Accountability Partners Drop Like Flies

I have been having no luck lately with accountability partners. They seem to come and go, going more often than they are coming around. I have witnessed several of them relapse and others get caught up in what I would not consider to be the most appropriate behavior. Some of it risky behavior and other times it is downright unChrist-like.

My accountability partners have claimed to follow Christ, but then have done things that they felt the need to justify. "God asks too much from me" and "I am pretty sure God wouldn't care." I know that God doesn't expect us to be perfect, but we have to make changes in how we live our lives. After all, "You can't put new wine into old wineskins." In other words, we can't live for Christ if we continue to engage in old behaviors and keep the same playgrounds and playmates.

So, my former accountability partners have reached the point that they are tired of giving their all for Christ.  It is funny how we feel that God asks too much from us. God sent Jesus, His only begotten son, to die for all our sins. We received the ultimate blood sacrifice in the form of a crucified Christ on Golgotha after a  walk of shame spit on and cursed at which preceded the flogging that ripped flesh from Christ's body. But, God asks too much from us???

We looked at Abraham last week in church. Abraham was told to leave his family and friends, to leave the very country he lived in, all on the command of God. Then he was led by God to circumcise himself at the age of 99. Furthermore,  Abraham is a man who wanted a son. After his wife finally gives birth to Isaac when he is 100 God commands him to go to a place he shows him in a vision and offer up his son as a sacrifice to God.

Look at all that Abraham went through, and all we are asked to do is live in moderation. Don't do things that could cause your brother to stumble. Love people, be they Gay or straight, white or black, Liberal or Conservative. But that is asking too much. I would rather write on Facebook about how only idiots voted for ____________(fill in with name of the candidate you didn't support).

Other great excuses:

1. "It's just a beer. It's legal." If you feel that maybe you shouldn't drink it, maybe you shouldn't! Any time you feel the need to justify doing something that is a great indicator you shouldn't do it.
2. "It's only weed. God made it." He made poppies too, and I would never advocate doing heroin. 
3. "It's just a couple of cookies." An couple of cookies does not constitute an entire box.
4. "God wouldn't expect me to die a virgin." That is what marriage is for.
5. "Everyone else is doing it." We are called to be salt and light. We are in this world, not of this world. 
6. "50 Shades of Grey is a book. It's not like I'm watching a porn." No, you are reading one. Saying you read it for the love story is like saying you watch pornography for the acting or buy Playboy for the articles!
7. "It is easier for us to live together and not get married financially." If you are doing the right thing and living your life the right way, God will provide for your needs. Maybe not your wants, but your needs.

The truth is, stop making excuses to live your life wrong and start making excuses to live your life right. We need to lead stellar lives. I pray multiple times daily that God make me like Jesus, let me be His hands and feet and act as salt and light to all of those I come in contact with. We are not called to be ordinary, but extraordinary. I don't want you to be good Christians, I want you to be great Christians. That requires living as Christ did. 

I would be willing to be be that Christ didn't get drunk or smoke weed. He also never would have read 50 Shades of Grey or had premarital sex. And as for fitting in and blending with popular culture, Christ did everything but that! To quote Ezekiel Azonwu, "An almost Christian looks right but lives wrong. Can't stand the conviction in Romans so they sit down to be comforted in Psalms."

God calls you as you are, but expects you to change. Works are not what earn you salvation, they are the evidence of salvation. Does how you live your life show that you are saved? 

The State of America: 4 More Years

The truth is, I am worried for America. Not because O'Bama is president, or that a democrat is president once again. I have seen some people insinuate that America is heading to hell because we elected O'Bama. How dare you! I will address this statement later. What concerns me is that I have never seen our country this polarized. If we are not united, we will fall. Our hate for each other is causing a divide that someone could easily capitalize on. United we stand, divided we fall is true for our country as it has been true for every super power before us.

Atheists and Agnostics, this is for you. I had a friend say that he is content today knowing everything does not count on this fiction called God. He said that science and common sense once again won out over those who believe in unicorns because O'Bama is president. He said that O'Bama won by secular votes because no Christians would vote for him. I have many friends who are Christians that voted for O'Bama (I don't believe they are going to hell). I know that horrifies both the Christians and non-Christians alike, but it is true.

To address the unicorn part, I don't believe in unicorns but I do believe in God. I find it easier to believe in an all powerful God that has always existed than the uncaused cause causing the Big Bang (just saying that is confusing), chaos causing order, life springing from non-living matter and then micro-evolution. It's called Occam's Razor. I find God to be the answer containing the least assumptions.

