Celebrate Recovery

Man talk about Celebrate Recovery, tonight I went to Charleston to Sea Coast Church to a Celebrate Recovery meeting. They had a time of praise & worship & testimony time which lasted an hour. After that we split into groups for open discussion meetings. Man, was it good!

The best thing about recovery is the fellowship. I had a great time of fellowship all the way there, while I was there , and on the way home, thanks to my good friend, Jeremiah. I really enjoyed the time we had together. I know he enjoyed it also. I am really thankful for the people God has put into my life. People that care about me and would do anything in the world to help me in my recovery. Just the one on one time with these people helps me tremendously. We have so much to be thankful for. As a matter of fact, the topic for discussion in the meeting tonight was things we are most grateful for. Man, do I have a long list. I didn't even know where to start. Actually I know what is #1 on my list :

1) I am so thankful for the cross on Calvary where the blood of Jesus was shed when Jesus laid down his life to save us. What a sacrifice!!!
Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13 NIV) If you stop and think for a minute about this verse and what it is saying, would you lay down your life to save somebody elses. We were not even born yet and Jesus did this for each and everyone of us . He paid the price in full for our sins. Now all we have to do is to give our lives to Him as living sacrifices & get as many to follow Him as possible. That should be our goal in life. That is His will for our lives to be servants for Him & tell the Good News to everybody!!
23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. (Luke 9:23-24) The choice is all ours.What we do in our life is all up to us. I choose to lose my life for His , but we all struggle in life with life. That is why we must always remember this life will soon pass away.
All we can do is do our best while we our here. (lead by example - somebody is always watching, if not, don't forget God sees all)
I could go on forever just talking about my #1 on my gratitude list, but I am sure ya'll get the point.( I sure hope so ) GOD should be your #1 ALWAYS!!!!!!!!!!

2)I am so grateful for the fellowship I have with the people God has put in my life. What a blessing. God has put these people in my life for a reason. Each and everyone has a particular purpose, whether I realize yet or not. The people in the rooms of NA and the people in Celebrate
Recovery are there to support each other. They all understand the disease and what goes on in the life of an addict. It is not an easy road to go down. That is why they are so valuable to one another. They are always ready to help out. My family and church family are there to support and pray for me as I travel down this road of recovery. Man, recovery is good!!
3) Believe it or not I am grateful for the things I have gone through in my life. The good and the bad. I know it is all part of the plan, Gods plan for me. I know that all the things I have gone through have turned me into who I am today. A loving, caring , forgiving, and praying individual.
I could go on forever with my gratitude list but I will stop it here. There are so, so many things I am thankful for. Now that I am in recovery I am able to realize it. Shoot ,I am thankful to be in recovery now and not dead in my addiction. All I was doing was existing. Now I am living. Man it is good to be alive. I am also thankful for ya'll. Do not forget God loves you and so do I. We should honor the great commandments to love God with one's entire being, and one's neighbor as oneself. Love calls for a dedication of one's whole life, a consecrated self- giving so complete that the human will can never accomplish it. Because it is beyond the will, it is beyond all moral codes of behavior.
The greatest commandment goes to the very core of being, and there it depends radically upon grace. At this level the commandment of love is no regulation; it is a statement of the truth of life, it is an invitation to accept love's passion, commit oneself to it, and try to live it wholeheartedly.
Our yes to this commandment, this invitation, is a matter of simple caring, our hearts aching for the fullness of love for no other reason than its own essential goodness. In this simple, exquisite longing, awakening in each precious moment, we know who we really are. It is the likeness of God.
I can honestly say I love you all.