…follow these ten steps to freedom:

1. Turn to God and ask him for forgiveness.
2. Look at the reality of your failure and take it seriously.
3. If there are others you have hurt, …ask for forgiveness, and be reconciled.
4. Confess your failures to another person who understands God’s forgiveness…
5. Work to make false standards and messages in your head more realistic.
6. Get in community with other people and open up with each other, so they know you and you them.
7. Do an entire moral inventory of your life, as far as you can remember, and completely as you can.
8. Finally, claim your clean slate and go on from there in freedom.
9. When you have accusing voices in your head, remember, they are lies.
10. Memorize scripture.

pp. 260-262, god will make a way, Cloud and Townsend

Romans 12:18 “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
The rest is up to that person and God.

p. 258, god will make a way, Cloud & Townsend

Yet when we do not have access to all of ourselves, and when those parts of us are not loved and in the process of healing and growth, then life does not work well for us.

p. 241, discouragement and depression, god will find a way, Cloud and Townsend.

That’s how it is on our journey. We may find ourselves in a situation we don’t know how to handle. So we start spinning our wheels in frustration, confusion, or fear. What we know is we want out. Sometimes we need to get through that time of spinning our wheels in order to get to the next place, the place where we slow down and figure out what to do next. Sometimes our frustration helps generate energy to get momentum going in the general direction of solving the problem.

p. 234, journey to the heart, melody beattie

Simple tasks can take us back to the rhythm, the way of life we’re seeking.

The simple tasks are important not just because they need to be done. The simple tasks are the microcosm of how our lives work. The keep us grounded in reality, they remind us of what’s real, they show us how life works. They will lead us into the way of life we’re seeking, if we approach them the right way. Do the laundry. Do the dishes. … Do these tasks with respect.

p. 233, journey to the heart, Melody Beattie

May integrity and uprightness protect me.
because my hope, Lord, is in you.

And do this, understand the present time: the hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Romans 13:11-12

Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

Colossians 4:5

Beside the Still Waters, volume 27 Issue 4

Come back to center, that place in you that is still, calm, quiet, and connected.

Your center is a place you can trust. It connects the body, mind, heart, and soul. It connects truth, your inner voice, and the divine. Your best work comes from here.

And go to your center first,
Before you go anywhere else.

pp. 232-233, Journey to the Heart, Melody Beattie

Teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.