February 25, 2025 • 34 mins
Life can get busy, and sometimes we forget the truth of who we really are. This episode, born out of a quiet moment when no one could join a planned group coaching session, is a heartfelt reminder of your identity in Christ.
Tune in as I share words of encouragement, reflections on faith, and the unshakable truth that you are God’s beloved. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or searching for comfort, this message is for you.
Come and be reminded of the freedom and strength found in knowing who you are in Him.
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This is your chance to awaken new possibilities, and experience the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
I'm here for you. I'm praying for you. You are NOT alone!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Catholic Sobriety Podcast, the
go-to resource for women seekingto have a deeper understanding
of the role alcohol plays intheir lives, women who are
looking to drink less or not atall for any reason.
I am your host, christi Walker.
I'm a wife, mom and ajoy-filled Catholic, and I am
(00:22):
the Catholic Sobriety Coach, andI am so glad you're here.
Welcome to today's episode,friends.
This is a bit of a differentepisode, because I had planned a
group coaching session for theSacred Sobriety Lab members to
(00:43):
talk about something very nearand dear to my heart, which is
our identity in Christ.
Life happens, though, andeveryone's busy schedules meant
no one could make it, butinstead of letting that moment
slip by, I felt the Lord impressupon me to use that time to
(01:03):
speak directly to the hearts ofmy Sacred Sobriety Lab sisters,
and as I was sharing, I realizedthat it wasn't just meant for
them.
It was meant for you too.
So in this episode, I'mbringing you those words of
encouragement to remind you ofthe truth of who you are in
(01:26):
Christ and the freedom thattruth carries.
My prayer is that, wherever youare listening from, these words
bless you and remind you of howdeeply loved and valued you are
.
I also talk about my new Lentenchallenge, freedom 46, just
briefly toward the end.
(01:46):
So if you've not heard of that,or if you have heard of it and
you were wondering what that'sall about, I give some details
at the end of the episode.
So you definitely want to stickaround for that.
And if you have any otherquestions, just go to the link
in my show notes and that'lltake you to the page that will
(02:06):
explain more about what thatfreedom 46 linton challenge is
and how you can get signed up.
So let's get to it.
Hello and welcome to today'sgroup coaching.
Today is febru, february 25th,and I don't have anyone here yet
(02:29):
.
That's okay, I will let peoplein as they come.
I did get a lot of emails frompeople saying that they weren't
able to make it today, and Iappreciate that.
Thank you so much for lettingme know.
I do have some things I'd liketo talk about today, and I do
want to also talk about theFreedom 46 Lenten Challenge that
(02:52):
the Lord placed on my heart,and I'm getting it put together,
working feverishly to get itput together and finished up.
I think it's going to be reallygood and so, yeah, so I'm
excited for that.
So let's go ahead and start offin prayer, in the name of the
Father, the Son and the HolySpirit.
Amen, good and gracious God, welove you.
(03:14):
We thank you for this time, wethank you for your mercy and we
thank you for those gifts thatyou have given us by virtue of
our baptism.
Thank you for the graces thatyou pour into us each and every
day, that you pour into us as wereceive the sacraments, when we
(03:39):
go to mass, when we partake inthe Sacrament of Reconciliation
and the Eucharist, and all ofthose ways that you just love us
and pour into us.
Lord, we thank you for that.
Thank you for those tangiblereminders of your love and your
care.
Just ask, lord, that you bewith each and every woman who is
(04:03):
listening today, who's watchingthis replay or listening to it.
Just ask, lord, that you bewith each and every woman who is
listening today, who's watchingthis replay or listening to it.
Just pray, lord, that you speaklife into her heart, speak your
love and your words into her,so that she can just feel
tangibly, feel your comfort,your peace, all of those
(04:25):
wonderful fruits of the Spirit,because they are consolations
that will help us continue tomove forward.
We just ask your protection andcare over ourselves, over
families, communities, churchand our world, and we ask this
in Jesus' name, amen, in thename of the Father, son, holy
(04:46):
Spirit, amen.
Okay, so I had a call earlierwith someone and you know we
were talking about identity andone of the things that.
So, when I got sober, when Irealized that alcohol and I were
(05:10):
not a good mix, that I wouldn'tbe able to drink or moderate
anymore if I wanted to live thekind of life that I desired,
that desire that God had placedon my heart, I did go to AA.
I went to Alcoholics Anonymousand I went for two years and I'm
(05:31):
thankful for it.
I learned a lot there.
I met some great people, I wasencouraged.
There were things that happenedthat led me not to be there
anymore and want to not to bethere anymore, but one of the
main things that I had troublewith, as did the woman that I
was speaking to, was identitylike having to continually
(05:57):
identify ourselves as alcoholics, even when you have years and
years and years of sobriety.
When you go into an AlcoholicsAnonymous meeting, they don't
want you to say I'm a recoveredalcoholic or I'm a recovering
alcoholic.
They want you to say I'mChristy and I'm an alcoholic.
It was really difficult for mebecause I felt like I was
(06:17):
speaking that over myselfcontinually and even though my
faith wasn't strong, I wasnominal at best, but I knew the
Lord loved me.
I just knew that there wassomething more for me and that
that I wasn't that like maybe Iwas other things, but I wasn't
(06:39):
that anymore and fast forwardthrough my recovery, many years
of recovery, and coming back tothe Catholic church, my
reversion back into the Catholicchurch.
