Additional Information
Armor Bearer
Yes, I will help Bear the Armor of Restored Warriors. I will make the following commitment:
$50.00 per month for 12 months
$25.00 per month for 12 months
Any Amount per month for 12 months
Brothers, I need your help!
The time has come for me to share with you, my heart. In March of 2020, God reveled to me the Ministry of Restored Warriors. He showed me how that men’s lives, much like yourself would be changed and set free from their sexual struggles. He showed me the battlefield and how many men are laying there wounded and hopeless. The countless lives, marriages & families that would be restored. I did not realize the changes that God would continue to make in my life. When Restored Warriors launched in September 2020, I was able to dedicate around 16 hours a day to this Ministry. I was able to survive on a savings that I had to offset my living expenses. Then, when the savings had diminished, I had to return to my tailoring work, leaving me to only have around 4-6 hours a day to focus on Restored Warriors. I saw the ministry start to suffer because of this, but I knew that God would supply. Today, God has laid on my heart to bring this need before you. I need men to be the Armor Bearers for Restored Warriors. These are the guys who will be lifting the financial burden on Restored Warriors. The ministry of Restored Warriors is in no way close to stopping. It is simply a need that will allow the ministry to grow.
What will this mean? More dedicated time for:
- open calendar time for personal 1 on 1 ministry.
- time to reach out to you & others in their daily battle.
- Time to see the ministry increase in the number of men’s lives & families it reaches.
- time to increase the number of groups being lead.
- time to plan and organize groups & events.
- time to work with guest speakers & to build the ministry outreach.
- time for advance preparation of the materials.
- time for study in the addiction/recovery processes and ministry.
- Less likely to burn out!
You know I do not take this ministry lightly. I know and have seen the way men’s lives have been and are being changed daily by this ministry. You & I know the abilities this ministry has, to be able to reach more with a broader spectrum. But I need your help to do it! I need you to stand with me on the battlefield for Purity in the Church.
I need you to be an Armor Bearer for Restored Warriors. I need a 12 month commitment of 30 men who will partner for $50 per month. This will cover my personal living expenses. Until June 2021, I had never taken any salary or any money of any kind from Restored Warriors. However, now I have cut myself down to a bare bone living, to be able to invest into the lives of men like yourself. A sacrifice that I feel will have a much larger gain than any financial matter can ever give. You might say, I cannot do $50, but I could do $25. Anything that you can do will help. How much value do you put on your healing and restoration of your family? What about those who we are not reaching yet? The time to act is now!
Lordy I hate asking for money. However, the time has come for me to share with you the need & my heart to serve. This is my heart guys. Will you help me stand on the battlefield of purity for others like yourself? If you want to talk to me about this or anything else, please feel free to reach out!
Thank you for anything you can do…
Daniel
As always, all donations are tax deductible.
Betrayal & Beyond
The Betrayal & Beyond program reveals the truth and nature of sexual addiction, and how women are wounded by the addict’s behaviors. For women who have suffered betrayal, their healing comes from understanding the role of trauma, establishing healthy boundaries, exploring the depth of forgiveness, and learning to live in restoration.
The Betrayal & Beyond program reinforces the daily commitment to health through several foundational tools:
- Creating an attitude of gratitude through thankfulness
- Identifying personal/prophetic promises, reinforced through God’s Word
- The Commitment to Change identifies challenges or needed change and accountability for change
- The FASTER Scale raises awareness of the behaviors that lead to relapse
- The Group Check-In provides weekly self-reflection while moving toward health
Brain Health
Originally from: The Freedom Fight
Porn Changes Your Brain
Just trying harder to stop a porn habit doesn’t work. The physical structure of the porn user’s brain is changed by prolonged porn use, and if they don’t address the brain-altering impact of porn it is nearly impossible to change their behavior.
Porn Creates Unhealthy Neural Pathways
When a person climaxes, whether by using porn or having sex, their brains give us the highest reward it can. The brain makes note of it to remind them to do that again. When they are initially triggered to use porn, their brain increases the craving to move them in the direction to use again. The brain uses dopamine to activate craving and desire. Dopamine is released not only at the fulfillment of pleasure but also in anticipation of pleasure.
