LOOK WHAT'S AHEAD IN 2014!

For the last seven years God has allowed me to share my recovery journey with you. I'm very grateful and have learned a lot.  Now it's time to share the new direction God is taking me.

A few years ago I began learning about Christian Mysticism. Then in 2011 I was introduced to Benedictine spirituality, which is is derived from The Rule of Benedict written by St. Benedict of Nursia for the monks in his monastery over 1500 years ago. Known as the founder of Western monasticism, St. Benedict and his rule have had a tremendous impact on the Christian church. Surprisingly, the rule provides extraordinary insight into today's major spiritual issues. Once I began studying it I knew I was home.

Since studying monastic spirituality I've been led to become a Benedictine Oblate. Oblates are ordinary people who dedicate their lives to God like monks. But rather than taking vows and living behind the wall of a monastery, Oblates make spiritual commitments that are lived outside the wall. I'm excited to share the things I'm learning with you this upcoming year. I hope you'll tag along as my spiritual journey continues to unfold… Blessings!

Here is the Reaching Hurting Women monthly schedule for 2014:

First Wednesday: The 12 Steps of Humility 
What I am most excited about this year is my focus on the topic of Humility. Each month we are going to learn one of the 12 Steps of Humility from St. Benedict. I think you will be amazed at how they line up with the recovery steps and principles.

Second Wednesday: A Monk in the World  
In this column we will learn how to implement monastic spiritual practices into our daily life, enhancing our Christian walk with Benedictine principles.

Third Wednesday: The Twelve Principles 
This year we are going to take a different turn on our 12 Step journey. My recovery columns for 2014 will focus on the Principles behind the 12 Steps rather than the Steps themselves. This will add a new dimension to our recovery study and growth process.

Fourth Wednesday: Books Reviews 
As I have these last few years, each month I will continue to publish a Book Review.  Again the topics will focus on Humility, Christian mysticism or monastic spirituality.

During Lent 2013 I studied about St. Hildegard of Bingen. 
She was an incredible woman far ahead of her time. Among her many accomplishments, St. Hildegard is credited for composing the first Western opera. I'd like to share her beautiful music with you. If you can't see the screen below CLICK HERE.  Enjoy...

PHOTO CREDIT: ryanking999 / 123RF Stock Photo

Preparing for 2013

For the last several weeks I've been asking God for direction and focus for my ministry blog. After much prayer and meditation I finally have a peace about my outline for the upcoming year. In keeping with last year's magazine format, we will have topical weekly columns that repeat on a specific Wednesday of the month.

To be faithful to my recovery journey and my ministry's primary message of healing, I will continue to dedicate the first Wednesday of each month to addiction recovery. The last few years I've gone through the traditional 12 Steps. This year I am going to combine the 12 Steps, with Celebrate Recovery's Eight Principles - which are based on The Beatitudes. I'm looking forward to learning new things.

This last year we learned about Virtues and Vices. Although, I will continue my personal studies of Christian Virtue, I've decided to take a slight detour and focus on the Spiritual Disciplines this years. We will be using Richard Foster's brilliant book Celebration of Discipline, Dallas Willard's The Spirit of the Disciplines and Charles Swindoll's So You Want to Be Like Christ? as foundations for our study. I hope you come along as we go out into the deep in search of what God would have us be in this life.  

In 2004 when I was beginning my recovery journey and returning back to the Lord, I was a mess to put it lightly. I struggled terribly with my thought life and mental boundaries. It wasn't long before God directed me to write scriptures and various lessons I was learning from books on 3x5 cards. These cards were crucial to getting through days and often hours of those early years. I literally carried them with me everywhere I went. As I've struggled in a few areas these last few months, I've been drawn back to my cards. Then when I was praying for this upcoming year, God reminded me of the important messages held in those cards. So for 2013, on the third Wednesday of each month I will post a column called Living Life Lessons which will be various topics and life lessons God has been working into my life these last eight years.

As a student of life and avid reader it's important that I continue to share the good things I find. On the fourth Wednesday of each month I will be posting a Book Review. I'm excited about the book list that has already come together for this next year! Some are on my resource page and have been critical to my journey for several years. Others are new publications and some just new to me. I hope you will be blessed as we strive to be better together.

Here is what you can expect each month of 2013 on Reaching Hurting Women:

• 1st Wednesday:  The Road to Recovery
• 2nd Wednesday: Celebrate Discipline
• 3rd Wednesday:  Living Life Lessons
• 4th Wednesday:  Book Reviews
• 5th Wednesday:  Bonus Blog / Guest Bloggers 

Jump into the river with me... let's go deeper together with this music video! http://youtu.be/h_O_3XrXlFQ