

Check-in with your recovery team weekly to know yourself better.

“Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.”  Proverbs 1:5 NIV

Before Mac & I were in recovery, I started learning how to play the violin while listening to our daughters at their violin lessons. They starting playing at 3 years old. I began picking out songs to play bluegrass music with my dad. It gave me something positive to do during those difficult pre-recovery years.

Then when Mac & I started working on our recovery, my violin went to the wayside as I had important things to focus on.  It was always in the back in my mind, though, that I would pick my violin back up one day. Those recovery years have flown by!

30 years later, I started taking lessons. Within in a few months I had a car accident and got a double concussion. I wasn’t able to play for 2 years.  I started back playing again January 2019. Then I had a ski accident that February. That put me back down again for a bit.

But I’ve been determined to not stop learning. I know it’s good for the brain to learn new things as we get older. And this has been so much fun for me.

While we were playing music at the Christmas Eve service and hearing the harmony we were creating, I started to get choked up with tears.  My heart was so happy to be a part of this service.