The brain gives a hit of dopamine to move people down that familiar path because of the rewards and pleasure at the end. Everything in them says, “I must have it.” It consumes their thoughts. All they want is to be alone with porn. The more they travel this pathway in the brain, the stronger it gets, and the more difficult it is to stop the urge to travel it.
Elevated dopamine levels in the brain because of regular porn use impair the ability of the brakes to stop. This is why it is difficult for a habitual porn user to stop watching porn even when he or she wants to. This phenomenon is true for any addiction. This is why so many addicts feel helpless. This doesn’t excuse a person’s porn use, but it does help explain how an otherwise godly person who genuinely wants to quit often can’t without help.
Dopamine and Porn Addiction
Dopamine is the main pleasure chemical the brain releases when a person experiences something enjoyable. Sex is the highest natural reward of dopamine the brain gives. Drugs like cocaine release unnatural amounts of dopamine into the body. So does meth. So does pornography. Dopamine ensures that the brain will remember and later crave the activities that led to the high. Chasing dopamine can be so consuming that people risk it all: their job, marriage, ministry, and integrity.
Porn is like candy: it brings a quick high, but it can’t sustain you and it rots the soul. When we consider the unlimited access and the dopamine burst of porn, it’s no wonder people get hooked on it. It’s not just about the porn, it’s about the craving for the high.
The American Society for Addiction Medicine (ASAM) asserts that addiction is fundamentally a brain disease, explaining that the disease is in the brain’s reward system. Addiction occurs when the brain’s reward system is hijacked. The hijacking causes people to crave pleasure from sources that are ultimately harmful–drugs, alcohol, pornography, etc.
What ASAM calls disease, the Bible calls being in bondage to sin and “carrying out the desires of the mind” (Ephesians 2:3). The cravings of the addicted brain take over. Understanding the biology of the brain helps those caught in addiction renew their mind more effectively.
When a person continues indulging a porn habit, his or her brain can start to build a certain tolerance. Many issues can occur when the brain builds up a tolerance to porn:
- Porn artificially raises the baseline level of dopamine
- They need more dopamine to get the high
- Without the high they may find themselves depressed, unmotivated and antisocial
- They may become bored and disengaged with things they used to enjoy
- They may need more porn, or more variety, to get the same high
- They might seek out new and different images or risky behavior
When someone chases a dopamine high, they find themselves watching things they never thought they’d watch and doing things they never thought they’d do.
The Erosion of Willpower
Hypofrontality is the phenomenon of a person’s prefrontal cortex (PFC) –their brakes – not operating effectively. It is the erosion of their willpower. Prolonged porn use saturates the PFC with dopamine. One of the results of elevated levels of dopamine is that the PFC doesn’t absorb dopamine effectively. The PFC also gets less blood flow and therefore less oxygen. When the PFC absorbs less dopamine and gets less oxygen, it operates less effectively. The brakes are weakened.
Hypofrontality helps explain how someone can continue to make bad decisions even in the face of great personal cost. They have lost the ability to restrain themself. Stopping porn use and unwanted sexual behavior can address the problem of hypofrontality. When elevated dopamine levels return to normal, the brain can heal and start absorbing dopamine effectively again. When this happens, impulse control and moral reasoning begin to function at a normal level. Healing takes time. This is why detox is so important. It helps people heal their brains by repairing their brakes.
DeltaFosB and Addiction
Another result of an addicted brain is the accumulation of the molecule DeltaFosB. Researcher Eric Nestler has shown how this protein molecule accumulates and persists in the reward pathways of the brain in response to chronic stimulation due to an addiction. When pornography is consumed regularly it produces large amounts of dopamine, which results in Delta FosB and in turn leads to the addiction-related changes in the brain that cause craving and bingeing.
After six to eight weeks of abstinence from an addictive substance there is often a breakthrough for patients in their recovery. It is suspected that the decline of the presence of Delta FosB is key to the improvement that many recovering addicts often see once they get to the 8-week mark of their abstinence from their addictive substance.
