Celebrate Recovery of LaSalle/Peru, IL

06/12/2026

06/12/2026

DAY 163
The Charges Are Dropped!
When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive — right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ's cross. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.
COLOSSIANS 2:13 - 15 MSG

As I sat in a circle of people, waiting for the share group to start, someone asked this question: "What's the best news anyone ever told you?" Without hesitation, one of the men shouted out, "The charges are dropped!" We all laughed but we knew exactly how good those words were. In reality, those should be the words we all long to hear. Those old arrest warrants with our names on them have been canceled by the redeeming work of Christ.
It can be shocking when we realize that none of us — not even one was good enough to be in the presence of Jesus. The Bible says that even those who led really good lives are separated from God by their sin. We are all in need of a Savior.
Every one of us must make the decision to become a follower of Jesus Christ. And when we do, regardless of how we've lived our lives, the message we receive is, "The charges are dropped!" Forgiveness is instant and complete! Now that's real freedom.

PRAYER -
Thank you, Father, for sending Jesus to arrange for the charges against me to be dropped. You have given me a new chance to live my life in a way that is pleasing to you. In Jesus name, Amen.

06/11/2026

DAY 162
Drinking Buddies
A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
PROVERBS 12:26

I shall stay until the wind changes." That's what Mary Poppins said and it reminds me of some of the friends I had before I got into recovery. When we get serious about asking God to help us begin to change our hurts, hang-ups, and habits, we may receive an unfavorable reaction from some of those friends we believed would always be there for us.
I referred to some of my old friends as my "drinking buddies.” They were always there for me when I was practicing my addiction and compulsions. But when I told them I had finally had enough, they were less than supportive. They would call me from a bar and ask me to come over to shoot pool. I explained to them that I couldn't hang out in a place where people were drinking, but they didn't seem to get it. When I asked them to meet me for a cup of coffee instead, they thought I was kidding.
Slowly we lost contact. I call those guys my Mary Poppins friends. When the wind changed, they were gone.
I did find the support I needed, though. The men in my recovery group reached out to me and would ask, "John, how are you doing?" As the days passed, they became my accountability team and my sponsor.
Most of us have lost friends when we decided to put God and sobriety first in our lives. But new friends, friends who truly understand what we are going through, are a gift from God.

PRAYER
Father, I thank you for the new friends you have placed in my life. In Jesus' name, Amen.

06/10/2026

Join us tonight for Testimony Night!!!

~Doors open at 6PM
~Serving sloppy joes for dinner
~Large group at 6:30pm

Come find freedom from your hurts, habits and hang ups!!!

06/10/2026

DAY 161
Playing Pretend
"There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs."
LUKE 12:2 - 3

My kids like to play pretend. It's a game in which everyone gets to choose who they want to be. That might be a superhero, a princess, a teacher, anything they want. Right now their pretending is focused on an office setting. My middle daughter is challenging my son to "pick up production!"
I can remember playing pretend when I was a child. I'd like to say that I don't play that game anymore now that I'm an adult, but that wouldn't be true. I play pretend all the time. I pretend something doesn't hurt or scare me. I pretend a situation doesn't need my attention. I pretend everything is fine in my relationships so I don't have to confront anyone. I pretend things will be all right if I just ignore them. As adults, we don't call this playing pretend: we call it denial.
Breaking out of denial isn't a one-time thing; we have to do it again and again. Denial always ends up causing us more pain. Ultimately, denial keeps us stuck and unable to get the healing we need.
Making the decision to step out of denial and into God's truth can be uncomfortable, even painful. But in the end, dealing honestly with the issue will be a key part of recovery in that area of our lives.

PRAYER —
Thank you, Lord, for helping me face my problems and deal with them rather than bury them and pretend they don't exist. In Jesus' name, Amen.

06/09/2026

DAY 160
Taking Out the Trash
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
EPHESIANS 4:22-24

My wife and I both woke up before the alarm went off. We were excited about the trip we were taking later that morning. As we prepared to leave, I threw a garbage bag full of trash onto the back of my flatbed truck, thinking I would drop it into the garbage dumpster on our way out. Unfortunately, I got so busy that I forgot.
Twenty miles down the road, I remembered and shouted, "Oh no, the trash!" I was just sure it had fallen off on the highway where the police would find it, locate our address on some piece of discarded mail, and stick us with a big fine. I pulled over, rushed around to the back of the truck, and to my great relief found that the bag was still there. I immediately disposed of it in a nearby dumpster.
Remembering to get rid of the trash right away is important in recovery also. If we set it to the side and forget about it, some significant consequences might come to bear on our lives and the lives of those we love. It's so much better to take care of the trash right away.

PRAYER
Father, help me to keep the refuse in my life taken care of so that it won't cause trouble for me or those I care about. In your name, Amen