Daily Quote

"Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation." - Brian Tracy

Today's Online Meetings

AA Meeting - 9:00 pm CST: "12 Steps and 12 Tradiditons"

Guest Speaker - 2:00 pm CST: "Being Sober and Becoming Happy"

Copyright 2011 Community of Recovering People LLC

Privacy Policy

November 15 Chp 118 v 21 TWELVE STEPPING WITH STRENGTH FROM THE PSALM

I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory !

STEP 9 - Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

When making amends make sure you first make amends to God. The first sign of recovery is gratitude and humility . Making peace with God will give you a peace you never thought possible. Let God stroll with you down memory lane ! God will remind you of stuff you did and people you hurt, not to judge or condemn you , but to free you and grow you .Remember during this process you will begin to shed tears and for most of us that has not happened in years ,whatever you do don't resist let them flow that is Gods way of cleansing your heart and mind. Those tears do not represent pain they represent freedom .Welcome to victory lane!

For He will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in His sight. (Psalm 72:12-14)

By Joseph Dickerson

The Mission of the Addict’s Mom: To “Share Without Shame”

Written by Sherry Schlenke, the mother of a child with the disease of addiction

The Addict’s Mom provides a forum to “Share Without Shame” for the mothers of the children suffering from the deadly disease of addiction. The importance of this mission cannot be over-stated. A loving mother will pass through several stages upon learning of her ...child’s addiction. First, she experiences shock and denial, then she experiences feelings of guilt and self-recrimination. As she begins to explore ways to help her child heal, she will be surprised to learn that relatives, friends, co-workers, and even experts in the field of substance abuse will contribute to her feelings of self-blame and shame.

She will be questioned about her child’s medical, social, and academic history. She will be asked to recall developmental milestones, toilet training, thumb-sucking, whether she fed her baby breast milk or bottled formula, diet, allergies, surgeries, illnesses, broken limbs, and vaccinations. She will be asked how much time she spent away from her home, how diligent she was in setting rules, boundaries, and expectations.

She will be asked about her child’s emotional well-being, moods, sleep patterns, and peer inter-actions. Then she will be asked the really difficult questions: why did you not notice that he..., how did it not occur to you that she...why did you not seek professional help for this child before we reached a crisis point? This mother will be overwhelmed by both the questions and the answers. Her child is an addict!!! He/she goes to dangerous neighborhoods, buys illegal drugs, commits crimes to finance the habit, and steals from friends and family. He is homeless, a bum in the gutter, immoral, and a common criminal.

In her mind, she will replay over and over her new mantra: I failed as a mother. My actions or inactions are the reason that my child is slowly dying. I am being punished, as is my child for my failures as a mother. The shame becomes part of her very being; the shame intrudes in her thoughts day and night. She has night terrors, and she wakes up screaming, dripping in sweat. She compartmentalizes her life so as to hide the truth from others. Friends do not call, drop by, or socialize with her. She becomes lonely, depressed, ill, insecure, secretive, guarded, anxious, fearful, pessimistic, suspicious; she isolates herself. She loses her close and open relationships with her family, perhaps even with her spouse. Most devastatingly, she begins to lose her very self.

Her Mother’s Heart is broken and crushed; she cannot find a way to help her beloved child or to cope with the loss of the child she once knew as only a mother can. He may be breathing, but he is not the child that she rocked, hugged, loved, nurtured, and worshipped. He is but a pitiful shadow of the child that she knew. She observes other families celebrating life’s milestones: a graduation, a wedding, a birth, an award, a new career. She commits her life to “saving” her child.

She visits her child in dreadful, frightful, places: the prison, the rehab center, the homeless shelter, the hospital emergency room, the Psychiatric Unit, or inescapably, the morgue. She wants to go to the beach, to the mountains, on a picnic, to a concert, to a ballgame, or on a family vacation with her child! She talks tirelessly and endlessly to experts in the field; she learns the dreadful statistics for a positive outcome. She feels hopeless when she realizes that the odds for recovery are not in her child’s favor. She learns about topics and details that are taboo, shunned, horrifying. Now she grows angry, bitter, and envious. She removes her rose-colored glasses, for she is desperate in body and soul. She struggles to climb out of her bed in the morning, and to perform the rituals of daily life. Perhaps she has other children, whose physical, emotional, and social needs must be met. How can she turn away from those children? She tries to smile, but she wears a mask, a disguise. She attempts to be cheerful for others; the strain on her is enormous.

