Warning: Do Not Attempt Alone

As a part of our new pre-school wing at church there is a flight of stairs that the toodlers/pre-schoolers and their parents can take to get to their classrooms.  Living in a one story house all his life, my three year old looked up at me and said, "Daddy, those are big stairs."  I can empathize with my three foot son.  When I was his age, my family would vacation to Houston to my aunt and uncle's house.  It was a two story mansion in my estimation.  I can remember looking up those stairs and thinking, "Before I leave I will walk to the top by myself."  That was wishful thinking on my part.  My parents put up a gate so that I could not attempt my adventure. 

Likewise in my recovery, I am often so deep in my self-made pit of addiction and unhealthy behavior or underserved hurt and sorrow that it is inconceivable to me how to get out.  I'm looking up and I see how many steps I need to take to find freedom or healing, and it feels impossible...and it is...on my own.  One of the keys that I have discovered in the Christian road to recovery - hand in hand with Jesus - is that the journey is meant to be traveled in numbers.  Eventually, I was able to climb that staircase at my aunt's house.  Holding my dad's hand, he taught me how to climb those stairs one at a time.  Similarly, God tells me in His Word that I need to have people in my life to support me through the storms of life:

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

 ⁹ Two are better than one,
   because they have a good return for their labor:
¹⁰ If either of them falls down,
   one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
   and has no one to help them up.
¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
   But how can one keep warm alone?
¹² Though one may be overpowered,
   two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

In Celebrate Recovery, THE best way to find genuine support and accountability that works is to be consistent in meeting attendance.  This includes attendance in Large Groups (lessons and testimonies), Open Share groups (learning from those with similar issues) and Step Study groups (10-12 month group with a wide variety of issues all focused on healing and freedom from hurts, hang-ups and habits). When I am consistent in group attendance, I have the opportunity to get to know others.  As those relationships form naturally, it is my responsibility to ask others (same gender as me) to be my accountability partners and sponsor.  These people are not assigned to me.  I must choose and ask them to join my accountability team to help me on my road to recovery.

Accountability partners are other CR participants (same gender as you) who help me with a specific area of recovery.  For example, I may ask someone to hold me accountable for my meeting attendance; or, I may ask someone to help me with my alcohol addiction.  Then, during the week if I need encouragement/support or if I want to share a victory, I have a name and number to call and share it.  This seems simple and insignificant, but it is actually powerful and a key to any one's recovery.

Sponsors in Celebrate Recovery serve as "coaches" or "mentors" in recovery.  They have at least 10-12 months recovery under their belt, they have finished a step study (which means they have a sponsor too) and they are the same gender as you.  My sponsor is an excellent example of  what a sponsor should do.  He tells me what I need to hear to progress - not what I want to hear.  He shares with me his experiences, strength and hope.  In other words, what has worked for him and what has not.  He warns me about pit falls.  When I'm stuck and need help, I call him and he listens...sometimes followed by a helpful assignment.  He asks great questions to help me probe through a difficult time.  He listened to my 4th step inventory and did not judge me.  Instead, he expressed to me grace and love.  These are all functions of the sponsor.  The sponsee/sponsor relationship is pivotal to a successful recovery journey.  The greatest warning I could give to anyone is this: do not attempt to climb the 12 recovery steps alone.  If you do, I believe you will be frustrated and inevitably fail.

One of the greatest things I did in my recovery was to swallow my pride and reach out for help and trust the Lord that He would deliver me.  When i did that, God really began to bless my recovery.  I'll close this blog with one of my favorite Psalms:

Psalm 40:1-3    

¹ I waited patiently for the LORD;
   he turned to me and heard my cry.
² He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
   out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
   and gave me a firm place to stand.
³ He put a new song in my mouth,
   a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the LORD
   and put their trust in him.

Grateful Believer,

Micah

Give Thanks

THANKSGIVING... Have you given thanks for your blessings lately?              

I was asked to share some thoughts for the blog entry this week as our nation pauses to give thanks.  Actually, I think it has become more of a precursor for the dropping of the flags to start the Christmas race, but all in all, it does at least get some of us to consider being thankful.  If not daily, at least once a year. 

God has given us all many things to be thankful for.  For me, it is my family, my health, my friends, my recovery (both physical and mental), and then a whole list of things too numerous to count.  But, as in all things good, there is the other force at work in this world that wants to steal our happiness and our thankfulness.  Satan attacks on every front – we have to be ready for his arsenal of hurt.  And, as long as we are alive, we get no reprieve.

There are some verses in the Bible that really speak to me, but there are others, well to be honest, some of them are hard for me to comprehend.  But this passage in Colossians 3: 12-17 is one that is very encouraging to me.  This passage talks about putting on the new elements that make us God’s chosen ones.  What more could we be thankful for than to have an opportunity to get to change who we are to become someone new –someone blessed with the love of God.

“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.  And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

I love those last words... “Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”  I really try to give God thanks in all things and I try to do it daily.  But, I’ll be honest, some days, I don’t do it.  I let my busy schedule or other events dictate my activity, and I let thanking God slip through the cracks. 

