From nacrmed at nacronline.com Mon Dec 1 03:00:01 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 1 Dec 2008 08:00:01 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Monday, Dec 1, 2008 Message-ID: <20081201080001.29543.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Monday, Dec 1, 2008 ************************************************************ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.Philippians 4:6 We can hang on to our attempts to control ourselves and others and stay anxious. Or we can let go and let God. We are anxious because we think we have to take care of everything and everybody. We are anxious because we believe we cannot be happy unless we can control the people we love. We are anxious because life's problems are more than we can handle, but we try to handle them on our own anyway. God invites us to give up our anxious way of life. We do not have to take care of everything and everybody. We can, instead, let God take care of us. We can bring our anxious hearts and our long lists of concerns to God. Responding to this invitation requires a great deal of us. It requires that we acknowledge that we cannot do what we have been trying to do. We are powerless. It requires that we turn to God. It requires that we release our control, our anxiety, our very lives into God's care. God invites us to serenity. "Give up your anxiety," God says "bring the concerns of your heart to me." I am anxious, Lord. And I feel guilty about feeling anxious. And I feel anxious about feeling guilty. And I feel anxious about feeling guilty about feeling anxious. Help! I am overwhelmed by all I am trying to do. I need your invitation to serenity. I bring you my requests today, Lord. I bring them to you. I admit that I do not have the power to solve these problems. I acknowledge that you are Powerful. I ask you to take care of me today. Amen. Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! To order call our office at 714-529-6227 or order online at http://www.nacronline.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=1 ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Tue Dec 2 03:00:01 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 2 Dec 2008 08:00:01 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Tuesday, Dec 2, 2008 Message-ID: <20081202080001.97558.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Tuesday, Dec 2, 2008 ************************************************************ The Lord Jesus on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me. "1 Corinthians 11:24 People in the recovery process are people with painful memories. We remember our losses. We remember our sins. We remember the sins which have been committed against us. It is part of the hard work of recovery to face these memories, to grieve them and to come to terms with them. But sometimes the painful memories become so powerful that it seems like nothing will be able to compete with them for our attention. The memory of pain consumes us. In times like this we need a powerful new memory that can challenge the dominance of our painful memories. Jesus invites us to receive a new and startling memory. "Remember me," Jesus says, "Eat the bread and drink the wine and remember that I gave my life for you. I gave my life because I love you. Take this new memory. Allow it to shape the way you think about yourself and about life and about me. Allow yourself to remember me." It is not that the memory of Jesus' sacrificial love erases all of our painful memories. Painful memories still have to be faced and grieved if healing is to come. But God offers us in Jesus a memory powerful enough to compete with the most powerful of painful memories. The death-grip which painful memories have on our attention can be broken by the powerful memory of God's love. Help me to remember you, Lord. Help me to find a place in my mind and heart for the memory of your love for me. I want the memory of your love, Lord, to be the most powerful of my memories. I want it to be The Memory that shapes me. Help me to remember you. Amen. Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! To order call our office at 714-529-6227 or order online at http://www.nacronline.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=1 ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Wed Dec 3 03:00:01 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 3 Dec 2008 08:00:01 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Wednesday, Dec 3, 2008 Message-ID: <20081203080001.67202.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Wednesday, Dec 3, 2008 ************************************************************ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us.1 John 1:8-9 Few people will be so overt as to say 'I am without sin'. Self-deceit is rarely that obvious. It often comes masked in socially acceptable and socially rewarded forms of behavior. Perfectionism, for example, is a common expression of self deceit. We try very hard to look good. Sometimes we work so hard to look perfect, ('without sin'), that we nearly convince ourselves that it's true. Then, in the moments when we suddenly remember our human condition, we feel shame and self-contempt. And this often makes us want to work even harder to cover over reality with more layers of self deceit. But self-deceit will never lead to change and growth. Only honesty can bring change. Recovery begins as we face our failures, our wrong-doing, and our self-destructive choices. For people like us, who have tried very, very hard to be very, very good, facing reality can be painful work. The courage to pursue taking an honest inventory of our lives is not possible without some source of compassion and forgiveness that can replace our shame and self contempt. The good news is that God is compassionate and forgiving. God freely, joyfully, completely pardons. Because of this hope, we can look honestly at ourselves. Because we can turn to God and find mercy and pardon, we can make a fearless inventory of our lives. Dear God, I have tried hard. I have tried harder. I have tried my hardest. But it has only led to self-deceit. Help me, God, I need you. I need your compassion to overpower my self contempt. I need your forgiveness to overpower my self condemnation. Rid me of self-deceit, God. And build in me a capacity for honesty. Not so that I can be perfect, but so that I can genuinely change. And, so that I can rejoice in your love for me. Amen Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! To order call our office at 714-529-6227 or order online at http://www.nacronline.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=1 ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Thu Dec 4 03:00:01 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 4 Dec 2008 08:00:01 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Thursday, Dec 4, 2008 Message-ID: <20081204080001.44878.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Thursday, Dec 4, 2008 ************************************************************ "So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled" 1 Thessalonians 5:6 The first step toward honesty is to pay attention. In the words of this text, the choices we face are either to sleep or to be alert and self-controlled. There are days when we would rather 'sleep'. There are days when the emotional numbness of denial seems less painful then the alertness required by recovery. Couldn't we just 'let it ride' for a day? Couldn't we just 'sleep' for a while? Sometimes people encourage us to 'sleep'. "Why are you still paying attention to that? It was a long time ago!" Or "Why are you still 'holding on' to that? Just forgive and get it behind you." Wouldn't it be great to get this over with quickly and not have to pay attention to it anymore? There is a rest, a serenity, that comes from God. But it comes from 'alertness' not from 'sleep'. God's peace is not like the 'sleep' in this text. This sleep is denial, it is avoidance, it is distraction, it is pretending, it is death. Being alert means that we allow ourselves to see and hear, to use our senses and mind and heart. It means that we pay attention to what is happening inside of us and around us. The text urges us to be alert, to pay attention. Pay attention, it urges, even if life is painful, even if it is not what we want it to be. Lord, help me to pay attention today! Help me not to put my feelings to sleep. I want to be aware of my thoughts and feelings, Lord. I want to be able to experience both the pain and joy of life today. Help me to pay attention. Amen. Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! To order call our office at 714-529-6227 or order online at http://www.nacronline.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=1 ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Fri Dec 5 03:00:01 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 5 Dec 2008 08:00:01 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Friday, Dec 5, 2008 Message-ID: <20081205080001.8241.