The thing that has been sotransformative for me is knowing
(07:03):
that Jesus loves me.
He sees me.
He's been with me, like throughmy entire journey, even those
days that I just felt like I hadmessed things up so terribly
that he would never wantanything to do with me again,
that he was with me, he waschasing after me.
(07:25):
I was the one that he left the99 for in that moment.
And the beauty of this communityis that we are all faith-filled
Christian women.
Who knows that God loves us?
(07:46):
But we also know that we fallshort time and time again.
And if that's you, if you arestruggling with hearing His
voice, if you are strugglingwith that feeling of maybe
you're I don't know somehow notliving authentically, that maybe
(08:08):
, for some reason, jesus isn't,is like ashamed of you or
something.
He's not.
He's with you.
Like, just close your eyes andjust imagine Jesus standing
behind you with his hand reachedout on your shoulder.
Yeah, that's how close he is toyou, always, even and
(08:33):
especially in those moments whenyou feel at your lowest, when
you feel so tired or overwhelmedor defeated defeated.
He's with you and he's askingyou to lift your head to him,
(08:54):
just to raise your eyes up tohim, turn your face to him.
Sometimes that's the only actthat we can do in certain
moments is to turn our faces tohim.
But that is an action of love,that's an action of trust and
that's what he asks us is totrust him, to trust that we know
(09:18):
that we are beloved daughters,that we are his and he is ours.
So if you're struggling withthis the very last module in the
Sacred Sobriety Lab feel freeto skip over to that, and it's
all on identity and purpose andthe love that God has for you
(09:45):
and the heart that he has foryou.
I'm going to read a verse.
It's of my favorite verses andI have to tell you this all the
bible study I've done and justknowing how much the Lord loves
me, how much I've been able tofill my mind with scripture,
(10:06):
with the Lord's promises to helproot out the lies of the enemy,
nothing has quite set in orconnected with me in the way
that this verse has, and it'sIsaiah 40, and I'm going to read
verses one through.
(10:27):
I think it's six or seven.
But what happened was a friendof mine gave me a mug and I talk
about this in the video in thelab.
But a friend of mine gave me amug and I loved it, it was
beautiful, and it said you aremine.
And then it just said Isaiah 43, 1.
And I didn't know what thatverse was.
(10:50):
So I went and I looked it upand when I read it I was just
struck Like you know how theytalk about like scripture
piercing through bone and marrow, like that is what happened
with this verse, and so I shareit often because it's so
(11:10):
meaningful to me and I've usedit with youth, I've used it at
women's retreat me, and I'veused it with youth.
I've used it at women's retreats, I've used it at talks and
every time just to see people'sfaces as I read it and as they
really start to think about it,is just a gift and it's the Holy
(11:31):
Spirit working in them.
So just why don't you just stopand just close your eyes and
let me read this passage to you,this scripture to you?
But now, thus says the Lord whocreated you, jacob, and formed
you Israel.
Do not fear Jacob and formedyou Israel.
Do not fear, for I haveredeemed you.
(11:53):
I have called you by name.
You are mine.
When you pass through waters, Iwill be with you Through rivers
.
You shall not be swept away.
When you walk through fire, youshall not be burned, nor will
flames consume.
You shall not be burned, norwill flames consume you, for I,
(12:16):
the Lord, am your God, the HolyOne of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as ransom for you,ethiopia and Seba in exchange
for you, because you areprecious in my eyes and honored,
and I love you.
I give people in return for youand nations in exchange for
your life.
Fear not, for I am with you.
(12:37):
From the east, I will bringback your offspring From the
west, I will gather you.
I will say to the north, givethem up, and to the south, do
not hold them.
Bring back my sons from afarand my daughters from the ends
of the earth.
(12:58):
And I just love it because inthat first verse, that very
first verse, there are fivethings that the Lord tells us
that he created and formed us.
He tells us not to fear.
Do not fear, for I haveredeemed you.
He redeems us, no matter whatwe do, where we go, how far off
(13:24):
the beaten path we are, how manytimes we have to take our sins
to reconciliation.
He has redeemed us and he hascalled you by name.
You are his and I would addthat he is yours.
So it's not, as our societyalways tells us, like know who
(13:51):
you are, find out who you are,find out who you are, yes, but
it's more important to know whoyou are, because of whose you
are.
That's your identity.
True identity is rooted in thefact that we are the lords, that
we belong to the Lord by virtueof our baptism.
(14:14):
We're His and he is ours.
The other encouraging wordsfrom the Lord that I love is
that you know when he's sayingyou can pass.
When you pass through waters, Iwill be with you.
Through rivers, you will not beswept away.
When you walk through fire.
You shall not be burned, norwill flames consume you.
(14:37):
Sometimes we feel just thisheaviness like will this
suffering end the situation workout?
Will you know?
X, y, z?
Whatever it is, it may notalways turn out the way that we
wanted it to, it may not turnout the way we planned, but God
(14:59):
redeems it all, he is in it alland he uses it all for our good.
And that is where you know,when you see those people who
are engulfed in immensesuffering and they can have this
joy, this peace, and you'relike where did that come from?
(15:24):
It comes from the Lord, and youcould have that too, and you
could have that too.
And so one of the ways that wedo that is again, by reading
scripture, by knowing andseeking God's heart.
For for us, like asking theLord daily, how do you see me?
(15:47):
Do you see me?