So in closing, let me just ask you, what are you thankful for?  Have you told the person(s) responsible for your blessings how thankful you are for what they have done for you?  Have you told God how thankful you are for what he has done for you?   

This is a wonderful time to be reminded that we have so much to be thankful for.  But being reminded doesn’t mean much if we don’t do something about it.  Give Thanks!

…give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus…. 

I Thessalonians 5:18 

Grateful Believer,  

Bob 

10 Things I’ve Learned in Recovery So Far…

10. I have to celebrate victories in my recovery; it’s given me my life back! So I celebrate with victory dances and of course a new chip. (At the end of the movie Evan Almighty, Evan meets God face to face and they share a victory dance. My time face to face with God and having a victory dance is the one I aim the hardest for and the one I look forward to the most!)

9. Like the Arrid deodorant commercial… Depression stinks, recovery works! You’re never too young to start recovering from the past. I began coming to Celebrate Recovery two years ago when I was 19. I’m a much happier person to be around - just the other day my 5 year old nephew said so.

8. I learned that there are people that I can trust. I know I am not judged when I speak out. Knowing that I’m not alone in my hurts, hang-ups and habits is the most RAD-TASTIC feeling ever.

7. I learned being anti-social doesn’t help me. Dude seriously, I didn’t realize how much I was missing out until I stepped out of my comfort zone and actually became social at CR. It has been a key to my recovery. I met people that became like my second family and they love me for me.

6. I learned that having a sponsor and accountability is way important. I know when I’m in a bind or about to slip up- I can call someone and they know they can call me. I have incredible accountability partners and I cannot thank God enough for them being a part of my recovery.

5. I learned when I started to be transparent and throw away my façade- the chains that kept me a prisoner of my past were gone. I continually try to be transparent in my recovery; secrecy was part of my problem.

4. I thought I could easily recover without Gods help. WRONG. I learned when I pushed God away; it only allowed Satan to step in. I remember the moment I hit my breaking point. I fell to my knees and raised my hands to God. I was neck deep in depression, substance abuse and sexual addiction. I prayed and God came to my rescue. He lifted me up and dusted me off. At that moment I learned recovery is just NOT possible without God.

3. God’s plan for me is much more wonderful, much more powerful and much more significant than I can ever imagine. The reason I have another day, the reason why my heart is still beating is because God has an assignment with my name on it and I’m on a quest to find it.

2. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.2 Corinthians 12:9-10

1. I have to stay focused on THE goal. Philippians 3:12-14 (The Message)
“I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running and I'm not turning back.”

Grateful Believer,
Kenzie

Fall Retreat

Recently our CR group from MRCC had a fall retreat at Camp Rock Creek in Norman, Oklahoma.  We had a wonderful time!  There is just something amazing about worshiping outside IN nature and praising God!

We arrived to the campsite Saturday, October 30^th around 11 AM and room assignments were given out while lunch was being prepared.  After lunch Sheldon had prepared some games for us, the games required that we work together as a team to accomplish the tasks.  After games we had free time, which mostly consisted of pumpkin carving and letting the kids run around.   

Later that night we had a costume contest for adults and kids!  The kids got to trick-or-treat at each cabin and got a ton of candy!    After trick-or-treat Dan shared with us a wonderful lesson and we were able to praise God once again!  S'mores around the campfire followed our evening lesson – we roasted a lot of marshmallows!!

Several stayed up into the wee hours of the morning playing board games while others stayed awake into the wee hours of the morning due to some coyotes making scary noises out in the woods – very fitting for a Halloween camp out!

Sunday morning we had an amazing breakfast and then got to hear Micah preach on service and giving back.  If you didn’t come this year, you really need to consider joining us next year!!  

We were truly blessed with amazing weather, amazing surroundings, amazing praise & worship, amazing lessons, and had an amazing time that we won’t soon forget!

Well….there are SOME things we wish we could forget…..

Enough said.

Grateful Believers,

Tara & Karyn

Appreciation Luncheon

I’m looking forward to the Appreciation Luncheon this Sunday, November 7th because we really have so many great people who work so hard to put everything together for CR. People may not realize how much work goes into putting on a Friday and keeping our program running smoothly, but it takes a whole group of dedicated people to pull it off. This is a great opportunity to say thank you and appreciate people who serve us on a weekly basis.

Last week’s lesson was on gratitude and being thankful is a great way to keep working your recovery. I am thankful for our dinner team and all the people who contribute to making Friday night not only a comfortable place to be, but a place I look forward to going each week.

Please consider joining us for this great time of fellowship and gratitude!

The cost is $5.00 a person, $3.00 a child or $15.00 for a family. Again the luncheon is this Sunday, November 7th at 12:30 PM in the Summit, final sign ups are this Friday night.  ( If you can't attend but would still like to honor the dinner team you can do so by sponsoring an honoree and making a donation of $5 - $15.  Please see Dan L. on Friday night to make a donation.)

We hope you can make it!

Grateful Believer,
Andrew