June 3, 2025 • 25 mins
Have you ever battled that sinking feeling of discouragement while trying to change your relationship with alcohol? That overwhelming sense that maybe your efforts don't matter, that progress seems impossible, or that your excuses are simply too powerful to overcome?
In this deeply vulnerable episode, I share my recent struggle with discouragement in my own ministry. Despite years of helping women find freedom from alcohol dependence, I found myself questioning if my work was making any difference—if anyone even cared about the message of alcohol freedom. This raw conversation reveals how discouragement functions not just as an emotion, but as one of the enemy's most powerful weapons against our growth and freedom.
Discouragement thrives on fear, doubt, and obstacles. It zeroes in on our vulnerabilities and tries to blind us to the truth of who we are and whose we are. The enemy wants us to fixate on our failures, forget God's goodness, and believe we're incapable of meaningful change. But there's profound hope in recognizing this spiritual attack for what it is.
Whether you're just beginning to question your relationship with alcohol or you're well along your sobriety journey, this episode offers comfort, solidarity, and practical wisdom for those moments when discouragement threatens to derail your progress. Remember: God's grace is sufficient, His power is made perfect in weakness, and with His help, you can push through even the toughest days.
Walking with Purpose Catholic Women’s Bible Study: https://walkingwithpurpose.com/bible-study/
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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 everyone.
Today I'm going to getvulnerable with you.
You see, I hesitated to recordthis episode because I've been
(00:42):
wrestling with discouragement.
This episode because I've beenwrestling with discouragement
and I started wondering if maybeyou've been feeling discouraged
lately too.
Maybe you're finding it hard tosee progress in your goals
towards reducing or eliminatingalcohol.
Maybe you're facing obstaclesthat just feel insurmountable.
Maybe your excuses are just soloud that it is difficult to say
(01:09):
no.
But if so, I want you to knowthat I am right here with you.
I don't know if I'm feelingthis way, because my twins are
graduating from high school soonand I'm just feeling all the
feelings.
You know, it's bittersweet,sometimes I feel sad, sometimes
I feel happy.
I think about one of our boysis going to go off to college in
(01:31):
another state again.
So happy and excited for him,but also sad and kind of
grieving that I won't have himhere pretty soon.
So maybe that's kind of cast acloud over my generally sunny
disposition.
I'm usually a very positive,very joy-filled person, but I'm
(01:55):
human and I feel feelings too,of sadness and grief and all of
that.
So what's been happening withme is I've just been kind of in
my own head.
I've been thinking does anybodyeven care about the work that
I'm doing?
Do my podcasts, newsletters orsocial posts even make a
(02:18):
difference?
And I've thought a lot about ifwhat I'm offering even matters.
But then I remembered somethingand I want to share it with you
today.
I remembered that the Lord hascalled me to this work and I
know this with every fiber of mybeing.
(02:41):
He has placed on my heart aholy discontent.
I see so many women who havethings all together in pretty
much every area of their life,but alcohol is holding them back
, it's making them feel shame,it's just causing a lot of chaos
(03:04):
because they just don't feellike they even have the option
to choose.
They feel like they have todrink to fit in, to be part of a
community.
They feel like they have todrink to cope with just you know
just everything going on in ourworld, in our families, in our
(03:28):
homes.
But I'm here to tell you thatthat is not necessary.
I've lived almost 30 yearswithout alcohol, feeling
feelings, getting through socialsituations and all of that sort
of thing without alcohol, and Iknow that you can do it too.
I mean, you don't have to giveit up forever, but you can
(03:49):
reduce it and you can live alife that you love of peace, and
you know you don't have to beworrying about alcohol all the
time or the shame or chaos thatis causing you.
My heart is for Catholic womenwho are silently struggling with
(04:09):
alcohol and desperately seekingfreedom, and I know that that
is you, because you're listeningto me Whether this is the first
time you found me, you found mesomehow, or you've been
listening for a while.