If you think he sees anythingother than how beautiful you are
, how much he loves you, yourgoodness, your efforts.
If you see anything other thanthat, then that is not from God,
because what is from God isgoing to be encouraging, loving,
(16:13):
merciful, kind, compassionate,empathetic.
Anything else is coming eitherfrom us or from the enemy.
And when we are doing his work,that's when the enemy wants to
(16:33):
attack us most.
Now I could tell you a story.
So I was many years sober.
My husband and I were married.
He was going through RCIA and Iwas growing in faith because my
husband was going through RCIAand, of course, I couldn't let
him be a better Catholic than meor know more than me, because I
(16:55):
had been a lifelong Catholicand went to Catholic school and
all those things, and so I wasreally diving in to the whys of
our Catholic faith.
I was constantly trying tocatechize myself, watching EWTN,
listening to Catholic radio, Iwas listening to Catholic
Answers, like constantly, and Ihave never been well, I won't
(17:21):
say never, but I was beingattacked a lot and it was a
really hard time, but it got tothe point where I was actually
having panic attacks, panicattacks, and I have never,
despite how much anxiety I havefelt in my life, had never, ever
(17:42):
, ever had a panic attack and itwas for all of you who've had
them, you know very scary.
I ended up in the emergencyroom because I thought I was
having a heart attack and Iwasn't, and I kept thinking
there was something wrong withme.
I went to doctor after doctorand finally I went to another
doctor and she diagnosed me ashaving panic attacks.
(18:04):
And it was at this time as myhusband and I were moving toward
God.
We were finally attending massregularly, we were getting ready
to put our boys in Catholicschool, we were getting our
marriage convalidated because wehadn't been married in the
(18:25):
church.
So we were having itconvalidated, which is
sacramentalized.
We were doing all these reallygood things and yet it was like
we were being attacked fromevery side.
So as you are moving throughyour efforts to reduce or
eliminate alcohol and if that isa stronghold that the enemy has
(18:50):
been able to use on you, youmay face some resistance, you
may face some extra chaos comingat you, because what happens is
that prevents you from wantingto continue not to drink or to
(19:10):
continue your efforts, becauseyou're feeling so defeated.
And that's when the enemystrikes.
So he'll tempt us to sin andsay no, you need this, you
deserve this.
You're never going to get it,so you might as well just have
it.
Whatever tactic he uses toentice us or seduce us or
(19:36):
encourage us to that vice,whatever it is, whether it's
alcohol or something else, assoon as we are taking it.
Then he pummels us with shameand condemnation and all of
these things and it justincreases our anxiety and
(19:57):
everything else and makes usfeel worse.
And then it's really easy toget stuck in the shame cycle of
drinking and then you knowfeeling the effects of that.
Then the buzz wears off, thenyou feel shame and then you
drink again because of that andit's just like this vicious
(20:18):
cycle.
But what is so helpful isrecognizing either that voice is
from you or somebody who hassaid mean things to you or
discouraging things to you inthe past, or it's coming from
the enemy, and the enemy wantsto keep us from doing the will
(20:43):
of God.
The enemy wants to keep us frombeing the women that the Lord
wants us to be.
And so you guys, I didn'tprepare any of this.
So hopefully, this whole likemaking sense and everything, I
just feel like the Holy Spiritjust in me and wanting you to
know this.
But the Lord loves you.
(21:07):
He knows that you can doanything that you set your mind
to.
If it's within his will, hewill empower you and encourage
you and help move you forward,but at the same time he won't
(21:29):
force it.
He needs your cooperation.
So we have to cooperation withhis grace.
We have to cooperate with thosegifts that we've been given,
whether that is the gifts of theHoly Spirit or our charisms.
He loves you so much and heknows what you are capable of.
(21:54):
He knows that you are capableof breaking free from the chaos
that alcohol is causing you.
So, whether that again isreducing or eliminating alcohol,
and if you're in that partwhere you're trying to see if
moderation is going to work foryou, that's fine.
(22:15):
Like you're trying, you'reseeing if it's going to be
something that you can do andyou may have to try some
different things.
Like, is it that you can haveit, you know, three times a week
?
Is it that maybe it's only aglass of wine or two on the
weekends, maybe it's only duringspecial celebrations?
(22:38):
You have to kind of try thesethings out before you get to the
point where you're like, okay,this is it.
This is where I feel good.
And then there's those of usthat where I feel good.
And then there's those of usthat you know, we've tried
moderating.
(23:03):
I tried moderating and it wasnothing doing for me, like it
was.
It would even if I was able todo it, which I don't know if I
would even be able to do it, itwould take so much energy and
restraint and planning to beable to do that that it would
not be worth it to me.
Because being free and havingpeace, whether you take alcohol
(23:29):
or leave it, means that you'renot having that anxiety of
having to plan it and thinkabout it and all of that, yes,
in the beginning that issomething that we have to do.
That's why I say you know, planyour evenings, plan before
events, all of those things, buteventually you won't have to do
that In the beginning.
(23:49):
That's how it is.
But for moderation, if I had totry to moderate, or other
clients that I have who choosenot to drink, who have discerned
that moderating is just toosuper difficult.
Even if they can do it, it justtakes so much thought and so
much energy that they're notexperiencing the clarity and
(24:11):
peace that they desire.
Then you know and maybe notdrink.
But here's the thing even ifyou discern not drinking, you
don't have to say forever.
