Conquering Strongholds

Today I went to a wake for a friend who was taken from this earth prematurely. We went way back and I will always remember him through wonderful childhood memories of playground drama, Nintendo victories and mischievous sleep overs. I wish I could say I was there for him throughout the last couple of years, but the truth is that we had lost touch. I trust that he left this world knowing he was loved and appreciated. I pray for him and his family in this time of true sorrow... the world has lost a wonderful person.

I set out to write this blog to report on my journey of change with expectations of sharing happy and exciting events with hopes that they would provide positive inspiration on a daily basis. However, the loss of this friend brings up a dark side of life that is prevalent in today's world and needs to be discussed in hopes that the evilness will someday be conquered.

Addiction and the awful things that surround this disease claimed my friend's life and threaten many others every day. I am forever grateful for the work of God in my life and the strength he has provided to me over the past 18 months to help free myself from the chains of addiction. Drugs and alcohol had literally taken control of my existence and were allowing the devil to carry out his evil intentions. In order to stop this misery, I had to take a good look at my life and work to release the strongholds that were keeping me from receiving God's glory.

My road to recovery began by acknowledging that the Devil had strongholds set up in my mind that needed to be broken with a relentless dedication to restoring hope. I had been completely destroyed mentally after years of abuse that resulted in a build up of negative thoughts and feelings. With the help of the Lord, I simply decided to think only positive thoughts and with each passing day improved to the point where I was able to accept the help I needed to recover.

After surviving the initial battle, I vowed to never give up and continued taking back my life from the devil one day at a time keeping faith that God would provide me with all the strength I needed to succeed. I prayed everyday for guidance to stay committed to recovery and took advantage of every opportunity to reach out and help others. I allowed the holy spirit to take root deep inside my heart and made the conscious decision to live life under its guidance.

As I keep seeking transformation, God continues answering my prayers by relentlessly powering my positive attitude and constantly bringing people and things into my life that make me a better person. Over the past year, I have been able to shift my concentration to some other strongholds and will constantly work to bring more of God's glory into my life. I realize that this incessant battle is far from over, but I feel like I am winning the fight... and strive to use every new day as an opportunity to show God how thankful I am to be alive.