To Christians, be careful. Your hate is showing. It is okay to say that you are unhappy about the results, but saying, "Everyone who voted for O'Bama is going to Hell," is taking it a bit far. How about realizing that in the end, all things happen for a reason. A long time ago I learned that not all things happen the way we want them to, but they happen the way they are supposed to. God always has been and always will be in control.

Further more, we are to show love to our fellow man, not hate. Empathy not apathy. This election outcome impacts a temporary world, not the eternal Kingdom we should be focused on. If you are feeling hopeless today because of the election's outcome, that is not a political problem. That is a spiritual problem. Remember who is in control. 

I would encourage all to pray for our country, as well as all of the other countries out there. I would encourage you to pray for the leaders on a local, state, national and global level. We are to be salt and light, and I am not seeing that the way I would like to today. We need to be that for people. We are to love our fellow man, not hate on him. So let's start doing that!

The Bible says we should pray for our leaders. Please, join me in praying this day and every day after for the United States and other countries, for Democrats and Republicans, for blacks and whites for the rich and the poor. All people deserve our prayer and love, not our derision and hate.

For those who say, to quote one of my friends, "If you didn't vote then keep your mouth closed you have no right to say anything" I guess I had a little to say. Since my friend was a Christian who said that I will say that my kingdom is not of this world. I have my eyes focused on the eternal. I look forward to that kingdom finally coming. Until then, I will pray for all politicians and all nations to have the wisdom and courage to do what is right. Maybe someday they will.............

Church in Under 60 Minutes or Your Money Back

I had put up something on Facebook about the Chicago Bears squeaking out a win. A friend commented that it was "almost embarrassing." I told her that I would take embarrassed with a win. I thought about Woody Harrelson's character in White Men Can't Jump when he talks about some people who would rather look good and lose than look bad and win. This reminded me of the world we live in today and how I am supposed to live my life. I should not live to look good and win the approval of those around me. Why don't we want their approval?

We are told that the world would hate us. In John 15:18-21 Jesus says to His disciples, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

That said, I don't think that we should be after the hate of the world. We are not going out of our way to make the world hate us. That said, wrong is wrong and we are to call those things out when they are IN THE CHURCH. We are not to go around judging those who are outside of the church. Instead, we are to be salt and light. That means we are to stand out and be different from those around us because we are called to a higher purpose.

We are called to act like Jesus. We are called to follow the commands of the Bible. We are to love God and to love our neighbors. Does that mean we will not talk to our neighbors about Christ and our faith? Absolutely not! In fact, we are called to talk to them about Christ and what He has called us to do as Christians. That does not mean we stand in judgement. Instead, we lead by example and inform/teach. I plant the seed, that is it. Only God can make it grow.

Now, back to the movie quote. Would you rather look good and lose, or look bad and win? When it comes to this world, if they cannot accept the way I live my life and the calling I follow than I would rather look bad to them. I don't have to fit in. In fact, I don't want to. Don't forget, the stakes are high. Winners get eternal life. To do that, we need to not follow the ways of the world. We need to look different, because once we accept Christ we are different.

So, how different from the secular world is today's church in America? I am sure that back in the early days of Christianity, church only lasted 45 minutes. There were 2-4 worship songs, a 15-20 minute sermon than two more worship songs. It was probablya  rush to get out the door and leave on your camel first to beat traffic. In fact, I bet that at least one if not two of those songs were not worship songs at all. I bet a couple of the songs they played in the early church were secular songs that were popular at the time so that more of the non-Christians would check the church out. Right?????

The church today is trying so hard to look like and not offend the secular world that we are looking more and more like the world outside of the church. We play secular songs that don't even tie in to the message. We have short sermons and short meeting times. We try not to offend any of the people who come to our church. Why? Because that is the popular thing to do. Because if we don't, then we might have some people who are unhappy stop coming to our church. They will go somewhere else and find a feel good, secular music playing, God loves you as you are why should you change hour or less church were they get dessert but no main course.

I say let them go. Why do we care so much what everybody thinks about us. It is sad that the churches today seem to be on a time schedule. What if the Spirit guides the pastor to talk for longer? Then we lose part of the sermon or we end the service with no last worship music. How is that spiritually nourishing? What happened to the church we have today?

We have traded in a sit down dining establishment for a fast food restaurant. We get nothing substantial or healthy. Instead, we get dessert and junk. Just like our physical bodies, our spiritual bodies are obese and out of shape. We are there to worship and let the Holy Spirit work on us and guide us. Who are we to put time constraints on the Holy Spirit? How dare us! I know that I am used to the short and sweet services because that is all that I know. But I am not always satisfied with them.

