The Hope Recovery Podcast

Recovery is full of choices! The choices and decisions you make will have a dramatic impact on your success in recovery. The AA Big Book and the Bible have much to say about choices. This episode today looks at two criminals that were with Jesus and the choices they each faced and how they each made dramatically different choices. As you listen to the podcast consider for yourself today "What will your choice be?" It can indeed make all the difference!

We all have times when we don't understand God, whether in recovery or just in the struggles of life. This episode looks at biblical principles for how to respond when we don't understand God. The passage of Luke 5:1-11 shares five key insights of how to respond when failures and struggles come and it starts with remembering that we are not alone, God is always with us.

Are you lost and looking for direction in recovery? Are you looking for direction in life too? This podcast looks at three steps and biblical principles that can help provide the direction you need not only for recovery, but for a full and abundant life as well. God does not give up on you, no matter how lost you may feel or how difficult your recovery struggle might be. God is always there and he wants you to turn to him for help.

The powerful message of Step Twelve becomes quite clear when we look at what the founders of The Twelve Steps included for Step One and then what they end with in Step Twelve. The Twelve Steps of recovery and the message of the Bible do not leave us without hope or without a solution, and amazingly they both point to the same solution.

This powerful story of "The Lost Son" reveals that God cares for those that are lost and hurting and even those that have made many terrible decisions in the past. Do you feel as if you are lost and distant from God. This podcast reminds you that God cares for you and wants you to "be found" and to have a restored relationship with him.

Several "Pop-up Interviews" were taken during the "Recovery Day Lancaster" event and each individual answered this one very important question of "How to prevent relapse?" This podcast explores this question and provides the top 3 answers collected from the interviews, AA/NA quotes, and biblical insights as well. How do you answer this important question for yourself?

The struggle of addiction may very much feel like a "giant battle of addiction" and this Bible story of David versus the giant Goliath can give you many principles of recovery and even spiritual principles, that can help you to be successful in recovery and even over any struggle of life as well.

Hello and welcome to The Hope Recovery Podcast hosted by Greg Schmalhofer. The Hope Recovery Podcast provides faith-based recovery messages to help you to be successful in recovery and to grow in your faith as well. Regardless of where you are at in recovery, whether you are at one month or many months, I want to encourage you that recovery is absolutely possible with God in your life. The podcast episodes will include a mix of brief devotional messages and interviews of individuals from the recovery community. The principles of the various Twelve Step fellowships have helped many millions of people be successful in recovery and part of that success is because of the importance of a spiritual experience with God.  This podcast will look further at the spiritual component of recovery and this “power greater than ourselves”.  The Hope Recovery Podcast is intended for individuals in recovery from alcohol or drug addiction, but it is appropriate for individuals struggling with any addictive behavior and even for anyone seeking to refresh their faith. Regardless of where you are at in recovery or in your faith I encourage you to look to the loving, caring, and compassionate God of the Bible.

For more information on The Hope Recovery Podcast and other faith-based resources please go to the website at www.HopeRecovery.us.

Thank you for letting me share. Take care and God bless you all.

Brief additional info: Greg Schmalhofer has been involved in recovery ministry for many years and previously as director of the Discovery Recovery ministry in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Greg is a certified family recovery specialist (CFRS) and has graduate degrees from Liberty University in Christian Ministry and Theological Studies. Greg has published two books, The Hope Recovery Devotional: There is Always Hope With God and The Twelve Keys of Faith-Based Recovery: How to Be Successful in Recovery By Embracing Key Biblical Truths. In addition, Greg is involved in recovery ministry in other ways within the local community.

The books and fellowships of AA and NA are full of true life stories of lives that were dramatically changed by the recovery principles and also by the spiritual principles of the Twelve Steps of Recovery. These stories are evidence of hope that recovery is absolutely possible. As you put your hope and trust in God your life can also be dramatically changed and your story can also be evidence of hope to many others that still struggle.

The Twelve Steps of Recovery have helped many millions of people to not only be successful in recovery, but also to lead dramatically different lives. Find out why the Twelve Steps are so successful and why it works for so many people and why it might work for you as well.

As you look back on your past life in addiction, there may be many things you would like to forget; things you wish you could take back. But, while it is true you cannot change the past, it is also true that you can indeed change the future. With God in your life your future can be very different from your past.

If you are listening to this podcast right now, drugs and alcohol did not kill you. You are not dead and you have another chance! You have another chance to be successful in recovery and you have another chance at life. Listen to this podcast to learn how you can take full advantage of this second chance at life and see what God has for you!

In many ways Step Twelve summarizes all of the Twelve Steps of Recovery and also gives a final charge as well. It is interesting to note what AA and NA chose to include in this final step of the Twelve Steps of Recovery, which is to focus on a "spiritual awakening" as being key to recovery.

