Importance of reaching out

In our most recent episode, the team dives deeper into the importance of reaching out. On my journey I struggled a lot to feel worthy of being loved because of the shame of things that had happened to me and things I had done to myself and others.

Feeling the weight of the world to pose and try to project an image of “everything is good here, no need to take up any of your time,” I didn’t feel worthy of seeking love or giving love.

Even worse, I didn’t feel worthy of being loved. I couldn’t give grace to myself, and as a result, I really couldn’t give grace to others. While downplaying the hurt of others against me, I was also always looking to blame others for my lot in life. My ego got in my way and blocked me from being able to connect.

So, stuck in this cycle of trying to be brave and hold it all in, but then crushed by the anxiety that I’m not worthy of love from others and God (because, after all I falsely believed that I am a bad person), I was constantly struggling to know what I need and feeling worthy of accepting what I need.

Sounds crazy typing that out - but it is the demonic cycle which kept me in isolation and this acting out in addiction.

How do I overcome this?

I just reach out.

Uncomfortable, ashamed, or posing and trying to be brave, I reach out anyway.

I’ve learned God is big enough to accept me in spite of myself. And many of you accept me in my weakness. And together we have laughed in our weakness, seen the insanity of selfishness and shame, and prayed for and been present with each other.

As I look back over my trials of the past few months, despite the things which happened to me that seemed out of my control, the real struggles came when I tried to hold it all in and carry it myself. And the real deliverance came when, despite all of that, one of you reached out to me or took my call when I finally had the courage to reach out to you.

“Reach up, and reach out” is an AA tenant I am reminded of often. One of my intentions for 2025 is to remember how much this helps me and to regularly take action in following though.

By Pete, Writing Team

Our Personal Prince of Peace

As I reflect on a talk given at a recent Genesis Group devotional, I'm struck by its profound message about one of Christs’ titles, the Prince of Peace. This title is not just powerful and promising, but deeply personal. Jesus is not only the Prince of Peace in a global or eternal sense; He is our Personal Prince of Peace. From His very first moments, He was transforming chaos into calm.

The Genesis Group speaker imagined Mary, a young mother surrounded by the unfamiliar and the uncertain. Amid disrupted plans and urgent needs, there must have been a measure of confusion and fear. The stable wasn't a clean, serene space, but likely a chaotic, crowded area filled with animals and perhaps strangers. Yet in that moment of potential fear and confusion, Jesus' presence must have brought profound peace. It’s possible that His first miracle was the quiet act of bringing tranquility to that turbulent moment. The Prince of Peace was already at work.

We’ve all experienced the peace that a baby brings as it’s held in careful arms and against a softened shoulder. I can only imagine the peace the Christ child must have brought to the space He was born into—already calming the storms, not just around Him, but in His people’s hearts.

In fact, true peace can only be found in Christ. He offers us the same peace He brought to that manger—a peace that quiets our fears and calms our troubled hearts. Peace isn't always about improved circumstances or the absence of struggle, but about an inner stillness that defies explanation. When we invite it, this same peace finds us in our own moments of uncertainty and fear.

The Genesis Group speaker beautifully illustrated this point by reflecting on a moment years later in Jesus’ life. Taken before Caiaphas, facing those wrongly accusing Him in a rushed, tense trial, and anticipating a certain, cruel death, He "held His peace.” Perhaps this was more than simply keeping quiet. It may have been a deep, unshakable calm granted to Him in His hour of need. If so, it exemplifies the inner peace that He, in turn, offers us. A peace that transcends circumstances.

It’s a peace that is at once accessible and beyond our understanding. It’s a peace that is offered to me. To you. Not as a distant concept, but as a living, breathing reality today. It holds us steady when fear and confusion and loss threaten to overwhelm. It whispers, "Even here, even now, you’re okay."

This Christmas, may we know our Personal Prince of Peace—not just as a title, but as a personal invitation to rest, to breathe, to find calm in the midst of our stories. It’s His gift to us.

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you... Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

Strength and Honor

This past week I was sitting in church and reflecting on the emotional wounds and financial stresses of being laid off at the end of September and still waiting for my first paycheck to come while the bills pile up, I realize I have been resorting to less prayer and seeking distractions in food, hours of binge watching media, and feeling resentment.

I was recently beset by feelings of failure and fatigue of the battle, when I stretched out my right hand and my Bootcamp bracelet slipped out from under my shirt cuff. At the end of each camp we are given a thin black bracelet, on one side it says “Strength and Honor,” and on the other it says “I am a Warrior.”

I don’t write much poetry, but these thoughts came to mind::

I am a Warrior!
But I haven’t been battling
War tested, but lately confused

I am a Warrior!
At times forgetting
The test of a man is in how I am used

I am a Warrior!
Knighted in brotherhood
Redeemed from my sin and abuse

I am a Warrior!
Strength and Honor
My war cry of truth!

I am a Warrior!
Redeemed and remembering
The battle is won when I stand up with you!

And it hit me that I was trying to do battle by myself against myself again. As I’ve reached out more this week for the strength and love of brotherhood and connection, it has come back into my life and reminded me that God loves me and is always there for me.

Be a Warrior! The battle exists whether we pick up our swords and shields or sit on the side lines getting beaten and worn.

By Pete, Writing Team