 I yearn for more! My spiritual batteries get depleted, and my spirit starves for more sometimes. I pray for 20-30 minutes in the morning. I break open my Bible several times a day. I write on the things that I read and learn. I share them with my wife and sometimes my coworkers. I have Jesus frequently in my daily life. That said, I want more!!

I have gone to multiple different churches in the same day, or gone to all of the services in one day to hear the differences in the sermons and see how they spoke to me. All I listen to is worship music. I meet with a weekly men's group. There is something about corporate worship I can't get anywhere else. The church is a locker room, and I need to get that play book down. I need more!

Now, don't get me wrong. There is great secular music out there, but not to be playing from speakers in your parking lot. There is also amazing worship music. I don't believe, as one of my wife's professors did, that drums are tools of the devil. I love contemporary Christian music as well as the old hymns. I love to sing out loud and express my adoration for Christ. Nothing primes my spirit to hear and apply a sermon more than great worship music. How can secular music possibly prime me to receive the message? It can't, period!

I have a novel idea. How about the churches with several services have the last one be a longer service. Let there be more worship and a longer message. That way the people who only care about the fluff, whose lives are so busy they can only take an hour or two (the extra hour is for that one small group they attend) out of their busy weeks, can have their sermon. They can get the fast food version. Those who want to spend more time in worship and listening to the word get to hear it, too. Those who hunger get fed and the truly thirsty get their thirst quenched! How amazing would that be?

Stop Pimping Jesus Out

I am going to start this off with an instance in particular that I see as condescending and sad. It is when someone on Facebook does what I consider to be pimping out Jesus. They also do it with soldiers, puppies, cruelty to animals, etc. What I am talking about is the random posts on Facebook that say things like, "Click like if you love Jesus," "Leave a comment if you follow Jesus," "Copy and paste this as your status if you support our troops" and "Forward this to 10 of your friends and you will have happiness."

Just wrong, period! People are using these things to get likes for their pictures and sites. You want to post something and have someone like it, write something original. Take your own picture, don't take someone else's and use it with a snappy caption pimping out Jesus or our troops or abused animals to get likes.

You want likes and follows, be honest. How about saying, "Like this site if you support what I am doing to bring the message of Jesus to people" or "Leave a comment if you support what I am doing." It is okay to use yourself and what you are personally doing. But using Jesus, pictures of soldiers or discussing what others are doing that you have no involvement in to curry favor is not the way to do it.

I am saying this because if you love and follow Jesus, your walk will show it. If you support the troops, donate to a non-profit set up to help them. Same with abused animals. If those poor dogs being abused and killed break your heart, adopt your next dog from the pound or shelter and not purchase it from a breeder or puppy mills. Finally, if you want to be happy and you are not, make changes in your friends, habits, activities and employment.

Just an FYI, I love Jesus and I would say that I have a good relationship with Him. Not great, but it is progress not perfection we aim for. That said, I have never commented or liked one of the posts that wanted me to prove it in some inane ways. I also support our troops yet I have never copied and pasted a status to say that I supported our troops. Finally, I have never forwarded an email to become happy, find love, not die in 7 days, keep a puppy from being killed or prove my faith.

We are called to be SALT AND LIGHT, NOT COMMENT AND LIKE!! Trust me, if you think that you are living on the wrong side of God, no amount of sharing an email or liking a post is going to change that. People who try to tell you that it will are misguided at best. Using God to get likes, salvation to get comments and people's fears to get shares is not right. If you want to get those things, then there are ways to get it:

1. Photograph something amazing 
2. Write something meaningful
3. Record something that catches people's attention
4. Start a non-profit benefiting a group and pour yourself into it

I want you to know that I am guilty on occasion of overdoing some things on Facebook and probably Twitter. At one time I had Facebook and Twitter linked and was double posting on Facebook because of it. I am also no longer going to use hash tags and @insertTwitternamehere on Facebook as that is not the right language. If you are on a social media network, use it and then take the time to post on the next social media network using their format.

My problem was that I was lazy and I realize that if I want people to have an interest in what I am doing, I need to show that same interest in them. Rick Warren says, "People don't care about how much you know until they know about how much you care!" If you care, you will take time out to do things well. You will use original content, not steal others.

I also share my faith very openly and honestly. I was out of hope, lost and ready to give up on life. Through Christ I found hope and a reason to live. He saved my life. If you discover something that saves your life, know that if you share it with others it could save theirs too and you don't do it............you suck at life. You are simply not a good person. Not judging, just saying!

I also talk about the exercise I do and the food I eat on occasion. The reason for that is I am in the middle of losing a goal of 60 pounds, and 70 would probably be good. I have other friends that struggle with weight issues and impulse control that are encouraged by what I say. At least, that is what they tell me. Because of that, I share about dieting, exercise, Jesus and the things that keep me positive. I hope that it will allow others to get a better outlook on life and overcome some of their struggles.

