How can I "Celebrate" Recovery

I came across this article today from the Pastors.com website.
First Colony Church of Christ is actively involved in the ministry of "Celebrate Recovery", and this article is something I think everyone should see.
CR, as its shortened, is a Christ-centered 12-step program that helps those struggling with any hurt, habit or hang-up. What you say? Your not an alcoholic? Or drug addict? Ok, keep reading...

The road to recovery consumes every sin and every sinner. When James states to confess your sins one to another, its so that you may be "healed" James 5:16. Not so you may be forgiven. Our sins bring about destruction in our spiritual being desiring a need to be healed. For some it's a long road. For others, it's just a matter of realizing what it is that is keeping your "whole-self" to be given over to the Will of God.

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Georgia man discovers Celebrate Recovery isn't for someone else (click to read, or read below)
COVINGTON, Ga. (PD) Jim Nash always thought recovery was for someone else. In fact, the only reason Nash showed up for his first Celebrate Recovery meeting at Eastridge Community Church in Covington, Ga., was because his wife, Gay, was looking for help dealing with co-dependency.
"You're just here to support me, aren't you?" Gay asked him.
"Yep, there's nothing wrong with me!" Nash told her.
Little did Nash know how God would use that meeting to change his life.
"I never even entertained the thought that I had hurts, habits, and hang-ups," Nash said. "That was for people with addictions, psychosis, or nothing better to do on a Thursday night."
On that May evening, as Pastor Brad Rutledge taught on the importance of taking a moral inventory, he handed out a sheet of paper. Then he asked those in attendance to take a hard look at their lives and fearlessly put on paper the painful people and circumstances that had shaped their lives.
As Nash wrote out his moral inventory, he was for the first time face-to-face with a painful past he had shoved into a forgotten corner of his mind, a pain that began with a father who struggled with alcoholism, acted erratically while drunk, and never seemed to have enough time for his son.
That pain led to lifelong struggles with anger, shame, and guilt. For years, he had lashed out in anger at friends and family and then covered himself in shame and guilt. Although he had committed his life to Jesus more than 25 years earlier, his shame and guilt had kept him from experiencing the full depth of his relationship with God.
"It hampered my prayer life — which was virtually non-existent — because I couldn't have a relationship with a God who truly knew my innermost parts," Nash said.
Nash needed a freedom that only Christ could give. Despite his earlier denials, Nash needed Celebrate Recovery, a biblical recovery program used in more than 3,500 churches worldwide.
Yet Nash slipped that moral inventory in his Bible and tried to forget its contents. He simply couldn't accept help for hurts, habits, and hang-ups. It took another six months before he finally reached out for help. Still keeping up the guise of supporting his wife in her recovery, he attended the worship time of Celebrate Recovery just about every week, yet he tried to ignore his own recovery needs – until he could do so no longer.
Eventually, God began to show him that he did need to work through his issues of anger, shame, and guilt in order for him to live the kind of life God wanted him to live.
In November of 2003, he finally decided to join a step study, a systematic journey through the 12 recovery steps at the heart of Celebrate Recovery. In that first step-study meeting, Nash faced the denial that had characterized his 25-year spiritual journey. His group leader told him that anger, shame, and guilt were all by-products of a deeper problem.
"At first, I was a little offended," Nash said. "I already had my little jingle, ‘anger, shame, and guilt.' That's what I could tell people that I was at Celebrate Recovery to work on."Instead, Nash discovered he was in need of a mental transformation. One of his favorite verses had been Romans 12:1-2 where Paul admonished believers to give their bodies as a living sacrifice to God and not to "copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think." Although he could have quoted the verse, he had never really pondered what it meant to him personally."My thoughts had robbed me of every good gift God had given me for his service," Nash said. "Besides, I didn't really believe anything could be done to change the way I thought about things, such as my relationship with God and man or the purpose of my very existence."That's when Nash discovered principle two in the Celebrate Recovery program: "Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to him, and that he has the power to help me recover." Despite the fact that Nash had genuinely made a commitment to Christ and did believe in God, he knew he was a long way from earnestly believing in God. Because he didn't have a passionate relationship with him, he didn't really believe that he mattered to God. But once he admitted this to the other men in his step study and began to earnestly believe that God could help, the transformation began. God has restored his broken relationship with Nash through daily devotions, prayer, and his step study. Now God is using Nash to help others in need of recovery. He serves as the co-leader of a step study and an assimilation coach with the Celebrate Recovery program at Eastridge Community Church.
"This is a program that provides a safe place where I can come and join others who will support me by a like faith in Jesus Christ, our Higher Power," Nash said. "So no matter what the hurt, the habit, or the hang-up may be, Celebrate Recovery is just what I needed – even when I didn't know it."

