CNN Article

I saw the link for this article floating around on Facebook today. Just some food for thought.

It explains a little bit about the chemical reactions that occur with sex and sexual stimulation. I'm not an expert by any means, but in my walk through this storm, I've learned about the nature of addiction.

What a lot of people may not realize about sexual addiction is that it's like any other addiction, in that the brain sends chemicals through the body that give a physical high in response to the stimulus. Once the body becomes hooked on these chemicals, it's hard for an addict to stop the addictive behavior (whether that's sex, nicotine, alcohol, etc.) because the body's chemistry has been altered.

The article has some interesting points, let me know what you think.

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/31/my-take-there’s-nothing-brief-about-a-hookup/

Being Strong Versus Having Strength

This week, I found an old piece of paper in a box of arts and crafts supplies I hadn't used in awhile. I remember receiving this in an e-mail forward many years ago. I liked it so much that I typed it up, printed it with a pretty border and put it on my bulletin board. I thought you'd enjoy it:

Being Strong Versus Having Strength

A strong woman works out every day to keep her body in shape, but a woman of strength kneels in prayer to keep her soul in shape.

A strong woman isn't afraid of anything, but a woman of strength shows courage in the midst of her fears.

A strong woman won't let anyone get the best of her, but a woman of strength gives the best of herself to everyone.

A strong woman makes mistakes and avoids the same in the future. A woman of strength realizes life's mistakes can also be God's blessings and capitalizes on them.

A strong woman walks sure-footedly, but a woman of strength knows God will catch her when she falls.

A strong woman wears the look of confidence on her face, but a woman of strength wears grace.

A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey, but a woman of strength has faith that it is through the journey that she will become strong.

Love Is Here

When I learned of my husband's pornography addiction, I began to wonder how he could love me and love pornography at the same time. It didn't seem to me like it could be possible to have room in his heart for both, so I began to question whether any part of our marriage had been real.

It took me many months to sift through those questions and to realize that yes, he did in fact love me. The pornography had so engulfed him for so long that he was unable to break free on his own. The fact that he confessed and sought help eventually showed me that he did truly love me. This was not an easy realization though.

During the initial months of this storm, I found it difficult to survive. I desperately needed God's truth, but felt so weighed down with emotion and devastation that turning to my Bible seemed impossible on most days. But one ray of hope that revealed God's truth and His love to me was Christian music. I'm so grateful for Christian radio and Christian artists because music can reach us and touch us when we're doing life without our noses in our Bibles or at church. Like when we're driving, eating a meal, taking a shower or crying on the bathroom floor.

The group whose music touched me the most during this time was Tenth Avenue North. I love their album Over and Underneath. The video to my favorite song is below, I pray that it will bless you! I listened to this song over and over and over, with tears gushing down my face in realization that God loved me and that His love was available to me during this lowest point of my life.

Tenth Avenue North - Love Is Here from Provident Label Group on Vimeo.