“When we argue for our limitations, we get to keep them.” ~~Evelyn Waugh  “Just as your car runs more smoothly and requires less energy to go faster and farther when the wheels are in perfect alignment, you perform better when your thoughts, feelings and emotions, goals and values are in balance.”  ~~ Brian Tracy  “With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.”  ~~Eleanor Roosevelt Statement #13  “I am responsible for myself and for my actions."   I am in charge of my mind, my thoughts and my life. In the past it was easy to fight for perceived limitations, it was predictable and comfortable while responsibility felt overwhelming and filled with uncertainty.  Alcohol accelerated negative self-talk and created a dangerous scaffold of knee jerk excuses and blame.  Over time isolation became the norm, relationships became emotionally painful, and living became almost too much to bear. Sobriety and Statement #13 in action provide a course for continuing recovery and feelings of contentment.  Our founder, Jean Kirkpatrick, PhD, put Statement #13 into action even before writing the WFS New Life Program.  With the acceptance and realization of what she was doing was not working, Jean devised a plan that would.  Examining her thoughts, Jean identified and organized her thinking.  Letting go of limitations and discovering and encouraging her strengths; Women for Sobriety was born. In practicing Statement #13, it is possible to experience trust, release blame and respond with ever increasing ability.  In our Program Booklet on page 34, “Through the New Life Program, we learn we are competent women, trusting our ability to make decisions.  It teaches us how to be in charge of our minds, our thoughts and our lives."  Do you have a blame or excuses tape that runs through your mind?  How you do interrupt and eliminate any self-defeating tape?   What does responsibility feel like before and after your New Life?  Hugzzz Karen Hi 4C Women, I started laughing out loud when Karen asked if we have a blame or excuses tape that runs through our mind. Years ago, it would have taken an oversized truck to haul those blame/excuses tapes out to examine. While there are life situations that can stop us in our tracks and tackle years of hard personal growth work, in the end we are responsible for our reactions and responses by taking these situations and making them life lessons for change and retrospection. I guess you could say it is learning from our mistakes and making healthier choices. For me, that is what Statement 13 represents when it says that I am responsible for myself and for my actions. Sober, I can no longer blame others for my actions/reactions. I have to say it was easier to blame others in the past. It was a habit I had developed and it took a lot of going through, not around, my choices/thoughts to take charge of my life. I was terrified when I went through my divorce and without having a choice to ignore it, I actually began to feel more and more empowered as I decided what I needed and how I had to stand on my own. Not everything went the way I had thought it would, yet I was no longer feeling defeated, punished or the victim. This process took time, lots of it, yet I knew I was in a much better place and moving in the right direction by making my own decisions, learning to trust myself and feeling hopeful!   Nancy Cross, a dear friend of WFS who passed away, once wrote in a message that we need to understand the difference between controlling and being in control. When you find yourself wanting to control others, ask yourself what do you want and then how can you get it? By focusing on how you can get what you want, rather than on how others can give it to you, you assume a much more active role in determining what you get from life. This represents the blame/victim mode to me. While blaming and being the victim, I tried to get others to help me and not in a positive way. I believe in compassion and supporting those who need our encouragement. I am talking about manipulating others so I didn't have to do the work of Statement 13. It took time to fully understand and practice this Statement and I will tell you, I am grateful that I kept on trying even in the darkest of times. Thank you WFS for the guidance of the Statements and especially #13.   Love, 4C WFS Member ‌ Don't miss this workshop at the 2018 WFS Annual Weekend Conference! June 8-10 in Center Valley, PA The Past is Gone Forever The only real time we have is “NOW”. Often we bring the past to the present. Together we will explore ways of tending to our visitations of the past that can move us in the direction of healing. With compassionate honest communication, giving attention to the tenderness of our heart can heal a multitude of self-negating patterns. .O – .O was certified in 1979 as a massage therapist and has made health and well-being her personal commitment and life's purpose. She is a group facilitator with many years of experience in body wisdom, stress modification, and the healing powers of love. Her new passion is participating in theater, promoting social change, and addressing issues involving domestic violence, alcoholism, drug abuse, economic injustice, and environmental justice. .O has provided presentations and workshops for various organizations and has appeared on radio and TV talk shows. This workshop is an optional Friday afternoon add-on; a small additional fee applies. Register Today Check out Women for Sobriety's Blog Site. If you received this from a friend, we welcome you to JOIN our email list. Copyright © Women for Sobriety, Inc. | All rights reserved | Federal ID # 23-1972763 Email: contact@womenforsobriety.org | Ph: 215.536.8026 | Fax: 215.538.9026 http://womenforsobriety.org | http://www.wfscatalog.org  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌

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March 24 2018 Twelve Stepping With Spiritual Support From Scripture

Psalm 73 v 21 Then I realized my heart was bitter,and I was all torn up Inside. (GODS BIG BOOK)

Step 4 Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Bitterness is a symptom of a Spiritual illness. Addiction is treated as a mental illness ! Gods big Book states bitterness is in the Heart not the head .So why are we trying to fix the head .If we could only get the world to realize this ,then our system of treatment and help those struggling could be reshaped around this concept and it would guarantee success in every single case of addiction.Do a study of secular verses Spiritual and you will discover the rates of success in spiritual recovery are much higher. Secular keeps you sick with a a disease !Spiritual recovery you have been set free , delivered,and redeemed.Secular no help other than a sponsor and meetings. Spiritual receive help from above and from within! Old things die in your life and you become a new creation. A Spiritual being not a physical one and this makes sense because we are made up of both.Our heart of stone is replaced with a heart of flesh which is soft and penetrable.Secular tries to heal the head. Spiritual fixes the Heart where all the issues of life flow from.If your Heart is right so also will be your life,no more life controlling pain, depression , fear , and all those reasons we began to self medicate in the first place. Addiction is not the problem the Heart is.Fix the Heart and everything else will fall into place.This was and still is Gods design for our lives .Until you discover you are torn up inside,living in rebellion you will remain Bitter unable to get Better. 