I know that you are seekingfreedom or, at the very least,
(04:35):
some answers and tools that aregoing to help you regain control
over your drinking Now, eventhough the discouragement that
I've been feeling is trying totell me otherwise, that what I'm
doing doesn't matter, that noone cares, that no one needs it,
that no one's really motivatedor has the willingness to even
(04:56):
do the work to try to break free.
I've seen the evidence.
That's contrary to those lies.
I know they're lies.
I know again that you arelistening because you are
looking for hope and, even if Inever meet some of you or you
(05:20):
never work with me, that youwill know that the Lord knows
your heart, knows your struggleand sees your victory.
That is the most importantthing that I want to convey is
that you are seen and you areloved.
God desires your freedom evenmore than you, even more than
(05:50):
you.
He just is waiting for you totake those steps to break free,
and once you start taking thosesteps, he is going to be with
you to equip you and empower youand help you every step of the
way.
But still, I know, because I'mexperiencing it, that
discouragement can creep in, andso we're going to talk about it
today.
We're going to talk about howto recognize it, what to do with
(06:10):
it and how to keep going in theface of it, because I know for
a fact that I am not the onlyone feeling this way.
Now, discouragement, it reallyis such a sneaky thing, isn't it
?
It definitely caught me offguard and I had to really do
(06:31):
some thought, work and askmyself some really important and
powerful questions, to get tothe root of what was going on,
because part of me just wantedto throw in the towel and just
give up on everything, and Iwant you to know that you might
feel this way too.
(06:52):
Like one moment you might befeeling extremely motivated,
like you're going along yourpath, things are going really
well, and then the next minuteyou're questioning everything.
That's basically what happenedto me.
But discouragement, it thriveson fear and doubt and obstacles.
(07:13):
It zeroes in on ourvulnerabilities and it tries to
blind us to the truth of who weare and whose we are, of who we
are and whose we are, and ittries to get us to completely
forget what we've alreadyaccomplished, not to even look
(07:33):
at it.
The enemy loves to use ourvulnerabilities, like
discouragement, to shift ourfocus from the truth.
He wants us to fixate on ourfailures.
He wants us to forget God'sgoodness and all the things that
we've already done.
He wants us to believe that weare incapable of change or
(07:55):
growth, and what that does is itsteals our willingness, it
steals our forward motion, ourforward motion.
But here's what I hold on to.
In moments like this, Iremember that discouragement is
one of the greatest weapons ofthe enemy.
But it's a lie.
(08:15):
It is not the truth.
So if you've been trying to curbyour drinking and you feel like
you're failing because you'vehad setbacks or you know things
haven't gone according to yourplan, I just want you to pause
for a moment and look at the bigpicture.
Look at the progress that youhave made.
What are you overlooking?
(08:37):
Maybe you've cut back, even ifit looks a little bit messy, but
here's the thing You'veinitiated a forward movement.
You are making steps forward,even if it's imperfect, it
doesn't matter.
If you take a look at whatyou're doing or the awareness
(08:59):
you've gained, I would bet youhave huge improvements.
If you're having a hard time,you know thinking about it, then
just sit with God and ask himto reveal what those things are
(09:20):
what those things are Maybe thelies that you've come to believe
and help him.
Allow him to replace that withtruth, his truth.
It's so interesting because I'vebeen part of a Bible study for
the past eight years.
I've been one of theco-coordinators and I'm a small
group leader for walking withpurpose Bible study at my parish
(09:41):
.
It's a huge study.
We have usually 50 to 60 women.
It's crazy, but it is becauseso many women are looking to be
fed and they really want thosetruths of scripture delivered to
them in a way that helps itmake sense in their daily lives.
(10:05):
And I'm always I don't know why.
After eight years I am stillalways surprised at, when I go
through a study, how certainlessons just really speak to
where I'm at, and this happenedto me yesterday actually.
So I've been doing Opening yourHeart, a Walking With Purpose
(10:30):
Bible study.