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Friday, Dec 5, 2008 ************************************************************ No more lying then. Everyone must tell the truth to his fellow believers because we are all members together in the body of Christ. Ephesians 4:25 Honesty is essential to recovery. Honesty is essential to intimacy. But honesty is not easy. We were not created to be isolated, independent creatures. We were created to be interdependent. We need each other. And in order for us to be helped by others and to be helpful to others, we need to practice honesty. That means we must learn how to talk to each other about our thoughts and our feelings and our needs. We must learn to talk about our struggles and failures, about our dreams and our successes. Honesty is the soil in which intimate relationships grow. It creates the possibility of being known and loved for who we really are. But it is also full of risks. If we tell the truth about ourselves, people may not listen. They may not want to know. They may not understand. They may judge and reject. They may dislike us. They may give us simple answers to unanswerable questions. They may repeat what we have said to others. We hesitate to be honest because we have experienced these things in the past. Our feelings may have been minimized. Our thoughts may have been devalued. Our reality may have been denied. But in order to grow healthy relationships, in order to heal and recover, we need to begin to take risks. Learning honesty will be a process for us. It will not come quickly. But as we practice the disciplines of honesty we gradually become more secure in telling the truth. I am tired of lying, when it would be just as easy to tell the truth. But I am afraid of honesty, Lord. It's not as easy as it sounds. Help me to pursue honesty today. Help me to be honest with you. Help me to be honest with myself. Help me to build a community of faith where honesty is the norm. Build in me a capacity for truth. Amen. Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! To order call our office at 714-529-6227 or order online at http://www.nacronline.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=1 ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Sat Dec 6 03:00:02 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 6 Dec 2008 08:00:02 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Saturday, Dec 6, 2008 Message-ID: <20081206080002.38218.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Saturday, Dec 6, 2008 ************************************************************ If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales. It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas - no wonder my words have been impetuous.Job 6:1-3 When we have lived for a long time by the 'don't talk' rule, learning to talk honestly and personally can be a real challenge. Our attempts to move away from self-deceit toward honest self-disclosure may be quite awkward. It's not reasonable to expect ourselves to be gifted at telling the truth when we have practiced deceit for so long. Sometimes our words will seem startling. We will feel our pain, find our voice, and the words and emotions will tumble out raw and uncensored. This text calls these 'impetuous' words. Another translation of this text calls them 'wild words'. It is not easy to break the silence, to talk about what is real, to tell the truth about what we see and hear, to share what we think and feel, to tell our stories. Breaking the silence is like breaking the sound barrier - sometimes it can be quite loud and it can rattle the walls a little. When our misery feels like it 'outweighs the sands of the sea,' our emotions are going to be intense and our words will sometimes be wild. Wild words are part of the journey and should not surprise us. Intense feelings sometimes need strong language in order to find true expression. Lord, I am not accustomed to talking. I am not gifted at honesty. I have practiced 'don't talk' for a long time. And now I need to practice honesty. Help me to be patient and accepting of my wild words. Even when the wild words frighten me. Help me to pursue the truth. Give me the courage I need. You, Lord, who created the worlds with a word, Give me the words I need. Amen. Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! To order call our office at 714-529-6227 or order online at http://www.nacronline.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=1 ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Sun Dec 7 03:00:01 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 7 Dec 2008 08:00:01 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Sunday, Dec 7, 2008 Message-ID: <20081207080001.90190.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Sunday, Dec 7, 2008 ************************************************************ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.James 5:16 Sometimes honest confession can seem astonishing, impossible, and dangerous. Because we have learned silence so well, we experience honesty as full of risk. After all, if we are honest, then other people will know what we think and feel. We will be exposed. The appearance of strength and competence we work so hard to cultivate will have to share the stage with our weaknesses, our failings, our sins. When we practice honesty as a daily discipline, however, something happens to us. The promise of this text begins gradually to grow in our lives. We begin to heal. It is not a dramatic, once-for-all-time, quick-fix kind of healing. Nor is it a private healing, a healing that happens only 'inside' our heads or in secret with God. Honesty leads to healing because people can now express their love for us in practical ways. Honesty leads to healing because we no longer have to pay the high tariffs that pretense demands. We heal because the experience of acceptance counteracts the contempt we so easily heap on ourselves. We heal because we are no longer alone. We heal because we are known and loved. Honesty is a discipline with a promise. We will be healed. Lord, give me the humility and the courage to practice confession today. Heal me as I do the work of honesty. Amen. Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! To order call our office at 714-529-6227 or order online at http://www.nacronline.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=1 ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Mon Dec 8 03:00:01 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 8 Dec 2008 08:00:01 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Monday, Dec 8, 2008 Message-ID: <20081208080001.60089.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Monday, Dec 8, 2008 ************************************************************ Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.Romans 12:15 We have many reasons, often what seem to be really good reasons, to be 'strong'. But if the bottom line of being 'strong' is to constrict the range of emotions which we allow ourselves to experience, what do we gain? We become people incapable of honestly experiencing the emotional realities of life. In this and many other ways we manage to avoid the clear biblical injunction to mourn with those who mourn. Our instincts are often to cheer other people up, to look on the bright side of things, to remind people of things they already know to be true. This text urges us to do the most basic of things. When it is time to mourn, we can mourn. We can also rejoice when it is time to rejoice. It might seem like it would be easier to rejoice together. But this is not necessarily true. People in recovery have often experienced so many disappointments and betrayals that we find it difficult to experience good things. When something good happens, we expect that bad things will be waiting right around the corner. Instead of rejoicing, our instincts are to protect ourselves from the possibility of the soon-to-follow danger. We do our best to 'stay calm' so that we won't be disappointed. But again, this text urges us to do the most basic of things. When it is time to rejoice, rejoice. The full range of life's emotions are to be experienced in community. As we share the most basic elements of life together, as we party together and hold each other in times of pain, we will become a fellowship distinguished by a capacity for honesty. I rejoice, Lord You do not tell me to calm down. You do not warn me about getting too excited. You encourage me to celebrate. 'Party together', you say. I mourn, Lord. You do not tell me to cheer up. You do not tell me to 'be strong'. You encourage me to experience the pain. 'Weep together' you say. Thank you. Thank you for welcoming the full range of human emotions. Thank you for joy and sorrow. Give me the courage to weep with others. Give me the freedom to rejoice with others. Amen Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! To order call our office at 714-529-6227 or order online at http://www.nacronline.