Celebrate Recovery

Praise Report: What CR and God Can Do For YOU!

2012-01-31T11:38:00.000-06:00

Please meet Bonnie Causey, one of our participants in Women's A to Z Recovery group. She has been a real trooper, quite the encourager, and a blessing to many broken women who have come to CR seeking help like she did. Below is her letter to our senior pastor, Pastor Kent Mattox.

"I was reading in my Beth Moore bible study this morning about God's heroes. It asked the question "who was my hero of Faith?" I started thinking of all the people I know. Heroes are not perfect. They live to serve and honor God. So I wanted to tell pastor Kent he is my hero in faith. How he teaches has changed my life. We live in a world that is lost in religion with souls wandering and miserable with no hope unless we get them to Jesus. I started coming to word alive Jan 2011. Then began CR in Feb 2011 for A-Z; my life was a complete mess. I really was at the end of my rope. The enemy was pulling me to the dark side trying to talk me into hurting myself. The Lord kept fighting for me. All the hurt that was on the inside was almost more than I could bare. I was broken. When I came to your Ministry of the Spirit class; what you taught about the holy spirit turned on the light bulb in my brain, and my life has never been the same. The Holy Spirit rocks my life now! Then coming to Celebrate Recovery has taught me so much about me, and has brought me to a closer walk with understanding and trusting God. The biggest ever message was Romans 7:18 [For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.] That changed my whole life to know God loves me, and I'm beautifully flawed and its okay...just love God with all my heart. Serve others as Christ did.

It's that simple; life is just lessons to make us stronger. I'm hoping to be a leader in CR soon. I didn't walk this road for nothing; God has a purpose [for me]. He told me so when I walked in the doors of Word Alive last January; He said "you are home and you will do great things." At that time, heck, I didn't even know He could talk to me like that. I look back now, and I truly understand. My life now is good-- no more crazy thoughts...I like my husband better! I think I can even love him better because the Lord has taken me down the road of real true love...the hardest ever thing to do is to love someone like you have never been hurt...I didnt think that would ever be possible or even if that it existed...but with Jesus...let me tell you He can mend pieces of your heart really awesome. I bet my heart has J band-aids all over it. I think after each wound is healed, He removes each of His band aids and then puts his signature tatooed in the middle saying: "Jesus was here." Thank you for listening to me, and remember you are also God's hero, too (Hebrews 11). Keep up the awesome work. Love, Bonnie"

Lesson 12: Confess

2012-01-26T21:55:00.001-06:00

Last week Pam Endress taught us the Confess lesson. We got to hear how Pam survived a terrible car accident that robbed her of her nursing career and many freedoms we take for granted. And yet in the midst of those circumstances God sent people her way to encourage her through this time. She talked of how confessing her thoughts in Celebrate Recovery led to her being set free from bitterness.

As tough as it sounds to do, the Catholics have this step down pat! When we Confess our shortcomings, resentments, and sins, we begin letting go of our selfishness. As we do that, we learn to Obey God's direction for our lives and find that we have No more guilt that controls our behaviors. When we Face the truth of the negative character traits we have developed, we find that Jesus Eases the pain as we let go of those old behavior patterns. Once that pain begins to ebb, we learn that we have the strength to Stop the blame and start owning up to our own responsibilities. In doing so, we Start accepting God's control over our lives.

Friday night, we will have the honor of having Barbara Yates give her testimony. You will get to hear how she came to Celebrate Recovery just to find out what was going on. You will hear about how perfect she was, and all the problems she just didn't have. And as she started listening to others confessing their own shortcomings, resentments, and sins, she soon heard herself saying "hey that's me" to many an ugly truth about herself. She lived failure everyday in the form of stress, anger, guilt, shame, and overeating. She will tell you, everyone talks about obvious addictions like drugs or alcohol, but no one talks about internal addictions or addictions to one's self. Barbara found that Confessing her shortcomings freed her to do so much more with her own life than she ever thought could be possible. She finally could start accepting God and in turn accepting herself for who she really is.

In John 8:12, Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Have you ever noticed that a person who speaks the truth is always at ease? Come join us as we learn to stop hiding in the darkness and let the light of Christ expose us to ourselves so that we can be healed. We will not be doing this alone. We have accountability partners and sponsors who will help us along the way and show us that there is nothing to fear in the light.

