In the Renewed Man program, we focus on helping men live with sexual wholeness and integrity. The principles we learn and live in this area of our lives have great application to other areas of life as well. The program is holistic, and we're finding that men participate -- and get helped by the program -- who don't personally struggle with sexual temptation very much. They find its wisdom helpful to apply to other areas of their lives. Here's teaching from one of the weeks' materials that has to do with "living with vigilance" in the face of a world filled with temptations and challenges.

“You don’t always get what you want. You get what you tolerate." – Henry Cloud

Once we accept that we struggle with — and maybe have some level of addiction to — certain sexual behaviors, we know that we can’t predict how we will react when we are around sexually triggering material or sexually provocative people. 

To stay on track, we will need to establish boundaries and daily routines that keep us away from people, places, and things that could trigger addictive sexual craving.

To that end, each day we try to:

• start the day with a reading from a recovery meditation as well as daily “quiet time” of prayer and Bible reading
• connect with least one person in recovery — through talking or texting — whom we respect
• spend time with family members and sober friends
• take time to offer gratitude for today
• end the day with a few minutes of silence to be open to reflection and direction from God

In addition, each day we guard ourselves from overt sexual materials that feed sexual fantasy and craving. We pay special attention to:

• the books, magazines, and newspapers we read
• the television shows and movies we watch
• the web sites we spend time surfing
• the social media connections we have and the content we're consuming

Our goal is sexual integrity, health, and more energy and joy. The routines we create and the boundaries we set help us to that end. They don’t have the power in and of themselves to create sexual health or even protect us from getting in trouble if we really want to. Routines and boundaries can be broken. 

That's the bad news. But the good news is that the more healthy patterns we establish, the stronger these routines and boundaries become, and the more they free us to experience life as it was meant to be lived.

NEXT ACTION:

Today’s action step is to think about tweaks to your daily schedule. Take a look at your schedule for the next few weeks. Are there ways you can improve your daily routine in order to stay on track? Describe some habits that you are developing, and/or that you might want to develop.