You don't have to say I'm neverhaving alcohol again.
Unless it's a problem for you,like for me, I say never again,
(24:33):
like I will never have alcohol,but I was in a different place
than a lot of you are.
So all that to say that waskind of rambly.
I apologize, but I hope thatyou got out of it what the Lord
desired you to get out of it,out of it, what the Lord desired
(24:57):
you to get out of it.
And one more thing on identityit's in the lab as well, and
I've talked about it in otherprograms.
That I've done is to have somescripture handy that you can
make declarations out of.
And so we've all heard ofaffirmations like I am beautiful
, I am smart, I am this, I amthat, and you know.
(25:17):
If affirmations are for you,that's you know.
Then you can use those.
But declarations are different,because declarations is
speaking God's truth over you,god's truth over you.
(25:37):
You are actually impartinggrace, opening up those channels
for God to pour forth his graceas you speak, his words, his
truth over you.
So declarations, you can useany scripture that you love.
And if we were going to takeIsaiah 43 as an example, I would
say I declare that I will notfear because God is with me, or
(26:00):
I declare that the Lord is mineand I am his, and you don't even
have to say I declare Somepeople like to, some people
don't.
But even just speaking thatscripture, like when I pass
through waters, the Lord will bewith me.
When I go through rivers, Iwill not be swept away because
(26:22):
the Lord is with me.
So just doing that can be sobeneficial, because what you are
doing when you do that is toroot out those lies of the enemy
and then you're filling thatspace with truth, or you're just
(26:42):
filling space with truth sothat you can repel those lies.
So when the enemy comes at youand says you're never going to
be good enough or you knowyou're too far gone, you can say
the Lord has redeemed me, he ismine and I am his, and then
(27:03):
that repels that lie.
So I would encourage you topractice that.
Maybe write down 10 to 20 ofyour favorite Bible verses and
figure out how you can speakthat over yourself and have them
handy so that when you do feelthat attack or you do feel that
(27:24):
lie come up, you can speak thatover yourself and know that that
is truth.
That is truth with a capital T,because it is the Lord's truth.
So I hope that that is helpfulchallenge.
(27:54):
I actually wasn't going toreally do a Lenten challenge.
I just thought we would kind ofwork on that, you know like
coach through Lent in our weeklycoaching calls, and that you
guys would be working throughthe lab.
But the Lord just kind ofplaced on my heart that there
might be some other women whowould like to join us, and maybe
not for the whole lab, butmaybe they would like to join us
(28:16):
for Lent and find freedom or,you know, kickstart their
freedom journey during the 46days of Lent.
And because Lent is such asacred time, I just feel like we
have all those graces.
I love Lent.
It's really my favorite time ofthe year.
(28:37):
I just feel so close to Jesusduring Lent and I know that I
can do anything that I set mymind to if it's ordered toward
him and ordered toward asacrifice that I am giving up
because I love the Lord so much.
(28:58):
And so I just felt like Ineeded to do this.
And so whether I don't know ifwe'll have anyone join us, if
not, it'll just be us doing theFreedom 46 together, but maybe
we'll have some other sistersthat join us.
I'll have like a reflection orsomething to do each day for 46
(29:20):
days.
And yes, it's 46 days, becauseI'd really like to do it even on
Sundays.
So my invitation I know thatwhen we do Lent, we don't have
to do Lenten sacrifices onSundays because it's a feast day
.
I don't usually adhere to thatfor all of my sacrifices,
(29:45):
because there are some that Ijust want to do through the
whole Lenten season.
For example, I'm going to bedoing an elimination diet
through Lent you might be too,so I'm going to give up flour
and sugar and dairy and alcoholis one of them, but I can ace
that one and then.
(30:06):
But the other ones are going tobe super hard.
So pray for me, but I'll do itas my sacrifice and I will do it
for the whole of Lent.
Like I won't partake in any ofthose things on Sundays, but
there will be other things, likeif I'm not watching TV or
screens or something like that,I may do that on Sundays for my
(30:28):
feast day.
So it'll be 46 days.
I have something special forHoly Week as well, and then I'm
also inviting anyone who signsup for Freedom 46 to also join
us for our group coaching callsand in the Sacred Sobriety
Society in our community, theonly thing they won't have
(30:50):
access to during that 46 days isthe course, is the actual lab
course, and then at the end theywill be invited to join the lab
if they want, and of course, Iwould deduct the amount that
they're paying for the challengefrom the lab price.
You guys, I'm just as membersof the Sacred Sobriety Lab.
(31:14):
You're going to have access toanything I create.
So if you see something aboutit, you're not going to have to
sign up for it.
You're not going to have to doanything.
I'm just going to automaticallyadd you to the Freedom 46.
So you don't have to doanything.
I will be opening it up.
This Sunday will be the firstweek.
So, anyway, this was somethingthat I needed to talk about and
(31:39):
use to encourage you with, andso I really hope that it has
been a blessing for you and Iguess I will talk to you next
Friday and if anything comes up,feel free to email me or put it
in the chat in our communityand I will be happy to answer it
(32:01):
.
So God bless you.
Well, that does it for thisepisode of the Catholic Sobriety
Podcast.
I hope you enjoyed this episodeand I would invite you to share
it with a friend who might alsoget value from it as well, and
make sure you subscribe so youdon't miss a thing.
I am the Catholic sobrietycoach, and if you would like to
(32:25):
learn how to work with me orlearn more about the coaching
that I offer, visit my website,thecatholicsobrietycoachcom.