Open Share Groups

2012-01-26T20:04:00.000-06:00

MEN

Newcomers 101 Men - TAMAHall Sanctuary

This class is for all first time visitors and is a prerequisite for all other classes. It is an informative class that answers all questions regarding the Celebrate Recovery program.

Chemical Recovery Men - Connection Classroom C
This class deals with life hurts which have resulted in chemical addiction such as alcoholism, illegal drug use, and abuse of prescription drugs, as well as the destructive outcomes while using drugs.

A to Z Recovery Men - Connection Classroom A
This class deals with life hurts such as divorce recovery, grief recovery, anger management, financial recovery, co-dependence, any type of abuse, abusing others and/or any other hurt that is not covered in another class.

WOMEN

Newcomers 101 Women - TAMAHall Sanctuary
This class is for all first time visitors and is a prerequisite for all other classes. This informative class answers all questions regarding the Celebrate Recovery program.

Chemical Recovery Women - Connection Classroom D
This class deals with life hurts which have resulted in chemical addiction such as alcoholism, illegal drug use, abuse of prescription drugs, as well as the destructive outcomes while using drugs.

A to Z Recovery Women - Connection Classroom B
This class deals with life hurts such as divorce recovery, grief recovery, abortion recovery, rape recovery, any type of abuse, and/or any other hurt that is not covered in another class.

Hope & Healing for Abused Women - Connection Classroom E
This class deals with life hurts such as verbal, emotional, psychological, and sexual abuse which have resulted in choosing abusive relationships and sexual promiscuity.

Eating Disorders Recovery Women-Special Needs Classroom by TAMAhall
This class deals with all types of eating disorders for women including overeating, anorexia nervosa, and bulemia. It also deals with life hurts that have resulted in an eating disorder.

Spiritual Inventory

2012-01-07T22:12:00.000-06:00

You know, our Spiritual Inventory lesson tells us that we are to do "a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves." Well the first time I did this I definitely wasn't fearless. I could inventory every one else, but doing an inventory of myself was a terrifying prospect. I had to face myself and my own flaws. It didn't really matter so much what everyone else did (although this inventory would sure help me with that)...what mattered the most was my attitude about myself. The hardest thing to open is a closed mind. And mine sure was sealed tightly shut.

Have you ever looked at yourself and wondered "who am I among all the different identities I have learned to become?" Does it look like this picture?

Yeah, that's how I felt. How on earth am I supposed to find out who I really am when everyone else wants me to think something differently? Well your spiritual inventory affords you the ability to do just that. When you write down all the people who have hurt you, when you list all the ways that affected you, when you list what your part was in all that, when you list the people YOU have hurt...you can then begin looking at who you are and where you went wrong. You also begin to look at where you went right. Remember your inventory is to be balanced. The good part balances out the 'bad' part.

So how do you begin listing the "good?" As coming from a background of abuse, this was particulary difficult for me. How can I possibly find good out of that?? First of all, if you were abused as a child this IS NOT YOUR FAULT! The part that helped me was in looking what my perpetrator did that was good. My dad provided for our family, often working long hours in a very demeaning environment. My dad would never let us kids quit trying. What good did I do in the middle of his abuse at home? I got closer to God, I protected my brothers as much as I could, and I stood up for my mom. I learned how to raise my children without the fear that I knew as a child, and I learned to listen to my children. Look at what you have learned that was good and list it.

Guys and gals, this Inventory may look scary to some of us. But in all honesty, it is a good kind of scary. How so? Because we finally get to face the giants in ourselves and WIN! Courage isn't the absence of fear, but rather the conquering of it! So I challenge you today, if all you really are afraid of is your past, then why not let God use that to change your today and tomorrow? Lets move forward in the way we think and the way we act. Lets march into this battle with a new mindset of healing and the ability to find mercy and grace in our greatest time of need. God promises us a renewed mindset in Romans 12:2. Psalm 139:13-14 tells us that God knew us before time began. If He thought so much of us then and loved us long before we were conceived, then don't you think that maybe we are IMPORTANT to Him?

God doesn't make mistakes. He makes purposes. And YOU are His purpose!

Inventory

2011-12-16T23:08:00.000-06:00

Thank you Caroline Daffron for teaching us a great lesson on doing our inventory for Celebrate Recovery. Your testimony tonight was inspiring and brought hope for so many people who are terrified to share their secrets with someone else. Just like you said tonight, we have to learn to trust God first and then be willing to open up and let our past pour out of us so that we can be free.