In closing, if you can be positive that is great. If you have nice, uplifting things to say then by all means say them. If all you do is complain and trash other people, then maybe you need to keep that to yourself. Let me know about you. After all, that is what I care about.

Today Spiritual Spackle is 1 Year Old!!

As of today, Spiritual Spackle has existed for one year. What that means is that one year ago today I began a blog that bears the same name of the book that I am currently writing. Spiritual Spackle the book and the blog are both dedicated to 2 things: Christ and Recovery. There are other things that I do talk about, but in reality all that I write about boils down to being in recovery and being Christ-like. Everything else is truly secondary. Do I write about being a husband, father and counselor. Yes I do, but without recovery and Christ I would suck at them, so the theme permeates all that I do!

When I first started the blog, I had hopes that it would be read at least 100 times a week. That would be 5,200 hits over the last year. You broke that, and it has been viewed 11,512 times. That is 221 times a week. I find it awesome that so many people care about reading what I have to say about Christ and Recovery. I just hope that what I write can help teach some, lead others and give hope to all who spare me several minutes of their time to stop by and read something I have written.

I did not even really think about the other countries that would visit this site. I would have thought maybe 10 or 20 if I would have been asked. Instead, there have been 84 countries that have stopped by Spiritual Spackle. You can see all of them at http://spiritualspackle.blogspot.com/2011/06/countries.html  The top 10 are:

1. United States
2. Russia
3. United Kingdom
4. Germany
5. France
6. Brazil
7. Canada
8. Slovenia
9. Australia
10. Philippines

I have had some blogs that have had more hits than others. The top one that I have ever posted had over 650 hits and it was not written by me. The top blog that I posted was viewed by over 200 people, and it is one of my testimonies. I am grateful that my finding recovery through Christ was interesting and hopefully inspirational enough that over 200 people have watched it. The rest of the top 10 are written by me or about the non-profit that I am forming. Here are the links to the top 10 blogs in my first year:

1. http://spiritualspackle.blogspot.com/2011/05/45-seconds-memoirs-of-er-doctor-from.html
2. http://spiritualspackle.blogspot.com/2012/01/celebrate-recovery-testimony-01192012.html
3. http://spiritualspackle.blogspot.com/2011/05/joplin-tornado-and-psychological-first.html
4. http://spiritualspackle.blogspot.com/2011/10/documentary-update-please-like-and.html
5. http://spiritualspackle.blogspot.com/2011/08/call-to-christians.html
6. http://spiritualspackle.blogspot.com/2012/03/reason-rally-atheists-agnostics-and.html
7. http://spiritualspackle.blogspot.com/2011/12/thank-youthe-journey-has-only-just.html
8. http://spiritualspackle.blogspot.com/2012/05/better-life-in-recovery-documentary.html
9. http://spiritualspackle.blogspot.com/2011/09/chris-rene-young-homie.html
10. http://spiritualspackle.blogspot.com/2011/12/i-have-enquiring-mind-i-want-to-know.html

What has disappointed me is the number of likes that I have gotten on Facebook. I have only had 142 like the site so far. It is found here http://www.facebook.com/pages/Spiritual-Spackle/208425445856402 and I would have figured that I would have at least 250 likes by now. Truth be told, if you want to like the site than like it. If not, at least continue reading. In the end, reading what is on this blog is much more important than clicking like. That said, feel free to share this blog with all that you know and I look forward to sharing more about Christ and Recovery with you in the years to come! Here is to Finding A Better Life Exists.........in Recovery!

Get Busy Living.....Better Life in Recovery

Of all the movies that have been made, there are a lot of quotes that I really like. My favorite quotable movies when I was a kid were Breakfast Club and as I got older Tombstone. That said, the one quote that really sticks out in my mind is from the movie Shawshank Redemption, and that quote is, "You either got to get busy living, or get busy dying." In my addiction, I was busy dying. Sure, I might not sleep for a week or more at a time, but I never really did anything. I put myself in situations where I hoped that someone would kill me, but they never did. I would have done it myself, but the time that my sister found me passed out in a pool of blood after a botched attempt I promised her that I would never do it again. 

I would keep that promise to her, but I tried to commit suicide by using drugs, alcohol, cars, police and other addicts. I had no real reason to live, and my life went no where. That is a pretty sad place to be, and I could not seem to find my way out of the depths of self-pity and self-loathing that I was stuck in. Then I had my conversion experience, and nothing has been the same since! That is why the quote from Shawshank Redemption really sticks out in my head!