Step Eleven instructs us to be intentional to take time for prayer and meditation each and every day. Step Eleven is a big step forward that reflects a true change in our heart and in our personality, such that we are now doing things differently. Now we take time daily to seek God's will in our life through prayer and meditation.

Today's podcast is a message inspired by our brand new granddaughter, Maria Bea Schmalhofer, and is a message of four Bible truths of "What God Says About You". These four basic Bible truths present a perspective that is very different from the message of popular culture, but these four truths of "What God Says About You" can make a dramatic impact in your life and help you to be successful in recovery and even over any struggle of life.

Step Ten instructs us to continue on growing in our recovery and in our faith by daily taking a personal inventory of our wrongs and to promptly and humbly admit them. But, while this is an important process in our recovery, to properly take a daily personal inventory, requires that we ask God to be the one directing the searching of our personal inventory.

Step Nine of Recovery is the beginning of a dramatic change in how we think and act; it is the beginning of a heart change. In Step Nine we take the dramatic step of making amends to those we had harmed in the past and this is a reflection of a spiritual change within.

Step Eight of Recovery is all about putting the needs of others before your own needs and this is done by making a list of the people we have harmed and then being willing to make amends to them. Listen to this podcast episode and see what you may have in common with the apostle Paul.

Here in Step Seven we humbly ask God to remove our shortcomings and the sin in our life, and even more to change us. In Step Seven we ask God to change our heart and mind so that we think and act differently. To be successful in recovery requires a fundamental change, an internal change. It is with Step Seven that we can go further than just being clean and sober, but we ultimately can become the person that God intends us to become.

Step Six of Recovery presents the question are you "entirely ready" and willing to have God remove all your defects? Step Six can be a dramatic step forward in your recovery and a dramatic step forward in your faith as well. Step Six is all about being ready and willing to have God remove your character defects! You do not do the removing, but rather God does and you need to be "entirely ready" and willing. Step Six is much like the passage from Ezekiel 11:19 that says "I will give them a new heart and a new mind. I will take away their stubborn heart of stone and will give them an obedient heart." Embrace Step Six and the message of this podcast to help you be successful in recovery and to see how God can give you "a new heart and a new mind."

Step Five of Recovery builds upon the "moral inventory" list of Step Four. Creating the moral inventory list of Step Four is an important step, but Step Five goes even further and requires action. It is not enough to simply make the moral inventory list, but rather Step Five requires us to take action based upon this moral inventory list. Step Five requires us to admit our wrongs to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. It is this process of admitting and confessing that God uses to bring freedom from our past and even makes our spiritual connection with God even stronger.

This episode today is all about how God can change our expectations. God may not change the actual circumstances of our life or of our recovery, but God can move in our life with dramatic events that will begin to show us what he is really doing in our life and this will lead us to dramatically change our expectations. The God of the Bible is indeed the true "Higher Power" and he is able to help anyone struggling in addiction to finally be successful in recovery and he is also able to help anyone in the midst of any terrible struggle of life as well.

The episode today is part two of a powerful interview with Anthony Acampora. Anthony is the national director of the Faith In Recovery program, which is one of the treatment programs available at the Banyan Treatment Centers. In part two today Anthony shares his heart for recovery ministry and the amazing success of the Faith In Recovery program. Anthony shares how this Faith In Recovery programs blends treatment and faith together. If you are on staff at a recovery facility or treatment facility I encourage you to listen closely to this interview and to perhaps consider if adding a faith component might be an option for you and your facility to consider as a part of your treatment options. In addition, Anthony gives a brief message to anyone that might be struggling with addiction right now.

This is part one of a fascinating interview with Anthony Acampora. Anthony is the national director of the Faith In Recovery program within the Banyan Treatment Centers. From the interview Anthony describes how God rescued him from a life torn apart from "The Perfect Storm" of alcohol and gambling addiction and how God rescued him so that he could then help others to also be rescued from their struggles of addiction as well. Anthony shares his recovery story and also many insightful principles of recovery and many principles that are often overlooked. In addition, Anthony gives practical guidance for parents to make decisions that may help their kids stay away from alcohol and drugs and to avoid the dangers of addiction.

Step Four of Recovery begins a different direction than the first three steps. The first three steps are the beginning of restoring your relationship with God, but the next several steps you begin to look more closely at yourself. It is in Step Four that you take a "searching and fearless" moral inventory of yourself and in some ways this is similar to a commercial inventory so that you know what character traits to keep and which ones to discard. AA and NA both encourage you to ask for God's help and that God will help guide you in this process. Step Four can indeed be an important step in your recovery and also in growing in your spiritual relationship with God.

