12 Step Journey – Page 11 – REACHING HURTING WOMEN MINISTRIES

For the last seven years God has allowed me to share my recovery journey with you. I’m very grateful and have learned a lot. Now it’s time to share the new direction God is taking me.

A few years ago I began learning about Christian Mysticism. Then in 2011 I was introduced to Benedictine spirituality, which is is derived from The Rule of Benedict written by St. Benedict of Nursia for the monks in his monastery over 1500 years ago. Known as the founder of Western monasticism, St. Benedict and his rule have had a tremendous impact on the Christian church. Surprisingly, the rule provides extraordinary insight into today’s major spiritual issues. Once I began studying it I knew I was home.

Since studying monastic spirituality I’ve been led to become a Benedictine Oblate. Oblates are ordinary people who dedicate their lives to God like monks. But rather than taking vows and living behind the wall of a monastery, Oblates make spiritual commitments that are lived outside the wall. I’m excited to share the things I’m learning with you this upcoming year. I hope you’ll tag along as my spiritual journey continues to unfold… Blessings!

Here is the Reaching Hurting Women monthly schedule for 2014:

First Wednesday: The 12 Steps of Humility
What I am most excited about this year is my focus on the topic of Humility. Each month we are going to learn one of the 12 Steps of Humility from St. Benedict. I think you will be amazed at how they line up with the recovery steps and principles.

Second Wednesday: A Monk in the World
In this column we will learn how to implement monastic spiritual practices into our daily life, enhancing our Christian walk with Benedictine principles.

Third Wednesday: The Twelve Principles
This year we are going to take a different turn on our 12 Step journey. My recovery columns for 2014 will focus on the Principles behind the 12 Steps rather than the Steps themselves. This will add a new dimension to our recovery study and growth process.

Fourth Wednesday: Books Reviews
As I have these last few years, each month I will continue to publish a Book Review. Again the topics will focus on Humility, Christian mysticism or monastic spirituality.

During Lent 2013 I studied about St. Hildegard of Bingen.
She was an incredible woman far ahead of her time. Among her many accomplishments, St. Hildegard is credited for composing the first Western opera. I’d like to share her beautiful music with you. If you can’t see the screen below CLICK HERE. Enjoy…

PHOTO CREDIT: ryanking999 / 123RF Stock Photo

IN THE ROAD TO RECOVERY COLUMN WE ARE WORKING THE EIGHT PRINCIPLES OF CELEBRATE RECOVERY THAT ARE BASED ON THE BEATITUDES, ALONG WITH THE TRADITIONAL 12 STEPS OF RECOVERY AS THEY ALIGN WITH THE YEARLY CALENDAR.

Step 12: Having had a spiritual experience as the result of these steps, we try to carry this message to others and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. ~ Philippians 4:8-9

Principle 8 (Celebrate Recovery): Yield myself to God to be used to bring this Good News to others, both by my example and by my words.

Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires. ~ Matthew 5:10

The Twelfth Step is not a graduation into a life free of addiction. Times of temptation are sure to come, but that is our opportunity to practice what we’ve learned from The Steps and hopefully show others we have changed.

Staying mindful of our recovery walk daily. One thing that has helped me consistently over the years is reading the Life Recovery Devotional. It has 30 readings on each of the 12 Steps which makes it perfect for the entire year. I start with Step 1 in January and follow each step with the calendar month.

We must find a way to share our story. We can’t waste the lessons we have learned. We must be sensitive to when, where and how the Holy Spirit nudges us and share our message of healing.

Fellowship with healthy believers is critical. We need friends who love us enough to be honest with us and call us out when necessary. Most importantly we need to keep God a priority so we will stay on the right path.

If you can’t see the video screen below Click Here for our Road to Recovery theme song.