Since I had my conversion, I have gotten busy living. I volunteer at least 10 hours a week. I share my strength, hope and experience with kids and adults when ever I get the chance. It could be one-on-one, it could be at a church, recovery meeting or college class with 500 people. The bottom line is that I share what I have, and I have a life worth living now. That is a wonderful feeling! The longer that I live sober, the more I owe back to the society that I once drained. That is why I am writing this blog today, to talk about what I am doing to improve society.


I am currently working on a documentary called "Better Life in Recovery." It has its own website found at www.betterlifeinrecovery.com  It also has its own Facebook page found at www.facebook.com/pages/Better-Life-In-Recovery/171246616294150 that you can like and follow how the documentary is coming and give both it and those involved with the project your support. 


We are trying something innovative with this documentary. With edgy editing techniques and modern music we will show the tragedy of multiple young adults who have entered into addiction and the tragedy that it has caused in their lives in a format that will keep their interest. We will then showcase how they stepped into recovery and how much better their lives have become since they escaped the clutches of their addictions. This documentary is intended to be taken into junior and high schools, colleges, seminars, trainings, forums, detention centers, churches, youth groups, recovery meetings, rehabilitation centers, film festivals, PTA meetings, etc. 


Any way that we can get the message of recovery to the community, we will do it. This in turn will transition into several more documentaries that will assist us in reaching even more people. The difference between most videos and documentaries and this one is that we will be bringing 1-3 people who were in the documentary to do Question and Answer sessions after the documentary is shown. This will be much more impacting on the viewers. It will not be someone 40 years older than them that has never had an addiction issues. Instead, it will be younger people that they can relate to who have actually lived with addiction, and beat it! 


We will be in the Pepsi Refresh project as of November 1st. That means that as of November 1st we will need as many people voting for our project every day as possible. We do not yet have our voting instructions. We  will be able to put those as well as a flyer that you can copy off on our site at www.betterlifeinrecovery.com/page3.php when we get it. This page contains instructions on ways that you can help us and the flyer that will be available to be printed off is on the bottom right hand of this page. I ask that you share this blog with all of your friends that you have on Facebook and by email and twitter, like the Facebook page and share it with everyone also. We need as many voters helping us as possible. 


Help us make this project a reality so that thousands of adolescents and young adults can stop being busy dying and instead get busy living!!!!!

Documentary Update - Please Like and Share New Facebook Page

I know that I have been on this documentary kick the past week, and that kick is going to continue. Tomorrow I will have a new blog up that will address something other than the documentary. The truth is, this documentary is vitally important to those who are struggling with the consequences of life. I know that this documentary and the way it will be presented are going to really help some people who are in pain. We want them to be able to work through that pain and come out victorious!

Those who are already in their self-destructive behaviors may find the hope and faith that they need to find their way out of them. Those who are not yet engaging in those behaviors and are only thinking of them will find that they are not alone and that they do not have to go down that road, and what will happen if they do. I do not want victims or survivors, I want thrivers. I share the difference between those three roles in my blog entitled Spiritual Spackle (read it here: http://spiritualspackle.blogspot.com/2011/08/spackle-theory.html)

The purpose of my blog today is for you to share the new Facebook group that I have started entitled Better Life in Recovery. I would like for you to join this group and get this group out to as many people as you can. You can find it here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Better-Life-In-Recovery/171246616294150

Share this group with others. This is of vital importance to the new documentary. The Facebook group  will soon be connected to the new website with the same name at www.betterlifeinrecovery.com. The reason this is so important for people to be part of this group is that when voting starts for the Pepsi Refresh grant on November 1st this will have all of the voting information on it. People will be able to go here and get information on how to vote, where to vote and the name of the project.

We will need  thousands of people giving us their votes every day in the month of November in order for us to win. This will allow us to get the documentary shot quicker and begin presenting it sooner than if we do not get the grant and have to fund everything out of our own pocket. I cannot stress this enough, PLEASE LIKE THE FACEBOOK GROUP "BETTER LIFE IN RECOVERY" AND GET AS MANY OF YOUR FACEBOOK FRIENDS TO LIKE IT ALSO SO THAT MORE PEOPLE WILL SEE THE VOTING INFORMATION WHEN IT IS POSTED. THAT WAY WE CAN INCREASE THE PROBABILITY OF OUR WINNING THE GRANT IN NOVEMBER AND CAN BEGIN TALKING TO OUR YOUTH EARLIER!!!! WE ARE TRYING TO SAVE LIVES HERE AND YOUR HELP IS VITAL!!!! THANK YOU!




This is what the documentary is about: