“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” Proverbs 16:9 NIV Recently, I traveled from Kearney, Nebraska to Chattanooga, Tennessee for a "Building Leaders, Authors, Speakers and Teachers - Next Level" workshop. But my travel plans did not go the way I had hoped. As I arrived at the Grand …
Pornography affects the human brain in a variety of ways. The brain is constantly rewiring itself as it learns and grows. It used to be thought that after childhood the brain stoped changing, but recent research is showing that even as aging adults, the brain has the ability to change. Like a habit can be …
The world is so very broken! As a counselor, I hear story after story of brokenness within self and in families, relationships, work, church (yes, even in churches) and communities. We watch the news and read postings on social media that have us hanging our heads in disbelief, sadness, disgust and even fear. We live …
What do you find pleasurable? The smell of rain, the taste of fresh strawberries on ice cream, the many breath–taking colors of a sunset, the majestic sound of the ocean waves crashing onto the rocks, or maybe the soft smooth feeling of a furry kitten. These things engage our five senses in a pleasurable way. …
A sermon I recently heard at church was titled, "An Invitation To Christian Discipleship." It caught my attention and encouraged me to reflect on my own discipleship in Jesus Christ. Pastor asked these questions: Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ? Are you willing to drop everything and follow Jesus? I reflected back on my …
As a young adult, I continued to lack confidence in myself and was shy. I would not speak up for myself or when there was opportunity to share about Jesus and His love for all. In my first job as a Medical Technologist, I began to gain confidence in myself at work, realizing as I …
I knew early on in life that God was calling me to share Jesus and His Word with others. The problem was that I was a very shy little girl who lacked confidence in herself and trust in Him. I faithfully attended Sunday School, church services and activities, Vacation Bible School, and lived my life …
This week I had the privilege and honor of being interviewed by Shannon Ethridge, best-selling author and speaker (www.shannonethridge.com) about my participation in her online course, B.L.A.S.T. Mentoring (blastmentoring.com). I was able to share my vision of writing a book concerning my journey in recovery from my addictions and speaking on a national level about …
Early on in my recovery God encouraged me to give my testimony for the very first time to a group of people being trained to facilitate small group discussions in a recovery ministry. The idea of doing so petrified me. God had his work cut out for him as I was very resistant and full …
Where does our power come from? What or who is the source of power? Step 1 of Celebrate Recovery states we are powerless over our addictions and compulsions and our lives are unmanageable. So if I do not have the power to manage my own life then who or what does? It's kind of like …
Carol's Thoughts 