Follow me on Instagram at theCatholic Sobriety Coach.
I look forward to speaking toyou next time, and remember I am
(32:46):
here for you, I am praying foryou.
You are not alone.
Welcome to the Catholic Sobriety Podcast, the
go-to resource for women seekingto have a deeper understanding
of the role alcohol plays intheir lives, women who are
looking to drink less or not atall for any reason.
I am your host, christi Walker.
I'm a wife, mom and ajoy-filled Catholic, and I am
(00:22):
the Catholic Sobriety Coach, andI am so glad you're here.
Welcome to today's episode,friends.
This is a bit of a differentepisode, because I had planned a
group coaching session for theSacred Sobriety Lab members to
(00:43):
talk about something very nearand dear to my heart, which is
our identity in Christ.
Life happens, though, andeveryone's busy schedules meant
no one could make it, butinstead of letting that moment
slip by, I felt the Lord impressupon me to use that time to
(01:03):
speak directly to the hearts ofmy Sacred Sobriety Lab sisters,
and as I was sharing, I realizedthat it wasn't just meant for
them.
It was meant for you too.
So in this episode, I'mbringing you those words of
encouragement to remind you ofthe truth of who you are in
(01:26):
Christ and the freedom thattruth carries.
My prayer is that, wherever youare listening from, these words
bless you and remind you of howdeeply loved and valued you are
.
I also talk about my new Lentenchallenge, freedom 46, just
briefly toward the end.
(01:46):
So if you've not heard of that,or if you have heard of it and
you were wondering what that'sall about, I give some details
at the end of the episode.
So you definitely want to stickaround for that.
And if you have any otherquestions, just go to the link
in my show notes and that'lltake you to the page that will
(02:06):
explain more about what thatfreedom 46 linton challenge is
and how you can get signed up.
So let's get to it.
Hello and welcome to today'sgroup coaching.
Today is febru, february 25th,and I don't have anyone here yet
(02:29):
.
That's okay, I will let peoplein as they come.
I did get a lot of emails frompeople saying that they weren't
able to make it today, and Iappreciate that.
Thank you so much for lettingme know.
I do have some things I'd liketo talk about today, and I do
want to also talk about theFreedom 46 Lenten Challenge that
(02:52):
the Lord placed on my heart,and I'm getting it put together,
working feverishly to get itput together and finished up.
I think it's going to be reallygood and so, yeah, so I'm
excited for that.
So let's go ahead and start offin prayer, in the name of the
Father, the Son and the HolySpirit.
Amen, good and gracious God, welove you.
(03:14):
We thank you for this time, wethank you for your mercy and we
thank you for those gifts thatyou have given us by virtue of
our baptism.
Thank you for the graces thatyou pour into us each and every
day, that you pour into us as wereceive the sacraments, when we
(03:39):
go to mass, when we partake inthe Sacrament of Reconciliation
and the Eucharist, and all ofthose ways that you just love us
and pour into us.
Lord, we thank you for that.
Thank you for those tangiblereminders of your love and your
care.
Just ask, lord, that you bewith each and every woman who is
(04:03):
listening today, who's watchingthis replay or listening to it.
Just ask, lord, that you bewith each and every woman who is
listening today, who's watchingthis replay or listening to it.
Just pray, lord, that you speaklife into her heart, speak your
love and your words into her,so that she can just feel
tangibly, feel your comfort,your peace, all of those
(04:25):
wonderful fruits of the Spirit,because they are consolations
that will help us continue tomove forward.
We just ask your protection andcare over ourselves, over
families, communities, churchand our world, and we ask this
in Jesus' name, amen, in thename of the Father, son, holy
(04:46):
Spirit, amen.
Okay, so I had a call earlierwith someone and you know we
were talking about identity andone of the things that.
So, when I got sober, when Irealized that alcohol and I were
(05:10):
not a good mix, that I wouldn'tbe able to drink or moderate
anymore if I wanted to live thekind of life that I desired,
that desire that God had placedon my heart, I did go to AA.
I went to Alcoholics Anonymousand I went for two years and I'm
(05:31):
thankful for it.
I learned a lot there.
I met some great people, I wasencouraged.
There were things that happenedthat led me not to be there
anymore and want to not to bethere anymore, but one of the
main things that I had troublewith, as did the woman that I
was speaking to, was identitylike having to continually
(05:57):
identify ourselves as alcoholics, even when you have years and
years and years of sobriety.
When you go into an AlcoholicsAnonymous meeting, they don't
want you to say I'm a recoveredalcoholic or I'm a recovering
alcoholic.
They want you to say I'mChristy and I'm an alcoholic.
It was really difficult for mebecause I felt like I was
(06:17):
speaking that over myselfcontinually and even though my
faith wasn't strong, I wasnominal at best, but I knew the
Lord loved me.
I just knew that there wassomething more for me and that
that I wasn't that like maybe Iwas other things, but I wasn't
(06:39):
that anymore and fast forwardthrough my recovery, many years
of recovery, and coming back tothe Catholic church, my
reversion back into the Catholicchurch.
The thing that has been sotransformative for me is knowing
(07:03):
that Jesus loves me.
He sees me.
He's been with me, like throughmy entire journey, even those
days that I just felt like I hadmessed things up so terribly
that he would never wantanything to do with me again,
that he was with me, he waschasing after me.
