Spiritual Recovery
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“My Name is Scott, and I’m….”
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.– Romans 1:16 As a recovering alcoholic, I’ve been actively involved in a 12-Step recovery program for several years now. This program has been an incredible… Continue reading
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Getting Better Requires a Change of Diet
They make a lot of recovery meetings. They may even sign up to make coffee for the group or greet members at the door once in a while. And some of them may abstain from drinking for several months, perhaps even a few years. But they still have the same problems that they had when… Continue reading
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Grace isn’t for those who deserve it. (Thank God)
“Rules don’t change anyone’s heart, ever. Grace does.” – Brant Hansen Tired. Restless. Miserable. Upon entering the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous, this is the unenvious state that most of us were in. We thought we could find respite through escaping the realities of life through a bottle. But as some of us eventually learn, the… Continue reading
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Becoming Authentic While Living a Sober Life
“To thine own self be true.” – Shakespeare On the back of every sober coin are the words, “To thine own self be true.” It is a phrase that has been around for centuries, with origins in Renaissance literature, and the idea behind it is just as relevant today as it ever was. In essence,… Continue reading
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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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The Alcoholic’s Eden
Regardless of how much time in sobriety one has, every recovering alcoholic hears two voices. The voice of reason says: You are at liberty to drink whatever you want, but you must not drink alcohol. For if you drink it, you know what awaits. Trouble, followed by more trouble, surely followed by an alcoholic death.… 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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We Will Not Regret the Past
Promise: a declaration or assurance that one will do a particular thing or a particular thing will happen. There are 12 Steps in Alcoholics Anonymous. One who wants to get and stay sober in AA isn’t under any obligation whatsoever to work the AA program. There are no requirements, there are no musts in AA.… 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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As We Understood Him
“Not being able to fully understand God is frustrating, but it is ridiculous for us to think we have the right to limit God to something we are capable of comprehending.” ~ Francis Chan Most of us enter into the rooms of recovery in our weakest, most desperate moment. It is there where we begin… Continue reading
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Prayer Becomes Our Lifeline
“Those of us who have come to make regular use of prayer would no more do without it than we would refuse air, food, or sunshine. And for the same reason. When we refuse air, light, or food, the body suffers. And when we turn away from meditation and prayer, we deprive our minds, our… Continue reading
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Alcohol Won
The obsession to drink left me a while ago. But just because I no longer have the constant urge doesn’t mean I never have a fleeting thought about how nice it would be to have a cocktail or two to take the edge off. This doesn’t mean that I can no longer trust God, nor… Continue reading
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Dealing with the Past
“If you are bringing your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother or sister has anything against you, go first and be reconciled to him or her, and then come back and present your gift.” ~ Matthew 5:23-24 Repairing broken relationships can be incredibly challenging sometimes. Very few know this better than… Continue reading
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A Selfless Program for Selfish People
The very first step in Alcoholics Anonymous is the only step I can work perfectly, without blemish. Each morning that I wake up and go through my daily reading, prayer and meditation, I’m making the greatest investment possible toward my sobriety. This time affords me the ability to get honest with myself and God, and… Continue reading
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The Greatest Window of Opportunity
“Helping others is the foundation stone of your recovery. A kindly act once in a while isn’t enough. You have to act the Good Samaritan every day, if need be.” ~ Page 97, Alcoholics Anonymous When I share my recovery story with someone who genuinely wants to get sober, I’m effectively opening a window of… Continue reading
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Don’t Squander Your Mulligan!
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights.” ~ James 1:17 It’s been quite a while (for me at least) since I had my last drink, and I’ve been required to deal with a lot of life challenges during this time. Since my last drink…… Continue reading
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It’s a Free Ride, When You’ve Already Paid
“You know, you can be a real ass sometimes, Scott.” True statement. Despite being sober for a while now, I can still cop an attitude on occasion. And when that happens, invariably it’s because I didn’t get my way with something, and it’s usually something insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Ever notice that… Continue reading
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From Discovery to Recovery
As we start our new journey in sobriety, we begin to recover physically and emotionally. But this will only prove to be temporary if we remain stubborn to find a meaningful spirituality. For some of us who’ve never truly embraced the concept of a Living God, this will seem incredibly difficult. For those who’ve wandered… 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!
Former Blackout Artist 