It's actually the foundationalstudy, so it's like the one that
they recommend that you startwith.
This is the third time I'vedone it and, ladies, I can't
recommend this study enough andI'll make sure to leave a link
in the show notes.
You can do it by yourself, youcan do it with a small group,
you can do it as a parishprogram.
But after eight years, goinginto my ninth year, I can tell
(10:52):
you it has changed my life andthe lives of so many of the
women who have participated.
But this isn't an ad for WalkingWith Purpose.
I just wanted to say that wedid our very last study of
opening your heart yesterday andhere's what stuck with me this
time around, because, just basedon what is going on in my life
(11:17):
at the time, and I know thisbecause I have, like my old
books and I'll look at myanswers to questions from
previous years that I've done it, and then I'll look at answers
to questions from where I'm atnow.
I always just pull somethingdifferent out again based on
what's going on in my life.
So this time, lisaBrennekenmeyer, who is the
(11:42):
founder of Walking With Purposeand author of this study she's
actually the one that said thatdiscouragement is one of the
greatest weapons of the enemy,and I truly believe that and she
said that Satan wants you tosee nothing but the obstacle.
He wants you to be sodiscouraged that you give up.
And that is so true.
(12:04):
That is exactly what was goingon for me, and maybe that's
what's going on with you.
So if discouragement has a gripon you, it's not because you're
failing.
It's because the enemy doesn'twant you to experience the joy,
the peace and the freedom thatGod has in store for you.
We know better than that.
(12:26):
We know whose we are, and heloves us and he desires our
freedom and our betterment.
And again he has placed thesedesires on our heart, or a holy
discontent, where we are theones that can step up and do
(12:48):
something for others that isgoing to help them.
But if we are believing thelies of the enemy, we're just
not going to do it because weare going to be so discouraged
that we give up.
And that is what he wants us todo, because a powerful, praying
woman who knows who she is andwhose she is is the nemesis of
(13:15):
the enemy, right?
He wants to keep us stuck.
We're not going to let thathappen, right, ladies?
So now, what do we do with thisdiscouragement?
I mean, I can tell you fromexperience of this week.
It can feel so powerful.
Honestly, it has felt sopowerful.
Sometimes I feel like I justcan't breathe, like there's this
(13:39):
tightness in my chest and mystomach is just like wonky with
anxiety, and I've just had toreally work through it with
breathing, with walking, withjournaling, with stretching,
with praying.
I wish that I could say that Idid that first, but it was again
(14:00):
after watching this video whereLisa said that we need to not
focus on productivity butinstead focus on prayer doing
(14:24):
well lately.
So I can admit that to you andlet you know that I've found the
weak link in my chain that hasreally led to this
discouragement.
But when we're feelingdiscouraged we can wonder, like
now, what?
How do we respond?
It's again those sinkingfeelings that I just described
can just keep us stuck.
But here's what you can do,what I've done, and I already
(14:49):
listed some of these things, butyou can acknowledge it, don't
pretend that it's not there.
Jesus wants your honesty, notperfection.
Progress, not perfection.
Right, sit with him, pour yourheart out, tell him what's
weighing on you and ask for hisclarity and strength.
Even tell him, like I know,lord, that you desire this more
(15:14):
for me than I desire it formyself.
Please help me, desire it asmuch as you do.
Please give me the willingnessthat I am lacking right now.
Please give me the strengththat I just feel like I don't
have, but I know I do.
One of my favorite verses formoments like this comes from 2
(15:36):
Corinthians 12 9, and it's mygrace is sufficient for you.
My power is made perfect inweakness.
Write that on a post-it, put iton your mirror or your computer
or as a screensaver orsomething.
His power is made perfect inour weakness.
(15:57):
The other thing you can do iswrite it out.
I alluded to it.
For me, journaling can reallyreally help me kind of untangle
untangle the web of negativethoughts and also recognize them
.
If I write everything, then Ican look at it and say where is
(16:18):
the lie.
