Recovery Notes

Here's a page where I'll be posting my thoughts and notes from different experiences I have at Celebrate Recovery®. There are two Celebrate Recovery® meetings in reasonable driving distance for me that I have been to, both in Groton, CT. The first one I attended was last Wednesday at the Lifehouse Foursquare Church at 79 Maxson Rd. The second was the following Monday at the Groton Bible Chapel on Tollgate Rd. At both these meetings I met people that I know will become good friends as time passes--and in both cases, I already know at least 1 person in attendance at each. It's good to make new friends, especially brothers and sisters in Christ and [as a bonus] also in recovery.

If you're interested in Celebrate Recovery®, let me leave you a link to check out:
http://www.saddleback.com/aboutsaddleback/signatureministries/celebraterecovery/

Note: From now on, Celebrate Recovery® will be referred to usually as CR, for the sake of brevity.

Taken from celebrate-recovery.org:

The Road To Recovery

Based on the Beatitudes

Realize I’m not God: I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to
do the wrong thing and my life is unmanageable. (Step 1)
“Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor.” Matthew 5:3
Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him, and that He has the
power to help me recover. (Step 2)
“Happy are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Mathew 5:4
Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and
control. (Step 3)
“Happy are the meek.” Matthew 5:5
Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I
trust. (Steps 4 & 5)
“Happy are the pure in heart.” Matthew 5:8
Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and
humbly ask Him to remove my character defects. (Steps 6 & 7)
“Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires.”
Matthew 5:6
Evaluate all my relationships. Offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me
and make amends for harm I've done to others, except when to do so would
harm them or others. (Steps 8 & 9)
“Happy are the merciful.” “Happy are the peacemakers.” Matthew 5:7, 9
Reserve a daily time with God for self-examination, Bible reading, and
prayer in order to know God and His will for my life and to gain the power to
follow His will. (Steps 10 & 11)
Yield myself to God to be used to bring this Good News to others, both by
my example and by my words. (Step 12)
“Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God
requires.” Matthew 5:10
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10.9.13 - I really debated staying home and taking it easy, as I was tired and haven't been getting my usual 8 hours of sleep. However, since I had made a commitment to myself that I would go to it, I got up and went to Groton for the meeting. I have to admit, by the time I got there, I still wasn't really into being there. The music wasn't cutting it for me [the music was not the problem, I was tired]. OK, time to cut the whining and get to the point: while I may not have wanted to be there, by the time the men's group finished, I knew it was a blessing for me to be there and it confirmed my need for CR as a necessary addition to my recovery and growth in my faith walk.

A brother in the Lord from another CR had come to give his testimony. As a friend of mine also said when he shared, I have to admit I didn't think I would relate so much when he identified himself as someone with co-dependency issues. It quickly occurred to me that the only one without co-dependency issues is God, so I was fairly sure I would find plenty to relate to. That assumption was correct. I was reminded that we all seek love in one way or another, whether from family or friends or through artificial relief in addiction. He reminded me of that hole inside of each and every one of us that an N.A. convention speaker once called a "God box" that she had tried to fill with all sorts of things (drugs, sex, material items, etc.) only to discover that the only thing that fit properly there was God!