Tag: sobriety

From Happy Hour to Holy Hour

by Millie Lynne

(original published date: March 14, 2026)

For close to twenty years, “5 o’clock somewhere” was woven into the very fabric of my life. It governed my habits, my weekends, and—thanks to brunch—it often started well before noon. When I look back at that version of myself, she feels like a stranger. In many ways, she is dead.

But my spirit is alive in Christ Jesus.

That one truth has changed everything. My life is no longer an anxiety-riddled countdown to that first glass of wine. For almost four years now, I have been truly free from the chains of that “soulless liquid” that quenches no thirst.

It’s funny how your favorite times of day shift. Now? My favorite moments are the quiet bookends of sleep. I’m an early riser these days—usually by 5:00 AM, occasionally “sleeping in” until 5:15 AM—because I genuinely love my time with God.

After twenty-plus years of insomnia, I am finally experiencing the best sleep of my life (shoutout to my relationship with God and a little help from HRT!). I honestly didn’t know sleep like this existed. Looking back, I realize the insomnia wasn’t just the alcohol; it was the toxic—and frankly, evil—influences I allowed in my life.

I was surrounded by people who created the very anxiety they then mocked me for having. They told me I wasn’t a “true Christian” because I struggled with worry, all while they spent their time scolding and belittling me. That kind of toxicity can drive anyone to the bottle – and it did.

Restored and Protected

As of the 22nd of this month, I will be sober for three years and nine months. Since leaving a narcissistic, abusive relationship eighteen months ago, my rest has been a God-send.

He visits me in my sleep. Through dreams and visions, He has protected me and warned me. Sometimes I wake up saying, “What was that?”—which is just an invitation to pray for the discernment that only the Holy Spirit can provide.

A Lens of Truth

My routine is now anchored in the Word—in my Bible and my devotional—before I ever touch my phone in the morning. Tonight, as the world feels increasingly heavy with the ongoing news of war in the Middle East, I found myself drawn to Psalm 139. I ended up reading for hours.

I came across a note in the margins that struck a chord:

“We can look at our relationship with God through the lens of our culture, or we can look at our culture through the lens of God’s Word.”

To my brothers and sisters in Christ: let’s not forget to start and end our days with our Father. In a world of chaos, He is the one who holds us in His hands and watches over His people. He is the true thirst-quencher (John 4:14 “but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again”).

The Validation I Was Drinking For

by Millie Lynne

For most of my adult life, I lived in a culture that looked shiny and successful on the outside but left me empty on the inside. Everywhere I turned it was about appearances — bigger houses, fancier cars, constant consumption, and a need for validation that never seemed satisfied. At the time, I thought I was thriving. From the inside, it just looked like growth, opportunity, and fun. But now, looking back, I see how much of it was driven by pride, excess, and distraction.

Alcohol was a big part of that culture, and for years, it was a big part of my story. I drank to fit in, to quiet my nerves, and to feel like I belonged. I laughed it off as “just part of the scene,” but the truth is, I was numbing pain I didn’t know how to face — rejection, insecurity, and years of being told to “lighten up” or “stop being dramatic” when I expressed hurt. Drinking became my mask, and eventually I didn’t know who I was without it.

But God.

Three years ago, He pulled me out of that spiral. Sobriety hasn’t been easy, but it’s been the most freeing decision of my life. Without the haze of alcohol, I’ve been able to see myself clearly — and see how much of my striving was really just a search for validation. The kind of validation only God can give. “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).

Over the past year, I’ve been blessed with a season of healing and reflection. I’ve faced challenges — loneliness, family health scares, work changes, and personal trials — but I’ve also found community in unexpected places. God has surrounded me with people who encourage me, new friends who make me laugh, and even professional relationships that remind me that respect and kindness are possible without performance or pretense.

The biggest shift has been this: when I stopped chasing validation from others, God provided it Himself. He has shown me that I am enough because He says I am enough. And when He chooses to bless me — through opportunities, friendships, or small moments of joy — it’s often in ways I never could have imagined.

I’m not the same person I was a few years ago. And for that, I am deeply, humbly, and endlessly grateful.

Still Sober. Still Saved. Still Standing.

by Millie Lynne

(original publish date: April 27, 2025)

Five years divorced.

Three years sober.

Still Sober. Still Saved. Still Standing.

Some days I sit with those numbers and think, How did that much time pass? The divorce. The rock bottom. The surrender. The rebuilding. The transformation. All of it—just a blink ago in my mind.

And that’s when I started thinking about God’s timing.

We always hear things like, “God’s timing is perfect,” or “Be patient, He is working,” and we nod, smile, and try to wait. But waiting? Waiting can feel like silence. It can feel like nothing is happening. Like prayers are hitting the ceiling and falling right back down.

But what if that’s just our perception of time?

I read something recently about how time actually feels faster as we age. As children, our brains are still developing. Synapses take longer to fire. Time stretches out in slow motion. But as adults, those same neural pathways work faster, and our perception of time compresses. It’s not just nostalgia—it’s science. Our brains literally interpret time differently.

So if time is already slipping past us faster than we realize… imagine how time must look to God. He created time. He exists outside of it. To Him, our five-year heartbreak may feel like a blink. Our decade-long wilderness season? A pause between sentences.

The prayers we’ve been crying out for years might be in the process of being answered—we just can’t see it yet.

I used to pray for patience all the time. And I don’t mean in a peaceful, spiritual way—I mean in a Lord, don’t let me scream at this person in traffic way. Patience was not my gift. Growing up, I didn’t have the best model of emotional control. So I prayed.

And wouldn’t you know it… God answered.

Not with instant calm or a spa day or some magical peace.

He sent me a relationship that would stretch my patience (and sanity) to its limit—a relationship with a narcissistic ex (not my ex-husband). One that forced me to dig deep and find grace I didn’t know I had. I wouldn’t wish that experience on anyone, but I can say with certainty: it taught me more about patience, boundaries, and healing than anything else ever could.

And if I had still been drinking? I never would’ve made it out of it. Sobriety gave me the clarity and strength I needed to finally walk away. It gave me the backbone to start over and the peace to stay the course.

So when I say, Still Sober. Still Saved. Still Standing, know this:

I’m not standing because life has been easy.

I’m standing because I’ve learned how to get back up—again and again.

And maybe that’s what God’s timing is really about.

Not just the “when,” but the who we become while we wait.

Not just the miracle, but the muscle that forms in the silence.

Not just the outcome, but the character it builds in the meantime.

What feels like a delay may just be a divine blink.

So keep going.

Keep praying.

Stay sober.

Stay saved.

And keep standing.

I Got Sober When My Life Was Falling Apart — Here’s What Nobody Tells You

by Millie Lynne

(original published date: April 17, 2025)

Sobriety doesn’t make life easier — but it helps you levitate your life, instead of being buried by it one drink, one shovel-full at a time.

I got sober after 20+ years of drinking — and I didn’t do it when life was easy. I did it when life was falling apart faster than I could catch it.

Forty came in swinging like a wrecking ball.

COVID shutdowns.

Freshly divorced from who I thought would be my forever.

It became bourbon and wine.

Sudden health issues that landed me in and out of hospitals, trying to find answers no one seemed to have.

I told them it was my gallbladder — and I was right. But even before the diagnosis was clear, I knew something bigger needed to change.

Life hadn’t been easy the past few years, and I had been walking through it one glass of wine at a time… until it wasn’t just wine.

It became “just one more” — celebration, sadness, boredom, anxiety — it didn’t matter.

The summer before, my body had tried to warn me. Three hospitalizations. Excruciating pain. Projectile vomiting. Weight dropping. Doctors who wouldn’t listen. I cleaned up, got careful, told myself I had it under control.

I didn’t.

By June 2022 I was back in that same hospital. Same pain. Same body begging me to listen. And this time I was terrified — not of the pain, but of what came after. Because I didn’t know how to face my anxiety without a glass in my hand. I didn’t know who I was without it.

Alcohol was the solution. Until it became part of the problem.

Dating in North Dallas didn’t help either.

Money, whiskey, power plays — rinse and repeat.

At some point, drinking became survival.

But survival is not living.

And somewhere between my body breaking down and my spirit feeling buried, I heard God whisper:

 Enough, my child.

June 22, 2022. That’s the day I surrendered.

The day I put the glass down for good.

Since then, life hasn’t been “easy.”

I’ve walked through heartbreak.

I’ve been laid off.

I’ve watched friendships dissolve.

I’ve battled loneliness.

I’ve faced uncertainty.

But now?

Now I rise.

Now I levitate.

Because sobriety didn’t erase my problems — it lifted me above them.

✨ Daily Word of Encouragement ✨

Galatians 6:9 (NIV)

 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

You’re not just surviving anymore.

You’re rising.

You’re levitating.

Keep going.

🕊️