Christmas with the Angels: Sunday, Dec. 9

Join the fun on Sunday, December 9, 2012 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm as COA celebrates Christmas!  Watch Santa ride in on his motorcycle, enjoy piping hot chocolate, freshly brewed coffee, tea, desserts and an ice cream sundae bar (all free!), make some Christmas cards, wrap your gifts (also free!).....between 1:30 and 2:30 pm, Santa will be taking pictures with children and from 3:00 to 4:00 pm, Santa will be posing with pets. Pictures with Santa are just $5 each for a 5" x 7" frameable masterpiece.  Last year's COA Christmas was so much fun....to watch it on video, click here.   For more details about this event, or to volunteer to help with it, contact CityofAngelsNJ@hotmail.com. Superstorm Sandy Volunteer Opportunities  For anyone interested in volunteering some time to help Superstorm Sandy victims: there is still a huge need. The shore continues to deal with debris like fallen trees and power lines, gas shortages and limited operation of food stores due to lack of power. Many shore residents have lost their jobs and still can't get back into their homes.    If you would like to help, Cheryl Mulliken will be coordinating volunteers with COA for a relief project being run by the Church of Visitation in Brick Township. Volunteers are needed for many different jobs including signing families in, boxing up supplies and delivering them as needed. The hours of operation are any time between 8:00 am - 6:00 pm (there is no minimum or maximum hours required) on any day from Monday through Saturday for the next six weeks only. After that, supplies will be centralized in a warehouse located in Lakewood and volunteers will be needed for years to come.    Cheryl will be volunteering every other Tuesday for the next six weeks and any additional days that she is not scheduled to work. If you would like to join her, please contact her at tsbgirl@aol.com or 609-689-4889. To learn more about the Church of Visitation's project, click here.   Tidbits   COA hosts support group meetings for both addiction sufferers and their families every day of the week at the Dwier Center (392 Church Street, Groveville, NJ). This includes 12-step meetings, a Sunday night Spirituality Meeting and the popular Sunday morning Family Support Group. To check out our online calendar, click here.     For directions to the Dwier Center, click here.      The COA website now offers an Addiction News Feed with the latest studies, reports, new and other info on addiction. It's updated in real time with top 30 articles. To read the feed, click here.  New videos are up on the COA YouTube channel. To watch, click here.      Join COA's Pinterest community! To visit the boards, click here.          Keep current on COA activites - join the COA group on Facebook!  COA news is posted first on Facebook, and this page often has photos not available elsewhere. Click here to visit.   City of Angels NJ, Inc. is a non-profit organization that provides many services to addicts and their families including interventions, recovery support, Family Program, counseling services and more. All of our services are provided at no charge.

Living Free Every Day®

Friday, December 7, 2012

Today's Scripture

"All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD. Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." - 2 Proverbs 16:2-3 NIV

Thoughts for Today

For our last look this week at inventorying our lives, let's think about choices in the workplace. Sometimes we tend to live by a different set of standards in our career or business, but God wants us to be guided by his principles in every area of our lives. It is especially important to consider our motives for doing what we do at work. Are we motivated mostly by our desire to move up the ladder and make more money—or is honoring Jesus still our most important motivator?

In taking inventory, make a list of questions to ask yourself. You might want to use some like these:

• Have I been swept into a competitive mode that causes me to try to get ahead even at the expense of hurting other people?
• Do I base business decisions solely on my desire to succeed, or do I first consider the integrity of my choices?
• Has my work become so all-consuming that I am putting it above my focus on my family?
• Am I participating in workplace gossip or complaining?
• What kind of influence am I having on those around me?

Consider this …

Honestly inventorying your attitudes and actions in the workplace is the first step toward correcting any problem areas. As you confess your failures to God, he will forgive you and help you chart a better path. Jesus loves you. Only as you choose to do things his way will you find real success—the kind that lasts for an eternity.

Prayer

Lord, help me clearly see my motives for all I do in the workplace. Forgive me for letting my desire to get ahead in my career overshadow my desire to honor you in all I do. I pray above all that my employer and co-workers will see Jesus in me and that you will use me to encourage them and influence them toward you. In Jesus' name …

These thoughts were drawn from …

Stepping into Freedom: A Christ-Centered Twelve-Step Program by Jimmy Ray Lee, D.Min. This twelve-step program is suggested for use in support groups, recovery groups and home groups. It offers help for anyone struggling with a life-controlling problem like drug addiction, alcoholism, sexual addiction, gambling or workaholism. Note: This curriculum was written especially for small groups and we encourage people to use it that way. However, it can also be used effectively as a personal study for individuals or couples.  

