Fixed By Nature

02/26/2026

🌿 Why Did God Make Cannabis?
And how are we supposed to use it?

Let’s go back to the beginning:

> “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed… to you it shall be for sustenance.”
— Genesis 1:29

Cannabis is one of those herbs—part of God’s perfect design. Created on purpose, for a purpose.

Like many plants, it can be a gift or a trap, depending on how we use it.

🛐 So how do we use it as God intended?

By following this simple truth:
👉 Use it for healing, not escaping.
👉 Use it with reverence, not recklessness.
👉 Use it in a way that supports your temple, not clouds your spirit.

> “The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”
— Revelation 22:2

God never intended for us to live in suffering—or to be slaves to pills.
He gave us plants. He gave us wisdom. He gave us a choice.

Let’s honor that.

02/23/2026

What’s Growing in This Pot… Has Been Healing People for 4,000 Years.

This is my myrrh tree.
Not impressive yet. A little scraggly. A little stubborn. But powerful.

Myrrh is mentioned 17 times in the Bible — from Genesis to Revelation.

It was part of holy anointing oil (Exodus 30:23).

It was brought to Jesus at His birth (Matthew 2:11).

It was used in purification and healing rituals.

And it was offered at the cross.

But this isn’t just history.

Modern science confirms what ancient cultures already knew.

Myrrh (Commiphora species) contains powerful bioactive compounds:

• Anti-inflammatory terpenoids
• Antimicrobial resins
• Antioxidant compounds
• Natural analgesic properties

Studies show myrrh has been used to:
• Support oral health (gum disease, infections)
• Aid digestive function
• Reduce inflammation
• Support immune response
• Assist wound healing

It’s still used today in natural medicine and even studied in cancer and autoimmune research.

Now here’s what fascinates me.
When God instructed Moses on the holy anointing oil, myrrh was the first ingredient listed:

“Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh…”
— Exodus 30:23

Myrrh wasn’t random. It wasn’t symbolic fluff. It was intentional.

God built healing compounds into plants. That’s not accidental. That’s design.

God’s Perfect Design.

And here’s the deeper connection…
Myrrh was also used in purification processes in Esther 2:12 — six months of treatment with oil of myrrh before entering the king’s presence.

Purification.

Preparation.

Restoration.

Healing isn’t rushed. It’s cultivated.
Just like this little tree.

It may look small now. But what it contains has changed history.

If you’re feeling worn down, inflamed — physically or spiritually — maybe the answer isn’t more synthetic intervention.

Maybe it’s reconnection.

With nature. With gratitude.

With God’s perfect design.

🌿 What natural plant has helped you most in your health journey?
Let’s talk about it.

02/21/2026

** You Don’t Need a Guru, a Pill, or Another Program. **

If you’re trapped right now…
feeling lost…

trying everything and still ending up in the same place…

Hear this clearly:

You don’t need a guru.
You don’t need another pill.
You don’t need another program to tell you what’s right for you.

Deep down, you already know.

The problem isn’t ignorance.
It’s noise.

*Noise from addiction.
*Noise from shame.
*Noise from other people’s opinions.
*Noise from the belief that you’re broken.

And when the noise gets loud enough, you stop trusting yourself, and that's where relapse begins.

✝️ Scripture

“Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.”
— Lamentations 3:40

Examine.
Test.
Return.

Not run.
Not numb.
Not escape.

Return…

🧠 The Truth Most Recovery Programs Skip-

Addiction disconnects you from yourself.

It trains you to override your intuition.

To ignore your body.

To silence conviction.

Chapter 8 of Empowered Sobriety — “Know Thyself” — is about reclaiming that inner compass.
Because freedom doesn’t begin with control.

It begins with clarity.

When you quiet the chaos, something powerful happens:
You start recognizing the person you were created to be.

And that version of you?
It doesn’t need to escape!

✍️ Today’s Simple Practice

Take 5 minutes alone.
Ask yourself:

Where in my life have I been ignoring what I already know is true?

Write it down.

No judgment. Just honesty.

Clarity is the first step back to strength.

You are not broken.

You are disconnected.

And reconnection is possible.

If this resonates, Chapter 8 will speak directly to you. (Link in first comment.)

💬 What’s one truth about yourself you’ve been avoiding?

02/12/2026

Was invited to interview on the Donna Drake show Live it Up. What a great experience, and I am so grateful!

Thank you for your support!

https://youtu.be/V7ZB0s4Q_2M?si=ljTEWbVwdXDZ8fxN

✌️💚😁🙏🏼

Donna Drake welcomes Stephen T. Radentz, author of Empowered Sobriety and founder of Fixed by Nature, to talk about moving from addiction and struggle to fai...

02/10/2026

Harm Reduction Is Still Healing

I’ve been seeing a story circulate lately claiming Big To***co “buried a botanical cure” for smokers’ lungs.

Here’s the truth — stripped of hype and guilt.

Smoking does damage the lungs.
It does slow cilia (the tiny hairs that clear mucus). And no tea, herb, or supplement magically undoes years of smoke exposure.

But here’s what is real — and what matters in Empowered Sobriety:

👉 Harm reduction is not failure.
👉 Supporting the body while you're changing still counts.

Recovery — from substances, habits, or patterns — isn’t about flipping a switch. It’s about creating alignment with God’s perfect design one step at a time.

That’s where this tea comes in.

Not as a cure.

Not as a replacement for quitting or medical care.

But as a supportive ritual — something gentle that works with the body, not against it.

A Simple Lung-Support Tea (Harm Reduction Blend)

• Mullein leaf – soothes irritated airways
• Licorice root – helps loosen stubborn mucus (not for everyone; moderation matters)
• Peppermint leaf – opens the breath and cools inflammation
• Ginger root – warms circulation and calms irritation
• Thyme leaf – traditional respiratory support

How to use it:
Simmer 1 tablespoon per 12–16 oz of water for 10–15 minutes.
Strain well. Drink warm. Once or twice a day.

No promises. No miracles. Just support.

Sobriety — and healing — isn’t about shame or perfection.
It’s about asking:

“What’s one thing I can do today that moves me closer to alignment?”

Sometimes that’s quitting.
Sometimes it’s reducing.
Sometimes it’s simply caring for the body you’re still living in.

That’s recovery by design — not punishment.

If this resonates, tap Like, Share, or drop a comment with one small harm-reduction step you’ve taken lately. Someone reading might need permission to take theirs.

02/08/2026

Recovery isn’t about perfection.
It’s about what you do next.

For over a decade, I wasn’t chasing a high. I was trying to feel normal.

What started as pain management soon became addiction management.

That distinction matters—because it changes how we talk about recovery.

I didn’t need more shame or labels. I needed a way forward when my body and mind were already overwhelmed.

That’s why I wrote Empowered Sobriety.

Not as a theory.

Not as a program built on guilt.

But as a real-world guide for responding to hard moments with clarity, faith, and alignment with God’s perfect design.

Recovery isn’t about never struggling. It’s about having a response when struggle shows up.

If today feels like a day to pause, reflect, or begin again, the book is there when you’re ready.

Link is in the comments.

🙏 If this resonates, like or share—it may reach someone who needs it today.

02/07/2026

“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith
and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons…

They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving.”
— 1 Timothy 4:1–3

I’ve been spending time in this passage lately — not to predict the future, and not to scare anyone — but to look at the pattern Paul was warning about.

This post is the first in a slow, once-a-week series where I’ll be sharing Scripture (and occasionally ancient context) to explore patterns that repeat across history — and how they may be showing up today in our bodies, our health, and our relationship with the created world.

The goal isn’t fear or debate, but discernment… and practical steps toward restoration.

When Paul wrote this, he wasn’t talking about mass movements or global systems. He was addressing small groups who believed God’s creation wasn’t enough — that the body needed to be controlled, restricted, or overridden to be “safe” or “holy.”

What strikes me is this:
Paul’s concern wasn’t food itself.
It was the belief underneath it — the idea that what God created needed to be replaced by something “better.”

Fast forward to today.

We live in a world where:

• Our food is increasingly chemical-dependent.
• Our medicine is often synthetic first, natural last.
• Chronic management replaces prevention.
• And entire generations are taught — without question — that nature is inadequate!

I’m not saying Paul was writing about modern agriculture or pharmaceuticals. I am saying the spiritual pattern feels familiar.

A growing separation from God’s original provision.

A growing trust in human systems over created wisdom.

A quiet belief that safety comes from control, not design.

Paul’s response wasn’t panic.
It was clarity.

He reminds us that what God created was meant to be received with thanksgiving — not fear, not suspicion, not constant replacement.

This isn’t about rejecting progress or medicine. It’s about asking an honest question as believers:

Have we slowly drifted into trusting systems more than the wisdom embedded in God’s perfect design?

I’m sharing this not as a conclusion — but as a conversation starter.

Do you see this pattern too?

Or do you read this passage differently in light of the world we live in now?

Let’s talk — respectfully. These are questions worth sitting with.

👉 If this sparked a thought, like, comment, or share so others can join the conversation.

02/03/2026

🛑 You don’t need another pill.
You need a deeper commitment.

> “The need for drugs vanished from my life because I convinced myself that I didn’t need them—and then fully committed to living drug-free.”
— Empowered Sobriety

Addiction didn’t just live in my body—it lived in my beliefs.
And once I changed those beliefs, everything shifted.

I stopped waiting for the cravings to go away.
I stopped hoping someone would rescue me.
And I made the internal decision that I didn’t need the pills,
because I was choosing a new life—on purpose.

Here’s the truth:
👉 Your commitment will be your most powerful tool in overcoming addiction and avoiding relapse.

Not motivation.
Not willpower.

COMMITMENT.

The kind that says:
🔒 “No matter what, I will not go back.”
🛐 “Even if I’m scared, I will keep walking forward.”
💥 “Even if I fall, I will rise again—with God as my strength.”

This is what Empowered Sobriety is all about.
Faith-fueled recovery.
Natural healing.
A mindset shift so powerful that relapse isn’t the end—it’s just a lesson.

—
🔥 Ready to break the cycle and build unshakable commitment?

Follow to live EMPOWERED SOBRIETY and get tools for relapse recovery, mindset rewiring, and faith-based freedom.

02/02/2026

Recovery isn’t about perfection.
It’s about what you do next.

Most people don’t “fail” recovery because they’re weak.

They struggle because no one ever gave them a plan for the hard moments.

When I was dependent on prescription opioids, my biggest danger wasn’t the slip—it was the spiral that followed:

shame → isolation → more use → giving up.

That’s why, inside Empowered Sobriety, I created something simple and practical called the Relapse Response System.

Not to excuse relapse.
But to stop it from becoming a collapse.

Here are the 6 steps, in plain language:

Stop the spiral – pause, breathe, interrupt the cycle

Tell the truth – shame loses power when spoken

Move your body – change your state, break the momentum

Reconnect, don’t isolate – healing happens in connection

Recommit out loud – choose again, consciously

Move forward with intention – reset and continue. Create a micro win.

Recovery doesn’t require perfection.

It requires response.

If you or someone you love is walking this road, save this or share it—someone may need a plan before the moment hits.

📘 Empowered Sobriety — link in comments.

01/30/2026

What To Do When You Slip (Before It Turns Into a Relapse)

Most recovery advice talks about how not to relapse.

Almost no one talks about what to do the moment you slip.

And that silence is where shame takes over.

For years, I believed that one mistake meant I was “back at zero.”
That belief kept me stuck longer than the addiction itself.

What finally changed everything was having a plan for the moment things went wrong.

Not a punishment plan.

Not a shame spiral.

A response.

In Empowered Sobriety, (link in bio) I share the Relapse Response System — a simple framework I used to stop slips from turning into full collapses.

It starts with one powerful step:

Stop the spiral.
Pause.
Breathe.
Tell yourself the truth:
👉 “This doesn’t have to go any further.”

That moment of awareness is where control returns.

Not willpower.

Not guilt.

Awareness.

✝️ Scripture
“When the righteous fall seven times, they rise again.” — Proverbs 24:16

Falling isn’t failure.

Staying down is.

🧠 Insight

Most relapses aren’t decisions — they’re automatic reactions.

Interrupt the reaction early, and you interrupt the outcome.

✍️ Today’s action

If you’ve never written down what you’ll do when things get hard — do it today.

Not for perfection.

For preparedness.

Because recovery doesn’t fail from lack of effort.

It fails from lack of a plan.

💬 If you’re willing to answer honestly:

What usually makes things spiral for you — shame, stress, or isolation?

01/29/2026

Most people don’t relapse because they “stop trying.”

They relapse because their life has no structure to support sobriety.

For years, I thought recovery was about willpower.

If I just wanted it badly enough…
If I just tried harder…

But addiction doesn’t feed on weakness. It feeds on chaos.
That’s why sobriety can’t survive on motivation alone.

It needs structure.

In Empowered Sobriety, I share the framework that replaced chaos in my own life—simple, repeatable practices that slowly built stability where addiction once lived.
Not perfection.

Not pressure.

Just intention, practiced daily.
Because when your life has a foundation, relapse loses its footing.

💬 Comment with one word:
Willpower or Structure
No explanations needed.

01/27/2026

🌿 The Foundation Addiction Can’t Survive In:

These pillars didn’t show up all at once. They were shaped through necessity. Strengthened through repetition. Built through trial, error, and, set backs, and daily commitment.

Over time, they became more than habits.

They became a lifestyle.

In Empowered Sobriety, I call them The Twelve Pillars of a Strong, Sober Life—not rules, not restrictions, but a foundation.

Because addiction feeds on chaos.
Sobriety thrives on intention.

These pillars aren’t about perfection. They’re about consistency.

They help you stop reacting to life—and start creating it.

When you structure your day around intentional practices:

Your nervous system stabilizes.
Your thinking becomes clearer.
Your environment begins to support your healing.

And slowly, something shifts.

You build a life so grounded, so aligned, that addiction simply doesn’t fit anymore.

That’s the bridge between commitment and freedom.

Not white-knuckling.

Not willpower alone.

But showing up for your future self—every single day.

These pillars aren’t rules to follow or boxes to check. They’re the structure that replaced chaos in my own life.

Addiction thrives where days are unstructured and decisions are reactive.

Sobriety grows when life is built with intention—one choice, one habit, one pillar at a time.

You don’t need to master all twelve.

You don’t need perfection.

You just need a foundation strong enough to support the life you’re trying to build.

That’s what these pillars are.
And that’s why they work.

💬 Which pillar feels like the one you need most right now?

Share with us which pillar needs adjustment in your life. 👇