(((Live Life))) (((Miller time))) ((('63)))
My prayers are with you all....I have two dear friends who are recovering alcoholics and drug users. Celebrate Recovery really has helped many of their friends, and so our church is going to do the program. My old church had the program....and I know even men who were hooked on porn were taking the class. It's for any addiction or obsession.

I wish you guys the best....w/ God's help all things ARE possible.


YEs Flat Stanley arrived back home to NY!!!! Jonlaw took very good care of him. He helped in the soup kitchen serving lunch. THe kids had fun looking at all the pics. of Saskatoon!!! !Thanks Jonlaw!!!!

Thanks Torybelle What I like about Celebrate Recovery is it focuses more on the future and on the source of our recovery (Jesus Christ). Every time I go to an AA/NA meeting and listen to others war stories I get a bad feeling in my gut. Theres entirely too much focus on the past and for me that doesnt give me encouragement.
I did recently visit a prison AA/NA meeting and that was awesome! Hopefully, God willing, I will have the opportunity to do that more often.
God Bless!!

"



My experience in recovery has been I might not hear what I want to hear,but I will hear what I need to hear.

In AA we share our expeience strengths and hopes with eachother, now sometimes newcommers have not been around along time so all they got is "war stories" and its up to me to get out of myself and be tolerant of others.

Maybe God is trying to teach me tolerance for that given day. Its when I see that same newcommers eyes open up that I truly see recovery at work.

The AA big book says we must get rid of our selfishness " we must or it will kill us".

I feel I can learn from anyone even war stories because they remind me of where I come from and where I don,t want to go back to. Anyway you all have a great day and a soberone and will talk real soon.

I accompany a friend to his NA meetings. He must be fortunate.
There are no war stories. I see them working on different things like a step or the topic from the daily reading. I see encouraging stories.

It would be nice if all groups were more like that.

Awww, thanks Jon.

Life is okay. My friend is 140 plus days clean and sober now.
It's been more difficult than I had expected - for me. Other than that, life is good. It sounds like you are doing good.

Our little NA group in our hometown that meets on Thursdays and Fridays is still hanging in there. The chair person said that a new format will be tried to get new members based on attraction rather than promotion. We were told that we will find out later what that details. On Thursdays we have the step study and on Friday we have the regular format.

Hi winx, glad to hear your friend is doing well 140 day that's awesome. hang in there. It gets better. one day at a time.

Thank you, livelife.

He's 149 days clean and sober now. I am hoping it gets better.
He claims that when he finishes his steps, it will be better.
Time will tell.

"

We must remember all that we got is a daily reprieve contigent on our spiritual condition. We are never fully recovered this is a daily program and a lifelong program. After we do the steps then we begin to help the other person and freely give what was so freely given to us.

I am a smoker, have done reaserch on this addiction for college. It is highly addictive and is on a molecular level only one molocule difference from cocaine and heroin. I have to struggle with quitting now since I was diagnosed with COPD. I'm scared as my Grmma is dying of this and I have seen how bad it can be. I am determined to quit, but have no time for support groups........any suggestions besides one day at a time? I already know that one.

I quite smoking shortly after I quit drinking. I used the patch. It wasn't perfect but it helped. the first day I tried to quit I didn't use the patch and bought a pack of cigarettes, the cravings were just to much. With the patch the cravings weren't nearly as intense and they didn't seem to last as long. I've also known people who use the nicotine gum. It can be helpful when you get a craving you just chew a piece of gum as time goes on you should be chewing less gum.

Try to remember that the average nicotine craving only last two or three minutes if you can stay busy doing something else for that two or three minutes and tell yourself it will only last two or three minutes you have a chance of beating it.

check your local hospital for help. and check out this web-site:

http://www.anti-smoking.org/quitting.htm

Good luck. It's definitely worth the effort.

When father had emphysema, he used Wellbutrin and the patch.
He swears by it. He said that that combination made him not care that he wasn't smoking and he didn't gain weight. He had tried many other methods over the years but this one worked for him. It's been 10 years now. He has severe COPD now.

I have heard of others quitting from the new drug, Chantrix.

My ENT told me of people quitting from acupuncture in the ear.

Good luck with whatever method you use. I wish you the best.

My X told me the other day that she had the thought the she could drink again... That maybe she was not really alcoholic...

She has 21 years of sobriety... I talked to her about reconsidering her thinking... She called later and thanked me for what I said to her and the actions she needed to take...

Let us not forget, while were awake or asleep, alcoholism is doing push ups in the corner waiting for a chink to crack in our amour...

At the punch bowls brink let the thirsty think
First, the man takes a drink....
Then, the drink takes a drink....
Then, the drink takes the man (woman)

It only takes one, and there is no problem in this world that a drink won't make worse.... think about it!!


Anonymous Bear

There are two of us here, so we have two viewpoints:

A. I think when it comes to addiction. Some people need the belief in God to help them along. They're not strong enough on their own, but with the help of Him, they feel like they can conquer this disease.

B. She thinks, yes, you definitely need to ask God for help. But if you're not willing to change, it's not going to work.

How ironic! I was having this same discussion with a recovering friend last night. My friend is praying daily for God to help him to be less selfish and more caring but is not trying very hard to change himself. His prayer is, "Your will not my will".

I gave him this analogy:

Two children have a test.

Child A does no studying and prays for God to help him do well on the test. He thinks he will do well because he prayed.

Child B does his best with studying and prays for God to help him do well on the test.

Which child does better on the test?

I believe that God will help them conquer the disease. But..keep in mind that God helps those who help themselves. JMHO

Yeah, she didn't have a drink!!

how can a human try not to be selfish, when the act of trying not to be selfish is selfish, because it is MOST about self, and makes one an enemy against themself, as a mind divided against itself cannot stand.....and then speaks things that makes others to fall the same as they, and to not know their own strength......try NOT to be selfish and be ruled by a taskmaster that keep one from seeing they are NOT selfish, and so than keep all from living unselfishly, as NONE is selfish less they first think to try to not be.....if a man hit me and i do not hit him back, it is not because i am selfless, but rather because i am smart, and see he had good reason or ought against me for what i have done to him, so there is nothing in me that wishes to fight, but then there are times that i need to not only hit him back, but overpower him, so that the next purposed victom he will have learned not to listen to his mind when it sat strike another.....how can this balance or peace exist in mankind if men and women and children are told they should either hit back or NOT hit back........it cannot, and why each must must be told to do as they see fit by their own heart for each occasion, as each occasion is different......to hold to a constant truth or teaching make men blind and walk in circles

Selfish and child do not go together.

Selfish and family do not go together.

Selfish and love do not go together.

If a person wants to a part of these three things, they must try to not be selfish. For many people this comes naturally but this man has to work on it.