Change
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Sometimes You Gotta Hug the Cactus
“Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” – 1 Corinthians 13:7 Alcohol brought me peace and freedom early on. But near the end I found myself thinking not of joy on a daily basis, but of death. A life that had once promised me more than I… Continue reading
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Discovering God’s Purpose: Be Different!
“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers…” – Psalm 1:1 He was faced with only two options: abandon his ministry and take an oath of allegiance to Hitler, or surely be thrown into prison.… Continue reading
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Not All Break-Ups Are Bad
“Resentment is the number one offender. It destroys more alcoholics than anything else.” ~ Alcoholics Anonymous, p.64 My first sponsor seemed to be a fun-loving guy, who surrounded himself with several other fun-loving guys. He chaired one of the meetings I attended early on in my recovery, and he’d recently celebrated a dozen or so… Continue reading
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Having Had a Spiritual Awakening…
“… as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs”. ~ Step 12, AA “Don’t leave before the miracle happens.” I heard this early on in recovery and pondered the meaning. What was this miracle that some people kept talking about?… Continue reading
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Better Than I Deserve
“How blessed is the man who made the Lord his trust.” ~ Psalm 40:4 One fall afternoon I was parked on the shoulder of a rural highway about 50 miles southwest of Ashland, Kentucky. As I sat there completely hopeless and numb, I considered what few options remained. Roughly 9 hours earlier I had been… Continue reading
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Encouraging Words in Difficult Times
“For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” ~ Isaiah 41:13 My life was in shambles. Every single day for the past several years, I sat alone in my house and sought my escape through a bottle that… Continue reading
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A Double Life Leads to Death
“The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.” ~ Proverbs 11:3 “He was a quiet guy, but he always seemed friendly when we would see him out.” This is such a common description we hear by the neighbors of someone who has committed a heinous crime. He seemed… Continue reading
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Gracefully Unforgettable
“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” ~ Isaiah 43:25 I was at a recovery meeting years ago, and the guest speaker that evening wasn’t aware that he only had 30 minutes to narrate his personal story of recovery from alcoholism. I… Continue reading
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Keeping Promises
Not long after I returned home from rehab, my wife said to me one evening, “We need to talk.” Now I don’t know about you, but anytime someone says this to me – the panic button automatically gets pushed. My mind begins to race with the worst-case scenarios playing out and my heart pounds in… Continue reading
About Me
Welcome! I’m Scott (aka Former Blackout Artist), and I’m so happy you decided to drop in! I hope you find the content here spiritually enlightening and uplifting. Most of all, I hope that my love of Christ is revealed through my writing and that it encourages you in some way today. Thanks for stopping by!