Caroline has been a truly gentle voice among our CR women's groups. During this inventory time, it is time for us to learn to let others show how much they care for us and allow them to share the love God with us. It is tough sometimes because we think we don't deserve that. But Jesus says He already paid the price FOR us. And now He wants us to find the healing we all so desperately need.

If you need a sponsor still, please let one of the leaders know right away. If this is your first time to Celebrate Recovery, talk with the leader of your small group or step study group and find out who all you can talk to about sponsorship. Having accountability partners and sponsors will help us not only on this journey, but also as we progress through the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Morals and Sponsors

2011-11-11T14:29:00.000-06:00

Meet John and Carmen Griffin. They are a couple who have brought so much life and healing into Celebrate Recovery simply by letting God lead them through each step. Last week we had the opportunity to receive a lesson about our upcoming moral inventory from John. As he explained it, the word Moral simply means "honest." We are going to learn over the next 2 months how to do a complete and HONEST moral inventory of ourselves. Our acrostic for the moral lesson last week was Make time to get alone with God, Open wide the door of your heart and mind so that healing can begin, Rely in Jesus to give you courage and strength, Analyze your past honestly, and List both the good and bad to keep your inventory balanced. Today we get the honor of having Carmen teach us what a Sponsor is and how to not only ask someone to be a sponsor, but also what to look for in a sponsor. In the previous post, Nathan explained why it is important to have a sponsor and accountability partner. Here are some key questions to ask yourself while you are looking for a Sponsor.

1) Does his walk match his talk? Is he living the 8 principles?

2) Does he have a growing relationship with Jesus Christ?

3) Does he show compassion, care, and hope but not pity?

4) Does he express a desire to help others on their road to recovery?

5) Is he a good listener?

6) Is she strong enough to confront your denial or procrastination?

7) Does she offer suggestions?

8) Can she share her own current struggles with others?

If you can answer yes to these questions for the sponsor you have in mind, then by all means ask them. First though, you must pray about that person and ask God if this is the right person to lead you through such a personal time. Make sure the person is the same sex as you are. Be open and honest with yourself and the sponsor. And finally, it is OKAY to change your mind if you find that the match is not what you want or expected.

Sponsors and Accountability Partners

2011-10-31T09:18:00.003-05:00

Now is the time to find a sponsor and accountability partner(s)! Someone you can count on and trust, and that will support you and encourage you and hold you accountable for your progress at this stage in your recovery and moving forward. If you are having difficulty finding a sponsor or accountability partner, ask God to send you someone! A Sponsor must be someone that has completed the 12 Steps. Any leader at Celebrate Recovery is qualified to be a sponsor. Sponsors are people that you can trust to lead you on a more personal level, someone that you can be open and honest with, and they will hold you accountable for your progress throughout your recovery. An accountability partner is also someone you can trust, but it is not required that they have completed the 12 Steps. This is someone that will support and encourage you, hold you accountable, and will go through the process with you as they progress through their own recovery.

Letting GO!

2011-10-25T14:43:00.001-05:00

The Action Plan

2011-10-22T19:25:00.001-05:00

Thank you Candace Jones for teaching an excellent lesson on taking Action on our road to recovery. Candace is a special lady who has celebrated a major victory over her drug addiction. One of the hard-learned lessons she took was learning to ACT. Her plan? Simple. Go to Celebrate Recovery, stay connected, and LIVE her recovery. Friday Candace will give her testimony. Please be sure to be there to hear how taking action turned what seemed like insurmountable challenges into an inspiring story of hope and courage.

Here is the acrostic for ACTION:
Accept Jesus Christ as your Higher Power
Commit to seek and follow His will
Turn it over
It's only the beginning
One day at a time
Next step-How do I ask Christ into my life?

2011-08-31T12:27:00.005-05:00

Introducing Elizabeth Robershaw! Elizabeth will be giving her testimony on Powerless this Friday at Celebrate Recovery. She will be sharing her victories over her hurts, habits, and hang-ups, and how she could not be successful without allowing God in her life. Elizabeth is an awesome example of how putting yourself aside, admitting that you are powerless over your shortcomings, and allowing God to take control of your life will bring you out of your trials and tribulations and on the right path to God's plan and purpose for you. Join us this Friday to hear Elizabeth share her story about how God has helped her in her life and how she is now leading and helping others to recover!