Proverb 4-23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

By Joseph Dickerson/Recovery Connections Need Help email us recoveryfriends@gmail.com

Psalm 103v3 He forgives all my sins and Heals all my diseases!

March 22, 2018 CAADE Conference Registration Now Open! NAADAC is proud to co-sponsor the CAADE Conference 2018:Excellence in Education for Addiction Professionals at theSheraton Gateway LAX in Los Angeles, CA from April 20 - 22, 2018! Don't miss fascinating speakers, exciting events, many networking opportunities, plenty of fellowship, and the chance toearn up to 20 CEs! The conference will feature presentations by NAADAC Leadership: Rein In Your Brain – presented by Cynthia Moreno Tuohy, NCAC II, CDC III, SAP, NAADAC's Executive Director; Supervision in AOD Counseling – presented by Kansas Cafferty, LMFT, NCC AP Commissioner; and, Accreditation of Addiction Studies Program – presented by Kirk Bowden, PhD, LPC, MAC, SAP, NAADAC's Immediate Past President, and John Korkow, LAC, PhD, SAP, NASAC's Chair. See the full schedule here. NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals 44 Canal Center Plaza, Suite 301, Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone: 703.741.7686 / 800.548.0497 Send to Friend |

Brandon Novak's Lucky 13 | The Fix

Brandon Novak's Lucky 13 | The Fix: It took the skateboarding super star 13 inpatient stays to find sobriety. Now, he’s working to help others find life after addiction.

How Can I Go Back to Being Myself When There's No One There? | The Fix

How Can I Go Back to Being Myself When There's No One There? | The Fix: Identity and self-worth don’t just magically appear when you get sober, or when you finally leave the asshole in the dust, or when you quit the soul-sucking job.

SMART, LifeRing, and Women For Sobriety Are as Effective as AA, Study Shows | The Fix

SMART, LifeRing, and Women For Sobriety Are as Effective as AA, Study Shows | The Fix: “A lot of people don’t like AA, and someone may be deterred from going to treatment if they feel like they need to go to AA, specifically because of the spiritual emphasis.'

Opinion: Person-First Language and Recovery Don't Mix | The Fix

Opinion: Person-First Language and Recovery Don't Mix | The Fix: Being sensitive to stigmas is a noble cause, but avoiding a micro-aggression isn't a viable excuse to risk fracturing a tried and true foundation of recovery: total accountability.

Rehab Vignettes, Part 2 | The Fix

Rehab Vignettes, Part 2 | The Fix: I am not part of the dedicated team dealing with the welfare of your son. I have however been a witness to an incident that took place one night at 20h40.

The Addictive Personality | The Fix

The Addictive Personality | The Fix: 'The content of the addiction, whether it be an ingestive addiction or an activity addiction...is an attempt at an intimate relationship.' John Bradshaw in Healing the Shame that Binds You

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Jennifer

Jennifer Musser, LPC

ChoiceOne

Community Engagement Director

215-269-6912

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

 

TAKE ACTION The Need for Family Support Services This is our first post in our Families Speak Up series, detailing our Advocacy efforts in Washington and beyond. At the Federal level, we are hearing about efforts to curb the opioid crisis. In the Federal budget, just passed a few weeks ago, Congress appropriated $6 billion for fiscal years 2018 and 2019 to address this crisis. The President’s budget proposes to add even more funding, and an amended version of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) 2.0 would authorize an additional $1 billion annually for drug programs. This is all good news, but what exactly does this mean and where does this leave families? Read Why We’re Calling on Congress to Fund Family Support Services for Addiction   DONATE Parent Toll-Free Helpline: 1-855-DRUGFREE drugfree.org © Partnership for Drug-Free Kids 352 Park Ave South | 9th Floor | New York, NY 10010   privacy policy |

Josh Turner - Long Black Train

https://youtu.be/fImb3dm0ooU

3-23-18 TWELVE STEPPING WITH SPIRITUAL SUPPORT FROM SCRIPTURE

Psalm 37 v 5 -Commit everything you do to the Lord ,trust Him and He will help you. (GODS BIG BOOK)

STEP 3 - Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as revealed in the Bible.

Do you want joy ? do you want peace ? Notice the verse states,everything . We give God some things and keep some .Usually the things we keep are the things that cause us the most pain and there is no room for His peace and joy. Holding on to stuff especially the most painful ! Keeping it and trying to fix it on our own will lead to frustration!Frustration will steal your peace and joy !When God says everything He means everything ! LET GO ! LET GOD !

Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (GODS BIG BOOK)

By Joseph Dickerson/Recovery Connections Need Help email us recoveryfriends@gmail.com

Psalm 103v3 He forgives all my sins and Heals all my diseases!

TAKE ACTION The Need for Family Support Services This is our first post in our Families Speak Up series, detailing our Advocacy efforts in Washington and beyond. At the Federal level, we are hearing about efforts to curb the opioid crisis. In the Federal budget, just passed a few weeks ago, Congress appropriated $6 billion for fiscal years 2018 and 2019 to address this crisis. The President’s budget proposes to add even more funding, and an amended version of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) 2.0 would authorize an additional $1 billion annually for drug programs. This is all good news, but what exactly does this mean and where does this leave families? Read Why We’re Calling on Congress to Fund Family Support Services for Addiction   DONATE Parent Toll-Free Helpline: 1-855-DRUGFREE drugfree.org © Partnership for Drug-Free Kids 352 Park Ave South | 9th Floor | New York, NY 10010   privacy policy