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=1 ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Mon Dec 8 15:15:27 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 8 Dec 2008 20:15:27 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation Message-ID: <20081208201527.87521.qmail@delsi.pair.com> Dear friends, Once a year we ask people who receive the daily devotional from the National Association for Christian Recovery to consider making a financial contribution to make it possible for us to keep doing what we do. This is a particularly difficult time financially for the NACR. We are not immune to the current economic crisis. We are adapting. . . but those adaptations are going to leave us even more dependent on people like you for our survival. Please, consider making a gift of any size to help us develop the kinds of resources that you have already found to be helpful. You can make a donation on a credit card by going to: Just click the Add-to-Cart button, enter the amount you wish to donate and the rest is easy. Or you can send a check to NACR, P.O. Box 215, Brea, CA 92822 The National Association for Christian Recovery is a ministry of Christian Recovery International, a 501.c.3 non-profit corporation. All contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. May your roots sink deeply in the soil of God's love. Dale Ryan Executive Director =========================== Check out the new books in our online store: And be sure to check out the new videos on the web site: We would love to be able to make more resources like this available! From nacrmed at nacronline.com Tue Dec 9 03:00:01 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 9 Dec 2008 08:00:01 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Tuesday, Dec 9, 2008 Message-ID: <20081209080001.39601.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Tuesday, Dec 9, 2008 ************************************************************ A despairing man should have the devotion of his friends, even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.Job 6:14 At some point during the recovery process we re-examine our most fundamental beliefs. A long process of sorting, examining and questioning takes place. And, in that process, our relationship with God is challenged. It is possible that our relationship with God will deepen and strengthen in the process. But it is also possible that we will find ourselves pulling away from God. We may find ourselves angry with God, or afraid of God, or unable to believe in God at all. This can be a frightening experience. It can feel like the very foundations of life are being shaken. In times like this, we need many things. But at the top of the list is our need for friends who will accept us even if we turn away from God. We need friends who will not minimize our struggle or discount our feelings. We need people who will not be shocked when we are full of rage at God. We need friends who are able to hear the deep pain behind our words and who know that this, too, is part of our healing. We need people who can see beyond the immediate pain to the healing that can come. Even when we forsake the fear of God, we need friends who understand, who are committed to us for the long haul, and who plead with God on our behalf. Sometimes I feel agnostic, Lord, I just don't know anymore. Sometimes I want nothing to do with you. Where were you when I needed you the most? Sometimes I despair, Lord. Sometimes I can't seem to hope. I need friends who will not abandon me, Lord. I need friends who will be patient and grace-full with my anger and fear. I need friends who will stay with me as we wait for you to show yourself once again. I need friends, Lord, who will give me courage to hope again in you. Send help, Lord. Amen. Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Wed Dec 10 03:00:01 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 10 Dec 2008 08:00:01 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Wednesday, Dec 10, 2008 Message-ID: <20081210080001.18538.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Wednesday, Dec 10, 2008 ************************************************************ How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?Psalm 13:1-2 Sometimes our spiritual distress is centered on questions about God. Where is God? Why doesn't God help? At other times our spiritual distress is centered on questions about ourselves. What is wrong with me? How come I'm still struggling this much? Doubts about ourselves can be profoundly troubling. We wonder if our faith will survive the struggle. We wonder if our faith is strong enough. Often we feel like spiritual failures. The kind of spirituality we have been taught does not envision 'good' Christians as people who wrestle with their thoughts and are sad everyday. We think of 'good' Christians as people who trust God and manage to smile in the midst of any circumstances. When we can't manage to do this, we question and criticize ourselves. But wrestling with our thoughts and experiencing sorrow day after day is often a part of the recovery process. It is not a sign of failure to engage in this hard work. It is a sign of courage. And it is a sign that our faith is alive and struggling. People of real faith struggle in life. People of real faith are people who wrestle with thoughts and who feel sorrow in their heart. Lord, I get so tired of thought-wrestling. And I am so weary of heart-sorrow. How long, Lord? How long does this wrestling and sorrow go on? Help me, Lord, not to experience this struggle as spiritual failure. Help me to see this hard work as drawing me closer to you. Remind me today that you are with me in all of this. Remind me today that you understand. Amen. Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Thu Dec 11 03:00:01 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 11 Dec 2008 08:00:01 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Thursday, Dec 11, 2008 Message-ID: <20081211080001.59248.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Thursday, Dec 11, 2008 ************************************************************ How long, O Lord, must I call for help but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.Habakkuk 1:2-3,13 Where were you God? Where were you when I needed you? Didn't you see the violence? The abuse? The injustice? Didn't you care? There are times in recovery when we are full of questions about God. The pain of past trauma can be intensified when we begin to struggle with these hard questions about God. It is important to acknowledge that these questions about God are not academic questions. No theoretical explanation of the problem of pain will soothe our raging, confused hearts. These are urgent, personal questions about God and about God's involvement in our lives. We want to know that God sees and cares and intervenes in our lives. We need God. We need God's love. We need God's help. It is an important source of encouragement to know that we are not the first to ask these hard questions. There is clear biblical precedent for asking difficult questions about God. People of faith have always struggled with questions like these. We can take comfort and courage from knowing that the prophets also asked urgent questions similar to our own. God, I am afraid. I don't understand. Violence and abuse happen and you do not stop it. You seem absent. You seem uncaring. I need to know that you see and care. I am calling to you for help, God. Please hear me. Please respond. Amen. Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Fri Dec 12 03:00:01 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 12 Dec 2008 08:00:01 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Friday, Dec 12, 2008 Message-ID: <20081212080001.94366.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Friday, Dec 12, 2008 ************************************************************ O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.Psalm 63:1 When a young child is separated from her parents, she will protest their absence. She will experience sadness, anxiety, anger and a longing for her parents to return. These intense emotions are not a sign of her failure as a child. Her protest is a clear sign of how important her parents are to her, of how much she misses them, of how much she loves them. At certain developmental stages, it is a sign of emotional health for a child to protest separation. At certain ages a healthy child will protest, will be angry, will be afraid, and will long for the parents return. If one or both of our parents was in some way absent from our lives during our formative years, it will be easy for us to imagine that God will leave us as well. We may experience silence and distance. And we may find ourselves longing for God. Just as it is good for a child to protest the absence of a parent, it is good for us to protest when we subjectively experience God's absence. It is good to give voice to our longing for God. It is good to write or pray or talk about our deep need for God's presence and love. We can call out to God. We can protest God's absence. O God, do not be silent. Do not be distant. I miss you when you seem so far away. I long for you to be close. I long to know that you care about me. I long for you, God. Nothing can replace you. No one can be God but you. Do not be silent. Do not be distant. Come. Speak. I need you. Amen. Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Sat Dec 13 03:00:01 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 13 Dec 2008 08:00:01 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Saturday, Dec 13, 2008 Message-ID: <20081213080001.10759.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Saturday, Dec 13, 2008 ************************************************************ Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has born? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.Isaiah 49:15-16 We may experience abandonment from a spouse who turns away from us to their addiction of choice. We may experience feeling like we have been rejected by friends. We may struggle with memories of parents who were not compassionate with us. Or memories of parents who 'forgot' us in one way or another. And so we say to God: "You will abandon and reject and forget me like all the others!" Sometimes these experiences are so familiar that we expect them from anyone we want to be close to, including God. It is a terrible fear to live with. It creates deep distress. God responds to our distress with words of reassurance. We are not always able to take in reassurance that is offered to us. But there are times when it can feel like a drink of cool water to our parched throats. God says "I am not like all the rest. I will not forget you. Even if your parents forgot you, or your spouse turns away, or your friends leave, I will not forget you. I have tattooed you on the palms of my hand". I will not forget you. It may not be easy for us to comprehend, but it is very clear. God says; "I will not forget you." I need reassurance, Lord. I want to believe that you will remember. But I have been forgotten before. I know you are not like that. I know it in my head. But my heart forgets so easily. Reassure me, today, Lord of your unfailing love. Amen Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Sun Dec 14 03:00:00 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 14 Dec 2008 08:00:00 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Sunday, Dec 14, 2008 Message-ID: <20081214080000.15744.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Sunday, Dec 14, 2008 ************************************************************ Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.Hosea 6:3 There are days when we feel God's presence. We sense God's love. We see God's power. But we do not always feel or sense or see. There are times of silence, distance and uncertainty. There are the difficult times of waiting for God to appear. In times like this we may find ourselves both longing for God and fearing that God will come. The longing comes because in our heart of hearts we know that there is no recovery without God's gracious presence. If God does not appear, we are stuck, bound, hopelessly entangled in dysfunction. If God does appear, it will be like the sun rising - we will be able to see the way. It will be like gentle rains which nurture us so that we can grow and thrive. The fear comes because often we do not see God as one who comes as 'sun' and 'rain' to give life. We are afraid that when God does appear, it will be to punish us, to demand restitution from us, to shame us. Because we have served vengeful and vindictive gods, we fear that it will be the god-of-impossible-expectations who will finally appear. We do well to follow the urging of this text to 'acknowledge God'. We need daily to examine whom we serve. When we acknowledge the god-of -impossible-expectations, then we will surely fear his appearing. But if we acknowledge the God of the Bible whose coming is to nurture and give life, then we will await God's coming like the dawn of a new day. I acknowledge you, Lord. You are not the god of impossible-expectations. You are not the god-who-is-eager-to-punish. I know what it is like when these other gods come. They bring shame, blame and fear. I do not acknowledge them, Lord. I acknowledge you. Come as the dawn of a new day, Lord. Bring light into my dark days. Come as gentle rain, Lord, Cleanse, renew and nurture. Come, Lord, as the dawn. Come as the rains. Water the parched earth of my soul. Amen. Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Mon Dec 15 03:07:19 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 15 Dec 2008 08:07:19 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Monday, Dec 15, 2008 Message-ID: <20081215080719.86422.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Monday, Dec 15, 2008 ************************************************************ Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.Isaiah 41:10 Many of us struggle with fear. It is a very uncomfortable emotion. We would be happy to be rid of it. It causes our hearts to race, our focus of attention to narrow, and terrible possibilities to enter our minds. We wish we could banish fear from our hearts by sheer will power. We wish we could simply stop feeling afraid. Unfortunately fear is not dismissed so easily. There is something about texts such as this one that leave us very uncomfortable. The words "do not fear" seem like a simple command. God says "do not fear". It looks like a simple imperative. Our job is simply to obey. But, we cannot seem to obey. No matter how hard we try not to be afraid, we cannot seem to make our fears go away. The key to understanding texts of this kind is to see that when God says 'do not fear', it is not a simple imperative from an authority figure. The words "do not fear" are spoken as words of comfort. And they are followed by a specific promise of God's presence with us. A loving parent speaks to a child who awakens from a nightmare with words such as, "Don't be afraid. I'm here with you. You are safe." This is not a rejection of the child's fears. It is not an instruction to do the impossible. It is, rather, a promise of protection. If a parent says only "Don't be afraid," then the child learns that the parent doesn't understand and the child feels unprotected. But if the parent says "Don't be afraid, I'm here with you," the child's needs are validated and the child is comforted by the parent's protection. God comforts us in the way a loving parent comforts a frightened child. God says to us, "I know that you are afraid; but I also want you to know that I am here with you. I will not leave you. I will give you strength. I will give you help. I will hold you by the hand so that you will not fall". You know, God, how often I am afraid. And you know the soil in which these fears have grown. And you know how I have struggled to be free from fear. Help me to draw courage today from your presence. Be with me. Give me strength. Help me. Uphold me with your hand. Still my fears, God of all Comfort. Still my fears with your powerful love. Amen. Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Tue Dec 16 03:00:02 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 16 Dec 2008 08:00:02 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Tuesday, Dec 16, 2008 Message-ID: <20081216080002.48016.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Tuesday, Dec 16, 2008 ************************************************************ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.Philippians 4:7 Sometimes it feels like our hearts are breaking. And sometimes we worry that we will lose our minds. Both our hearts and our minds need protection. When we let go of the defenses that have protected us for so long, and we allow ourselves to be honest and vulnerable, it sometimes feels like we will 'come apart'. In these moments can find courage in God's promise of protection. God's peace can guard our breaking hearts and our troubled minds. Notice that God's guardianship of our heart and mind is 'in Christ Jesus'. It is in Jesus that we see most clearly that God is 'for' us. God can be trusted to guard us because God cares about us. It is in Jesus that we see most clearly that God understands the dangers to our hearts and minds. God can be trusted to guard us because God knows from personal experience the dangers we face. It is in Jesus that we see most clearly God's power. God can be trusted to guard our hearts and minds because God has the resources to do what needs to be done. The peace of God is not a 'blissed out' euphoria that helps us minimize or ignore our problems. God's peace does not participate in denial. This peace is not another Novocain, another 'fix' to alter our mood. It is the gentle guard that protects us so that we can face reality. It is the security that comes from knowing that God pays attention, that we are not forgotten, that God is with us, that we are loved. Guard my breaking heart today, Lord. Guard my troubled mind. Let your peace do its work in me, Lord. because I am in danger and I need your protection. Guard me with your peace today. Guard my heart and mind. Amen. Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Wed Dec 17 03:00:02 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 17 Dec 2008 08:00:02 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Wednesday, Dec 17, 2008 Message-ID: <20081217080002.63372.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Wednesday, Dec 17, 2008 ************************************************************ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Psalm 23:4 Sometimes the recovery journey takes us through the valley of the shadow of death. It is a frightening valley. What a difference it makes in times like this to hear God's promise to be with us. It's not that the fears vanish, they don't always. But we experience them differently when we are not alone. When we are alone our fears can become the focus of our thoughts and feelings - they can consume all of our emotional resources. But when our journey is a shared one, fear does not have the same power over us. God has made a very specific promise to us when we are going through the most difficult of life's struggles. God has promised to be with us. It is hard to say how God's presence will be made known. Our subjective experience of God's presence may vary widely. Sometimes when we least expect it, we may hear the still, small voice of God saying "I am here". Sometimes God will use a friend, a sponsor, a counselor, or someone in a support group to speak to us in ways that help us to remember that we are not alone. Sometimes God will give us a peace that needs no words. The important reality is that God is with us. God does not come and go in the way our experience of God's presence comes and goes. God does not forsake us. God walks with us. Even through deep valleys. God, I am walking through a difficult valley right now. Sometimes I think my heart will give way with fear. Remind me of your presence. Sometimes I know you are here. Sometimes I'm sure you have gone. Are you really here? Please walk close beside me. I need your protection. I need your love. Amen. Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan ************************************************************ Help us to continue developing resources of this kind by supporting the National Association for Christian Recovery. You can make a tax-deductible contribution online at http://www.nacronline.com/nacr-store/donations ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Thu Dec 18 03:03:20 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 18 Dec 2008 08:03:20 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Thursday, Dec 18, 2008 Message-ID: <20081218080320.73121.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Thursday, Dec 18, 2008 ************************************************************ Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14 Why do we have to wait?!" my son asked over and over in the days before Christmas. "I hate waiting!" he exclaimed standing up straight, looking very commanding. "What is the point of waiting?" he cross-examined, sounding more like a lawyer than a child. At first, my reasons were pragmatic. I wasn't ready. The gifts were not all purchased or wrapped. But once the gifts were secured in their places under the tree, I had no acceptable answer to his pressing questions. "It isn't time yet, that is all. We have to wait until the right time." His unabashed eagerness was endearing to me. I knew that I would someday miss this keen anticipation of Christmas that is a part of the delight of childhood. I was also aware that once again, this child was showing me a truth about myself. I hate waiting too. I don't see the point of it. I want all the good things of life now. I want answers to all my questions now. Sometimes I am hurting and I want relief and healing now. "What is the point of waiting?" we ask like eager, anxious children. The answers are many. Waiting is necessary because it isn't the right time. But waiting can be growth producing. Our waiting sharpens our awareness. It deepens our longings. It peeks our excitement. It strengthens our hope. Waiting prepares us to receive with greater gratitude and joy the gift of this One who has promised to come into our lives. Lord, I hate waiting. It is difficult to see the point. If you have good gifts to give why make me wait one more minute? Help me to wait, Lord. Help me to grow strong in my times of waiting for you. Strong in my capacity for hope. Strong in my willingness to feel the depths of my longing for you. Strong in my ability to anticipate your goodness. Amen ************************************************************ Help us to continue developing resources of this kind by supporting the National Association for Christian Recovery. You can make a tax-deductible contribution online at http://www.nacronline.com/nacr-store/donations ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Fri Dec 19 03:00:02 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 19 Dec 2008 08:00:02 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Friday, Dec 19, 2008 Message-ID: <20081219080002.95563.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Friday, Dec 19, 2008 ************************************************************ The Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him. Isaiah 30:18 Advent waiting is a waiting that is marked by hope. We do not wait, wondering  if Christmas will ever come. We know it is coming. We know the promise is certain. And so we wait with expectation and joy. Our hope in this time of waiting is based God's self revelation. God longs to be gracious to us and to show us compassion. God loves us. This reality is the heart beat of the advent season. God loves us. Advent is a time of celebrating the breathtaking drama of God's love shown to us in Jesus. While we wait we would do well to focus on God's declaration of love for us. We need to allow ourselves to drink it in so that it fills our thirsty souls. We need to let God's declaration of love for us be a powerful healing ointment, mending the wounds of our hearts, broken by love disappointed, love failed, love lost. There is a promise of blessing for us as we wait for him. Waiting with dread and fear is torturous. Waiting with uncertainty is full of anxiety. But waiting with expectation is full of blessing. Advent days are days of waiting. Waiting with hope and excitement. Waiting like eager children. For we are loved. The God who made us longs to be gracious to us. He will rise to show us his love. Lord, I wait for you with hope and joy. You say that you are longing to be gracious to me that you will rise to show me compassion. I want to take this in. I want to believe from the depths of my being that you love me. My heart is wounded, Lord. You see and know all the wounds. I want these wounds to heal as I take in your love. I want this advent to be a time of waiting with anticipation. I want it to be a time of celebrating your goodness and your love. I want it to be a time of blessing and healing. Amen. ************************************************************ Help us to continue developing resources of this kind by supporting the National Association for Christian Recovery. You can make a tax-deductible contribution online at http://www.nacronline.com/nacr-store/donations ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Sat Dec 20 03:00:01 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 20 Dec 2008 08:00:01 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Saturday, Dec 20, 2008 Message-ID: <20081220080001.36087.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Saturday, Dec 20, 2008 ************************************************************ Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished. Luke 1:45 Mary was blessed because she believed. God had made a promise. God had  promised her a child. She would become pregnant and give birth to a child who would be the long awaited Messiah. It was a lot to believe. But Mary believed that what God has said, God would do. Does this mean that Mary never doubted? That she faced all obstacles with composure? That she never lost sleep because of an anxious heart that would not be calm? Or was her believing like all human believing, a struggle, a conflict, a turning again and again to God for help? Often we sabotage our already fragile capacity to believe with expectations that believing should come easy. We give in to self incriminating messages that we are spiritual failures if it does not. We have trouble seeing that the growth of faith is like the growth of any living reality. It is ongoing growth. It is growth against great odds. And it is growth at the expense of energy and struggle. Our faith is like a sprouting seedling persistently pushing against the heavy top soil until it can one day break through to the light. Mary believed. She struggled against the obstacles and questions and threats to her faith. And she kept on struggling. She focused on what God had promised. She reflected on the Promise-maker. She nurtured the seedling of her faith, growing her belief that what God said, God would do. Advent can be a time to nurture the seedling of our faith, to focus on God who has promised great things. God has promised us a Savior. God has promised us healing. God has promised us love, peace and joy. And what God promises, God will do. Lord, help me to be faithful to the struggle to believe. Don't let me become discouraged by the lie that believing should come easy. The top soil that the seedling of my faith pushes against is hardened soil. It has been trampled on too often. Let me persist in the struggle to grow my faith until it finally bursts through. Help me to stay focused on you Promise-maker, Promise-keeper. Amen. ************************************************************ Help us to continue developing resources of this kind by supporting the National Association for Christian Recovery. You can make a tax-deductible contribution online at http://www.nacronline.com/nacr-store/donations ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Sun Dec 21 03:00:01 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 21 Dec 2008 08:00:01 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Sunday, Dec 21, 2008 Message-ID: <20081221080001.79442.