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Dear Friend, Last week we revisited our Seven Steps in Coming Clean. Today I want to take this opportunity to do the same with our Seven Steps in Staying Clean. Always keep in mind that these steps are general guidelines. They are meant to be starting points from which we can both build upon. Scripture is a cleansing agent. Recent George Barna stats show that only 44 percent of believers actually read the Bible outside of a church service. Again, I urge your feedback. And it is my prayer that as we come clean and stay clean we will be able to begin healing in our homes and in our communities. Often times we hear the comment that things seem like they are getting worse, but recently it was brought to my attention that if we look back in Scriptures and look at the life of David, Isaac, and through out the book of Judges, things weren't pretty back then. The difference I suggest is that today families do not know how to communicate. Kids cannot talk to parents and parents feel like they do not understand their kids. Old school thought was that, "Children are to be seen and not heard." It's time we came clean about consequences of that philosophy. By parents and children Coming Clean with each other we are able to provide a safe place for communication to take place and thus begin the healing process. This is where our concept is revolutionary. Coming Clean Ministries believes that we all have a story to tell, it just depends on what story we want to tell. When we are able to tell these stories, we are liberated-set free from a host consequences and hurts. SEVEN STEPS IN STAYING CLEAN Dear Friend, life as usual has no guarantees. Yet, Jesus came that we might have life abundant. Coming clean assure us of the promise. But Coming Clean does! Coming Clean is the first of a two-step process of liberation. As I choose daily to Come Clean and live a life of transparency before God and those whom I love, I am able to enjoy the consequence of Staying Clean. As a result I will gain a stronger family and will live a more productive life. 1. I choose today to Stay Clean and be transparent before Christ and those whom I love. 2. I choose today to Stay Clean by making choices that will keep my life free from the entrapment of sin. 3. I choose today to Stay Clean by asking God through prayer and meditation to give me wisdom and the knowledge of His will for me to Stay Clean and the power to be obedient to His will. 4. I choose today to Stay Clean by continuing to Come Clean as I seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit to convict me of the need to Come Clean. 5. I choose today to Stay Clean by seeking to be accountable to God and those whom I love. 6. I choose today to Stay Clean by living my life as an example for those with who I am in daily contact so that together we can enjoy the liberating life of Staying Clean. 7. I choose today to Stay Clean as I pursue an intimate relationship with God until I'm there. Do you know, my friend, why we can come clean and stay clean? Because Jesus, our Lord, set the example for us when He came clean first. We will explore that thought in the next e-letter. God bless,
Love,
Jorge Valdes, Ph.D.
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