 

 

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Parents More Important Than School in Preventing Use of Alcohol, Marijuana Use

By Join Together Staff | December 6, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed in Alcohol, Drugs, Parenting, Prevention, Research & Youth

A new study concludes that parental involvement is more important than the school environment in preventing or limiting children’s use of alcohol or marijuana.

Researchers evaluated data from more than 10,000 students, parents, teachers and school administrators. They looked at “family social capital”—bonds between parents and children—as well as “school social capital”—a school’s ability to provide a positive environment for learning, Science Daily reports.

Measures of family social capital include trust, open communication and active engagement in a child’s life, while school social capital includes student involvement in extracurricular activities, teacher morale and the teachers’ ability to address student needs.

“Parents play an important role in shaping the decisions their children make when it comes to alcohol and marijuana,” study co-author Dr. Toby Parcel of North Carolina State University said in a news release. “To be clear, school programs that address alcohol and marijuana use are definitely valuable, but the bonds parents form with their children are more important. Ideally, we can have both.”

The researchers found students with high levels of family social capital and low school social capital levels were less likely to have used either marijuana or alcohol, or to have used them less frequently, compared with students with high levels of school social capital and low family social capital.

The study appears in Journal of Drug Issues.

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Share today's devotional: Think You Don’t Need A Counselor? Think Again! December 6, 2012 Transformational Thought The other day, I got into an argument with my wife. As usual, it was a pretty trivial spark that started a much bigger fire. If someone had run that same situation by me in the morning, I could have easily described the ideal solution. My theoretical solution would have been beneficial to my wife and me, and much more God-honoring than what actually happened. But in the moment, I was governed by my insecurities, so I blew it. We all have so many unanswered questions about ourselves. Am I really a good person? Am I truly lovable? Why do I do the things I do? Why do I feel the way I feel? Why do I continue to make the same mistakes? Can I change? Will I ever be fully in control of all areas of my life? We struggle to answer these questions for ourselves. And it’s difficult to get to the core answers without a reliable counselor. The combination of our arrogance and pride has kept most of us from realizing that we do need counseling. Me? I don’t need any therapy, thank you very much! And the counseling profession carries huge stigmas — mental illness, Freud, Prozac and all that. All of us need a counselor. What athlete would ever think he doesn’t need a coach anymore? Does any student ever really know it all? Your doctors continue to study and get more education until they retire. In life, the most complicated activity ever, we will never know it all. But thankfully, as Christians, we have the best counselor at our finger tips and He lives right inside us. The Bible tells us Jesus sends us his Spirit as a Counselor. That ought to make our need very clear. And apparently, we need quite a lot of counseling—the Spirit isn’t just stopping in to give us an annual checkup or a quick tune-up. No, He has come to stay and give us a complete makeover … from the inside out. Now we just need to figure out how to “hear” His counsel and quit sabotaging His efforts in our lives. This next statement might sound blasphemous, but we need more than the Holy Spirit’s presence. That’s why we listen to sermons and study the Bible … to help us get out of the Holy Spirit’s way and so we can begin to partner with the Great Counselor. Today, confess your sins, then talk to God about a struggle in your life. Open His word, read the Christmas and Easter stories, and then listen for His counsel. If you have trouble following the counsel, or continue to sabotage His efforts, consider getting someone to help show you how to listen and follow His counsel. WITHIN REACH is a great resource we developed for the purpose of helping you hear God, follow His direction in your every day life situations, and be a Godly decision-maker in all you do. Listening to the Counselor or to your self is your decision, so choose well. Prayer Dear God, I thank You for sending me the ultimate Counselor, Your Holy Spirit. Help me recognize my daily need for guiding advice and for the Spirit of truth. Help me listen and heed Your advice. Help me gain wisdom and courage to follow Your guidance, and humility to set aside my agenda. Thy kingdom, not my kingdom come. Give me humility to seek out and listen to Godly advisors so I can overcome my areas of struggle. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, who asked You to send the ultimate Counselor, the Holy Spirit; and all God’s children said – AMEN! The Truth “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth”  John 14:16–17 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  Hebrews 4:12-14 Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices. For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.” Proverbs 1:29-33 Please help us spread The Word bysharing Stepping Stones on Facebook everyday! Share today's devotional:   How to use Stepping Stones Devotional Stepping Stones Archive Spiritual Basics Mental Health Awareness Jewelry Learn more about the primary author of Stepping Stones Daily Devotional Karl Benzio M.D (Founder and Exec. Director of Lighthouse Network) DVD & Workbook Series for Real Life Change! Click here to view Lighthouse Networks Life-growth Training Resources

follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend  Copyright © 2012 Lighthouse Network, All rights reserved. We are sending you Stepping Stones Daily Devotional because of your desire to grow, strength, and mature your walk with God. Stepping Stones Daily Devotional is specially designed to encourage and foster your personal spiritual growth. This devotional is a free resource tool brought to you by Lightouse Network. Please visit www.LighthouseNetwork.org to learn more! Our mailing address is: Lighthouse Network 800 West State St Suite 302 Doylestown, PA 18901 Add us to your address book

Government Report: Thousands of Prisoners Wait Months for Drug Treatment

By Join Together Staff | December 5, 2012 | 4 Comments | Filed in Addiction, Alcohol, Drugs, Government, Legal & Treatment


Thousands of prisoners wait months to enter drug education or rehabilitation programs, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The delay is caused by staff shortages and limited resources, USA Today reports. Drug offenders represent the largest category of prisoners in the federal prison system, the article notes.

In 2011, more than 51,000 inmates were on waiting lists for basic drug education programs, some for up to three months. A total of 31,803 inmates were enrolled in such programs last year, the report states.

Inmates who complete the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Residential Drug Abuse Program receive a sentence reduction of one year. Waiting lists for the program were so long last year that only one-quarter of graduates entered the program with at least a year left on their prison terms.

“These are important programs, because so many people come into the system with substance abuse problems,” David Maurer, primary author of the GAO review, told the newspaper. “These programs can help in the whole re-entry process.”

According to Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesman Ed Ross, the number of inmates on waiting lists for the programs, and the time spent waiting for treatment, has begun to decrease.

“To the extent the budget allows, we will continue to add treatment staff to meet the needs of the increasing inmate population, and in the future, we expect to reduce the amount of time an inmate is wait-listed for treatment,” he said. “Reducing the time spent waiting to enter treatment will allow for longer sentence reductions at the back end for non-violent eligible inmates.”

PRIDEFUL ARROGANT ME

Hello Readers,

          Not to often I openly express and share my personal experiences, but in this case I must!  Recently I was presented with an awesome opportunity, as I have been presented these opportunities throughout most of my life.  Life changing opportunities, that I have turned into failures and for the longest time, I could not figure out why they did not pan out. Once I was delivered from addiction by the LORDS grace, I wanted to dedicate my life to doing HIS work!  These past ten years many opportunities have been brought my way by HIS hand! I would join churches develop recovery programs, open a recovery house and be blessed with the opportunity to expand these opportunities beyond my imagination. Somehow, and I now know how these opportunities became some of my greatest failures. Growing up I lived in household of cynical and destructive negative thinking.  My days were filled with the comments of your going to screw it up or the thinking that there was nothing good in people in the outside world.  Working the twelve steps did not even open my eyes to the fact that I have been a prideful, arrogant fool my entire life!  Learning this now is deliverance from self and just one of HIS divine ways of HIM revealing  why I have not reached my full potential in life!  Joy is what I need to share with you, ,joy because I see now it was not everybody else who was causing my failures it was me.  This most recent opportunity was one of the best I have been presented with in quite sometime and it is my hope that prideful arrogant me has not shut the door on this one.  In everyone of these opportunities their was excitement at first and then came the negative thinking which was embedded as a child then along comes, doubt,  fear and self destructive behaviors.  How many of  you out there spend countless hours spinning your wheels trying to figure out how did this go wrong!  You did everything right, or did you?  Fear, doubt, and self destructive behaviors are satans way of keeping us from reaching our full potential!  Satan even used scripture against me,  like he did to JESUS!  A wise man has many councils, is what was whispered over and over throughout my mind.  So that is what I did with all of these opportunities,  listened to other people and to that nagging voice!  What I missed was what GOD was trying to tell me!  Stop listening to you and others when presented with an opportunity, you just might get a surprise and discover who you truly are and reach your full potential!