Not Plugged In...Powerless

2011-08-20T20:25:00.002-05:00

Admit that I am powerless. Wow, who knew that we could ever do such a thing? I for one was not ready to admit that to anyone, much less myself. And then I found out why I had to admit that I am powerless...it was the only way I would ever be able to recover from my loss, grief, despair, and anger. I had to admit it so that God could help me overcome my Pride. My Pride had led to thinking about Only ifs, Worrying, Escaping from reality, Resentment, Loneliness, Emptiness, Selfishness, and finally Separation. I may have been mentally, emotionally, and physically tormented by my spouse, but my adult life was a cycle of my own bad choices.

Through working the Powerless lesson I had to finally face my own weakness...eye to eye, face to face, just like it was, ugly and all. I found out that there were these huge truths I had never faced. And huge truths I had never known I could learn. In Luke 17:33 Jesus tells his disciples "Who ever clings to his "life" will lose it. But who ever will lose his life for My sake will find it." So, I have to admit my powerlessness, admit that Jesus Christ is the only true Higher Power, give my life and will over to Him, and He will in turn give me life? Yes! He gave me a new life, a new purpose, a new sincerity. He gave me hope when everyone else only judged me. He gave me a desire to continue living and thriving.

I am no longer powerless. "I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love." (Romans 8:38) Jesus also said "My purpose is to give life in all its fulness" (John 10:10). Since I am now His child, why would I not tap into that love and power? My new choice for this week is to Plug In to UPS: my Ultimate Power Source. He goes where UPS packaging cannot go. When I show Him all my downs He shows me all His UPS. Christ (my UPS) alone gives me power. The power to change. The power to conquer. The power to live FREE from ALL my life's hurts, habits, and hang-ups!

This Friday, August 26th we begin our Powerless lesson that will teach us how to become UNpowerless!

Denial

2011-08-09T19:04:00.004-05:00

Is this you?

Denial is a false system of beliefs that are not based on reality. This creates self-protective behavior that prevents us from honestly facing the truth.
I no longer want it. I'm tired of letting the failures from my past create fears about my future. I am tired of living life like I can do it all on my own while I drown in despair.

THERE IS SOMETHING BETTER!!!

Come find out Friday night how to step out of denial and into the truth of God's grace.

"Where God's love is, there is no fear, because God's perfect love drives out fear."~1st John 4:18

No more fear, no more denial, no more despair.

Come catch the wave of mercy, grace, and HOPE at Celebrate Recovery! This is a new day for you to live and breathe free from your hurts, habits, and hang-ups!

Word Alive Celebrate Recovery is now on Facebook and Twitter!

2011-07-05T13:13:00.001-05:00

Click the Follow and Like links to the right to follow us!

2011-06-26T19:47:00.008-05:00

Congratulations to all Celebrate Recovery graduates! We have come such a long way and become much closer to God, but we have the potential to grow and thrive even more. We encourage everyone to come back after the Sabbath on August 12, 2011 to start the new recovery year fresh. We will have some great new classes. We will see many new faces. But more importantly, we will have many opportunities to spread the Good News and to help change people's lives. There are so many that need freedom from all of life's hurts, habits, and hang-ups, so let us come together again so that we can help others achieve victory!

Please note the dates, times, and locations for the meetings for men and for women at the left of the blog page. We encourage everyone to attend these meetings during the Sabbath so we may receive the Word of God when we need it. God Bless Everyone!

2011-04-25T13:02:00.000-05:00

Allow me to introduce you to a special lady. Her name is Deneva Barnes, and she is coming to share her testimony with us Friday night. Deneva has come from a background of abuse, alcoholism, grief, and loss. Through God's grace and Celebrate Recovery she has grown into a very strong and passionate leader. Deneva has led our Women's A to Z group and is now our top go-to person for intercessory prayer and wisdom. Her story is of triumph over the hurts, habits, and hang-ups in her past turning into a new life of mercy, grace, and healing from being rooted in her Solid Rock, Jesus Christ! Come listen as Deneva shares of her old life, how God used her willingness to transform her, and now others, to a new dimension of wholeness in the love of Jesus.