Often, the troubled child dies. The mother must meet with the coroner, the police, the funeral home director, the pastor, priest, or the rabbi. She signs official papers, visits his bedroom, looks upon his books and clothing; these are the reminders that he once existed. She must make decisions as to the disposal of these material goods, not only the goods from his adult life, but what shall she do with his baby album where she painstakingly recorded his early years? She holds the clay plate with his little hand imprint, the finger-painted Mother’s Day card, and most heart-wrenching, she looks upon the family photo albums. Difficult decisions must be made. Why does she have to make them? A mother should not bury her child!

These mothers of children suffering from addiction, whether in active struggle, in recovery, or dead, are shell-shocked, even battle-scarred. TAM is the only forum where these world-weary mothers, both those who are engaged in an active struggle for the very life of her child, and those for whom the struggle is over, can share their experiences. The stories are tragically the same, for only the names are different. The mothers of TAM are connected by a shared, but horrible bond. We remind each other that addiction does not discriminate; addiction destroys people of all social, cultural, age, gender, economic, educational, religious and racial groups. Addiction can and does devastate families.

TAM moms understand, they feel compassion, they listen, and they do not judge as others do. TAM allows mothers to be frank, honest, and forthcoming. We can open our Pandora’s box and reveal the most intimate details about our lives, our children, our friends, our families and our struggles.

Who are we to judge, to scold, to blame? We each live in our personal glass house. We shall not throw a stone upon a grieving mother, for

each and every one of us is a grieving mother. We will complain, whine, and rant. We will offer comfort, support, suggestions, and advice. We will learn from each other. We will call, post a message online, send an email, send a text message, or even visit our new “TAM mom friends”. TAM will and does save our very souls. The Addict’s Mom allows us to truly “Share Without Shame”.

We moms of TAM are connected for life.

www.addictsmom.com

Visit The Addict's Mom at: http://addictsmom.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Best of the Week: October 31–November 7 COMING UP IN THE FIX// Addiction in the Hispanic Community * Relapse Dreams* Smuggling Drugs in Prison * My Year in Rehab * Elders and Addiction * Steroids and Wrestlers * The Marchman Act * New Pro Voices * PLUS: Other incisive articles FOCUS// Harm Reduction at a Crossroads A report from the 10th National Conference of the Harm Reduction Coalition. By Tessie Castillo PROFESSIONAL VOICES// The Experience Machine What if a problem from Philosophy 101 could help improve our understanding of addiction? Would it make it easier for us to treat addiction without the stigma? By Richard Juman COMING CLEAN// Overcoming "Failure to Launch" with Bob Forrest Recovery is a dirty business. Bob Forrest has the track record—and the forward thinking—to clean it up. By Dawn Roberts BOOKS// Top Four Recovery Memoirs, Then and Now Four of our favorite addiction memoirs, and seeing where the authors—Jerry Stahl, Colin Broderick, Joe Clifford and Alan Kaufman—are today. By Regina Walker CARRYING ON// Miss Wisconsin on Honoring Her Brother's Legacy Raeanna Johnson talks to The Fix about how being Miss Wisconsin helps raise awareness of the ultimate price of addiction. By McCarton Ackerman   BEST OF THE QUICK FIX Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Wants Drug Tests for Welfare, Unemployment Recipients Could an MRI "See" If You Will Become a Habitual Smoker? First Pap Smears Were Conducted On Drunk Guinea Pigs Arkansas Governor Will Pardon Son On Felony Drug Charge Gene Regulation May Control Addiction, Depression Silk Road 3.0 Launches To Largely Negative Reviews COMMENT OF THE WEEK Preventative Caring This week, Tessie Castillo reported on the 10th National Conference of the Harm Reduction Coalition. Readers were bewildered as to why everyone isn't behind harm reduction: All types of people benefit from harm reduction. Not just members of so called marginalized groups. Harm reductionist's often do angel's work. They save lives! Lives of people who are mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, friends and workers. All people, black or white or purple; straight or gay; religious or atheist benefit from knowledge and practice of harm reduction methods. The numbers are sound and the evidence is in! I appreciate the author wishing to be a good voice for harm reduction. But really- who cares if an advocate is gay or a drag queen or a soccer mom? I just don't get it. -anonymous MORE »