Streaming Sermon

Yesterdays services went very well, and I was blessed by the love shown from the family at Sugar Grove Church of Christ.
They have already posted the link to watch the sermon online, if you so desire. I'm not sure if the download is active, but when it is, you can find the link here under "November sermons, 11/27". So far, I have not been able to successfully download the video... just in case you experience the same, it's not you.

I got to experience the realness of public speaking, after coming off an allergy cold including loss of voice and lots of sniffs... so I hope they aren't too evident in the talk, but if they are... let's move on... hehe.
steve

A Proclamation from A.Lincoln 1863

The Year that is drawing to a close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke the aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theater of military conflict; while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversion of wealth and strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore.

Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.
And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascription's justly due to Him for such singular deliverance's and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth. By the President: Abraham Lincoln

Thanksgiving Sunday

I was invited to preach this coming Sunday (11/27/05) at my parents church, SugarGrove Church of Christ. A 2-service assignment. I'm excited about this opportunity. And realized once again last night, it sure is hard to live what you know. You see, my topic covers the storms of life, and where we look during those times. "Where is your faith".... is something I need to continually ask myself. Who am I trusting? Where is my future? What is truth? Who am I working for? When will the storm pass... and how long will I ride the squall?

You are invited to services at SGCC, 1st is at 8:30am, 2nd is at 11:00am.

Hope to see ya there.
Steve

Hard day

I am very angry today. There, I said it. I'm not sure what else to say. There are times in life where that's about all you can say, without losing it totally. I felt nauseous last night because of my anger and thoughts racing about in my head.
With that said, something I learned in our His needs Her needs class, that I found was a pretty high need of mine... Admiration. I am not getting that at work, and it makes it difficult to continue. Theres little motivation in disrespect or criticism.

So with that... I'm off to a meeting. Leave your encouragements, that's fine, but also, what do you do in times of anger?

Happy Veterans' Day

I'd like to extend my thanks, and most heart felt gratitude to everyone of our brothers and sisters who have fought for my freedom. Scripture states there is no greater love than for someone to lay down his life for his friend. And I'm thankful for that love. Without, we would not be strong. Without it, we would not be weak. The love of compassion, the love of mercy, the love a forgiven prisoner could only experience its truth to be forgiven.

My Papa fought in WWII, in the 30th division, 119th Infrantry, in company B. He's told me some stories, and I sure wish I could remember them all, but one of our favorites, is similar to many survivors of war. He and his company were going from house to house in the streets, much like we saw in the movie Saving Private Ryan. He and 13 comrades went into this house. Minutes later, he and 1 other man were alive. After a bomb hit and killed his 12 friends.

Another time, they were roaming through a house and heard the whistle coming close, and crashing through the roof and the second floor they were standing on, coming to rest on the 1st floor. It was a dud. How close he was to losing his life, but he was given life.

Papa told me the worst lost of his company came when they were going through houses in Germany. A line of 14 of them going through, and the medic was in the back. he was 3 days from completing his tour and being sent home. when he was shot right in the neck, and died instantly.

I sit and listen sometimes to the shotgun fire while out hunting, and try to imagine the sounds of war. What its like to fear for your safety 24/7. Or at least not know of your safety. These men are brave. And they are my hero's. War sucks. But our brothers are good. They fight for me, they fight for you.

THANK YOU FRIENDS.
I'm glad Tate has met one of the greatest men I know. That's right buddy, you keep looking up at him.

Joseph Frank Conner

Sex ed for my kids is my job

Take a look at link below, and sign the petition going around from AFA.
I have a statement about this, if the courts think its their job to decide to teach our children about sex and not the parents, will they also be willing to pay for that education, as well as life insurance, health insurance and benefits, gas money to drive to the court decisional school of choice for sex ed, books and materials, clothes so that the kids will have something to wear during the sex class and all that other stuff parents do? Where will this decision stop? Is there not a role us as parents have in "training up our children"? This is plain stupid, and it angers me a great deal. But also motivates me even more to get into this arena and fight for our families.

Petition To The U.S. Supreme Court Concerning The Rights Of Parents
Court Says They, Not Parents, Have Final Say In Teaching Sex Education To Their Children
Read and sign here-> http://www.afa.net/petitions/signpetition.asp?id=1450