Relapse PREVENTION

2011-04-25T11:51:00.000-05:00

The definition for Relapse is to fall or slip back into a former state or practice. Why is it so important for us to learn how to prevent that? It's simple. We lose our vision when we don't keep our eyes focused on God's will for our lives. When we do that, we relapse back into our old habits. So how are we going to prevent it?

Reserve a daily quiet time with God
Evaluate our physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual health (do a HEART check)
Listen to your Higher Power, Jesus Christ
Alone and quiet time
Plug into God's power through PRAYER
Slow down long enough to hear God's answer
Enjoy your growth

The big thing is to call your accountability partners and sponsors...your support team. We are all here to help you keep on track and stay focused on continuing to walk in the FREEDOM God has given you through Celebrate Recovery! We are human...we need support...come find it with us this Friday at 5:30pm!

Journaling

2011-04-05T13:44:00.000-05:00

Aside from praying and reading God's word, journaling has got to be one of the most freeing things I have done with my quiet time. Principle 7 states that we are to "Reserve a daily time with God..." and that we are to take a "personal inventory." At the beginning of my quiet time I sit down and write about my day. This journaling is one way I let go of the bad aspects of my day so that I can rest at night, but it also puts my day back into perspective when I balance it with the good things I have done that day. Then I end my quiet time with prayer and Bible reading. This clears my mind and also helps me to deal with what did or didn't happen in my day. This way I not only identify my character defects, I can deal with them promptly and ask for God's wisdom and help in doing so. When I lay my day down at God's feet, I surrender it and all that was in it to His care and control. Focusing on God's will for my life then lends me the freedom to walk in the steps He has ordained for my life.

Daily = One Day At A Time

2011-03-28T13:38:00.001-05:00

There's something about living one day at a time that allows us to keep life in perspective. We tend to lose sight of reality and we get discouraged when we focus too much on the big picture rather than working on the picture we are living right now. The Daily Inventory lesson we are learning this week helps keep us focused every day so that instead of getting overwhelmed, we find that life is much more enjoyable when we take smaller steps and stop to enjoy little moments on the way.

This week we have the privilege hearing Morgan Silvers' testimon! Morgan came to Celebrate Recovery a man broken by depression and bipolar disorder. He struggled through approval-seeking and living up to other people's unrealistic expectations and found that the one who he never could approve was himself. Through working the Daily Inventory lesson, he learned to stop blaming others, to own up to his own shortcomings, and he began tackling the shame, guilt, and fear which had crippled him. As a leader for Men's A to Z, he became a clear, quiet voice of hope for the despondent. Today, Morgan is a mentor with The WAY (Word Alive Youth), a full-time employee of Word Alive, and a beautiful testimony of how God can still accomplish His purpose through us if we will let Him.

Never Give Up!

2011-03-24T11:54:00.000-05:00

Are you at a crossroads and not sure which way to take? Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life." (John 14:6)--so if HE is my way, what do I have to fear? Nothing! So for today, I choose YOUR way Jesus! God has given us His word that He will always be with us...here's the word He gave me today.

Isaiah 55:11 "so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

Psalm 34:18 "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

Psalm 9:9-10 "The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Luke 6: 38 "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

Galations 6:9 "So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up."

2nd Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

CR Rocks 2nd Saturday--WE ASKED YOU TO VOLUNTEER AND YOU BROUGHT IT! THANK YOU!

2011-03-17T14:31:00.000-05:00

At a Crossroads

2011-03-15T14:03:00.003-05:00

Now is the time to decide. Keep going? or Stop and not get anywhere. This week we are working the Crossroads portion of Step 10, and here to explain it is Carmen Griffin! She is living the Crossroads lesson every day. Carmen is the leader of our Women's Step Study classes on Wednesday nights and also leads our Women's A to Z small group on Friday nights.

Carmen says "I came to Celebrate Recovery to learn how to fix my son" who was a drug addict in rehab. It wasn't long before Carmen realized she had to focus on her own problems rather than her son's. Through Celebrate Recovery, she grew out of her denial into a spiritual maturity that has graced us with her generosity, courage, and simplicity. By the way, her son Adam is now leading a group here, too. This tender, caring woman, Carmen, will be teaching us about the steps we are going to be taking as we choose to accept the Crossroads challenge in Step Ten.