	COA ANNUAL THANKSGIVING DINNER!!
	Don't miss this TASTY, fun annual event!  Sunday, November 23 at 12:00pm - 3:00pm   Dwier Center - 392 Church Street, Groveville, NJ   Join us at this sumptuous feast as we celebrate all the many things we have to be grateful for.     This is always a fun event! This year, we'll be roasting a turkey at Dwier and serving it up with all the trimmings.. Covered dishes for the buffet table are always welcome but not necessary - just bring yourself!   For details contact: cityofangelsnj@hotmail.com. This is an open invite so please feel free to share this event or send an invite to friends/family.   Click on the link below to view/respond to this event: COA THANKSGIVING DINNER EVENT

	On COARR
	Let's Talk About Recovery! With 10 original shows, COARR plays Recovery Talk 24/7/365....past shows are available online atwww.coaradio.com/pastshows.html and in each show's online archive.  Tune in thru the smartphone app (free in the iphone/droid stores) or on www.coaradio.com to hear what's playing now.....   Many thanks to Greg Campisi from Awaken Center for Human Evolution for coming on COA Recovery Radio's Wellness in Recovery show last night and explaining how Reiki, IET and other forms of energy healing can be used to reduce stress and manage many medical/emotional conditions. Thank you also to Kim Siar for explaining how Pranic Healing helped her overcome an addiction. Learn more about these and other holistic health practices that can be used as a compliment to more traditional therapies at Awaken's FREE Healing Expo this Saturday, Nov. 15. For details about the expo,click here.  To listen to the show re-play, click here. New show on COARR: Step by Step is a Pennsylvania-based network of recovery homes where recoverees gain support from one another. This show explores what it's like to live in a sober home. If you missed the show, it's now online: click here to listen. It's a great introduction to what sober living & recovery homes are all about! Listen to past COARR shows any time:  For "Women & Addiction" with Terri Thomas, click here.  For "Wellness in Recovery" with life coach Nancy Tilelli, click here.  For "Journey Thru the 12 Steps with the Life Recovery Bible," click here.  For "Share Your Scars" with Vicki, click here. For "Wings Over Water: Creativity in Recovery" with recovery musician Kathy Moser, click here. For "Laughter & Recovery" with stand up comic Wil B. Kleen, click here.  For "Relationships in Recovery" with Alexa, click here.  For "Saving Lives" with COA Director of Interventions Tom Redneck Clark, click here.

	Get Health Coverage NOW!
	If you or someone you love doesn't have health insurance, COA can help.  If you or someone you love doesn't have health insurance, COA can help. OnMonday November 17th at 10:00am a  representative from WellCare will be at Dwier Center - 392 Church Street, Groveville, NJ assisting with Medicaid & The Affordable Health Care Act Coverage enrollment. Medicaid is now available for single people and marrieds without children, in addition to families with children; it's FREE for anyone making less than $15,500 per year. COA will help you fill out the paperwork, and get your documents together. Most people qualify for some type of low or no-cost plan, so it's worth coming in to check it out. Even if you're in good health, people without insurance will soon have to pay an annual penalty - which is cumulative! - so it's worth it to get on the rolls. Click on the link below to view/respond to event: HEALTH PLAN ENROLLMENT AT COA If you would like to take advantage of this FREE assistance, please RSVP tocityofangelsnj@hotmail.com - we need to get some idea of how many people will be coming so we can plan.

	COA HOLIDAY CELEBRATION
	Saturday, December 13th at 1:00pm - 4:00pm Dwier Center - 392 Church Street, Groveville, NJ Pictures with Santa. Bring your kids, your pets or just yourself to this fun holiday event as we celebrate the season with lots of holiday cheer. Refreshments will be served - feel free to bring cookies or other holiday treats to share! All are welcome.    For details contact: cityofangelsnj@hotmail.com This is also set as an open event. Feel free to share this or send invite to friends and family to join you! Happy Holidays! Click the link below to view details or respond to event: HOLIDAY CELEBRATION-PICTURES WITH SANTA