{"id":7502,"date":"2013-01-17T00:01:38","date_gmt":"2013-01-17T05:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/?p=7502"},"modified":"2013-01-25T12:23:08","modified_gmt":"2013-01-25T17:23:08","slug":"lifes-healing-choices-hope-make-the-choice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/2013\/01\/17\/lifes-healing-choices-hope-make-the-choice\/","title":{"rendered":"Life’s Healing Choices: HOPE, Make the Choice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Choice 2:<\/strong> Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him, and that He has the power to help me recover<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0 It is in this step that we find our HOPE.\u00a0 The changes you desire are only steps away.\u00a0 But, as many of you have shared over the past week, the steps are not always easy ones.<\/p>\n

I struggle with control.\u00a0 There I said it!\u00a0 I don\u2019t like many roller coasters because of the feeling of being so out-of-control.\u00a0 Same goes for motorcycles!\u00a0 I want my kids to behave a certain way, my husband to respond to me in a certain way, my workday to follow a set pattern, etc.\u00a0 One huge reason I\u2019ve never taken the path of drug or alcohol use is the buzz or high that others crave makes me anxious because I\u2019m not in control of things.\u00a0 Sometimes being in control is a good thing; but when you try to make sure that every part of your world lines up \u201cjust so\u201d \u2026 it only brings disruption, anxiety, and depression<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

We have hope and promise in the Scriptures that we are not on this journey alone. \u201cI am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will keep right on helping you grow in His grace until His task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns.\u201d (Philippians 1:6)<\/p>\n

Blessings,<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amy<\/p>\n

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PRAY \u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear Lord, my life is a precious treasure from You.\u00a0 I experience things as a result of my choices, both good and bad.\u00a0 Help me not ignore the pain that comes from my choices, as it is there to turn me back to You. \u00a0I admit that I\u2019ve refused Your help. \u00a0I pray for Your power to be real\u00a0and evident. \u00a0I know that it is only through You that I will have the strength\u00a0and power to break the habits that are holding me back from experiencing fully the life You have given to me. \u00a0I want to experience true love\u00a0and solid relationships, learning how to trust\u00a0and respect others\u00a0and myself.\u00a0 I want to experience self-control to walk away from temptation, and my tendency to turn back to comfortable patterns that continue to hold me back.\u00a0 Help me to continue making healing choices.\u00a0 Amen.<\/i><\/p>\n

WRITE \u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

God promises to always be with you.\u00a0 He will never leave you.\u00a0 He will never forsake you.\u00a0 He will never turn His back on you.\u00a0 Do you believe this to be true? Deep down in your heart of hearts, do you really believe this to be true<\/strong><\/em>?<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been hurt and disappointed by other people, it\u2019s hard to believe that someone as great, loving\u00a0and powerful as God would stand by you\u2026no matter what!\u00a0 No sin is too great to turn Him from His children. \u00a0We may feel too ugly, too damaged, too tarnished, too sinful for God, and we make the choice to turn away.\u00a0 But that\u2019s OUR choice, not God\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you.\u00a0 When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown!\u00a0 When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you\u201d\u00a0<\/em> Isaiah 43:2.<\/p>\n

Using prompts from our book, take time to write in your journal the questions and answers that speak to you most.\u00a0 I would encourage you to answer all of the questions in the book \u2013 don\u2019t skip the hard ones, dear friends.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

SHARE \u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sharing can be the most frightening step.\u00a0 How will the other person react to our story?\u00a0 Will they judge or condemn my thoughts and\/or actions?\u00a0 Can I trust them to protect my information? Whatever your apprehensions, remember in Proverbs we\u2019re told, \u201cAs iron sharpens iron, so people can improve each other.\u201d (Prov 27:17)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Baker gives a very clear and comforting instruction, \u201cThis journey is not one to be traveled alone.\u00a0 You need someone of the same sex, a trusted friend with whom you can share what God is doing in your life.\u201d (p. 54).\u00a0 Do you have someone in your life you can talk to about this journey?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

After you have taken the time to reflect and write your answers to these questions, we welcome your comments below, or visit our Facebook Group for additional discussion. Please remember that all comments shared on this page are open to the public. \u00a0You do have the option of signing anonymously to post your comment.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Power Verses:<\/strong>
\n\u201cRemember that in the past you were without Christ.\u00a0 You were not citizens of Israel, and you had no part in the agreements with the promise that God made to His people. You had no hope, and you did not know God.\u00a0 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away from God are brought near through the blood of Christ\u2019s death.\u201d\u00a0 Ephesians 2:12\u201313<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBut this precious treasure –this light and power that now shine within us –is held in a perishable container, that is, in our weak bodies.\u00a0 Everyone can see that the glorious power within must be from God and is not our won.\u00a0 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken.\u00a0 We are perplexed because we don\u2019t know why things happen as they do, but we don\u2019t\u2019 give up and quit.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 2 Corinthians 4:7-8<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think.\u00a0 Then you will learn from your own experience how His ways will really satisfy you.\u201d\u00a0<\/em> Romans 12:2<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd this is the secret: that Christ in your hearts is your only hope of glory.\u201d\u00a0<\/em> Colossians 1:27<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i>Lord, I have tried to fix & control my life\u2019s hurts by myself.\u00a0 Often, I make situations worse by refusing to let go and let You handle a situation.\u00a0 I admit I am powerless, and change will only come when I turn it all over to You. \u00a0You loved me enough to send Your Son to die on the cross for my sins.\u00a0 Thank You for standing by me, believing in me, and wanting more for my life.\u00a0 Help me to continue making healthy, healing choices in my life, and to loosen my grip on things that need to be in Your hands.\u00a0 Amen.<\/i><\/p>\n

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If you are interested in joining us for this online Bible study, please click HERE<\/a> to sign up.<\/p>\n

Once we receive your registration, we will email you further details.<\/p>\n

If you are interested in sending Amy a private message in regards to this blog, please email her at: Amy@girlfriendscoffeehour.com<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Choice 2: Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him, and that He has the power to help me recover.\u00a0 It is in this step that we find our HOPE.\u00a0 The changes you desire are only steps away.\u00a0 But, as many of you have shared over the past week, the steps are not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[22],"tags":[1463,90,1464,1462,425,480,518,1466,554,570,608,760,1465,910],"class_list":["post-7502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-victorious-healing","tag-2-corinthians-47-8","tag-amy-butterfield","tag-colossians-127","tag-ephesians-212-13","tag-girlfriends-coffee-hour","tag-healing","tag-hope","tag-isaiah-432","tag-jesus","tag-john-baker","tag-lifes-healing-choices","tag-philippians-16","tag-proverbs-2717","tag-romans-122","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p39pHp-1X0","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7502"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7507,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7502\/revisions\/7507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}