And if you've listened to mebefore, I've talked about
declarations like speaking God'struth over you and that comes
from scripture and usingscripture verses to replace a
lie with God's truth.
So journaling can really helpwith that, because then you can
(16:38):
actually see it and counterthose lies with truths about who
God says that you are.
Then the other thing you can dois shift your perspective.
So this is where the mind workcomes in right, instead of
obsessing over what isn't goingright.
(17:00):
I've had to ask myself whatprogress have I made?
I've had to look at who have Ihelped.
You know, I just had a clientthat I've worked with for a year
and this client is doingamazing.
They've come so incredibly farand they have completely given
(17:25):
up alcohol.
But through our coaching,through planning, through
preparation, through, you know,making mistakes but then
recalibrating for next time, ithas been amazing to see this
growth and it's I had forgottenabout that.
I was so focused ondiscouragement that I completely
(17:48):
forgot just how grateful thatclient was.
And then I heard from anotherclient today.
I mean, it literally broughttears to my eyes because I was
feeling so discouraged.
And this client was like I seehow much progress I've made and
I'm so grateful for the workthat you have done with me, and
(18:11):
it just, you know, that was justone of those like God winks of,
like I know you need this rightnow.
Sis, here you go, and it mademe feel so good.
So do that, think about theprogress you've made.
One of the things I tell peopleis to keep track of your
alcohol-free days, because wecan get so caught up in the
(18:34):
times that we maybe stumble thatwe forget all the progress
we've made or we forget how muchawareness there is now around
the choice that you make,whether that's to drink or not
drink.
So for me it's easy, when oneof my clients gets discouraged
(18:54):
about not being alcohol-free yet, to remind her of the progress
she's made.
But sometimes that's hard forme to do for myself.
So that's why, you know, havinga coach and I do have a coach
can be so beneficial, becausewhen we just kind of get stuck
(19:16):
in that rut of not being able torecognize our wins, sometimes
it takes talking to someone elseor or praying about it or
writing it down.
That helps us to realize ohyeah, I do have a lot of wins.
Like I'm just obsessing overlies or I'm just obsessing over
(19:39):
the negative part.
I've completely forgotten tolook at my wins.
When I start a one-on-onecoaching session with someone,
we always start with the wins.
We always, always start withthe wins before we talk about
anything else and it really setsthe tone for the rest of our
(20:03):
session.
Because I know this fromexperience.
Like I've gone into a sessionthinking with my coach, thinking
like I have a list of all thethings that didn't go right that
I need to work on and blah,blah, blah.
But when I think about whatwere those things that did go
(20:24):
right, where were those wins?
Then I'm in a much morepositive space because I'm
recognizing that I'm workingtoward something and that I am
making progress.
The other thing is to lean oncommunity when we're feeling
discouraged.
I mean I'm kind of using mypodcast right now as my way of
(20:46):
leaning on community, becauseI'm getting to share this with
you.
But in sharing it with you, I'malso hopefully helping to
encourage you, because we arenot meant to do any of this
alone.
So lean on those who love youmost and love you best, and
don't keep this as a secret toyourself.
(21:07):
Sisters, I hope that whatyou've gotten from this podcast,
this unconventional podcastthat I am delivering today, is
that discouragement is very real.
I experience it myself and Ireally know deeply, when you are
experiencing it too, how itfeels.
(21:31):
But discouragement is not theend.
You don't have to give up.
Do not allow the enemy to usehis weapons against you.
The Lord is an encourager.
He loves you.
So if you're feeling stucktoday, I want you to remember
(21:52):
that God's grace is greater thanany obstacle you are facing,
than any excuse that your mindcan offer you.
Take heart, because the Lordwill use your struggles for good
.
Now I just want to leave youwith this reminder from 2
Timothy 1, verse 7,.
(22:14):
And it says For God has notgiven us a spirit of fear, but
of power and love andself-control.
You are stronger than you thinkand, with God's help, you can
push through even the toughestdays, and so can I.