Resetting the Brain
It’s a challenging situation. When a person’s willpower has been eroded by excessive porn use but they need to stop porn to get their willpower back to normal… it’s a catch 22. This is why a 95% commitment to detox won’t work. There must be 100% commitment to detox when your brakes are in such a weak condition. Going on lock down and having accountability is essential for someone to escape the snare of pornography.
The addicted brain is the second of the six roots of a porn addiction. The mind must be renewed. One important step in this process is strengthening impulse control. This is done in two ways:
- First, a person must stop porn use and the unwanted sexual behaviors so dopamine levels return to normal and the prefrontal cortex can operate effectively.
- Second, they must increase oxygen to the prefrontal cortex.
During detox, the brain will crave relief while willpower is weak. This is why the Freedom Fight created the BRACE tool for you to use every time you face a temptation or trigger. Deep breathing also gets more oxygen to the PFC and helps you build a new pathway when triggered.
Beginning to Heal
Detox begins when the addict stops sexually acting out. They abstain from masturbation, porn, hooking up, or any other unwanted sexual behavior. Many sex addiction therapists encourage their clients to make a goal of going ninety days without a relapse for their initial detox. That may seem impossible, but taking it one day at a time is key.
Detoxing allows the chemical levels in the brain to return to normal and reset. Detox will likely result in certain withdrawal symptoms. Initially, the person may become depressed because they are used to the high from the chemicals. They may experience the classic symptoms of detox and withdrawal: boredom, lack of interest and motivation, and the desire to isolate. The first few weeks are typically the most challenging.
During detox, a porn addicted brain will crave dopamine. It will be important during this time to engage in activities that naturally raise the level of dopamine like exercise, good sleeping and eating habits, spiritual disciplines (Bible reading, prayer, etc.), and enjoying friends. This can help diminish the craving for a dopamine hit. Self-care is an essential element of recovery, especially during the initial detox.
Josh McDowell Daily Devotionals
Positive Confessions
A Fellow Brother of Restored Warriors has written this and he wanted to share it with everyone, So I’m posting it for you to read!
I’m Challenging YOU to Read This DAILY for the Next 30 days… Read It OUT LOUD!!
Let’s see what God does in YOUR Life!!
“I am who my Father says I am. He is who He says He is. I am loved. I am accepted. I am in the beloved. My Father is for me and not against me, He is with me and He is in me. He is working miracles on my behalf. I am in His divine rhythm, timing and perfect will. I have His divine favor. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world. I have all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him. I am the head and not the tail, above and not beneath. I have my Fathers vision for my life. I have the mind of Christ. I am convicted by Holy Spirit and I walk in all obedience.
I have wisdom, knowledge and all understanding. I have good fruits. I am successful in all things. I am a great husband and a great father. I am a great friend and a great worker. I am a great leader. I am a great learner. I am Spirit led, Spirit filled and Spirit empowered. I am providing for my family by the grace and strength of God. I am joyful in all things.
I am full of faith. I am thriving as a Kingdom leader with tremendous influence and success. I am an anointed King and Priest in the earth. I am a world changer. I am chosen, equipped, commissioned, anointed and appointed by the King. I am healthy, healed and whole. I am saved and set free from the bondage of sin. I am made right with God, right with my wife and right with all my relationships. I am a great servant and a great son. I am great Steward of my time and possessions.
I am disciplined in my Spirit, soul and body. I have purpose and impact. I am creative, blessed and in tune in hearing my Fathers voice. I am humbled and therefore will be exalted. I am rich beyond measure. I am strong, fast, smart and wise. I Am a Mighty Warrior. I am full of courage. I have what it takes. And This is my best year yet.”
AMEN!!!
Thank you Brother!!!
PLEASE Post Your Comments and Praise Reports of What You Have Seen God Do in Your Life while Reading This!!
Restored Warriors App
The Parable of the Dragon
I want to share with you a parable. It’s about a prince and a dragon. I use the word “dragon” very purposefully. First, it is a biblical description of our spiritual adversary, but it’s also a way of helping us understand how we find ourselves in such a mess, and how to get out of it.