(07:25):
I was the one that he left the99 for in that moment.
And the beauty of this communityis that we are all faith-filled
Christian women.
Who knows that God loves us?
(07:46):
But we also know that we fallshort time and time again.
And if that's you, if you arestruggling with hearing His
voice, if you are strugglingwith that feeling of maybe
you're I don't know somehow notliving authentically, that maybe
(08:08):
, for some reason, jesus isn't,is like ashamed of you or
something.
He's not.
He's with you.
Like, just close your eyes andjust imagine Jesus standing
behind you with his hand reachedout on your shoulder.
Yeah, that's how close he is toyou, always, even and
(08:33):
especially in those moments whenyou feel at your lowest, when
you feel so tired or overwhelmedor defeated defeated.
He's with you and he's askingyou to lift your head to him,
(08:54):
just to raise your eyes up tohim, turn your face to him.
Sometimes that's the only actthat we can do in certain
moments is to turn our faces tohim.
But that is an action of love,that's an action of trust and
that's what he asks us is totrust him, to trust that we know
(09:18):
that we are beloved daughters,that we are his and he is ours.
So if you're struggling withthis the very last module in the
Sacred Sobriety Lab feel freeto skip over to that, and it's
all on identity and purpose andthe love that God has for you
(09:45):
and the heart that he has foryou.
I'm going to read a verse.
It's of my favorite verses andI have to tell you this all the
bible study I've done and justknowing how much the Lord loves
me, how much I've been able tofill my mind with scripture,
(10:06):
with the Lord's promises to helproot out the lies of the enemy,
nothing has quite set in orconnected with me in the way
that this verse has, and it'sIsaiah 40, and I'm going to read
verses one through.
(10:27):
I think it's six or seven.
But what happened was a friendof mine gave me a mug and I talk
about this in the video in thelab.
But a friend of mine gave me amug and I loved it, it was
beautiful, and it said you aremine.
And then it just said Isaiah 43, 1.
And I didn't know what thatverse was.
(10:50):
So I went and I looked it upand when I read it I was just
struck Like you know how theytalk about like scripture
piercing through bone and marrow, like that is what happened
with this verse, and so I shareit often because it's so
(11:10):
meaningful to me and I've usedit with youth, I've used it at
women's retreat me, and I'veused it with youth.
I've used it at women's retreats, I've used it at talks and
every time just to see people'sfaces as I read it and as they
really start to think about it,is just a gift and it's the Holy
(11:31):
Spirit working in them.
So just why don't you just stopand just close your eyes and
let me read this passage to you,this scripture to you?
But now, thus says the Lord whocreated you, jacob, and formed
you Israel.
Do not fear Jacob and formedyou Israel.
Do not fear, for I haveredeemed you.
(11:53):
I have called you by name.
You are mine.
When you pass through waters, Iwill be with you Through rivers
.
You shall not be swept away.
When you walk through fire, youshall not be burned, nor will
flames consume.
You shall not be burned, norwill flames consume you, for I,
(12:16):
the Lord, am your God, the HolyOne of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as ransom for you,ethiopia and Seba in exchange
for you, because you areprecious in my eyes and honored,
and I love you.
I give people in return for youand nations in exchange for
your life.
Fear not, for I am with you.
(12:37):
From the east, I will bringback your offspring From the
west, I will gather you.
I will say to the north, givethem up, and to the south, do
not hold them.
Bring back my sons from afarand my daughters from the ends
of the earth.
(12:58):
And I just love it because inthat first verse, that very
first verse, there are fivethings that the Lord tells us
that he created and formed us.
He tells us not to fear.
Do not fear, for I haveredeemed you.
He redeems us, no matter whatwe do, where we go, how far off
(13:24):
the beaten path we are, how manytimes we have to take our sins
to reconciliation.
He has redeemed us and he hascalled you by name.
You are his and I would addthat he is yours.
So it's not, as our societyalways tells us, like know who
(13:51):
you are, find out who you are,find out who you are, yes, but
it's more important to know whoyou are, because of whose you
are.
That's your identity.
True identity is rooted in thefact that we are the lords, that
we belong to the Lord by virtueof our baptism.
(14:14):
We're His and he is ours.
The other encouraging wordsfrom the Lord that I love is
that you know when he's sayingyou can pass.
When you pass through waters, Iwill be with you.
Through rivers, you will not beswept away.
When you walk through fire.
You shall not be burned, norwill flames consume you.
(14:37):
Sometimes we feel just thisheaviness like will this
suffering end the situation workout?
Will you know?
X, y, z?
Whatever it is, it may notalways turn out the way that we
wanted it to, it may not turnout the way we planned, but God
(14:59):
redeems it all, he is in it alland he uses it all for our good.
And that is where you know,when you see those people who
are engulfed in immensesuffering and they can have this
joy, this peace, and you'relike where did that come from?
(15:24):
It comes from the Lord, and youcould have that too, and you
could have that too.
And so one of the ways that wedo that is again, by reading
scripture, by knowing andseeking God's heart.
For for us, like asking theLord daily, how do you see me?
(15:47):
Do you see me?
If you think he sees anythingother than how beautiful you are
, how much he loves you, yourgoodness, your efforts.
If you see anything other thanthat, then that is not from God,
because what is from God isgoing to be encouraging, loving,
(16:13):
merciful, kind, compassionate,empathetic.
