“I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
    yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.” Psalm 77:11

I internally debated whether or not I would publicly share the following highlights of my year. To some, they may look like bragging. To me, they look like a string of miracles. Looking back, it seems that God was up to something unimaginable this past year.

Here are my highlights of 2015:

The LifeSTAR blog (which I manage) received 37,000 views this year! The best day was February 12th with 3,625 views!

January – Passed first licensing exam

February – Wrote “What One Person Can Do to Stand Against ‘Shades of Grey’“, which went viral (with 5,500 Facebook shares, receiving almost 18,000 hits)

Fresno Bee article version of Shades of Grey published

Started “The Anti-Pornography Movement” Facebook page

March – Forest Benedict becomes licensed and is promoted to Clinical Director

May – Dangerous Access for Teens seminar

Dangerous Access for Parents

Fresno Bee article published – “My Path Out of Porn Addiction: A Therapist’s Journey”

Pornography & Food Addiction Interviews

June – Porn Proof Kids article published – “Dear Porn: A Father’s Poignant Plan to Protect His Kids”

Enjoyed an amazing trip to visit a close friend in Canada

July – Spoke to teenagers about pornography at Hartland summer camp

Interview with Stephen Kuhn

Interview with Carol the Coach

Presented at LifeSTAR Conference on how to do porn protection seminars

September -10 Year Wedding Anniversary!

Officially started as Program Manager of the Sexual Addiction Treatment Provider program at Mid-America Nazarene University and began teaching “Intro to Sex Addiction Treatment”

Article published in the Fresno Bee, “When Sex Secrets Surface”

Seminar for adoptive/foster parents on pornography

October – Seminar for Parents on protecting children from pornography

November -Article published at Self Talk the Gospel

Forest Benedict interviewed at FPU Seminary Chapel about pornography

December 2 & 9 – Seminars for Parents and Teenagers

Started writing first book

This year was amazing. How fitting that as I finished 2014, I wrote these words:

“Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things”.  Change is all the more enticing when I view it not as a chore but as an invitation to adventure, mission, and meaning. In 2015, I don’t want to sit and watch what God does in the church and the world. I want to BE part of the change that impacts the world. May we prepare our hearts for the new year, remembering the miracles we witnessed before and the looking expectantly ahead to the amazing things to come, as we embrace all that God calls us to do and be.

As I look toward the New Year, these are some of my plans…

January – Article by Forest Benedict, LMFT, SATP-C, on pornography in the church published in the Christian Leader magazine (online)

January 5 – Forest Benedict, LMFT, SATP-C, speaking at Crossroads Church in Tulock, on protecting children from pornography

April – Seminars for Parents & Teens in Fresno (Details to follow)

Father’s Day – First book published

After a year like this one and what God has taught me about Himself and about the person He is making in me, I look toward the future with anticipation, hope, and trust.

May we all remember the past with gratitude and step into the miraculous plans that God has dreamed up for us in this New Year.

Blessings,

Forest