There was once a great and noble king whose land was terrorized by a crafty dragon. Like a massive bird of prey, the scaly beast delighted in ravaging villages with his fiery breath. Hapless victims ran from their burning homes, only to be snatched into the dragon’s jaws or talons. Those devoured instantly were deemed more fortunate than those carried back to the dragon’s lair to be devoured at his leisure. The king led his sons and knights in many valiant battles against the serpent. Riding alone in the forest, one of the king’s sons heard his name purred low and soft. In the shadows of the ferns and trees, curled among the boulders, lay the dragon.
The creature’s heavy-lidded eyes fastened on the prince, and the reptilian mouth stretched into a friendly smile. “Don’t be alarmed,” said the dragon, as gray wisps of smoke rose lazily from his nostrils. “I am not what your father thinks.” “What are you, then?” asked the prince, warily drawing his sword as he pulled in the reins to keep his fearful horse from bolting. “I am pleasure,” said the dragon. “Ride on my back and you will experience more than you ever imagined. Come now. I have no harmful intentions. I seek a friend, someone to share flights with me. Have you never dreamed of flying? Never longed to soar in the clouds?”
Visions of soaring high above the forested hills drew the prince hesitantly from his horse. The dragon unfurled one great webbed wing to serve as a ramp to his ridged back. Between the spiny projections, the prince found a secure seat. Then the creature snapped his powerful wings twice and launched them into the sky. The prince’s apprehension melted into awe and exhilaration. From then on, he met the dragon often, but secretly, for how could he tell his father, brothers or the knights that he had befriended the enemy?
The prince felt separate from them all. Their concerns were no longer his concerns. Even when he wasn’t with the dragon, he spent less time with those he loved and more time alone. Over time, the skin on the prince’s legs became calloused from gripping the ridged back of the dragon, and his hands grew rough and hardened. He began wearing gloves to hide the malady. After many nights of riding, he discovered scales growing on the backs of his hands as well. With dread he realized his fate were he to continue, and so he resolved to return no more to the dragon. But, after a fortnight, he again sought out the dragon, having been tortured with desire.
And so it transpired many times over. No matter what his determination, the prince eventually found himself pulled back, as if by the cords of an invisible web. Silently, patiently, the dragon always waited. One cold, moonless night their excursion became a foray against a sleeping village. Torching the thatched roofs with fiery blasts from his nostrils, the dragon roared with delight when the terrified victims fled from their burning homes. Swooping in, the serpent belched again and flames engulfed a cluster of screaming villagers. The prince closed his eyes tightly in an attempt to shut out the carnage. In the predawn hours, when the prince crept back from his dragon trysts, the road outside his father’s castle usually remained empty. But not tonight.
Terrified refugees streamed into the protective walls of the castle. The prince attempted to slip through the crowd to close himself in his chambers, but some of the survivors stared and pointed toward him. “He was there,” one woman cried out, “I saw him on the back of the dragon.” Others nodded their heads in angry agreement. Horrified, the prince saw that his father, the king, was in the courtyard holding a bleeding child in his arms. The king’s face mirrored the agony of his people as his eyes found the prince’s. The son fled, hoping to escape into the night, but the guards apprehended him as if he were a common thief. They brought him to the great hall where his father sat solemnly on the throne.
The people on every side railed against the prince. “Banish him!” he heard one of his own brothers angrily cry out. “Burn him alive!” other voices shouted. As the king rose from his throne, bloodstains from the wounded shone darkly on his royal robes. The crowd fell silent in expectation of his decree. The prince, who could not bear to look into his father’s face, stared at the flagstones of the floor. “Take off your gloves and your tunic,” the king commanded. The prince obeyed slowly, dreading to have his metamorphosis uncovered before the kingdom. Was his shame not already great enough? He had hoped for a quick death without further humiliation.
Sounds of revulsion rippled through the crowd at the sight of the prince’s thick, scaled skin and the ridge growing along his spine. The king strode toward his son, and the prince steeled himself, fully expecting a back-handed blow, even though he had never been struck so by his father. Instead, his father embraced him and wept as he held him tightly. In shocked disbelief, the prince buried his face against his father’s shoulder.