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Sunday, Dec 21, 2008 ************************************************************ And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children... to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Luke 1:17 We need to be made ready for God's coming. This time of waiting is a time of preparation. Our minds and hearts are not in a state that is receptive to this miracle of love, to this surprise of grace. Our hearts are hardened with anger and despair. As we wait for the celebration of God's coming we would do well to listen to the messenger sent to help us prepare. "Fathers, turn your hearts to your children," the messenger calls out. How is it that fathers turning their hearts to their children will prepare people for God's coming? Families with parents who turn their hearts toward their children will be better prepared for the coming of the God of Love for several reasons. First, parenting, more than most of life's tasks, forces us to face our own childhood wounds and our own unmet needs. As we struggle to parent with love and compassion we often find ourselves aware of unmet longings for parents in our own lives. This awakening to a longing for a Parent can dramatically increase our anticipation of the coming of the God of compassion and grace who can bring healing to this wound. And secondly, families where parents turn their hearts toward their children will have children who are better prepared for God's coming. When a parent spends time with his or her child, getting to know him and enjoying him, the parent will communicate his love and delight in the child . As a result, the child will learn that he is lovable and valuable. And he will learn to anticipate good things. The child will then be better able to anticipate the coming of the God of compassion. The child's heart will have been prepared by positive interactions with his parent to look for the coming of the One who calls himself Love. Make me ready, Lord for your coming. Turn my heart to the children in my life and awaken in me a longing for you. Heal the wound I carry in my spirit from parents whose hearts were distant from me. God of Love prepare my heart for your coming. Make me ready for the surprise of your grace and for the miracle of your love. Amen. ************************************************************ Help us to continue developing resources of this kind by supporting the National Association for Christian Recovery. You can make a tax-deductible contribution online at http://www.nacronline.com/nacr-store/donations ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Mon Dec 22 03:00:01 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 22 Dec 2008 08:00:01 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Monday, Dec 22, 2008 Message-ID: <20081222080001.77604.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Monday, Dec 22, 2008 ************************************************************ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you, he is Christ the Lord. Luke 2: 11 We are in an impossible predicament. We are locked behind prison bars and chained to the wall. It was our sin, our folly, our human condition that got us here. We thought we were okay. We thought we could handle things on our own. But we find ourselves addicted, defended, caught, trapped. We see it now. We see we have made a mess of things. But realizing that we are chained and imprisoned does not free us. It only adds to the agony of our plight. How will we ever be freed? We need someone who can save us. Someone from outside of these prison walls, someone with power and authority to hear of our situation, to have compassion on us, to come and free us. We need to be rescued. We need a Savior. We cannot save ourselves. It seems impossible that such a thing could happen. It would seem a fairy tale come true. We pray for a Savior. We pray and wait. And so the angels announcement startles us. "The Savior you have waited for, the Savior you have needed, he has been given to you. He has come. You will find him in the town of David. He is Christ the Lord." Lord, I know that I need to be rescued from the mess I have made of things. I know I cannot save myself. And so it is welcome news that you have come to save. Come to me today release and set me free. Amen. ************************************************************ Help us to continue developing resources of this kind by supporting the National Association for Christian Recovery. You can make a tax-deductible contribution online at http://www.nacronline.com/nacr-store/donations ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Tue Dec 23 03:00:02 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 23 Dec 2008 08:00:02 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Tuesday, Dec 23, 2008 Message-ID: <20081223080002.5591.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Tuesday, Dec 23, 2008 ************************************************************ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary and they bowed down and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. Matthew 11:2 Christmas is a time of celebrating the coming of a child. Vulnerable, human flesh. God with us. Mystery. We celebrate. We worship the God who made us. The God who pursues us with love. The God who came to us in this unimaginable way. Our minds reel. It is too good to be true. This Love is what we have hoped and longed for. And so we worship with a sense of breathless wonder and giddy awe. And like the wise men, we too desire to bring our treasures to this child. Not in an attempt to pay a debt. There is no way to even the score. Rather, we bring gifts that are dear to us and offer them in an attempt of reach back to his hand far extended to us. It is our way of letting his hand fully grasp our own. We discover that every gift we bring in our response to God, is met with new, unexpected gifts in return. We bring God our loved ones, letting go of our fierce attempt to protect or control or change. And God gives us serenity. We bring God our money in an offer to share with others in need. And as we do so, God frees us from the heavy load of greed. We bring God our hearts, wounded, struggling, needy. And God gives us the comfort of his presence. We bring God our deep gratitude and he fills us with joy. Christ Child, I worship you today in stunned wonder that you are God come to be with us. I want to say 'yes' to your offer of love. I want to reach my hand out to meet yours extended to me through galaxies of time and space. I want to give you the treasures I hold most dear. I bring you the people I love and give them to your care. I bring you my wounded, grateful heart. As I reach back to you allow me fully grasp your hand to receive your gift of love. Amen. ************************************************************ Help us to continue developing resources of this kind by supporting the National Association for Christian Recovery. You can make a tax-deductible contribution online at http://www.nacronline.com/nacr-store/donations ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Wed Dec 24 03:00:01 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 24 Dec 2008 08:00:01 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Wednesday, Dec 24, 2008 Message-ID: <20081224080001.66162.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Wednesday, Dec 24, 2008 ************************************************************ He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 What names there are for you God! These names surprise me. I have heard such different names for you. I have heard you called "harsh taskmaster" and "bully" and "distant one." What a contrast there is between these names and the names you call yourself. You tell us that your name is Wonderful Counselor. One who listens, and pays attention. One who draws out a person's heart. One who provides a safe place. One who responds with empathy and compassion. Who consults and advises. And is personally involved. Your name is Mighty God. Powerful Creator. Ultimate authority. Life source. To be worshipped and honored. One who can be counted on. One who is able to save. Your name is Everlasting Father. Always our father. Never leaving. Never failing. Protector. Provider. Someone to belong to, to draw our identity from. Someone with whom we can share our hearts. One who delights in his children. One who wants his children to grow strong and whole. And Prince of Peace. One who puts an end to death and destruction and violent, cruel ways. One who is on the side of the victim, the poor, the underdog. One who will reign, not with an iron hand, but with a heart of love. hese are amazing names for you God. Thank you for telling me your names, Lord. Such strong and gentle names. Surprising, amazing names. You are Wonderful Counselor. involved, caring, listening, guiding understanding me. You are Mighty God giver of life to whom I turn again and again for help and hope. You are my Everlasting Father who will not leave me who will share my joys and sorrows and who will delight in my growth. You are Prince of Peace who will put an end to violence and still my troubled heart with the knowledge of your reign of love. Thank you for who you are. Amen. ************************************************************ Help us to continue developing resources of this kind by supporting the National Association for Christian Recovery. You can make a tax-deductible contribution online at http://www.nacronline.com/nacr-store/donations ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Thu Dec 25 03:00:01 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 25 Dec 2008 08:00:01 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Thursday, Dec 25, 2008 Message-ID: <20081225080001.42081.