Some time ago, my life brought me to a point of humility, which made me realize I needed help. Through the help of my home 12-step group and therapist, I sought out an inpatient rehab facility. My 35 days in Tennessee not only provided me with the healing that I...
I’m an addict. But you can’t tell by looking at me. I don’t have needle marks and I don’t smell of alcohol. I’m not a compulsive gambler or a shopper, either. I’m a food addict. And I hide it well. Most of my family members and work associates are unaware of my...
“The Serenity Prayer” God, Grant me the Serenity To accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things that I can And Wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time, Enjoying one moment at a time, Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace....
Step Twelve: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. If I could sum up Step Twelve in a very basic way, I would say it like this: to do your...
One of my local churches has recently distributed signs stating very simply, "We all have questions." Sometimes we question the very existence of God. Sometimes we question His nature: is He truly all powerful? Omnipresent? All knowing? All merciful? All loving? Can...
When I started recovery, the stories that people told me about both their addictions and the families they came from fascinated me. As a man named “Dan” once said, “My family put the fun in dys-FUN-ction.” Over and over again at 12-step meetings, I have heard people...
Step Ten: Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. Step Eleven: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to...
Step Eight: Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. Step Nine: Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. In Step Four through Step Seven, all of my...
The chicken fat dripped onto the charcoals and sizzled and flared and smoked. And the baseball game was loud on the radio. The announcer between play by play activity talked about a frosty cold bottle of beer. Those simple words ended months of sobriety. It must be...
The disease of addiction is devastating on families. Everyone related to the addict often struggles immensely to live with and try to help the person they love dearly and desire more than anything to help. However, many times with our attempt to help our loved one we...