Being a mom reveals your most broken places.

I often think motherhood would be easy if my boys behaved better. Or maybe if I read one more parenting book. Or if I finally caught the magical contentment unicorn just beyond my grasp.

Of course, none of those options really pan out (especially the unicorn). It’s my own junk. Every day the yuck in my heart rises to the surface. But with the pace of life and needs of my people, it’s hard to stop and examine the “yuck” more closely.

Recently our small group has been attending a recovery program at our church. Through some honest self-examination and community, God’s been showing me where I’ve held wrong beliefs. And how they impact my relationships.

Today’s podcast guest, Lynn Hoffman, helped start our church’s recovery program 15 years ago. And God also led her to write “Steps into God’s Grace”, a bible study based on the 12 steps of recovery.

In this episode, Lynn shares her own struggle with performance, people pleasing and codependency. She gives insight into why recovery isn’t just for addicts. And she encourages us to identify our own emotions so we can teach our children to do the same.

Recovery became a safe place where I could go and be with other people who were willing to be honest. Stop pretending and start talking about the reality of the problems in their life. And lean on God to change and discover new realities in their life.

((Make sure you listen to the end of the episode when I share details about an event hosted this month at our church. If you’re local I’d love to see you there!))

Connect with Lynn:

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“Everyday Peace” by Katie Orr

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What we chat about:

• Lynn’s divorce/remarriage and struggle with wanting to do everything right.
• How she got her significance from her work and struggled to lean on God.
• The discovery of recovery and God’s call for her to write a 12-step based Bible study.
• Learning the lies Lynn believed and how they controlled how she behaved.
• The lies that go along with “working hard”.
• Why should anyone consider going through a 12-step recovery program.
• The spiritual/Biblical roots of recovery.
• The value of identifying your emotions in the moment.
• The difference between shame and guilt
• When we feel like a “mom failure” and how our worth is tied to our kids’ behavior and performance.
• Getting in touch with our own emotions to help our kids with their own emotions.

Links Mentioned:

• “Steps into God’s Grace” by Lynn Hoffman **
• Jim & Lynne Jackson “You are Safe. You are Loved” (Ep 80)
• Feelings chart:

• Celebrate Recovery
• Recovery for Life at Northwest Bible
• LOCAL EVENT : 
  “What Rules Your Heart – The Journey from Image Making to Image Bearing”
  Featuring Andy Crouch (Executive Editor of Christianity Today)
  Northwest Bible Church – 8505 Douglas Ave. Dallas, TX
  Wed. Aug. 31 – Thurs. Sept. 1 ~ 6:30pm – 8:00pm
  Ticket costs have been donated for all interested parties by the Recovery for Life team of Northwest Bible Church. Childcare is available, simply register HERE.

  **Amazon affiliate links

How to listen to the podcast:

1.Listen on the blog. Click through to GodCenteredMom.com and click the play button at the beginning of this post.

2. Listen on your smartphone, iPad or iPod Touch – There are a lot of great podcasting apps. Apple has a free one (that I mentioned) in the app store, there is also one called Downcast. It allows you to search for shows, subscribe to them and even speed up the audio. If you don’t have an iDevice, you can listen via Stitcher.

3. Subscribe to the Podcast – access the podcast in iTunes (Click here to access via iTunes). You can also search for it on your smartphone app (like the ones listed above) and subscribe.