Week 5

"Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies."

1 Corinthians 6:18-20

Sin and addictive behaviour takes a toll on us spiritually, physically, emotionally, and mentally. Living a new life in Christ and staying in recovery includes taking care of the body that the Lord has given you.

SEEDS is a quick and easy acronym to remember to help you start and maintain a basic self-care plan. It stands for: Social contact, Education, Exercise, Diet and Sleep. 

Add a "self-care" section to your recovery plan with what you are doing or implement to nurture your spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental well-being.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

John 10:10

Social contact: make a part of your recovery plan meeting up with a friend at least once a month, or ideally once a week. 

If you don't feel that you have any friends, start by asking a guy in your recovery group or church to go for a hike, a bite to eat, or taking your kids out together (if you have them) on a weekend or during the week. 

Education: most of what we've been sharing so far is from things we've learned from reading God's Word and a wide range of recovery materials. 

 Here's a list of resources to consider. Approach any materials prayerfully, critically Remember freedom isn't found in a book or program - but in a person, Jesus Christ. We always want to be growing in our recovery journey as followers of Him. 

Consider joining Men's Group+ where we study God's word together and work together on our recovery journey.

Exercise: health professionals recommend you get at least 150 minutes a week or 30 minutes a day of moderate physical exercise. 

Exercise has been shown to boost your mood, boost your energy, help you sleep. We weren't meant to live sedentary lifestyles, but to be active. When Jesus wasn't taking a boat, he walked everywhere over vast distances. 

Even Paul acknowledged in 1 Timothy 4:8 "physical training is of some value" (and made tons of object lessons about running and even boxing). Getting regular exercise is a positive step towards a healthier lifestyle free of the chains of addiction. 

Get active and start to enjoy a new life. You might start some entirely new activity or revive your interest in an old physical activity you've long since given up. 

Diet: self-medicating with food, eating junk food, smoking, drinking, using substances are all unhealthy ways to numb out feelings. 

Instead, eating a healthier whole-food diet and drinking plenty of water is a much better way to fuel your body. Eating real food that God made - rather than processed junk made in factories - is going to help you feel better and get the nutrients your body needs.

Sleep: we've talked before about how important 7-9 hours per night of sleep is for your well-being and to support your recovery. If you're not yet doing that, or struggling, take another run at making that happen. 

It can be especially tough if you have young kids or are struggling with insomnia. Don't be hard on yourself if you're trying and not getting much success. Consider talking to guys about it on your daily calls and reach out for help.

Sometimes we're not even aware of how much we neglect our physical, emotional and psychological well-being. 

We challenge you to track how you're doing on each of the "SEEDS" everyday for a week. Where are you coming up short? What steps can you commit to taking to address those aspects that are challenging? After doing that, add a self-care section to your recovery plan:

MY RECOVERY PLAN 

(Version: [Today's Date]) 

1) MORNING

Prayer, Meditation & Reading the Bible 

 
2) DURING THE DAY

Journal 

Daily-Check In Call 

Worship and Praise 

3) EVENING

No screens 30 minutes before bed; set alarm to be up at least 1 hour before usual; get to bed at least 7 hours before I need to be up; Pray before going to sleep

4) WEEKLY

Attend Men's Group(s)

Attend Church

Memorize Scripture 

5) TOOLS

"RAW": Renounce, Announce, Worship

Lock down devices (e.g. filtering & accountability software, "dumb phone")

6) BOUNDARIES 

List your "inner circle" and "middle circle" boundaries

24-Hour Tell Policy

No boundary changes without first consulting with wife and group leader

7) SELF-CARE

List your self-care plan