“Do you wish to be freed from the dragon, my son?” The prince answered in despair, “I wished it many times, but there is no hope for me.” “Not alone,” said the king. “You cannot win against the serpent alone.” “Father,” sobbed the prince, “I am no longer your son. I am half beast.” But his father replied, “My blood runs in your veins. My nobility has always been stamped deep within your soul.” With his face still hidden tearfully in his father’s embrace, the prince heard the king instruct the crowd,
“The dragon is crafty. Some fall victim to his wiles and some to his violence. There will be mercy for all who wish to be freed. Who else among you has ridden the dragon?” The prince lifted his head to see someone emerge from the crowd. To his amazement, he recognized an older brother, one who had been lauded throughout the kingdom for his onslaughts against the dragon in battle and for his many good deeds. Others came, some weeping, others hanging their heads in shame. The king embraced them all. “This is our most powerful weapon against the dragon,” he announced. “Truth. No more hidden flights. Alone we cannot resist him.”
Three Circles
References
Below is a list references to partnerships we have developed:
[1] Josh McDowell Ministries http://www.joshmcdowell.com
[2] Joe Dallas, http://JoeDallas.com (657) 333-0807
[3] Dr. Ted Roberts, https://puredesire.org (503) 489-0230 info@puredesire.org 886 NW Corporate Dr, Troutdale, OR
[4] Barna Group in the U.S. in 2014 (Barna Group, 2014 Pornography Survey and Statistics, https://www.provenmen.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Survey-eBook-no-linksLinked.pdf
[5] Porn Stats 2018”, Covenant Eyes, Accessed December 11, 2019, https://www.covenanteyes.com/pornstats/
[6] Nick Bilton, “Parenting in the Age of Online Pornography”, The New York Times, January 7, 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/08/style/parenting-in-the-age-ofonline-porn.html
[7] Covenant Eyes, Pew Research Center’s 2018 findings of Mobile porn:” (“Porn Stats 2018”, Covenant Eyes, Accessed December 11, 2019, https://www.covenanteyes.com/pornstats/
[8] David Kinnaman & Roxanne Stone, “The Porn Phenomenon – The Impact of Pornography in the Digital Age”, Barna Group, April 4, 2016, http://barna resources.myshopify.com/products/pornphenomenon
[9] Luke Gilkerson, “Pocket Porn: Nearly a Third of Teens Carry Portable X-Rated Theaters, Covenant Eyes, April 15, 2014, http://www.covenanteyes.com/2014/04/15/porn-pocket/
[10] Samuel L. Perry & George M. Hayward, “Seeing is (Not) Believing: How Viewing Pornography Shapes the Religious Lives of Young Americans”, Social Forces/Oxford Academic, June 2017, https://academic.oup.com/sf/article/95/4/1757/2877697
[11] Set Free Summit by, Mary Ann Layden, PhD, Psychotherapist, Director of Education, Center for Cognitive Therapy at the University of Pennsylvania, Director of Sexual Trauma and Psychopathology Program.
[12] Stephen Black, 1330 N Classen Blvd Ste G80, Oklahoma City, OK 73106-6856, 405.236.4673, http://www.stephenblack.org
[13] First Stone Ministries, 1330 N Classen Blvd Ste G80, Oklahoma City, OK 73106-6856, 405.236.4673, http://www.firststone.org
[14] “Generation XXX: Pornography Acceptance and Use Among Emerging Adults” http://jar.sagepub.com/content/23/1/6. short.
[15] Pure Life Ministries: http://www.purelifeministries.org
[16] Blazing Grace, http://www.blazinggrace.org/pornstatistics.htm
[17] Barna Group, http://www.barna.com/porn-2-0-the-sexting-crisis
[18] Barna Group, http://www.barna.com/research/porn-in-the-digital-age-newresearch-reveals-10-trends
[19] Bill Perkins, When Good Men are Tempted, p. 88, Bill Perkins