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Thursday, Dec 25, 2008 ************************************************************ ************************************************************ Help us to continue developing resources of this kind by supporting the National Association for Christian Recovery. You can make a tax-deductible contribution online at http://www.nacronline.com/nacr-store/donations ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Thu Dec 25 10:09:42 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 25 Dec 2008 15:09:42 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Thursday, Dec 25, 2008 Message-ID: <20081225150942.90166.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Thursday, Dec 25, 2008 ************************************************************ For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given. Isaiah 9:6 We have wrapped this day we call Christmas with ribbon and foil. We mark it off in red on our calendars and have high expectations for an extraordinary day. Sometimes in doing this we miss the day all together. The day Jesus was born was not wrapped in ribbon or marked in red on anybody's calendar. It was a day like any other day. Perhaps the real wonder of this day is that God entered our world in such an unexpected way. We expect God to come as King and Conqueror. We expect him to come in a terrifying storm or a blazing fire. But God came to us as a baby, born to a young inexperienced woman. God seems to prefer surprising us in a still small voice and an infant son. We do not have to dress in our best or prepare feasts or sing loud songs or give many gifts to have God come to us on Christmas day. These celebrations can be helpful traditions to mark this most remarkable event. But we do get lost sometimes in all these celebrations. Sometimes the noise and commotion and business of it all can blind us to the gifts God has for us. Perhaps when the noise and glitter of this day are cleared away, we can let it be an ordinary day for a few minutes. We can kick off our shoes and take a deep breath and reflect in silence for a few minutes. And in that space of time we can have a small celebration of the heart. We can remember God's surprising, extraordinary gift to us, wrapped in such ordinary packaging. A child born. A son, given. Lord, this is your day. This Christmas day. We have made of it a loud party and a day of great expectations. Sometimes I wonder why I can't find you in the ribbon and the wrappings. Let this be an ordinary day for a few minutes, Lord. A day like any other day, when you come to me in a child's smile, a bird's song, a friend's greeting. Remind me that you are a God of shocking surprises wrapped in ordinary packaging. Help me to remember that this day, like all the days before it and all the days yet to come is your day and that you come to me everyday. I celebrate your coming today and yesterday and tomorrow. I love you. Amen. ************************************************************ Help us to continue developing resources of this kind by supporting the National Association for Christian Recovery. You can make a tax-deductible contribution online at http://www.nacronline.com/nacr-store/donations ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Fri Dec 26 03:00:01 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 26 Dec 2008 08:00:01 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Friday, Dec 26, 2008 Message-ID: <20081226080001.2277.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Friday, Dec 26, 2008 ************************************************************ Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.Isaiah 43:1 Abandoned. Neglected. Alone. Many of us share these painful struggles. Unfortunately, many of us have struggled with them from very early in life. People from dysfunctional families often feel that they were never acceptable to their parents. Many struggle with the feeling that they can never be good enough to receive attention. If reinforced by rejection or abandonment from friends, colleagues, or other significant people in our lives, we can easily conclude that we don't really 'belong' at all. Humans have a deep longing to belong, to be emotionally bonded with others. Social isolation can be very painful to us. But social isolation may have felt like the only option open to us as children. Attempts at closeness may have meant experiencing control, abuse, rejection or loss. We may have pulled away to protect ourselves, even though it left us lonely and afraid. God comes to our lonely, anxious hearts and whispers our name. God says "I see both the fear you have of closeness and the deep longing you have to belong. I have come to comfort you and to respond to your need. I have been seeking relationship with you. You belong. You belong to me. You are my child." It may frighten us - this invitation to belong to God - even though we long for it. It may frighten us because we expect pain and disappointment, over-control and rejection. But gradually, as we continue the healing process, we can allow God to meet this deep need. We can allow ourselves to belong more and more to God. Help me, God, to allow myself to belong to you. Thank you for calling me by name. Thank you for saying 'you are mine'. I want to belong to you, God. Help me to heal, Great Physician, So that I can accept my place in your family. Take away my fear, Father, give me the courage to belong to you. Amen Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan ************************************************************ Help us to continue developing resources of this kind by supporting the National Association for Christian Recovery. You can make a tax-deductible contribution online at http://www.nacronline.com/nacr-store/donations ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Sat Dec 27 03:00:01 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 27 Dec 2008 08:00:01 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Saturday, Dec 27, 2008 Message-ID: <20081227080001.96886.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Saturday, Dec 27, 2008 ************************************************************ For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.Ephesians 2:10 God is a very capable craftsman. God's workmanship is of the highest quality. We are God's workmanship. We are the art of a competent Creator. Notice in this text that our creation 'in Christ Jesus' means that we are competent as well. We are like our Creator in that we have been created 'to do good works'. God who is capable of good works made us to be capable of doing good works as well. This is quite a contrast to 'you can't do anything right'. In dysfunctional families and institutions people learn to doubt their competence. This doubt leads many people to work harder and harder to demonstrate their abilities. In dysfunctional systems, however, no matter how hard we try, we can't try hard enough. We learn that our problem is not that we are human and occasionally make mistakes but that we are incompetent people. We learn that we are flawed in a most basic way. No matter how compulsively we try, we can't ever get it right. This text is an affirmation of our competence, of our importance in God's plans. God affirms us by saying "there are good things for you to do, and I believe you can do them". Notice that the text does not say that we need to do good works to earn God's love or to win God's approval or that we have to do the work perfectly or compulsively. What is does say is that God sees each of us as capable of good works. God invites us to participate in the creative, redemptive work that God is doing in the world. God sees us as capable. You are competent, God. Your works are good works. It amazes me that you see me as competent. Thank you for believing in me. Help me to trust your words of affirmation. Help me to find joy in doing good. Amen Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan ************************************************************ Help us to continue developing resources of this kind by supporting the National Association for Christian Recovery. You can make a tax-deductible contribution online at http://www.nacronline.com/nacr-store/donations ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Sun Dec 28 03:00:03 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 28 Dec 2008 08:00:03 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Sunday, Dec 28, 2008 Message-ID: <20081228080003.31414.