Encouragement

God Worked Powerfully in My Life

In the late sixties, long before I committed to follow the Lord, God delivered me from an intense IV Meth addiction. There were no withdrawal symptoms of any kind, I simply stopped.

In the mid-seventies, I lived in a hippie-type community in Pennsylvania. I smoked as many packs of cigarettes a day as I could get my hands on. Filtered or non-filtered, it didn’t matter. When I ran out of cigarettes, I rolled my own with Blue Bugler, the cheapest package tobacco you could by at that time. I looked physically fit, but every morning, I woke up congested with phlegm and I could not walk up a flight of stairs without stopping several times to catch my breath.

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Lisa and Gambling

Addiction is a powerful bondage that binds us to the sins of the world. It is an evil spirit that is sent by Satan into our lives to deceive us and destroy our lives ever so slowly. It is like a long, long line that he has hooked us with and is ever so slowly reeling us closer and closer. When you get close enough he has you in his grasp forever. All the fun that you thought you were having along the way is over and you live a life of hell.

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I Survived Sexual Abuse at the Hands of My Father

Hi. My name is Laura.

I have gone through an immense amount of healing, and would like to share it.

From the time I was 4 to the time I was 12, I was sexually abused by my father. His abuse was violent and varied, ranging from rape to bleach poisoning to gagging, choking, and tying me to the bed while abusing me.

When I went into counseling at age 14 for emotionally induced seizures, I could no longer stand it and had to tell someone. At that point, I was on the verge of a multiple personality disorder. I thought I belonged to the darkness and always would.

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Manifest the Life of Christ in Our Daily Living

True religion will manifest itself in every phase of life. We sit down in the quiet and read our Bible–and get our lesson. We know it now–but we have not as yet got it into our life–which is the thing we must really do.

Knowing that we should love our enemies, is not the ultimate thing–actually loving our enemies is.

Knowing that we should be patient, is not all–we are to practice the lesson of patience, until it has become a habit in our life.

Many know the cardinal duties of Christian life–who yet have not learned to live them. It is living them, however, that is true religion.

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Do I Need a Sponsor?

Sponsors are not mandatory components of recovery programs, but I do recommend the acquisition of a sponsor during the first few months of your recovery.

When I finally became disgusted with my feeble attempts at recovery on my own, I decided to get a sponsor. I didn’t just go up to the first male member and ask him to be my sponsor. I had to ask several members if they were available for sponsorship. Sometimes, if you are a newcomer, a member will volunteer to be your sponsor if you ask if they are available. But be prepared to ask more than two or three people to be your sponsor. You may even have to change your meeting location to find a sponsor, especially if your home group is small.

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Take Your Time and Easy Does It

All to often, people fail in their recovery attempts only because they were in a hurry. Even in recovery…things take time.

For alcoholics and addicts, it is especially true that difficulties play an enormous part in our lives. They call forth our power, our strength, and our energies as nothing can. But when clean and sober, sometimes they strengthen character.

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Get to a Meeting

If you want to remain clean and sober, I suggest that you get to a meeting, and frequently.

Early in my recovery, there was one thing that I did tire of – the act of defending myself. I was so occupied with convincing others that I was not using, it seemed certain that I was. So, in the hopes of eliminating that annoyance, I started going to meetings. I chose to do doing something that came highly recommended – I began to just listen. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t share, but in the beginning just sit quietly and pay attention. The first couple of meetings may surprise you. With the exception of one or two, the people around you look normal, healthy, content, satisfied, and to some degree – successful. They do not look like winos, drunkards, junkies, or residents of skid row.

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Peace in Times of Trouble

And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I, be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come.

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We Have a Father

As a boy of about 6 years old, I can remember attending a funeral of a family friend. The service was held in an old Gothic style mausoleum nestled somewhere in the City of Los Angeles. After the mass, the immediate family and a few close friends were ushered in an elevator along with the casket for entombment, I found comfort and security by clinging onto my dad’s leg as I stood there eye level with death. Recently I was faced with one of the greatest struggles of my life as I came to terms with the passing of my father. For some odd reason I never believed that he would one day succumb to the destiny that awaits all mortal beings. For as Holy Scripture reads “… inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes the judgment (Heb. 9:27). Yes, I was

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Fulfilling God’s Purpose Rather than Our Own

“Prepare to meet your God…” Amos 4:12

The recent movie “Bucket List” was a smash hit at theaters, and not surprisingly so. The storyline was about two men who discover they have little time left to live, so they draw up lists of what they want to accomplish before they “kick the bucket.” The theme is appealing because nearly everyone has such a bucket list, though most despair of ever checking off anything on the list, let alone covering the entire thing.

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