I am praying for you and I amcheering you on every step of
(22:37):
the way, and I am here for you.
Do not hesitate to reach out tome anytime.
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 mightalso get value from it as well,
and make sure you subscribe soyou don't miss a thing.
(23:00):
I am the Catholic SobrietyCoach, and if you would like to
learn how to work with me orlearn more about the coaching
that I offer, visit my website,thecatholicsobrietycoachcom.
Follow me on Instagram atthecatholicsbrietycoachcom.
Follow me on Instagram atthecatholicsobrietycoach.
I look forward to speaking toyou next time, and remember I am
(23:26):
here for you.
I am praying for you.
You are not alone, thank you.
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 everyone.
Today I'm going to getvulnerable with you.
You see, I hesitated to recordthis episode because I've been
(00:42):
wrestling with discouragement.
This episode because I've beenwrestling with discouragement
and I started wondering if maybeyou've been feeling discouraged
lately too.
Maybe you're finding it hard tosee progress in your goals
towards reducing or eliminatingalcohol.
Maybe you're facing obstaclesthat just feel insurmountable.
Maybe your excuses are just soloud that it is difficult to say
(01:09):
no.
But if so, I want you to knowthat I am right here with you.
I don't know if I'm feelingthis way, because my twins are
graduating from high school soonand I'm just feeling all the
feelings.
You know, it's bittersweet,sometimes I feel sad, sometimes
I feel happy.
I think about one of our boysis going to go off to college in
(01:31):
another state again.
So happy and excited for him,but also sad and kind of
grieving that I won't have himhere pretty soon.
So maybe that's kind of cast acloud over my generally sunny
disposition.
I'm usually a very positive,very joy-filled person, but I'm
(01:55):
human and I feel feelings too,of sadness and grief and all of
that.
So what's been happening withme is I've just been kind of in
my own head.
I've been thinking does anybodyeven care about the work that
I'm doing?
Do my podcasts, newsletters orsocial posts even make a
(02:18):
difference?
And I've thought a lot about ifwhat I'm offering even matters.
But then I remembered somethingand I want to share it with you
today.
I remembered that the Lord hascalled me to this work and I
know this with every fiber of mybeing.
(02:41):
He has placed on my heart aholy discontent.
I see so many women who havethings all together in pretty
much every area of their life,but alcohol is holding them back
, it's making them feel shame,it's just causing a lot of chaos
(03:04):
because they just don't feellike they even have the option
to choose.
They feel like they have todrink to fit in, to be part of a
community.
They feel like they have todrink to cope with just you know
just everything going on in ourworld, in our families, in our
(03:28):
homes.
But I'm here to tell you thatthat is not necessary.
I've lived almost 30 yearswithout alcohol, feeling
feelings, getting through socialsituations and all of that sort
of thing without alcohol, and Iknow that you can do it too.
I mean, you don't have to giveit up forever, but you can
(03:49):
reduce it and you can live alife that you love of peace, and
you know you don't have to beworrying about alcohol all the
time or the shame or chaos thatis causing you.
My heart is for Catholic womenwho are silently struggling with
(04:09):
alcohol and desperately seekingfreedom, and I know that that
is you, because you're listeningto me Whether this is the first
time you found me, you found mesomehow, or you've been
listening for a while.
I know that you are seekingfreedom or, at the very least,
(04:35):
some answers and tools that aregoing to help you regain control
over your drinking Now, eventhough the discouragement that
I've been feeling is trying totell me otherwise, that what I'm
doing doesn't matter, that noone cares, that no one needs it,
that no one's really motivatedor has the willingness to even
(04:56):
do the work to try to break free.
I've seen the evidence.
That's contrary to those lies.
I know they're lies.
I know again that you arelistening because you are
looking for hope and, even if Inever meet some of you or you
(05:20):
never work with me, that youwill know that the Lord knows
your heart, knows your struggleand sees your victory.
That is the most importantthing that I want to convey is
that you are seen and you areloved.