Step Three of Recovery is a foundational step and it is a critical building block for the rest of the Twelve Steps of Recovery. The Twelve Steps of Recovery are all about a spiritual experience with God and that this spiritual experience with God can help you to be successful in recovery and even to a brand new life as well. Step Three is about making an intentional decision for God, to turn your will and your life over to the care of God. This means that you will no longer be in control of your life, but rather God will be in control. Make a decision for God and be amazed at what God can do in your life.

Step Two of Recovery is an important step and in many ways it is the beginning of hope and also in a small way the beginning of faith as well. Step Two is all about POWER, but not just any power. Step Two is specifically about "a Power greater than" yourself that can help you to be successful in recovery. Step Two reveals that there is indeed hope, that you can be successful in recovery and it all starts with "a Power greater than" yourself with the true "higher power".

Step One of Recovery is where recovery starts at the beginning. It is important to not skip over this important step, as each step builds one upon the other. Step One is very much like the passage in Romans that says "I want to do what is right, but I can’t.” In your own strength you are indeed "powerless" but God is the true "higher power" and he has the power to help you along your recovery journey of the Twelve Steps of Recovery. Start at the beginning with Step One of Recovery and be amazed at what God can do in your life.

The Twelve Steps of Recovery have helped many millions of people be successful in recovery and even more, to live full and abundant lives. One of the main components of The Twelve Steps is the spiritual foundation of seeking to find God and to have a spiritual experience with God. If you or a friend or loved one are struggling in addiction I encourage you to consider the critical importance of God and having a spiritual experience with God. The Twelve Steps of Recovery have become the foundation of recovery fellowships world-wide, because it is founded on seeking to find God and then to bring God into your life as your true "higher power". Recovery is absolutely possible with God in your life. 

This is part-2 of the interview with Greg K where he shares how he went from feeling completely "hopeless" and in a "chasm" that he could not get out of to not only being successful in recovery, but also being full of hope and having gratitude to God for a brand new life. Greg K shares that his decision of faith in God has changed everything and he now has confidence that God will be there to help him in any and every challenge of life.

This is part-1 of an amazing interview with Greg K, who describes himself as a "raging alcoholic", and his story of how God answered his simple prayer in prison to help him finally be successful in recovery. Greg K shares many insights into his struggle as an alcoholic and how he came to the decision that he didn't "want to be like that ever again" and how having God in his life has changed everything. Greg K shares his newfound perspective of faith to "embrace that God will help" regardless of whatever situation of life he might be facing. Consider for yourself that you do not need to be alone in your struggle of addiction. That there is help and you can indeed call upon God for help.   

This episode looks at the dramatic statement that "the opposite of addiction is connection" and explores just how important relationship and connection are to being successful in recovery. The AA and NA fellowships embrace the importance of relationship and connection and they each encourage their members to find "the most important relationship" of all. Have you found "the most important relationship" for you to be successful in recovery? (Quote by Johann Hari)

Often times the thinking that "If I only had this one more thing" then I would be a happy is a lie that only leads people further into alcohol and drug addiction. This brief podcast episode today shares the message of a man who said that everything he ever wanted in life "...all came true, and I'm the least happy I've ever been.... I'm closest to not wanting to be alive as I've ever been." Listen to this episode today to find out how you can be successful in recovery and even how to be truly happy in life through what AA and NA describe as a "spiritual experience with God".

Often times the terrible struggle of alcohol or drug addiction will make people feel hopeless and that they are in such despair they do not know what to do. It is at these times of desperation that many people finally say the "Most Powerful Prayer" as they reach out to God as the one who is the true higher power. This brief podcast episode looks further at this "Most Powerful Prayer" and how this prayer has helped many millions of people be successful in recovery and it can help you as well.  

This episode today is part-2 of an interview of me, by Chris Hume of The Lancaster Patriot newspaper, where I share a little bit more of my story and the wonderful message there is always hope with God. Also, in this episode I challenge local churches to consider being involved in recovery ministry in some way; even simply providing AA and NA and faith-based recovery resources in the lobby. Many are lost and hurting and local churches have the opportunity to reach out in a loving and caring way to those that are struggling and share the message that God loves them and wants to forgive them as well. 

This episode brings out the key AA and NA principle to "bring God into the conversation" of recovery. It is this open and welcoming approach, to bring God into the recovery conversation, that often leads to a "spiritual experience with God". This principle is key to success in recovery and even to peace and joy in life. This episode today includes part-1 of an interview of me, by Chris Hume of The Lancaster Patriot newspaper, that brings out several key recovery principles.  

