Weekly Web (W)roundup
By | Filed Under: Weekly Web (W)roundup |
Each week, we roundup the best links, articles, and videos we find that are relevant to finding freedom from pornography addiction. Please note that by posting a link here it doesn’t necessarily mean we agree with everything in the linked article. It just means we found it interesting enough to share.
Gospel Coalition: Help Your Kids Say No to Porn
“The first time porn was served at the cafeteria lunch table, my son was 11 years old. Does that seem young to you? Research suggests that one in three children ages 11 to 14 have viewed pornography on a mobile device. Add to that the very real possibility that a child will stumble across explicit content on YouTube or in a pop-up ad during innocent computer usage, and one thing becomes clear: parents must be proactive in talking about porn with their kids.”
Tim Challies: The Porn-Free Family Plan
“I want to protect my children in a world like this, but I want to do more than that. I want to disciple my children to live virtuously, to use these new technologies for good purposes instead of bad ones. I believe this is a crucial part of my calling as a parent.”
xxxChurch: I’m a Pastor and I Look At Porn
“I’ve had two conversations lately with senior pastors who found themselves in bad situations. After years of hidden porn addiction, they decided they didn’t want to keep living like this, so they confessed to their wives and then called me to talk about their next steps.”
John Bevere: Gaining Freedom from Pornography
Smart Quote of the Week: Dietrich Bonhoeffer
By | Filed Under: Smart Quotes |
Thoughts on this quote? Feel free to discuss them in the comments below.
Weekly Web (W)roundup
By | Filed Under: Weekly Web (W)roundup |
Each week, we roundup the best links, articles, and videos we find that are relevant to finding freedom from pornography addiction. Please note that by posting a link here it doesn’t necessarily mean we agree with everything in the linked article. It just means we found it interesting enough to share.
xxxChurch: The Real Reason Why You Can’t Change
“Throughout the years I’ve heard many stories from people who have talked about wanting to change. They’ve made commitments to stop using pornography, having anonymous sex, or masturbating. But for whatever reason – and there have been many – they haven’t been happy with their behavior.”
Desiring God: The Single Man’s Journey to Sexual Happiness
“It was afternoon New Year’s Day and I was sitting in my room, sad and alone. I had met another girl, and I could already tell that pursuing her would lead to another failed relationship. The more I thought about my history, my shame, my brokenness, the more miserable I became.”
TrueFaced: Old Me/New Me
Smart Quote of the Week: Michael John Cusick
By | Filed Under: Smart Quotes |
Thoughts on this quote? Feel free to discuss them in the comments below.
Weekly Web (W)roundup
By | Filed Under: Weekly Web (W)roundup |
Each week, we roundup the best links, articles, and videos we find that are relevant to finding freedom from pornography addiction. Please note that by posting a link here it doesn’t necessarily mean we agree with everything in the linked article. It just means we found it interesting enough to share.
Tim Challies: Samson and the Pirate Monks
“I find books like this easy to dismiss, perhaps especially because so many of us have tried accountability relationships and found them wanting…But then I think about men I know and wonder how they would receive this book and, even better, the kind of relationships it models. And then I realize that men are desperate for exactly what Larkin describes here.”
Pastor Bob: Why do Bad things Happen to Good People?
Free Music Downloads: Esterlyn
By | Filed Under: Worship Wednesdays |
About once-a-month, on a Wednesday (hence the name: Worship Wednesdays), I will share one of my favorite albums I’ve been listening to. Most of these will be from NoiseTrade, the internet’s best source for free music and eBook downloads.
Esterlyn: Woven
Confession: I love Coldplay. There’s just something about music with orchestral backing, pop riffs, and melodic vocals that I can’t get enough of.
There, I said it.
Given that embarrassing fact about my taste in music, it’s no surprise that I absolutely love this new album from Esterlyn.
Unlike Coldplay, though, Esterlyn requires no explanation to justify enjoyment. Their talented combination of passionate worship lyrics and catchy pop melodies blends perfectly into what I would consider one of the best worship albums I’ve heard in a while.