God desires your freedom evenmore than you, even more than
(05:50):
you.
He just is waiting for you totake those steps to break free,
and once you start taking thosesteps, he is going to be with
you to equip you and empower youand help you every step of the
way.
But still, I know, because I'mexperiencing it, that
discouragement can creep in, andso we're going to talk about it
today.
We're going to talk about howto recognize it, what to do with
(06:10):
it and how to keep going in theface of it, because I know for
a fact that I am not the onlyone feeling this way.
Now, discouragement, it reallyis such a sneaky thing, isn't it
?
It definitely caught me offguard and I had to really do
(06:31):
some thought, work and askmyself some really important and
powerful questions, to get tothe root of what was going on,
because part of me just wantedto throw in the towel and just
give up on everything, and Iwant you to know that you might
feel this way too.
(06:52):
Like one moment you might befeeling extremely motivated,
like you're going along yourpath, things are going really
well, and then the next minuteyou're questioning everything.
That's basically what happenedto me.
But discouragement, it thriveson fear and doubt and obstacles.
(07:13):
It zeroes in on ourvulnerabilities and it tries to
blind us to the truth of who weare and whose we are, of who we
are and whose we are, and ittries to get us to completely
forget what we've alreadyaccomplished, not to even look
(07:33):
at it.
The enemy loves to use ourvulnerabilities, like
discouragement, to shift ourfocus from the truth.
He wants us to fixate on ourfailures.
He wants us to forget God'sgoodness and all the things that
we've already done.
He wants us to believe that weare incapable of change or
(07:55):
growth, and what that does is itsteals our willingness, it
steals our forward motion, ourforward motion.
But here's what I hold on to.
In moments like this, Iremember that discouragement is
one of the greatest weapons ofthe enemy.
But it's a lie.
(08:15):
It is not the truth.
So if you've been trying to curbyour drinking and you feel like
you're failing because you'vehad setbacks or you know things
haven't gone according to yourplan, I just want you to pause
for a moment and look at the bigpicture.
Look at the progress that youhave made.
What are you overlooking?
(08:37):
Maybe you've cut back, even ifit looks a little bit messy, but
here's the thing You'veinitiated a forward movement.
You are making steps forward,even if it's imperfect, it
doesn't matter.
If you take a look at whatyou're doing or the awareness
(08:59):
you've gained, I would bet youhave huge improvements.
If you're having a hard time,you know thinking about it, then
just sit with God and ask himto reveal what those things are
(09:20):
what those things are Maybe thelies that you've come to believe
and help him.
Allow him to replace that withtruth, his truth.
It's so interesting because I'vebeen part of a Bible study for
the past eight years.
I've been one of theco-coordinators and I'm a small
group leader for walking withpurpose Bible study at my parish
(09:41):
.
It's a huge study.
We have usually 50 to 60 women.
It's crazy, but it is becauseso many women are looking to be
fed and they really want thosetruths of scripture delivered to
them in a way that helps itmake sense in their daily lives.
(10:05):
And I'm always I don't know why.
After eight years I am stillalways surprised at, when I go
through a study, how certainlessons just really speak to
where I'm at, and this happenedto me yesterday actually.
So I've been doing Opening yourHeart, a Walking With Purpose
(10:30):
Bible study.
It's actually the foundationalstudy, so it's like the one that
they recommend that you startwith.
This is the third time I'vedone it and, ladies, I can't
recommend this study enough andI'll make sure to leave a link
in the show notes.
You can do it by yourself, youcan do it with a small group,
you can do it as a parishprogram.
But after eight years, goinginto my ninth year, I can tell
(10:52):
you it has changed my life andthe lives of so many of the
women who have participated.
But this isn't an ad for WalkingWith Purpose.
I just wanted to say that wedid our very last study of
opening your heart yesterday andhere's what stuck with me this
time around, because, just basedon what is going on in my life
(11:17):
at the time, and I know thisbecause I have, like my old
books and I'll look at myanswers to questions from
previous years that I've done it, and then I'll look at answers
to questions from where I'm atnow.
