What is Recovery? When my husband Paul and I began our Holy Spirit assignment I thought my answer would be helping those struggling with addiction. As many of you know Paul is a drug and alcohol counselor, after dealing with his own addiction for years. He has personally experienced
Joel 2:25 "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—
The Lord moved us to TN where we started a non-profit. To better understand the goal I would encourage you to visit our site.
RenegadeRecoveryFoundation.com
What I have learned is recovery includes a lot more than drugs and alcohol. Honestly we are all recovering at some point in our lives whether it be the loss of a loved one, divorce, our past, depression, the list goes on and on.
What I would like to share with you today is a recent journey Paul and I have been on with a man of God whose current recovery is overcoming the loss of a home, job, dignity and basic life needs due to health issues.
The Lord led us to him in December where we met on a street corner on a very cold TN day. This was also the day I realized Renegade was not limited to people suffering from drugs alone.
I will be sharing content from personal messages between us and our friend, when his phone is working and charged, so you can witness firsthand where in his recovery process he is. I will leave his name off out of respect.
Hi guys! So I finally got a ride into Pigeon Forge today. Got a ticket in 10 minutes, so I can't ride my scooter much. No gas, anyway. I went to Denny's for a job, but everything is online now and my cell service is inactive and the phone is a piece of junk so maybe tomorrow I can go online at the library and try to get in that way.
So I'm okay, as long as I can last the night.
Thank you for all your help and friendship. I'm in pretty dire straits again right now. If I were a drug addict on probation, I wouldn't be in this position. I'll let you know everything when we speak again.
Until then, God bless and please pray for me.
Love,
xxxxxx
Sorry it's been a while checking in. I hope all is well with you.
So my phone service expired and I've been outdoors for a few weeks now-no fun at all! So I called Straight Talk and begged them for a complimentary 1 week of service to get out of this situation, and they did it! And then, as Murphy's Law would have it, my phone decided to stop working. No charge at all. I plugged it into an outlet behind a gas station today and it charged up to 80% so I thought I'd better let you know how I'm doing because I know you care about me.
I have a place where I can stay with an old friend and a place where I can park my scooter, but that's in Sevierville and have no way to transport it. I had one guy who was going to help, but I have to try to catch him at the gas station, which is cool but they keep running me off. Can't have a dirty, smelly old homeless guy sitting outside the store all day.
Anyway, the SSA finally got me an appointment for a full work up for my disability, but it's on July 22 in Morristown. Until then, it's nothing but suffering miserably.
So, I'll have phone service for 2 more days. If my phone charges, I can get onto a wi fi network for emails.
I've been reading Proverbs a lot lately, Job and Ecclesiastes, asking God why He is putting me through this. The answers come slowly.
God bless, and hopefully we'll talk again soon.
In God's love,
xxxxxx
Hi Gena!
It's that dang xxxxx guy again! Just wanted to touch base, let y'all know that I'm ok. I have called a couple former employers to see if I can get back on board, but I also called my disability attorney and they said that would ruin my chance of being approved. So I'm stuck. I have food, but this concrete and dirt is taking its toll.
Anyway, thank you and God for being there for me. I know where to go for church services, but it's kind of hard to get there for me. But I'm okay, and I hope that you are as well.
Love, xxxxx
Hi guys,
Sorry it's taken so long to respond, but my phone suddenly decided to stop charging, but sometimes it does very slowly i'm only at 13% now after several hours of being plugged in! Just finding a place to plug it in is a hassle.
I really do appreciate you, and it's true that God moves me to do my best to touch others with His love, and He does.
I'm not sick or dying, but that's all I can say for now. Miserable, yes. Hungry, filthy, and desperate, but not dead. Even though sometimes I do pray for Him to just take me off this earth in my sleep. But He won't let me.
Thank you again, and I'll call with an update as soon as I can get this danged phone charged!
I love you, folks. May God bless us all tonight with rest, sustenance, and fellowship.
Love,
xxxx
John 15:8
Maybe we don't talk to people we don't understand because we don't want them to ask us for something we don't want to give?? We can be so quick to judge others, to assume things about people based on the current circumstances of their lives. I have been guilty of this very thing. At times we treat brothers and sisters less than and rob them of their dignity.
It’s possible they are in the center of God’s will. Remember Paul wrote many letters to the church from prison! He was homeless, broke, hungry and I'm sure smelly.
Acts 10:34-35: "Then Peter began to speak: 'I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism, but welcomes those from every nation who fear Him and do what is right'".
James 2:1-4: Commands believers not to show favoritism (such as favoring the rich over the poor), stating that doing so makes them "judges with evil thoughts".
Leviticus 19:15: "Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly".
Romans 2:11: "For God does not show favoritism".
1 Samuel 16:7: Mentions that while humans look at outward appearance, God looks at the heart.
We continue to pray daily and seek the will of God for our brother. We do all we can with the resources we have as we extend a hand up with no strings attached.
Many of you thank us for what we do, but like any non-profit, we can’t do it without donations.
So there you have it, I’m asking you to pray about giving to RenegadeRecoveryFoundation.com as we continue to minister to those walking through their personal recovery.
Philippians 4:9 "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus".
If you noticed I underlined the above verse, John 15:8, because that is the verse the Lord gave me this morning in my devotional time and I realized later when I read the last message from my friend he posted the same verse!
John 15:8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
Gems, I pray you will do your part, however God leads you, as you embrace those around you in “recovery.” If you feel led we would appreciate your support so we can continue to glorify God and prove to be His disciples.