Just try to listen to “Holy” without tapping your foot.
I dare you.
From NoiseTrade: We are a tapestry. God is the artist. We all have one short life to live. It can be easy to get discouraged with the pain, misfortune, and hurt that we all experience. We pray this album will remind us that we are all on a journey- one that the Lord has predestined before the foundations of the world. There will be heartache in life that we don’t understand but we must remember that God makes beauty from the ashes. May each of our lives be a small piece of God’s great masterpiece to reveal His great love to this world. May this album remind us to reflect on God’s character and nature and His great love for you and I! May we find peace in the fact that our Lord never changes. May we give our hearts, our resources, and our time to the one who is mending the meaning.
Smart Quote of the Week: Brother Lawrence
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Thoughts on this quote? Feel free to discuss them in the comments below.
Reader Q/A: How do you Cope with a Highly Active Sex Drive?
By | Filed Under: Reader Q/A |
Question: How do I cope with my highly active sex drive?
First things first, I am not a doctor or a scientist. That being said, I can tell you from my own personal experience of being celibate for multiple years now that one’s libido is somewhat adjustable.
When I was at the peak of my addiction, it was not uncommon for me to have 5+ orgasms a day. I couldn’t even make it through an 8-hour shift of delivering pizzas without stopping once or twice at the adult bookstore preview booth.
At the time, I attributed this to an overactive sex drive.
In the past years though, my sex drive hasn’t completely shut off, but it doesn’t control me like it did before. Your body has a remarkable ability to self-regulate in this area. Yes, there will be a transition period as you down-regulate semen production and other related processes, but they will adjust with time.
I have wondered if my reduced libido these days is simply a result of my aging, but I do not believe that to be the case. I have become much healthier, lost a bunch of weight, and cleaned up my eating and sleep habits since those days—which means I actually have higher testosterone and increased fertility today. Yes, that is merely an N=1 observational study, but I believe its proof that sex drive goes much deeper than hormones.
As you transition down though, learn to love cold showers. I’m serious. It has been a life saver for me. I’ve found that if you alternate between 10-seconds hot and 20-seconds cold, it’s actually enjoyable (unlike the torture of a purely cold shower). It sounds crazy, but it works.
The Real Question You Need to Ask
All that being said, what if your sex drive isn’t actually producing the desire for acting out, but it’s actually the result of attempting to satisfy a deeper issue in your heart through ways that can bring true satisfaction?
Perhaps you’ve been “going to the well” to satisfy a thirst that can only be satisfied by Living Water.
After all, if you find a way to satisfy that need to where you “thirst” again, well, to me that sounds like freedom.
Thank you again for your question. I hope this answer helped bring you more clarity.
Grace and peace to you in Christ,
Stephen
This question was taken from the recent Reddit AMA I did for NoFapChristians.
If you have a question about pornography addiction, my personal story, or anything else for that matter, you can send it to me by filling out the form on the Contact page (or just click my picture in the sidebar on the right). I will do my best to answer every question personally and will never post your question without your permission.
Weekly Web (W)roundup
By | Filed Under: Weekly Web (W)roundup |
Each week, we roundup the best links, articles, and videos we find that are relevant to finding freedom from pornography addiction. Please note that by posting a link here it doesn’t necessarily mean we agree with everything in the linked article. It just means we found it interesting enough to share.
Gospel Coalition: Grace is Not a Thing
“Yes, God’s love meets us where we are, but it refuses to let us stay there. This is because when the grace of God takes root in your heart then it produces fruit in your life. God’s grace is not a matter of lowering his standards, it’s a matter of transforming his people.”
Dave Willis: 7 Common Marriage Wrecking Habits
“I have found, however, that there are some consistent habits that can undermine the bond between husband and wife and ultimately lead to divorce. This is not a comprehensive list, but below are some of the most common and most destructive bad habits in modern marriages.”