I always just pull somethingdifferent out again based on
what's going on in my life.
So this time, lisaBrennekenmeyer, who is the
(11:42):
founder of Walking With Purposeand author of this study she's
actually the one that said thatdiscouragement is one of the
greatest weapons of the enemy,and I truly believe that and she
said that Satan wants you tosee nothing but the obstacle.
He wants you to be sodiscouraged that you give up.
And that is so true.
(12:04):
That is exactly what was goingon for me, and maybe that's
what's going on with you.
So if discouragement has a gripon you, it's not because you're
failing.
It's because the enemy doesn'twant you to experience the joy,
the peace and the freedom thatGod has in store for you.
We know better than that.
(12:26):
We know whose we are, and heloves us and he desires our
freedom and our betterment.
And again he has placed thesedesires on our heart, or a holy
discontent, where we are theones that can step up and do
(12:48):
something for others that isgoing to help them.
But if we are believing thelies of the enemy, we're just
not going to do it because weare going to be so discouraged
that we give up.
And that is what he wants us todo, because a powerful, praying
woman who knows who she is andwhose she is is the nemesis of
(13:15):
the enemy, right?
He wants to keep us stuck.
We're not going to let thathappen, right, ladies?
So now, what do we do with thisdiscouragement?
I mean, I can tell you fromexperience of this week.
It can feel so powerful.
Honestly, it has felt sopowerful.
Sometimes I feel like I justcan't breathe, like there's this
(13:39):
tightness in my chest and mystomach is just like wonky with
anxiety, and I've just had toreally work through it with
breathing, with walking, withjournaling, with stretching,
with praying.
I wish that I could say that Idid that first, but it was again
(14:00):
after watching this video whereLisa said that we need to not
focus on productivity butinstead focus on prayer doing
(14:24):
well lately.
So I can admit that to you andlet you know that I've found the
weak link in my chain that hasreally led to this
discouragement.
But when we're feelingdiscouraged we can wonder, like
now, what?
How do we respond?
It's again those sinkingfeelings that I just described
can just keep us stuck.
But here's what you can do,what I've done, and I already
(14:49):
listed some of these things, butyou can acknowledge it, don't
pretend that it's not there.
Jesus wants your honesty, notperfection.
Progress, not perfection.
Right, sit with him, pour yourheart out, tell him what's
weighing on you and ask for hisclarity and strength.
Even tell him, like I know,lord, that you desire this more
(15:14):
for me than I desire it formyself.
Please help me, desire it asmuch as you do.
Please give me the willingnessthat I am lacking right now.
Please give me the strengththat I just feel like I don't
have, but I know I do.
One of my favorite verses formoments like this comes from 2
(15:36):
Corinthians 12 9, and it's mygrace is sufficient for you.
My power is made perfect inweakness.
Write that on a post-it, put iton your mirror or your computer
or as a screensaver orsomething.
His power is made perfect inour weakness.
(15:57):
The other thing you can do iswrite it out.
I alluded to it.
For me, journaling can reallyreally help me kind of untangle
untangle the web of negativethoughts and also recognize them
.
If I write everything, then Ican look at it and say where is
(16:18):
the lie.
And if you've listened to mebefore, I've talked about
declarations like speaking God'struth over you and that comes
from scripture and usingscripture verses to replace a
lie with God's truth.
So journaling can really helpwith that, because then you can
(16:38):
actually see it and counterthose lies with truths about who
God says that you are.
Then the other thing you can dois shift your perspective.
So this is where the mind workcomes in right, instead of
obsessing over what isn't goingright.
(17:00):
I've had to ask myself whatprogress have I made?
I've had to look at who have Ihelped.
You know, I just had a clientthat I've worked with for a year
and this client is doingamazing.
They've come so incredibly farand they have completely given
(17:25):
up alcohol.
