Quotes from Stephen Arterburn

Suicide is a permanent decision to a temporary feeling.

Show that person you love them; don't just expect them to some-how know it.

7So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Even those of us who have given our heart to God face new temptations and decisions every day.

In a toxic system, the toxic minister sets himself or herself up as having a special destiny or mission that can be performed by no one else. This special anointing or calling is often nothing more than the pathological need to be valued or esteemed. It also takes some of the power that should be attributed to God and gives it to the toxic minister. It is a way to usurp God's authority, and it is a way to discredit anyone who disagrees with the direction of the ministry.

13Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

Imagine yourself being happy, unburdened, and filled with joy. That is how God wants you to be. 'Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about.' (1 Peter 5:7 NLT).

Recognizing our internal weaknesses is the first step toward recovery. When we look beyond ourself, we see that there are others who have struggled with an addiction and recovered. We know that they, too, were unable to heal themselves, yet they now live free of addictive behaviors. We conclude that there must be a greater Power that helped them. Since we can see the similarities between their struggles and our own, we come to believe that our powerful God can restore us to sanity.

For some of us faith comes easily. For others, especially if we have experienced betrayal, it may be more difficult. Sometimes we must exhaust all of our own resources in trying to overcome our addictive "disease" before we will risk believing in a higher Power.

Pain is a gift from God to let us know that something is not right, that something in our life needs attention and fixing.

The joy of dropping your heavy load is that it frees you to become the person that God and you—whether or not, at any given time of your life, you know it—most want you to be.

The more responsibility you take for your choices, the less regret they're likely to cause you.

When a man practices biblical openness with other men, he moves from secrecy to candor, from isolation to connection, and from pretense to authenticity.

THE BIG PICTURE A. WISDOM: THE FOUNDATION OF RECOVERY (1:1-27) B. FAITH: THE SUBSTANCE OF RECOVERY (2:1-26) C. SELF-CONTROL: SETTING BOUNDARIES IN RECOVERY (3:1-18) D. HUMILITY: THE ATTITUDE OF RECOVERY (4:1-17) E. GIVING OF OURSELVES: THE EVIDENCE OF RECOVERY (5:1-20)

Outcasts can interpret reality for themselves. Even when their perception of reality contradicts that of hundreds or thousands of followers, they can clearly see the problems and press for solutions to those problems. Outcasts are unimpressed by position or personhood. They love God and want to protect his people and his institutions from spiritual fraud.

If you do develop a major problem, it is the result of your deep spiritual weakness. 3. Since this weakness makes the church look bad, the least you can do is pretend you do not have this problem.

If you are not going to pretend you are problem-free, at least show everyone you are deeply ashamed. 5. If you are not going to either pretend to be perfect or act ashamed, don't show up.

Making peace with someone is not a goal. It's a journey.

1Let all that I am praise the LORD.     O LORD my God, how great you are!         You are robed with honor and majesty.        2You are dressed in a robe of light.     You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens;

Love is the only fuel that can keep a difficult relationship running smoothly and regret-free.

14"If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.