Anything else is coming eitherfrom us or from the enemy.
And when we are doing his work,that's when the enemy wants to
(16:33):
attack us most.
Now I could tell you a story.
So I was many years sober.
My husband and I were married.
He was going through RCIA and Iwas growing in faith because my
husband was going through RCIAand, of course, I couldn't let
him be a better Catholic than meor know more than me, because I
(16:55):
had been a lifelong Catholicand went to Catholic school and
all those things, and so I wasreally diving in to the whys of
our Catholic faith.
I was constantly trying tocatechize myself, watching EWTN,
listening to Catholic radio, Iwas listening to Catholic
Answers, like constantly, and Ihave never been well, I won't
(17:21):
say never, but I was beingattacked a lot and it was a
really hard time, but it got tothe point where I was actually
having panic attacks, panicattacks, and I have never,
despite how much anxiety I havefelt in my life, had never, ever
(17:42):
, ever had a panic attack and itwas for all of you who've had
them, you know very scary.
I ended up in the emergencyroom because I thought I was
having a heart attack and Iwasn't, and I kept thinking
there was something wrong withme.
I went to doctor after doctorand finally I went to another
doctor and she diagnosed me ashaving panic attacks.
(18:04):
And it was at this time as myhusband and I were moving toward
God.
We were finally attending massregularly, we were getting ready
to put our boys in Catholicschool, we were getting our
marriage convalidated because wehadn't been married in the
(18:25):
church.
So we were having itconvalidated, which is
sacramentalized.
We were doing all these reallygood things and yet it was like
we were being attacked fromevery side.
So as you are moving throughyour efforts to reduce or
eliminate alcohol and if that isa stronghold that the enemy has
(18:50):
been able to use on you, youmay face some resistance, you
may face some extra chaos comingat you, because what happens is
that prevents you from wantingto continue not to drink or to
(19:10):
continue your efforts, becauseyou're feeling so defeated.
And that's when the enemystrikes.
So he'll tempt us to sin andsay no, you need this, you
deserve this.
You're never going to get it,so you might as well just have
it.
Whatever tactic he uses toentice us or seduce us or
(19:36):
encourage us to that vice,whatever it is, whether it's
alcohol or something else, assoon as we are taking it.
Then he pummels us with shameand condemnation and all of
these things and it justincreases our anxiety and
(19:57):
everything else and makes usfeel worse.
And then it's really easy toget stuck in the shame cycle of
drinking and then you knowfeeling the effects of that.
Then the buzz wears off, thenyou feel shame and then you
drink again because of that andit's just like this vicious
(20:18):
cycle.
But what is so helpful isrecognizing either that voice is
from you or somebody who hassaid mean things to you or
discouraging things to you inthe past, or it's coming from
the enemy, and the enemy wantsto keep us from doing the will
(20:43):
of God.
The enemy wants to keep us frombeing the women that the Lord
wants us to be.
And so you guys, I didn'tprepare any of this.
So hopefully, this whole likemaking sense and everything, I
just feel like the Holy Spiritjust in me and wanting you to
know this.
But the Lord loves you.
(21:07):
He knows that you can doanything that you set your mind
to.
If it's within his will, hewill empower you and encourage
you and help move you forward,but at the same time he won't
(21:29):
force it.
He needs your cooperation.
So we have to cooperation withhis grace.
We have to cooperate with thosegifts that we've been given,
whether that is the gifts of theHoly Spirit or our charisms.
He loves you so much and heknows what you are capable of.
(21:54):
He knows that you are capableof breaking free from the chaos
that alcohol is causing you.
So, whether that again isreducing or eliminating alcohol,
and if you're in that partwhere you're trying to see if
moderation is going to work foryou, that's fine.
(22:15):
Like you're trying, you'reseeing if it's going to be
something that you can do andyou may have to try some
different things.
Like, is it that you can haveit, you know, three times a week
?
Is it that maybe it's only aglass of wine or two on the
weekends, maybe it's only duringspecial celebrations?
(22:38):
You have to kind of try thesethings out before you get to the
point where you're like, okay,this is it.
This is where I feel good.
And then there's those of usthat where I feel good.
And then there's those of usthat you know, we've tried
moderating.
(23:03):
I tried moderating and it wasnothing doing for me, like it
was.
It would even if I was able todo it, which I don't know if I
would even be able to do it, itwould take so much energy and
restraint and planning to beable to do that that it would
not be worth it to me.
Because being free and havingpeace, whether you take alcohol
(23:29):
or leave it, means that you'renot having that anxiety of
having to plan it and thinkabout it and all of that, yes,
in the beginning that issomething that we have to do.
That's why I say you know, planyour evenings, plan before
events, all of those things, buteventually you won't have to do
that In the beginning.
(23:49):
That's how it is.
But for moderation, if I had totry to moderate, or other
clients that I have who choosenot to drink, who have discerned
that moderating is just toosuper difficult.
Even if they can do it, it justtakes so much thought and so
much energy that they're notexperiencing the clarity and
(24:11):
peace that they desire.
Then you know and maybe notdrink.
But here's the thing even ifyou discern not drinking, you
don't have to say forever.
You don't have to say I'm neverhaving alcohol again.
Unless it's a problem for you,like for me, I say never again,
(24:33):
like I will never have alcohol,but I was in a different place
than a lot of you are.
So all that to say that waskind of rambly.
