“Where Are You At With Your Drinking Today?”

Look around. Be honest. Where do you stand right now?

• Sober this morning?
• Hungover?
• On Day 1… or Day 50?
• Still drinking from last night?
• Reading this with a Bloody Mary in hand?

Wherever you are—you’re welcome here.

I’m not here to:
✖️ Judge you
✖️ Shame you
✖️ Tell you abstinence is the only way

The hard truth? Abstinence works for just 5-10% of us. What about the other 90%?

You might need what I call…

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A Truce

Excerpt from Chapter 8, p. 94-96 of the book Grateful Truce.

The Definition of “Truce”
Truce (noun): A temporary pause in conflict, where opposing parties agree to stop fighting—not because the war is over, but because both sides need space to regroup.

How This Applies to Your Alcoholism
• It’s Not Surrender

• Abstinence = “I lose, alcohol wins.”
• Moderation = “I’m calling a ceasefire to renegotiate terms.”
• Toolbox = “I have some tools that help me find a middle ground.”

• It’s Not Forever

• A truce isn’t peace. It’s a testing ground—to see if coexistence is possible.
• Sometimes truces are broken by one of the sides, you can go back to war again or work even harder to hold the truce.

• It’s Strategic

• You’re not white-flagging your cravings. You’re outmaneuvering them with prayer, tools, hobbies, self-awareness, health, and partners.
• You’re not throwing away all the knowledge and wisdom you gained—now it’s time to expand that brain power to a whole new level.

War doesn’t always end with a winner and a loser. Sometimes, it ends with a line in the sand—a truce that allows both sides to survive. The Korean DMZ proves that even the bitterest enemies can coexist when boundaries are enforced. Your battle with alcohol doesn’t have to end in surrender or annihilation either. What if you could negotiate a truce?

The Korean War Parallel: The Stalemate of Addiction
Like North and South Korea, your struggle with alcohol is a clash of irreconcilable ideologies:
• Alcohol’s Side: “You need me to cope, to celebrate, to belong. If you don’t use me often, I will make your body ache, shake, and crave me incessantly.”
• Your Side: “I want freedom, health, and a life not defined by this fight. I need to be free to go to restaurants, bars, or baseball games again.”
• The result: An exhausting, endless war—unless you establish a demilitarized zone and call a truce to end the bloodshed.

The Terms of My Truce:

1. Boundaries (Your Personal DMZ): “Only drink beer under 5.0% ABV, with no more than 9 beers in any drinking session.”
2. No drinking after 9pm.
3. No drinking back-to-back days.
4. Never let alcohol separate your connection to God or others.
5. Neutral Enforcers (Jesus as Moderator and my wife for accountability):
   Just as the U.S. patrols the Korean DMZ, Jesus can help guard your boundaries. Prayer as your daily reconnaissance. Scripture as your rulebook. Accountability partners as your peacekeepers.

When the Truce is tested: The DMZ works because violations are met with immediate response. Your truce requires the same. A binge isn’t a failure; you don’t just start shooting each other again. It’s a breach. Recommit. Reinforce. Rebound.

The Korean truce didn’t erase ideological differences; it contained them. Your truce doesn’t require you to love alcohol or hate yourself—just to respect the boundary.

Real-World Application

Exercise: Draw your own “DMZ Map.” Where will you place fences? Where will you allow controlled access? Who holds the keys?

“‘Everything is permissible for me’—but not everything is beneficial.” (1 Cor. 10:23).

The Korean truce didn’t create peace—it created a space where peace could grow. Your truce with alcohol isn’t about declaring victory. It’s about declaring life.”

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Your Turn

1. Comment below: What would your truce terms look like?
2. Try this today: Write down one drinking boundary you could test this week.
3. Please like, share, and subscribe.