The power of words have the power to "change a life forever". Find out how you can use the power of words for life and in ways that are hopeful and point people to the loving, caring, and compassionate God of the Bible for help in recovery and in any struggle of life. The power of words can impact people in positive and hopeful ways that will change them forever and the power of words can impact you as well.    

Do you want to get well and are you willing to do whatever is necessary to be successful in recovery? Even if you are in the depths of addiction and despair this episode looks at this important question and reveals where to find the "power greater than ourselves" and who has the power to help you in recovery. There is indeed hope and there is indeed help for success in recovery and even over any struggle of life.

This mini-devotional looks at the message of AA and NA that talk about a dramatic transformation from hopelessness to an "abundant hope" and that this change is only because of a "spiritual experience with God". The Bible is also all about the hope we can have when we put our hope and trust in God. This podcast looks further at the biblical perspective of hope and why we can absolutely have hope, because God "will strengthen you and he will help you."

This mini-devotional message looks at how the books of AA and NA have much to say about a spiritual solution for recovery and this solution often includes the biblical principles of grace and hope. This podcast episode looks at the importance of God's grace in recovery and how this grace is often "the power greater than ourselves". 

Amy describes a bold new recovery partnership between the Tennessee program of "Faith-Based Initiatives" and church congregations throughout the state which together create "an amazing network of love and grace" for recovery. This amazing new program is a partnership between the Tennessee "Faith-Based Initiatives" program and church congregations to provide new recovery resources for churches and faith congregations of all types. Amy also describes dramatic examples of how this blended network of love and grace has helped change the lives of many broken and hurting from years of drug addiction. This new program helps churches be better prepared to love and care for those in their faith community that are looking for faith-based recovery resources to help them be successful in recovery. 

This is part-1 of the interview with Amy B from Tennessee who shares her dramatic and moving story of recovery and how God rescued her from the "darkest moment" of her life with the reminder that she was "beloved". Amy shares how God saved her from giving up on life and how he changed a "fantastic failure" into an amazing future and a brand new life of helping people who are lost and hurting in all kinds of struggles. Through the Tennessee program of "Faith-Based Initiatives" Amy is now part of a wonderful program that seeks to partner with faith-based congregations to help people be successful in recovery by embracing a brand new faith in God.    

As you look at the new year ahead this episode asks challenging questions for you to consider for the new year 2023 and it presents principles that can help you be successful in recovery and even grow in your faith. This episode pulls from some of the comments from last week and the "Pop-up Interviews" to expand on some of these key recovery principles so that you can have the proper focus and fresh start for the new year. 

These "Pop-Up Interviews" for the New Year 2023 answer the most important question for someone in recovery. These 9 individuals answer this question and provide key principles of recovery and even key principles for life as well. Listen to this podcast as you consider how you would answer this question for yourself, because if you are not successful in recovery nothing else matters. 

It is amazing that Step Three of Recovery has a connection to the traditional Christmas message as presented in Luke 1:26-38. This podcast episode explores this surprising connection to Step Three of Recovery and even more as this episode encourages you with the words "Do not be afraid" and to consider that God does indeed have a purpose and plan for your life.  

Chris "D" shares his story of recovery and that it is a spiritual battle. Chris shares his need for God in his life every day and that he "can't imagine life without God". Despite the tragic loss of several family members Chris describes that recovery is possible and his message to others that might be struggling is that "you can do this" with God in your life. 

A core principle of AA and NA is that one addict helping another addict is a powerful force in helping individuals be successful in recovery. Their common struggle and shared life experiences give them a special connection that enables them to help each other. Listen to this podcast episode and hear how this principle, of one addict helping another through a common connection, is also reflected in the Christmas message as well. 

Anthony D tells an amazing story of how God rescued him from 25 years of addiction to alcohol and drugs and used him in prison to befriend a man who was a devil worshiper and gave him the opportunity to share his faith in the loving God of the Bible with him. Anthony explains how he is so grateful that God rescued him from his addiction and that "no one is too far gone" that they are beyond the reach of God. 

The Christmas holiday season can be a challenging and difficult time for many people, but it is especially challenging for those in early recovery. If you are in recovery from alcohol or drug addiction I encourage you to listen to these practical steps to help you surround yourself with people that share your desire to be clean and sober and share your love for God. These practical steps can help you to not only continue on in your recovery through the holidays, but to even grow stronger in recovery and in your faith as well. 

Brief "pop-up interviews" of individuals that share what they are especially grateful for and also share what they would say to someone who is struggling in their recovery as we approach Thanksgiving Day. Often the holidays are a difficult time for many and this podcast gives evidence that there is indeed hope that you can indeed be successful in recovery with God and that your life can be dramatically changed.