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Sunday, Dec 28, 2008 ************************************************************ This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.I John 3:19-20 Sometimes it is difficult to believe that we 'belong to the truth'. Sometimes it is difficult to imagine having our 'hearts at rest'. The part of our heart that is damaged by shame reminds us of all our inadequacies and failures. As this text puts it, our hearts condemn us. In the process of recovery many of us become aware that we have internalized a voice of shame and self-condemnation. We may tell ourselves that we are unlovable. "How could anyone care about me?" Or, we may tell ourselves that we are worthless. "I'm no good." Or, we may tell ourselves that we are not capable. "I can't do anything right." These are some of the ways we condemn ourselves. We also may question our faith. We may wonder, as this verse puts it, whether "we belong to the truth". Because of our early experiences of rejection and our current self-condemnation, we find ourselves expecting God to condemn us. As a result we cannot rest in God's presence. But God is greater than our self-condemning hearts. God knows everything. God knows our history. God knows the wounds in our past. God knows our humanness. God knows our strengths and weaknesses. God knows our failures. God knows we condemn ourselves and expect that God will condemn us as well. God knows that we need healing. God is greater than our self-condemning hearts. God knows everything. And God does not condemn us. I long to set my heart at rest, Lord. I long to rest in your presence. But, my heart is full of self-condemnation. The voices of shame are loud within me. I am afraid that you will also condemn me, Lord. I am afraid that you will agree with the shame voices. Speak to me today, Lord. Speak more loudly than the voices of shame. Be greater than my heart. Shame can only feed on the hidden things, Lord, but nothing is hid from you. Be more powerful than the shame, Lord. Let me find rest today in your love. Amen. Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan ************************************************************ Help us to continue developing resources of this kind by supporting the National Association for Christian Recovery. You can make a tax-deductible contribution online at http://www.nacronline.com/nacr-store/donations ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Mon Dec 29 03:00:00 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 29 Dec 2008 08:00:00 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Monday, Dec 29, 2008 Message-ID: <20081229080000.91543.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Monday, Dec 29, 2008 ************************************************************ As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103:13-14 We are not very understanding or tolerant of our limitations. We forget how we are 'formed'. Instead of accepting our creatureliness as a good gift from God, we often find ourselves being harshly judgmental and unforgiving of ourselves. This lack of compassion can lead to self-abusive and self-neglectful behaviors. When we forget how we are formed, we can forget to take care of such creaturely basics as sleep, decent food and relaxation. Fortunately, God does not forget how we are formed. God remembers. God knows we have limitations. God remembers that we are 'dust'. Because we are so intolerant of our limits, it is important to emphasize that the metaphor 'dust' in this text does not imply worthless. It is not that God remembers how worthless we are - just dust to be sweep up and thrown away . Quite to the contrary, God remembers our weakness and limitations and has compassion on us. Again, because we are so intolerant of our limits, it is also probably important to emphasize that 'compassion' is not 'pity'. God does not pity us poor, pathetic, helpless mortals. Quite to the contrary, God's compassion is the tender, loving care of a good parent towards a child. God knows and respects our limitations. They are not a surprise to God. God is our Creator. God remembers what we tend to forget. God remembers that we are creatures. Thank you, Lord, for remembering what I forget. You remember that I am human, that I need to sleep, that I need to play, that I have limited strength and ability. Thank you for having reasonable expectations of me. Thank you for understanding my limits. Help me to be compassionate with my humanness Even as you, Lord, are compassionate toward me. Amen. Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan ************************************************************ Help us to continue developing resources of this kind by supporting the National Association for Christian Recovery. You can make a tax-deductible contribution online at http://www.nacronline.com/nacr-store/donations ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Tue Dec 30 03:00:01 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 30 Dec 2008 08:00:01 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Tuesday, Dec 30, 2008 Message-ID: <20081230080001.12868.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Tuesday, Dec 30, 2008 ************************************************************ "We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered. "Bring them here to me," he said. Matthew 14:17-18 Sometimes after reading the newspaper or watching the news on television we experience an intensely painful awareness of the enormity of the world's problems and the hopeless inadequacy of the resources available to solve these problems. During recovery we often experience these same feelings of helplessness and inadequacy. Our personal problems seem enormous. Our resources seem incredibly limited. Part of our denial comes from our desire to avoid recognizing that our personal problems are bigger than our personal resources. We will need resources more extensive than our own to make any progress in recovery. Fortunately, God has a long and consistent history of working with people who have limited resources. It has been God's consistent pattern throughout the biblical record. God's preference is to bring strength out of weakness. The abundance which God brings from a few loaves and fishes is a clear sign of the surprising resource-full-ness of God. God does not seem to be at home among the well-nourished, the resourced, the un-needy. In a reversal of all of our expectations, God comes to the needy and limited with invitations to participate in the Kingdom. When we see how few loaves and fishes we have, we become convinced that our needs for nourishment will not be met. And we conclude that there will be nothing left over to share. But the hopelessly limited resources somehow turn into abundance when offered to God. There is enough for us and enough to share. Each day, one day at a time, God accepts our limited resources and surprises us with what can be done. I am hungry, Lord. I have not been getting the nourishment I need. What I have is so limited. A few loaves. A few fish. There will not be enough to go around. I cannot imagine what use they will be but I make my limited resources available to you. Accept my limited resources, Lord. I bring them to you for your blessing. Amen. Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan ************************************************************ Help us to continue developing resources of this kind by supporting the National Association for Christian Recovery. You can make a tax-deductible contribution online at http://www.nacronline.com/nacr-store/donations ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed From nacrmed at nacronline.com Wed Dec 31 03:00:02 2008 From: nacrmed at nacronline.com (NACR Daily Meditation) Date: 31 Dec 2008 08:00:02 -0000 Subject: NACR Daily Meditation for Wednesday, Dec 31, 2008 Message-ID: <20081231080002.31185.qmail@delsi.pair.com> ************************************************************ NACR Daily Meditation for Wednesday, Dec 31, 2008 ************************************************************ "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"Mark 9:24 We live somewhere between belief and unbelief. Our faith wavers. At times faith is strong and stable. At times it is weak, and shaken. For many of us, our capacity for trust has been diminished by experiences with people who were not trustworthy. We have learned by painful experience that we will be disappointed if we trust. One of the most intense struggles in recovery is to rebuild our capacity for trust and hope. We want to believe, but we are afraid. Some people believe that God will respond only to people who 'believe enough'. "If you have enough faith, God will hear you," they say. But Jesus said "All you need is faith the size of a mustard seed." The mustard is the smallest of seeds. God does not reject small, limited faith. God will not ignore even the desire to believe. God will not dismiss a willingness to learn to trust. Mountains have been moved by less. God accepts our limited faith. God does not ask us to wait until we are certain and strong in faith. God accepts us as we are, even with our limited faith. Lord, you see my struggle to believe, to trust, and to hope. You know my fears, my hesitations, my questions. Help me to accept the limits of my faith. Help me to bring my limited faith to you. Amen. Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan ************************************************************ Help us to continue developing resources of this kind by supporting the National Association for Christian Recovery. You can make a tax-deductible contribution online at http://www.nacronline.com/nacr-store/donations ************************************************************ ROOTED IN GOD'S LOVE (the book from which these meditations are taken, is back in print! Order online at http://www.nacronline.com/books ************************************************************ Meditations from previous days can be viewed at: http://two.pairlist.net/pipermail/nacrmed/ ************************************************************ To be removed from this list go to this website: http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nacrmed