Step Ten brings us, on a daily basis, into the light. John 3:21 says "Whoever lives by the truth comes into the light." This step is the action part that shows what kind of fruit our lives will bear. If you have walked each step until now, you are now seeing how your life has changed, and you are growing as you practice each principle of Celebrate Recovery. For those who have not made it this far yet, hang on...don't quit...the journey is worth it! And YOU are worth it! Ask Carmen, she will tell you that, too!

Celebrate Recovery volunteers at 2nd SATURDAY!

2011-03-10T11:38:00.000-06:00

Second Saturday is coming up fast on March 12th! Second Saturday is when we take time to serve God AND our community. WE ARE GOING TO BE AT ANNISTON HIGH SCHOOL. You know how we all complain about how there is no God in school anymore??…Now we have the chance to put the G-O-D back into school! We will be meeting at Anniston High School at 8:30 to put GOD back in school! We are going to pray in that school AT 8:30—WE are cleaning the inside and outside of the school and taking ownership of our schools one school at a time. We will be cleaning up the grounds, painting, pressure washing, and cleaning the inside of the school. All you Do-it-yourself-er’s, please bring all those tools that you have locked away in the garage: we need rakes, hedge trimmers, small chainsaws, pressure washers, wheel barrows, painting supplies, cleaning supplies, and 6 foot ladders! For a more complete list of what we are doing and what you can bring, see the wordalive.org website and click on EVENTS!

"My GRACE is sufficient..."

2011-03-01T14:23:00.001-06:00

The next two weeks we get to talk about Grace! Did you know that it is a gift?? That's right! We can't earn it, we can't buy, we can't sell it, we can't trade for it. It's a FREE gift! Celebrate Recovery is a place where you can meet Grace face-to-face. Our leaders are great examples of how God's Grace can change lives drastically and inspire healing in ways you'd never expect.

One such leader is Gary Creek; he is one person I can honestly say exemplifies Grace well. He is a humble volunteer--you'll see him pushing around a trash can collecting our left-behinds during our dinners on Friday nights. You will also see him high-fiving all of our kids, handing out bulletins, holding doors open, greeting people with gentle hugs and firm handshakes, and encouraging people regardless of where they are or who they are. He found Grace the hard way, but he knows how to give it in the gentlest of ways. This week and next, Gary will be teaching us our Grace Lesson and telling us about his own testimony of how he found Grace.

Grace seems such a complicated process when we think of how it is something we don't deserve. But really, it's simple. Be willing. That's it. Once we are willing, then we can let go and let God have control. When Jesus gave his life for us, he already became the Grace we needed to do things we thought we never could or would do...such as forgiving others and asking others to forgive us. He is true to His word: "My grace is enough for you. When you are weak, my power is made perfect in you."~2nd Corinthians 12:9-10

You want me to forgive WHO??...

2011-02-14T12:09:00.002-06:00

...EVERYBODY! Forgiveness is not always a fun thing to do, especially when you are the victim of abuse. But the FREEDOM you will receive from forgiving is absolutely incredible! Beth Huber will be teaching this week on Forgiveness and how God changed her heart from being full of revenge and self-pity to actually desiring forgiveness. She first learned she had to be willing--and in order to be willing that she had to let God help her change her own attitude first.

This week we will be learning the three types of forgiveness: 1) The forgiveness we receive from God, 2) Forgiveness we extend to others (including God), and 3) Forgiving ourselves.

When we seek forgiveness from God, He gives us the strength and courage to face the next two types of forgivness. Hebrews 4:16 says, "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” You see God is there right when we need Him ALL the time just waiting for us to ask for His help...and He readily gives it to us! That in turn gives us the power to forgive others. If you are the victim of abuse, you have felt powerless! This is your chance to stand up and declare that you are better than and above the circumstances you have had to endure! You see, the Bible also says that Jesus is our ADVOCATE. What better kind of attorney could you ever ask for? Once you have let God teach you how to forgive others, you can begin to do the most important but most overlooked aspect of forgiveness: forgiving yourself. It's tough to face yourself in the mirror when you have low self-esteem. It's even tougher when you have blamed yourself and used the shoulda-coulda-woulda theories. Being the abuser and the abusee both carry the weight of shame and guilt. But God says in Psalm 103:12 "So far as the east is from the west, that's how far your sin is from me." And in Colossians 1:13 He promises "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves." How many times have we begged to be rescued? Well there you go! God says He has already rescued us. All we have to do now is learn to recognize it, accept it, and then extend it.

