Our recovery group meets every Monday night at 7pm CDT online! DM us @unlocking.freedom on Instagram for the link to that group.

We are labeled righteous the moment we receive salvation.

As He is, so are you.

Your identity is RIGHTEOUS. Refuse to take your identity from your sin and struggles.

You’re either depending on Jesus or you’re depending on your own strength.

You have to understand that YOU ARE LOVED.

Seek first the Kingdom and all will be added. — Matthew 6

You’re never too far gone.

Is your urgency radar out of order? Are you surrounded by urgent people?

Negative emotion can lead to addiction, but there’s also an urgency addiction.

Are your thoughts positive or negative? Hold onto hope, you CAN renew your mind!

John 11 — The story of Lazarus

We recommend the book: To Hell With The Hustle - Jefferson Bethke

What’s the point? If you aren’t connecting with the Holy Spirit and community, does what your doing have a point??

Where are you going when you feel urgency?

When emotions are high, clarity of thinking is low.

Grace has placed you on the other side of your troubles because you are on the other side of the Cross. Jesus already overcame what you are facing.

Romans 5:8

Mercy - off the hook for your mistakes

Put yourself in the circle of people that need grace. YOU deserve grace too.

— Daily Bread from Season 1 Episode 5 —

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 TPT

Don’t miss God in your current season of life.

God wants you to succeed! He is rooting for you! Grace is FOR you.

Sin-consciousness - guilt, shame, defeat, based on what you can/can’t do

Philippians 4:8 - keep your mind on these things

Grace changes everything!

In today's episode, your Unlocking Freedom hosts Allison Burke (@allimom) and Kayla Dutton (@kayfergdutton) talk about FOCUS and how important it is to focus on what you are running towards instead of what you are running from if you want to make progress and keep momentum going in your journey. Follow us at @unlocking.freedom so you don't miss the next episode!

Where is your focus?

Titus 2:11-13

Plug into the present.

Philippians 3:13-14

Matthew 6:34

Ecclesiastes 7:10

1 Samuel 7:3

Be gracious to the people running their races around you! Your lane is YOUR LANE and their lane is theirs.

Acknowledge what you’ve done, but the past can’t be your focused.

Gratitude grounds you to the present and centralizes your focus.

Keep your eyes on Jesus.

Colossians 1:12

Sin isn’t the issue, SHAME is the issue.

Psalms 121:7-8

Where is your focus??

We're back for season two! Follow us at @unlocking.freedom so you don't miss an episode.

New Year, New Me? // Goals vs Desires

Like we continually say, PROGRESS is perfect. It’s wise to look back and see what will benefit you moving forward and what you need to let go over and leave behind.

New year new me? New year UPGRADED me.

Hebrews 12:1 TPT

Desires vs Goals

Have you already failed some of your resolutions for this year? Start back up! Reassess every month if you have to, but make your goals attainable. Ask yourself: is this what I want most over what I want now?

Every month, journal these categories:

Ephesians 4:22-25 TPT

Psalm 127:1-2 TPT

Let your progress be a blessing to the people around you.

Today your Unlocking Freedom (@unlocking.freedom) co-hosts Kayla (@kayfergdutton) and Allison (@allimom) talk about how to create healthier habits in your life and how to sustain those habits. Reach out to Kayla ([email protected]) if you are struggling with  substance cravings due to addiction and need some support.

Philippians 3:12-16 TPT

Focus on establishing new habits! You can improve them as you go. Getting started is the hardest step.

“Discipline: what you want MOST over what you want NOW” - Craig Groeschel

Set time aside for YOU. Become the designer of your day instead of the consumer of it. Get out of response mode and tell your day how it’s going to go. Are you on the defense or the offense side of your life?

Plug into a community where your desired behaviors are the normal. There’s accountability there! We mimic the close, the tribe, and the powerful. Who are you surrounding yourself with?

“Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.” - Craig Groeschel

1 John 3:1-2 TPT

Link your identity to your habits to find lasting results.

Reading Recommendations:

Part 1 of conversations on vulnerability with your Unlocking Freedom hosts Allison Burke (@allimom) and Kayla Dutton (@kayfergdutton). Reach out to us at @unlocking.freedom on Instagram! We want to hear how you liked this episode and any questions you have.

Recommended books in this episode:

Everybody has a vice.. but are you serving that vice or is it serving you?? Is your vice benefitting your life? Does your vice fuel you?

1 Cor 10:23 NLT & TPT

Addiction = Bonding. You’ve just bonded with the wrong thing.

It’s okay to be uncomfortable! EMBRACE THE SUCK. Instead of numbing, feel the feels. Search your discomfort and find the root of the lie you are believing.

“You can’t selectively numb.” - Brene Brown

Find a better vice! You can’t just drop a bad habit, you have to replace it. Bond with something beneficial.

Alcohol —> kombucha, tea, flavored sparkling water

Your sin issue was dealt with on the Cross — this is a heart issue. You are what you do most.

2 Cor 3:17 “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!”

Is your vice helping you create the life you love?

Rising Strong by Brene Brown is a GREAT resource. We highly recommend reading it!

Today we are talking about God’s love with Pastor Jennifer Miller (@dodomiller) who is the co-pastor of Hope City Dallas (@iamhopecity) and co-host of The Awake Podcast (@the_awake_podcast). She is an incredible wife, mom, and friend and we are so thankful to have her on this episode!

John 3:16 doesn’t say that God was so disappointed in the world that He sent His only Son, it says that God so LOVED the world that He sent Jesus. Jesus died for you because He loves you, not out of condemnation, disappointment, or shame.

Hebrews 4:11 — run to rest as fast as you can!

Ephesians 3:17-19 TPT — “By constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life. Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences—the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is his love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding—this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God!”

1 Corinthians 13

You are a human being, not a human doing.

You can “do” all day long, but if you are not living and BEING in God’s love, none of it matters.

Love gives the benefit of the doubt — even in knowing our heart and our motives, God chooses to give us the benefit of the doubt. that’s agape love!

Soundtracks by Jon Acuff is a book we mention and we highly recommend!

Having a revelation of God’s love can pull up the roots of shame in your life.

Jude 2 MSG — Love is on the way!

You have the grace you need to face today.

Maybe you can’t wrap your head around forever in your recovery journey. Guess what?? THAT’S OKAY. You don’t need to wrap your head around never drinking again, never using again, etc.. You don’t have to worry about tomorrow, and you surely don’t need to worry about forever. You can just wrap your head around TODAY because God has given you the grace you need to face today.

You have everything you need!