I apologize, but I hope thatyou got out of it what the Lord
desired you to get out of it,out of it, what the Lord desired
(24:57):
you to get out of it.
And one more thing on identityit's in the lab as well, and
I've talked about it in otherprograms.
That I've done is to have somescripture handy that you can
make declarations out of.
And so we've all heard ofaffirmations like I am beautiful
, I am smart, I am this, I amthat, and you know.
(25:17):
If affirmations are for you,that's you know.
Then you can use those.
But declarations are different,because declarations is
speaking God's truth over you,god's truth over you.
(25:37):
You are actually impartinggrace, opening up those channels
for God to pour forth his graceas you speak, his words, his
truth over you.
So declarations, you can useany scripture that you love.
And if we were going to takeIsaiah 43 as an example, I would
say I declare that I will notfear because God is with me, or
(26:00):
I declare that the Lord is mineand I am his, and you don't even
have to say I declare Somepeople like to, some people
don't.
But even just speaking thatscripture, like when I pass
through waters, the Lord will bewith me.
When I go through rivers, Iwill not be swept away because
(26:22):
the Lord is with me.
So just doing that can be sobeneficial, because what you are
doing when you do that is toroot out those lies of the enemy
and then you're filling thatspace with truth, or you're just
(26:42):
filling space with truth sothat you can repel those lies.
So when the enemy comes at youand says you're never going to
be good enough or you knowyou're too far gone, you can say
the Lord has redeemed me, he ismine and I am his, and then
(27:03):
that repels that lie.
So I would encourage you topractice that.
Maybe write down 10 to 20 ofyour favorite Bible verses and
figure out how you can speakthat over yourself and have them
handy so that when you do feelthat attack or you do feel that
(27:24):
lie come up, you can speak thatover yourself and know that that
is truth.
That is truth with a capital T,because it is the Lord's truth.
So I hope that that is helpfulchallenge.
(27:54):
I actually wasn't going toreally do a Lenten challenge.
I just thought we would kind ofwork on that, you know like
coach through Lent in our weeklycoaching calls, and that you
guys would be working throughthe lab.
But the Lord just kind ofplaced on my heart that there
might be some other women whowould like to join us, and maybe
not for the whole lab, butmaybe they would like to join us
(28:16):
for Lent and find freedom or,you know, kickstart their
freedom journey during the 46days of Lent.
And because Lent is such asacred time, I just feel like we
have all those graces.
I love Lent.
It's really my favorite time ofthe year.
(28:37):
I just feel so close to Jesusduring Lent and I know that I
can do anything that I set mymind to if it's ordered toward
him and ordered toward asacrifice that I am giving up
because I love the Lord so much.
(28:58):
And so I just felt like Ineeded to do this.
And so whether I don't know ifwe'll have anyone join us, if
not, it'll just be us doing theFreedom 46 together, but maybe
we'll have some other sistersthat join us.
I'll have like a reflection orsomething to do each day for 46
(29:20):
days.
And yes, it's 46 days, becauseI'd really like to do it even on
Sundays.
So my invitation I know thatwhen we do Lent, we don't have
to do Lenten sacrifices onSundays because it's a feast day
.
I don't usually adhere to thatfor all of my sacrifices,
(29:45):
because there are some that Ijust want to do through the
whole Lenten season.
For example, I'm going to bedoing an elimination diet
through Lent you might be too,so I'm going to give up flour
and sugar and dairy and alcoholis one of them, but I can ace
that one and then.
(30:06):
But the other ones are going tobe super hard.
So pray for me, but I'll do itas my sacrifice and I will do it
for the whole of Lent.
Like I won't partake in any ofthose things on Sundays, but
there will be other things, likeif I'm not watching TV or
screens or something like that,I may do that on Sundays for my
(30:28):
feast day.
So it'll be 46 days.
I have something special forHoly Week as well, and then I'm
also inviting anyone who signsup for Freedom 46 to also join
us for our group coaching callsand in the Sacred Sobriety
Society in our community, theonly thing they won't have
(30:50):
access to during that 46 days isthe course, is the actual lab
course, and then at the end theywill be invited to join the lab
if they want, and of course, Iwould deduct the amount that
they're paying for the challengefrom the lab price.
You guys, I'm just as membersof the Sacred Sobriety Lab.
(31:14):
You're going to have access toanything I create.
So if you see something aboutit, you're not going to have to
sign up for it.
You're not going to have to doanything.
I'm just going to automaticallyadd you to the Freedom 46.
So you don't have to doanything.
I will be opening it up.
This Sunday will be the firstweek.
So, anyway, this was somethingthat I needed to talk about and
(31:39):
use to encourage you with, andso I really hope that it has
been a blessing for you and Iguess I will talk to you next
Friday and if anything comes up,feel free to email me or put it
in the chat in our communityand I will be happy to answer it
(32:01):
.
So God bless you.
Well, that does it for thisepisode of the Catholic Sobriety
Podcast.
I hope you enjoyed this episodeand I would invite you to share
it with a friend who might alsoget value from it as well, and
make sure you subscribe so youdon't miss a thing.
I am the Catholic sobrietycoach, and if you would like to
(32:25):
learn how to work with me orlearn more about the coaching
that I offer, visit my website,thecatholicsobrietycoachcom.
Follow me on Instagram at theCatholic Sobriety Coach.
I look forward to speaking toyou next time, and remember I am
(32:46):
here for you, I am praying foryou.
You are not alone.
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