Peter's testimony is from New Life in partnership with The Life Recovery Journey by Stephen Arterburn, M.Ed., and David Stoop, Ph.D. 

I grew up in a violent alcoholic home and became the monster I swore I would never be. It still pains me to think about my rock bottom. Around 2001, I began, one way or another, to try to wrestle the monkey off my back, and I just couldn’t do it. I was the “In and Out Kid”: 30, 60, 90 days sober, and then a jag; 30, 60, 90 days sober, and then a jag.

At one of these points, I remember sitting in the basement of a local Alano Club after about 90 days in, and a very spiritual man looked me in the eye and said, “You know, you’re about due. I can see a bender on the horizon. There’s a jag coming around the bend like a freight train that’s on the loose. You need to get a Recovery Bible.”

I had never heard of such a thing. I said, “What’s that?” And he said, “Well it’s a Bible that is the Word of God, the Living Word of God, but it’s annotated and footnoted by and for people in recovery.” Well, I left at that moment and drove down to Eau Claire, which is a bigger town around here, and I went to the Christian bookstore and bought myself a Life Recovery Bible. That changed the vector of my life! From that point on, one reading at a time, one day at a time, one step at a time, one prayer at a time, it worked.

A few years later, one of the elders at the church I had been attending saw me knit together recovery and Christ using the Life Recovery Bible, and he suggested, “You need to start a group here.” At the time, I guess pride had crawled back into me, and I kept telling him, “Yah, I’ll pray on that, and I’ll get back to you.” Life was good, you know? The wife wasn’t afraid of me, the kids weren’t afraid of me, the police weren’t pulling me over three times a week, and the boss didn’t want to fire me. I was just fat and happy.

Then once again the Holy Spirit used a 2x4 to get my attention, and I found myself out of a job, so I went to God in prayer. I can still hear that voice in my head that told me, “Ah, schedule opened up, has it?!? Got a little time for me now?!?” We began a Life Recovery Group on December 5th of 2009 at that same church, and it has since grown and sprouted into 8 different meetings at 5 different churches locally—and the ones in prison and jail, as well.

Do you or your loved ones struggle with addiction?  The Life Recovery line, created by Stephen Arterburn, M.Ed., and David Stoop, Ph.D., offers life-changing resources for the Twelve Step journey. The Life Recovery Bible is today’s #1-selling recovery Bible with several companion products, including The Life Recovery Journey, Workbook, and  Devotional. Filled with inspiring stories and Biblical wisdom, they give hope to anyone wanting to walk closer with God through recovery, as well as for their counselors, pastors, and loved ones.

Browse all Life Recovery products here.

 NLT Life Recovery Bible, Second Edition

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Discover freedom and hope in God’s Word with Tyndale’s Life Recovery Bible, the #1–selling recovery Bible with over 3 million copies in print. This powerful Bible for addiction emphasizes God as the ultimate source of recovery and offers essential tools and features to break people free from the grip of addiction. It is widely embraced in 12 Step recovery programs like Alcoholics Anonymous, correctional facilities, and by individuals seeking help taking their life back from destructive behaviors and substances.

In this Second Edition of The Life Recovery Bible, you’ll find updated articles on addiction recovery, along with a step-by-step life recovery meeting guide for leaders. This NLT Bible is a must-have resource for anyone starting or leading recovery groups in churches or communities. Seamlessly compatible with the original version, users of both editions can easily communicate and access shared notes and features.

Special features of this addiction recovery Bible include:

• 12-step devotionals
• Life Recovery Facilitator’s Guide
• Step-by-Step Life Recovery Meeting Guide
• Article: Thriving in a Secular Recovery Group
• Article: Life-Giving Recovery Groups in the Church
• Resources page, directing readers to helpful books and online resources
• The 12 Christian Foundations of Life Recovery
• The 12 Self-Evident Truths of Life Recovery
• Article: A Word about Addictions
• Article: An Early History of Life Recovery
• Portable trim size measures 6.5 x 9.188 inches
• Easy-to-read 9-point font

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