Tag Archives: alcoholism

Day 3347 – Sober Mercies – A Book About An Alcoholic Christian – Read A New Book Month Day 9

Posted on by
1

After I got sober, I tried to read a few memoirs by alcoholics. I found myself a little depressed and just not encouraged by what I read. While being an alcoholic and the journey to sobriety isn’t exactly a super happy one, there was just something missing from each book I tried. That all changed when I read Sober Mercies: How Love Caught Up with a Christian Drunk* by Heather Kopp. I found encouragement and a journey similar to mine. It was one of the best books I’ve read about drinking and really encouraged me to keep working on my own book about my sobriety journey. If you think you’re a Christian alcoholic or a non-Christian alcoholic or are just curious what it’s like to be a Christian alcoholic, this is the book for you.

*

Sober Mercies: How Love Caught Up with a Christian Drunk*

As a reminder, the links to the book on Amazon are affiliate links. As a reminder, an affiliate link is one that if you click and purchase the book (or something else) I’ll receive a small percentage at no additional cost to you. I ruthlessly only share products, services, books, etc, that I have personally used and only recommend what I think is useful and valuable. I’ve marked all affiliate links in this post with this little guy –> *

Check out all of my 2018 Read A New Book Month recommendations.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Join our Facebook group, Planning an Epic Road Trip on Any Budget
Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
Buy my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Day 3338 – Counting Down Days, Looking Backwards

Posted on by
Reply

Y’all know I love looking back, especially using Facebook Memories. I’ve talked about how interesting it is to watch what I posted about in the weeks and months leading up to my eventual sobriety. Remembering (or barely remembering) things I did, parties I went to, etc.

But something stuck out this August. In 2011, I was counting down to becoming a full-time photographer. I was finally leaving the 9-5 world. I can’t believe I’ve been a freelancer for almost 7 years. There are definitely things I should have done differently (went full-time way too early), but the rough times over the last 7 years have taught me so much about myself.

So what struck me today is that I had one countdown I knew was coming (full-time freelancer), and one I did not (sobriety), years later. Sometimes, you can only see the countdown when looking back. You can look at posts on social media or entries in your journal and see how everything was leading to this one moment. If you find yourself in a trying time, just know that when you can look back with the clarity of time, you might just find that everything was leading you to someplace you’ve never dreamed possible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Join our Facebook group, Planning an Epic Road Trip on Any Budget
Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
Buy my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Day 3337 – When Did I Know I Was An Alcoholic – repost

Posted on by
Reply

I’m working through my second draft of my memoir, and I’m happy to see it taking somewhat of a logical shape.

Yesterday, we had so much fun hanging out with some friends at a beautiful waterfront bar. Chatting with one of my friends, we talked about what was success for my first book, which was that one person’s mindset was changed.

In my current draft of the memoir, I wrote “I don’t want to write this book. Thinking back to these times doesn’t make me happy. Trying to read other memoirs about drinking is hard to do. I want to forget it all happened. I want to leave those memories in the past. Why would I ever want to go back there? Why would I want to share even more about the things I did? I suppose, if just one person is helped. If one person can move past addiction and treat it finally as a sin, it is worth it.”

I think I have my goal for this book.

So, when did I know I was an alcoholic?
Probably in the few days after my last drink. Here’s a snapshot from my journal, which is part thinking out loud, part praying, in the days after that last day.

September 29, 2014 (first day sober)
“I do enjoy it and I have had some great times, yet I’ve quit so many times. Can I really not control myself or am I trying to prove to myself that I can? Am I holding on to sin? Should I cut it loose? Do I need to cut it out completely? Truly? Forever? Is it standing in my way?”

On October 3, 2014
“Thank you also for the clear “it’s time” to quit drinking. Thank you for the strength already against temptation. Let it open doors to honest communications about how Christians aren’t perfect.”

Almost three years later and I think it’s so true – that it can open lines of communications. People are shocked when they hear about my sobriety – “but you’re a Christian!”

Thinking back to the months following this moment, I remember thinking that there is almost more stigma against people who don’t drink than people who do. Look at all the memes about drinking at the end of the day, or that say “how could I ever quit drinking, I’d be boring!” I was more embarrassed and nervous to say “no thank you” to a drink, then when I was downing bottle after bottle.

I’m so thankful for sober Jen, because she can go to places like we went yesterday, and remember every minute. I really hope we can live near the water some day.

originally posted 8/6/17

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Join our Facebook group, Planning an Epic Road Trip on Any Budget
Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
Buy my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Day 3312 – Being Sober – What Impacts Me Changes From Day To Day

Posted on by
Reply

My experiences with sobriety, thinking about my alcoholism, talking to others about experiences, and what causes me to get upset honestly changes from day to day. A few months back, I watched a Cinema Sins video about The Girl On The Train. I didn’t watch the movie because it had nudity, and the silly Cinema Sins videos give me an idea of what a movie was about without having to watch it. Turns out, the main character is an alcoholic. When I watched that video, I realized it really shook me, and I spiraled down with thoughts about my drinking and things that I did while drinking. It made me think – can I not watch, read, talk about other alcoholics?

And here I am, reading the book, The Girl On The Train, and instead of spiraling in my thoughts, I find myself impressed that the author could write an alcoholic so well. I’m asked a lot about how my sobriety impacts my life, from what it’s like to go into a liquor store to being around others drinking to just talking about my drinking days. In a lot of ways, things are pretty consistent, but sometimes, something that would have knocked me down for a few days doesn’t bother me at all.

I write all this to encourage you to be patient with your newly sober, longly sober, want to be sober friends. Dealing with alcohol and remembering our past changes from day to day. So don’t get upset if what bothers us one day is completely ok the next. Dealing with sobriety is a long, hard, wonderful process, and we need you to be there to support us – no matter what that means on any given day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Join our Facebook group, Planning an Epic Road Trip on Any Budget
Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
Buy my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget.
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Day 3308 – A Surprisingly Hard Part Of Sobriety In The Beginning

Posted on by
2

Over the past few days, for a number of reasons, the changes in my life have been on my mind. From job changes to income changes to location changes to travel changes to alcohol consumption changes. When you’re in the middle of a season of change, it can be hard to pull yourself back and look at the big picture, as well to see how your view of things has changed. A lot of things that ten years ago, were my normal, are so far from where I am now. My definition of normal has drastically changed. One thing that I hadn’t thought about in a while was one of the harder parts of transitioning to a sober person. Saying no to alcohol when others offered.

As I’ve mentioned before, I “quit” drinking more times than I can remember. The last (and final) time that I quit, it felt SO awkward to say no to drinks. I think it was a mix of wanting to prove to myself first that this would stick but it was also a fear of what others would say. When I started saying no to drinks, the first question was “are you pregnant?” (Y’all know that wasn’t the case.) When you’ve been a heavy drinker, it’s a BIG deal when you say no to drinks. And if you’re not pregnant, it can be hard to truthfully explain your reason for not drinking.

While I’ve been marinating on this, I realized that it’s because you have to be honest with others about your struggle. You have to admit “hey, I have a problem, and I’m not drinking anymore.” Even though I shared quite honestly about my struggle with alcoholism and sobriety, I didn’t share until about a year and a half AFTER my last drink. It took me months to share with those closest to me. Now that I’ve shared, I have no problem talking about why I’m not drinking.

But as I’ve been thinking about that time, I forgot how hard that time was. There is so much out there trying to keep you from staying sober. From TV shows showing you that it’s ok to get drunk to the fear of being honest with others that you can’t drink. It’s SO much easier to just say, “yea sure!” to a drink than to say “you know what, I’m not drinking because I have a problem and I can’t control myself.”

So if you’re asking a friend if they want a drink, give a little grace and don’t push it if they say no. And if you’re thinking you might have a problem and want to quit, hold on, when you make it past the first few months (or year) of discomfort in saying no, the rewards are amazing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Join our Facebook group, Planning an Epic Road Trip on Any Budget
Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
Buy my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget.
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel