207. What's Happening in my Heart?207. What's Happening in my Heart?
Hope in Recovery
Andy Petry talks through Celebrate Recovery’s principle seven, explaining how daily and periodic inventories with God help keep recovery grounded in Jesus’ strength. He shares practical tools like body awareness, journalling, quick amends and gratitude lists to support emotional honesty and steady progress.
22:55•20 Oct 2026
Keeping Short Accounts: Daily Heart Check-Ins with God in Recovery
Episode Overview
- Reserve a daily time with God for self-examination, Bible reading and prayer to seek his will and strength for recovery.
- Use ongoing inventory throughout the day to notice emotional shifts, body signals and moments when old behaviours resurface.
- End the day with a simple review, asking what went well, where you fell short and how God might want you to respond.
- Include a gratitude list in daily inventory, even on very hard days, by breaking things down until you can honestly say, “Thank you, God.”
- Set aside occasional longer periods for a periodic inventory to reflect on patterns over months or a year, especially after seasons of grief or intense stress.
“We celebrate the victories because the victories keep us going.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This conversation from Hope in Recovery centres on one simple but often neglected habit: taking a daily look at what’s really going on in your heart with God. Speaker Andy Petry, a grateful believer in Jesus who shares openly about his struggles with anxiety, depression, sexual addiction and grief, talks through Celebrate Recovery’s principle seven: reserving a daily time with God for self-examination, Bible reading and prayer.
He stresses that recovery isn’t powered by sheer willpower but by “the strength of Jesus living in us” and our ongoing dependence on his grace. You’ll hear Andy break daily inventory into three practical parts: ongoing awareness during the day, a short review at the end of the day, and a less frequent, bigger-picture check-up.
He explains how emotions often show up in the body before the mind has words for them, and how noticing tight shoulders, a heavy chest or a knot in the stomach can be the first clue that something in the heart needs attention.
With gentle humour (including his line about not realising he “had these things called emotions” until recovery), Andy shares how journalling, quick amends, and simple prayers like “God, I give everyone and everything to you” help keep accounts short and consciences clear.
He pushes back on the habit of only looking for failures, urging people to “celebrate the victories because the victories keep us going” and to build a daily gratitude list, even on the worst days, by “slicing it thinner” until there’s at least one thing to thank God for. This episode is especially helpful if you’re feeling emotionally numb, stuck in old patterns, or worn down by grief and stress.
It gently reminds you that you don’t have to do recovery alone and that small, honest check-ins can open the door to deeper healing with Jesus and a supportive community. What might change for you if you spent just ten minutes today asking, “God, what happened in my heart?”
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