Comment by FiatLuxDave

Sure. The earth is spinning faster than the the moon is going around the earth (earth rotates in one day, the moon goes around in about a month). When the tides transfer energy and momentum to the moon from the earth's spin, it slows down the earth's spin and gives the moon more energy. This moves the moon to a higher orbit, so it moves a bit farther away from us. The source of energy for the whole process is the earth's spin. It takes a lot of energy to lift a moon, relative to the amount of energy in the earth's spin, which is why it has such a dramatic effect on the day length.