Balance

As Karyn stated last week, the Celebrate Recovery program at Memorial Road has been going strong the last several months with meetings, activities, and special events.  There is a lot going on in our program and we are truly blessed.

 

I know that when I have a lot going on it is easy to get off focus.  It is easy to get worn out.  I think all of the things going on are great and there are plenty of opportunities to get involved.  It's important to remember that a great way to be able to keep giving back is to keep your own recovery in check.  As a part of the step studies Celebrate Recovery recommends taking time every three months or so and checking your recovery to make sure you are headed in the right direction. 

 

There is a balance between working your recovery and giving back.  I love Galatians 6:9-10 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

 

We have a lot of great things coming up in the next few months, please keep our program and all of our activities in your prayers.  If you have any questions about opportunities to give please let me know and I will help get you plugged in!

 

Grateful Believer,

Andrew

God’s Power

God continues to do amazing things with this program. This past Friday night we had CR Open House, inviting friends from the community and surrounding churches, and we also kicked off The Landing (CR for teens). It was an amazing night, with 195 participants in the combined groups. God is good.

This week, Monday – Friday, folks from our own CR program will be leading chapel at Oklahoma Christian University. There are even a few of our college students who have stepped up and said they’ll speak at chapel and share a mini testimony of what God has done in their lives. (I’m not sure I would have had the courage to do that when I was in college, but I didn’t have the courage to find recovery in college either! They rock.)

If you haven’t noticed God’s doing some amazing things with our program! The Landing kicked off with 33 students, we’ve planted step studies and The Landing at Capitol Hill Church of Christ, our Divorce Care program is growing each week, we’ve got new step studies starting this week at MRCC, we’re hosting chapel at OC….WHEW! We’re having to work hard just to keep up with what God is doing!


God can and IS using this program to change lives, and I ask you all to specifically pray for these things this week:
…that a student that attended The Landing tells a friend about it, and the friend comes this Friday.
…that a newcomer comes back this Friday night.
…that a college student is impacted by the testimony’s in chapel this week and joins us this Friday night.
…that the ministry at Capitol Hill grows steadily.
...that God continues to bless our program.
…that God continues to work in us.

With God’s power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine. Ephesians 3:20

Grateful Believer,
Karyn

CR is always OPEN!

This past Friday night God really blessed our CR program at our fifth year anniversary service.  Delicious food.  Warm atmosphere.  Step Study graduates. Powerful testimony and inspirational worship.  It was a blessing to be there, and I’m so thankful to everyone who commits their time and energy to making our CR run every week.  May God continue to bless us with healing and hope in our lives and in the lives of the newcomers.

We ended the night with an awesome video directed by some of our CR Leaders.  The video reminded us of the way God has worked amongst us the past five years, but it also prepared us for a big announcement that is coming this Friday at our CR Open House.

Now, we all know that CR is always open!  Newcomers are welcome every Friday night; but, we want to make a concerted effort to reach our community this Friday.  So, we are calling our CR Large Group this week an “Open House.”  We are in prayer that this will communicate to people outside of CR that they can come and see this Friday.  We are in prayer that many newcomers will walk through our doors.

What is the big announcement we are going to make?  Well, you will have to show up on Friday to find out!  However, I will say this.  God has blessed so many of us in great ways the past five years.  He has given us healing. Hope. New life. Purpose.  Wonderful people that we call sponsor and accountability partners.  It is now time for us to give back to others the blessings that we have received.

So, join us this Friday as we celebrate what God has done in our lives and prayerfully look forward to what He is going to do through us in 2011!  See you this Friday at our CR Open House!

Grateful believer,

Micah   

It's Time to Celebrate

It's time to celebrate our fifth anniversary of Celebrate Recovery at Memorial Road Church of Christ. We are so excited to see God transforming His children into His image.

I am especially grateful for the work God has done in my life and in my family. Before I came to CR, I was hurting from abandonment and dealing with my hurts in very unhealthy, unproductive ways. I didn't know how to talk to my wife or deal with the hurts in my past.I would get very angry if my wife even brought up the pain of my past. It was none of her business!

I didn't know how to be a loving, nurturing father to our son, who was only 2 years old at the time. Over the last five years, God has shown me that even though I was abandoned by my earthly father, my Heavenly Father does not abandon His children. And I am one of his children! Because of the work God has done through Celebrate Recovery, I am a better father, a better husband, and a better Christian.

But my story is only one tiny part of the work God is doing in Celebrate Recovery. We see this theme of transformation over and over again in the last five years. God transforms hurting, broken people into leaders and ministers of the gospel. What a mercy he has granted us by changing us from broken vessels into instruments of his grace and peace.

So now it's time to celebrate! If it's your first time or the hundredth time, we want to see you at our fifth year celebration on January 14. We'll have a delicious dinner cooked by our devoted dinner team, a time of uplifting worship, a testimony of God's transforming work in one of our participants, small groups, and a time of fellowship and sharing. It all starts at 6pm.

Grateful Believer,

Dan L.

P.S. Do you know of someone who might benefit from being with us at Celebrate Recovery? Do you know of anyone that has problems? Please make a point to invite them to Celebrate Recovery on the 14th. It is going to be a huge, inspiring celebration that will life hearts and focus minds on Jesus Christ. Come to CR on the 14th, and don't come alone!

2011: New Beginnings

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

2 Corinthians 5:17

Ever read that verse and thought to yourself: “I wish” or “that would be nice”?

For me, I saw some aspects of my life that reflected Christ’s power to make me a new creation, but far too often I saw little more than the same old self.

I thought that I had given my life and will over to the care and control of Christ, but I came to learn that I was only trusting that his sacrifice would be enough to cover my sins. I was still holding on to my will to make it day to day. I was trying to do HIS job for him and therefore never saw the change and renewal that I was longing for in my life.

Today, I’ve truly learned how to let Jesus be my savior and not just in the big picture. Jesus is my Savior day to day. In moments of temptation, I’ve learned that HE has the power to help me overcome. He rescues me. And in moments of failure, when before I would fall into depression, shame and fear: HE extends the love and grace I need to get back on the path. He’s also there to comfort me, guide me and even keep me humble in moments of victory.

It’s through experiencing Christ’s power in these and other ways that I’ve truly been able to see myself as a new creation. The old Nate has faded away.

New Years is obviously a time when a lot of people are seeking new beginnings. Maybe it’s because people tend to look back on the closing year and see nothing but missed opportunities. Maybe the stress of the holidays is just enough to push people to the point to where see the need for change.

Celebrate Recovery is a great place to find encouragement and support for the positive changes you want to make in your life. Each and every Friday night brothers and Sisters, from all walks of life, are experiencing what it means to leave the old self behind and experience new life in Christ.

If you are looking for that sense of renewal in any area of your life, I’d encourage you to visit CR during the month of January.

Grateful Believer,

Nate

Coming Soon...

How many of you wish you would have found CR when you were a teen?  I know I do!  My need for approval didn’t start when I was 34 years old…I think I was more like 10!!  I didn’t start using food to cope with my emotions when I got married; it was when I was an adolescent.   These unhealthy patterns were full blown BAD HABITS by the time I was a teen, and then they just continued to spiral out of control the older I got.

I think that’s one reason why I am so excited that MRCC is beginning The Landing! (If you haven’t heard much about The Landing yet, that’s okay…it’s new and you’ll be hearing a lot more about it over the coming weeks!)

The Landing is an all-new, year-long program that helps teenagers travel the path to freedom, healing, and wholeness. This dynamic resource mirrors the content presented in the successful Celebrate Recovery program.

The lessons deliver hope-filled truths and real-life strategies for giving young people the tools for making wise choices and developing healthy patterns for living.

The program will be offered at MRCC in conjunction with our CR program each Friday night and lessons are designed for junior high and high school students.   They will meet from 7-9 in the Summit and the lessons will be very open and hands on!   (There are a few differences between CR and The Landing: The Landing does not have students introduce themselves with their hurt, habit or hangup, students will not do testimonies or written inventories.  They will have private journal and prayer time.)

Kick-off night is January 21st, please be praying that God, once again, uses this program to change lives!

There are several of us from the MRCC Celebrate Recovery program that have committed to helping with the Landing, but we can always use more leadership!  If you are interested in serving and have completed a Step Study, please let Micah know!

Grateful Believer,

Karyn

Christmas Memories

I just want to say thanks to everyone who donated to help buy gifts for kids sponsored through the Anna's House Foundation.   We took up a donation on December 3rd and... 

we raised more than $925!!  

The night of the contribution I found myself overwhelmed with emotion.  My husband asked me on the way home why it was such an emotional thing for me.  I just thought I would share my answer with all of you.

I have so many wonderful memories of Christmas morning.  Running in to the tree to see just what Santa had brought me.  While my family was not wealthy I always got that one gift I really wanted.  I remember having so much joy. Imagining some child not ever having those memories breaks my heart.  Having the chance to be a part of maybe bring one child that joy really means a lot to me.  I hope that these kids can remember this Christmas.

God tells us to love one another.  To me, this is just one way we can all show love to a child we may never meet.  Again, Anna's House is a Christian organization that helps Christian foster families.  So, I also feel that we are helping those families, who may not have the funds, show those kids they do love them.  In turn, maybe someday the love these families show them will translate to a relationship with Christ. 

As you can see by the pictures here, we were able to provide...lots of clothes, toys and, of course, cars with flames!

There was more money than we needed for these gifts.  We offered to buy for more children, but Anna's House did not have more in need.  Since that was the case we gave Anna's House the extra money.  They plan to use it to help provide these same families with food this Christmas.

 

I feel so blessed to have joined with each of you in providing gifts for these children whom we may never know.  Thank you for all you donated, whether it was your money or your prayers.

Merry Christmas!

Grateful Believer,

Chellie