Author: crrocks

crrockshttp://cr-centerpointnh.wordpress.com

How it Works

How it Works

MAKE A DECISION By attending a meeting, you can decide if have a hurt, habit or hang-up you would like to work on. This is something that only you can determine. As you listen to others share openly and honestly of their struggles and triumphs, you may find that you have had similar experiences. You can overcome some of your denial about addictions, compulsions or other problems impacting your serenity.  You will see that everyone sins, everyone has been hurt, everyone deals with relational challenges and everyone falls short of the Glory of God (Romans 3:23).  Good people, with good jobs, good families, and a sense of humor, can have hurts, habits and hang-ups. You may know that intellectually, but you need to believe it. Everybody likes to think that they’re special. But this is one of those times when it’s comforting to know that you’re not alone.

JOIN A COMMUNITY When you attend meetings, you meet people who are going through the same thing. God designed us to heal in community, “therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed…” (James 5:16, NIV) –  we were not meant to become isolated in our hurts, habits and hang-ups. Celebrate Recovery meetings are safe, welcoming communities of people just like you. 

EMBRACE HOPE By attending meetings, you come to believe that recovery is possible. You see that others have found victory over their struggles and you develop confidence that you too can change your life. The people who recovered are just like you…they just followed the few simple principles of CR. If you follow those principles and work the steps, you too can find hope and freedom from your hurts, habits and hang-ups.

ENJOY ACCEPTANCE When you attend meetings, you won’t be judged. Most of us have difficulty sharing our emotions, partly because we’re afraid nobody will understand us, and partly because we’re afraid of being criticized. The people at CR won’t judge you because we’ve been there. We are a group of people that simply choose to be real and transparent about our lives and find freedom in doing so. We believe we are “only as sick as our secrets”… at CR, those secrets lose their power over us as we share openly within a safe community of our peers.

SEEK ACCOUNTABILITY By attending meetings, we are asking others to hold us accountable. We share our hurts, habits and hang-ups with others and when we find victory, we celebrate those wins together. But even more importantly, when we fall, those same people are there to lift us up, speak truth into our lives and love us despite our struggles. We do not go it alone. CR is a community of accountability and compassion.

  1. addictionsandrecovery.org
  2. The Big Book of AA
  3. celebraterecovery.com

Is there no one who can do anything for me?

But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.

It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.

I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope.  Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?

The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.

Romans 7:18-25 The Message

serenity prayer

God, grant me the Serenity
to accept the things I cannot change.
The courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace;
Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is;
Not as I would have it;

Trusting that You will make all things right
if I surrender to Your will;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with You forever in the next.
AMEN

–Reinhold Niebuhr

consider short term goals

Certainly, it is more exciting to look ahead to the end goal, the dream to beat all dreams, the final destination and culmination of a challenging yet meaningful journey. Why then do we set smaller, simpler goals that do not carry the same “ohhhh” and “awwww” at the thought of completion?

Short-term goals give us reason to celebrate. These attainable goals give purpose and direction to the goal setter. When these goals are realistic and revelant, they allow for small victories along the way, reasons to celebrate that offer a glimpse of the progress being made and a nod to the hard work that has been accomplished.

Short-term goals provide feedback. While an accomplished goal sends the message that all systems are go – what does it mean if the goals are not met with success? f these short-term goals are not completed within specific time-frames, consider it a warning signal. Were the goals truly realistic and attainable? If so, is the goal setter doing the necessary work to meet those goals? Are there any roadblocks or additional issues that need to be addressed before those goals can be achieved?

Short-term goals keep the goal setter on course. If you dream of knitting a sweater by Christmas, but never buy the yarn, choose the design or take that first stitch, chances are that come Christmas you will still be dreaming. For a dream to be achieved, action steps must be taken. Short-term goals are action steps that work to bring you closer to your dreams one success at a time. Moreover, as short-term goals are achieved, they may either confirm the final direction that you are traveling, or they may shed light on the true desire of the long-term dreams. Is a course redirection in order?

denial

DENIAL is often one of the most difficult concepts to accept when first introduced to the 12 Steps…First, we deny that we have a problem, then we deny that we cause our problem. We deny that we need help as a result of our problems and we deny that anything could change even if we sought help. The first fact that we face as we move towards wellness in Celebrate Recovery is that denying our hurts, habits and hang-ups keeps us sick – honestly facing the truth of our lives, on the other hand, can lead us to victory in our recovery journey.

Disables our feelings
“They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you.” (2 Peter 2:19, NLT)

Energy is lost
“The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.” (Psalm 146:7b-8, NIV)

Negates growth
“Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble. And He saved them from their suffering. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death. And He broke their chains.” (Psalm 107:13-14, NLV)

Isolates us from relationships
“God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:5b-7, NIV)

Alienates us from God
“What this adds up to, then, is this: no more lies, no more pretense. Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ’s body we’re all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself.” (Ephesians 4:15, The Message)

Lengthens the pain
“For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord,” (Jeremiah 30:17a, ESV)