CR Prayer Closet

2011-02-14T12:00:00.000-06:00

James 5:16 tells us to pray for each other so that we may be healed. It also says that the fervent prayer of a person has great power in its working. Please post your prayers here; we check this site daily and would love to know how we can minister to you.

Lord, I'm coming to You because I need to forgive. I don't have anything to bring except all this pain and anger about what's happened in my life. Lord, I don't know what to do with it all, so I'm bringing it to you and laying it at Your feet. Your Word says I have to forgive so I'm making the decision to do it. Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, go back into my memory. Every hurt that has ever been done to me…heal that hurt. Every hurt that I have ever caused to another person…heal that hurt. All the relationships that have been damaged in my whole life that I am not aware of…heal those relationships. But Lord, if there is anything that I need to do…if I need to go to a person because he is still suffering from my hand, bring to my awareness that person. I choose to forgive, and I ask to be forgiven. Remove whatever bitterness may be in my heart, Lord, and fill the empty spaces with your Love. Thank You, Jesus. Amen.

Valentine's Banquet & Special Testimony

2011-02-10T12:04:00.000-06:00

This Friday night at 5:30 we are having a Valentine's banquet for all of Celebrate Recovery in TAMAhall. Instead of going to the gym, come to TAMAhall and let us show you some love; we leaders are going to serve YOU!

Once we've all had a chance to eat and mingle, we will begin our regular service. Tonight we are honored to have one of our couples from Celebrate Recovery give us their JOINT testimony.

Please open your hearts and ears to listen as George and Patricia Hicks give their testimony on how God saved their marriage, their lives, and their relationship with their daughter by being willing to make amends and forgive each other. They were on the verge of divorce and saw no other way out, but God brought them to Celebrate Recovery. For this couple, CR became the "way out" that God promises us that He will give us whenever we trust fully in Him and surrender our everything to Him.

Amends

2011-02-02T10:15:00.003-06:00

According to the dictionary, Amends is defined as: "compensation, reparation for a loss, damage, or injury; recompense."

This is a funny picture, but honestly, how many of us would rather be the cat receiving the pretty flowers instead of being the squirrel offering amends? This is where we have to set aside our desire for vengeance and let God do what He said: "Vengeance is mine; I will repay."~Romans 12:19b

In recovery, making amends seems to be one of those faceless giants we have to overcome. However, the first thing we have to do is face ourselves. We have to Admit the hurt or harm. Too often, we are our own worst giant. These next two weeks, we are learning that we have to first deal with our own errors before we can face the errors someone else did that hurt us. In the movie, "Facing the Giants" Coach Taylor tells one of his players "You can't judge your dad by his actions and judge yourself by your intentions." We have to take responsibility for our own mistakes. Where do we start? By Making a list of the people we have harmed; this makes it easier for us to focus on the change God is making in our lives. Thing is, we are not to do this alone. We need guidance and a sounding board in the form of our accountability partners and sponsors. They are here to Encourage, motivate, and uphold through prayer and comfort. We do this Not for them (the people we have hurt or who have hurt us); we do this for ourselves. In focusing on ourselves or on our own parts in our hurtful past, we let God have control of our lives and our wills. We also Do it at the right time. That means we must wait on God to lead us. His wisdom is what we are after. God makes all things possible; Philippians 4:13 says "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Finally, when we have made our amends, we are able to Start living the promises of recovery. That's right. We are able to live in true FREEDOM!

Celebrate Recovery

2010-12-28T12:20:00.000-06:00

Celebrate Recovery. It’s where we want to meet you, in a place where you don’t think you can be met. A place where we don’t see your mistakes, your faults, or your issues. We see you, and the destiny that God has placed in you. Hang around for a while. We want to help you see it, too.

Celebrate Recovery is a ministry to help you overcome the things that have held you back. We minister to people struggling with addiction, abuse, or dependency on anything that keeps them from their purpose in God. Our meetings include fellowship, worship, teaching, and small groups. Whatever you’re dealing with, we are prepared to help you get through it.

When your hut's on fire...

2009-09-03T09:17:00.003-05:00

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited
island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned
the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions. One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. He cried out, "God! How could you do this to me?"

Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! "How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

The Moral of This Story:

It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.