I never expected this blog to grow as quickly as it did. Now, with over 100 posts and over 6,000 hits we’ve got quite a little community growing.
I like to think of this blog as a little support group. We all benefit from each other’s wisdom and experience. I would like to sincerely thank all of you that have read, commented and emailed me over the past few months. Without your encouragement and participation, this blog would not be here. Especially early on, there were times that I felt overwhelmed by dealing with all this on a daily basis, but the more I’ve written and researched, and the more I’ve heard from each of you, the easier it has become. Thank you for being a part of my healing journey.
It takes an amazing amount of bravery to not only deal head on with these issues but to share your stories and insights with others. Many people have written to tell me how helpful the comments and true stories have been to them. Again, thank you.
My prayer for each of us this year is that we would each be filled with more freedom, more love and more joy in our relationship with the Lord.
9 comments:
Hi there. I was shocked and delighted to stumble upon your blogsite this morning. I was a tm intern once, long ago, in Tulsa. I am not sure, but I might be one out of two interns from my year (we were a class of about 100) who recognized many of the destructive things you point out about Teen Mania. THANK YOU for opening up a blog and a public forum for others that is thoughtful, intelligent and insightful. It is a relief to find others who are thinking through this and trying to recover. Wishing you the best for a new year!
January 1, 2010 3:21 PM
Anonymous said…
It is to a man’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel (Proverbs 20:3).
A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control (Proverbs 29:11).
And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful (2 Timothy 2:24).
January 2, 2010 10:35 AM
Ben said…
Amen, Anonymous! And what a great job RA has done in applying those very things here. Instead of rash, uncontrolled, vengeful anger, it’s been full of loving, controlled, and wise pleas to return to the gospel.
good stuff. and thank you RA.
January 2, 2010 1:13 PM
Recovering Alumni said…
To the anonymous who posted the same Bible verses 10+ times on various posts…that is called spamming. Please don’t do it again.
January 2, 2010 1:24 PM
z said…
Thank you for your blog, RA. I check it every day. I’m curious, how many hits does this site average a day?
January 2, 2010 2:13 PM
Recovering Alumni said…
Thanks Z. Right now its about 100 hits a day.
January 2, 2010 2:17 PM
Nunquam Honorablus said…
Haha, yeah, that’s something I was wondering too RA 😛
I check this site a few times a day, plus I got my sister and a friend reading this blog too. Neither one of them have been to the Honor Academy, but they’ve been to a few ATFs and had to put up with my idol worship for the two years I was there. Man!
But in all honesty, thank you for this blog. The Lord has shown me so much through everyone’s personal struggles and victories, and how blessed I am to have been pulled out of that idolatry.
Praise the Lord for all He’s done.
January 2, 2010 2:19 PM
Anonymous said…
To Nunquam- Idol worship? I keep hearing that kind of stuff. Can you explain how you had idolatry from T.M?
January 4, 2010 12:40 PM
Nunquam Honorablus said…
Anonymous- basically, I took everything that TM taught me as Gospel. If I read something in the Bible that disagreed or conflicted with something I was taught, I discarded it. I told myself I’d ask about it (and sometimes I did), but either way it was quickly dismissed.
Teen Mania’s doctrine pretty much became my Bible. Is that completely their fault? Not at all. I was totally the one to obsess over their militaristic worldview and adopt it as my own without a second thought.
But the fact of the matter is that they teach it, regardless of what we do with it (and are discouraged from thinking otherwise).
January 4, 2010 12:57 PM