But through our coaching,through planning, through
preparation, through, you know,making mistakes but then
recalibrating for next time, ithas been amazing to see this
growth and it's I had forgottenabout that.
I was so focused ondiscouragement that I completely
(17:48):
forgot just how grateful thatclient was.
And then I heard from anotherclient today.
I mean, it literally broughttears to my eyes because I was
feeling so discouraged.
And this client was like I seehow much progress I've made and
I'm so grateful for the workthat you have done with me, and
(18:11):
it just, you know, that was justone of those like God winks of,
like I know you need this rightnow.
Sis, here you go, and it mademe feel so good.
So do that, think about theprogress you've made.
One of the things I tell peopleis to keep track of your
alcohol-free days, because wecan get so caught up in the
(18:34):
times that we maybe stumble thatwe forget all the progress
we've made or we forget how muchawareness there is now around
the choice that you make,whether that's to drink or not
drink.
So for me it's easy, when oneof my clients gets discouraged
(18:54):
about not being alcohol-free yet, to remind her of the progress
she's made.
But sometimes that's hard forme to do for myself.
So that's why, you know, havinga coach and I do have a coach
can be so beneficial, becausewhen we just kind of get stuck
(19:16):
in that rut of not being able torecognize our wins, sometimes
it takes talking to someone elseor or praying about it or
writing it down.
That helps us to realize ohyeah, I do have a lot of wins.
Like I'm just obsessing overlies or I'm just obsessing over
(19:39):
the negative part.
I've completely forgotten tolook at my wins.
When I start a one-on-onecoaching session with someone,
we always start with the wins.
We always, always start withthe wins before we talk about
anything else and it really setsthe tone for the rest of our
(20:03):
session.
Because I know this fromexperience.
Like I've gone into a sessionthinking with my coach, thinking
like I have a list of all thethings that didn't go right that
I need to work on and blah,blah, blah.
But when I think about whatwere those things that did go
(20:24):
right, where were those wins?
Then I'm in a much morepositive space because I'm
recognizing that I'm workingtoward something and that I am
making progress.
The other thing is to lean oncommunity when we're feeling
discouraged.
I mean I'm kind of using mypodcast right now as my way of
(20:46):
leaning on community, becauseI'm getting to share this with
you.
But in sharing it with you, I'malso hopefully helping to
encourage you, because we arenot meant to do any of this
alone.
So lean on those who love youmost and love you best, and
don't keep this as a secret toyourself.
(21:07):
Sisters, I hope that whatyou've gotten from this podcast,
this unconventional podcastthat I am delivering today, is
that discouragement is very real.
I experience it myself and Ireally know deeply, when you are
experiencing it too, how itfeels.
(21:31):
But discouragement is not theend.
You don't have to give up.
Do not allow the enemy to usehis weapons against you.
The Lord is an encourager.
He loves you.
So if you're feeling stucktoday, I want you to remember
(21:52):
that God's grace is greater thanany obstacle you are facing,
than any excuse that your mindcan offer you.
Take heart, because the Lordwill use your struggles for good
.
Now I just want to leave youwith this reminder from 2
Timothy 1, verse 7,.
(22:14):
And it says For God has notgiven us a spirit of fear, but
of power and love andself-control.
You are stronger than you thinkand, with God's help, you can
push through even the toughestdays, and so can I.
I am praying for you and I amcheering you on every step of
(22:37):
the way, and I am here for you.
Do not hesitate to reach out tome anytime.
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 mightalso get value from it as well,
and make sure you subscribe soyou don't miss a thing.
(23:00):
I am the Catholic SobrietyCoach, and if you would like to
learn how to work with me orlearn more about the coaching
that I offer, visit my website,thecatholicsobrietycoachcom.
Follow me on Instagram atthecatholicsbrietycoachcom.
Follow me on Instagram atthecatholicsobrietycoach.
I look forward to speaking toyou next time, and remember I am
(23:26):
here for you.
I am praying for you.
You are not alone, thank you.
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