If you have read any of our blog posts, you should realize that A Attitude of Gratitude endorses the 12 Steps of Recovery. If you are not family with what that is, a twelve-step program is a set of guiding principles outlining a course of action for recovery from addiction, compulsion, or other behavioral problems. Originally proposed by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) as a method of recovery from alcoholism, the Twelve Steps were first published in the 1939 book Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men Have Recovered from Alcoholism. The method was adapted and became the foundation of other twelve-step programs.
When Bill Smith and Dr. Bob Watson founded Alcoholics Anonymous in the 1930’s, it was based on principles developed from The Oxford Group combined with Bill and Dr. Bob’s understanding of Scripture. Their Twelve Steps all had a Biblical foundation which, when applied, started men on the road to recovery from their addictions. Since then AA has spread internationally and helped countless people with their addictions.
David Zailer has taken the Twelve Steps and developed a Christ-centered application of these principles in the book, “Our Journey Home – Insights & Inspirations for Christian Twelve Step Recovery”.
In this book, each Step is presented and then a collection of short articles are written to understand and apply that Step to the addict’s life. What I really appreciated was that the earlier articles under each Step would help the addict to see him or herself in the Step, the next articles would present the fact that there was hope and the ability to change, and the final articles under the Step would present Christ as the One who the addict could turn to for the needed changes in his or her life. I think the title of the book, “Our Journey Home”, is appropriate because the material presented in it truly is a way home to God and a way to have a satisfying relationship with Him resulting in a fulfilling and sober life.
I am also impressed by the fact that I believe David’s book could apply not only to addictions, but to any area in life where I am not living the way that I desire to be. As I apply each Step to my life and read the articles, I find that I understand myself better, and I’m encouraged by knowing that there is hope and that by following these simple Steps, I do have the ability to change.
A Attitude of Gratitude has found this book to be a valuable resource and we believe you will too. We highly recommend it. So much so that (While supplies last) we are giving away a copy to everyone who becomes a contributing member of A Attitude of Gratitude. For more information please visit our Giving Page.
About David Zailer
An original Operation Integrity participant, David administrates the day to day operations of OI. He writes devotions for Operation Integrity Daily and contributes to a wide range of addiction recovery efforts. He has written two Christ centered books on 12-Step addiction recovery, but he is best known for his work as a speaker and counselor. David lives in Laguna Niguel, California where he is active in his community and his church.