“Life is the flower for which love is the honey.” Victor Hugo “Do you have to have a reason for loving?” ~~Brigitte Bardot “Love harder than any pain you have ever felt.” ~~unknown Statement #7:  Love can change the course of my world. Caring is all-important. The concept of love can be easy to identify, yet it’s the giving and receiving of love which can feel difficult, especially in early sobriety and recovery. Before WFS and a sober New Life, rejecting love came easily since it felt foreign and uncomfortable, whether directed at self or others. Today, with hindsight being 20/20 and the practice of the WFS Statements, it is much easier to give, receive and even greater understand this thing called love. Statement #7, the first of the WFS “Love Statements” encourages giving and receiving love, and it begins with self. The act of maintaining sobriety for 24 hours is a gift of a full day of love. Instead of running away from life into alcohol or a substance, sobriety and recovery connect the experience of living, and not just merely existing. In our WFS Program booklet on page 23, “Self-love is a gift that allows us to build healthy relationships with ourselves and others.” Take a moment to examine the relationships in your life. Some may have changed, some may have not. Maybe some relationships no longer exist or have done a 180°. What is different? What is the same? Are you better able to embrace love today? If not, what one small act can you take to welcome love into your life?  Hugzzz and love Karen Hi 4C Women, After all these years, I hadn't thought that maintaining sobriety for 24 hours as a gift of love yet how true that is! That act of self-love can be practiced in many areas of our lives, i.e., setting boundaries, saying yes when we want to and saying no as well, setting time aside for our needs, identifying and expressing those needs to others, being true to ourselves and being assertive. For me, being assertive is saying that what I feel/think is important enough to share it when the opportunity presents itself. In the days of low self-esteem, I never felt confident enough to stand up for myself. I was intimidated and fearful of more rejection so I just accepted negative comments. In learning to stand up for myself, I also learned compassion and empathy for those who struggled as I had. I truly cared and care for their hurts. I have also learned to lessen my own pain, to not take negative comments at face value and be crushed by them. I just see those people as broken and trying to fix themselves by hurting others to feel better. That doesn't work. It just pushes people away and that's a sad, lonely place to be. So, I encourage you to risk giving and receiving love, starting with loving yourself. Love is a powerful emotion and it creates avenues of personal and emotional growth.   I hope you will take the time to answer Karen's questions and perhaps add to that the questions in the New Life Diary: Make a list of the people you love and why you love them. Make a list of the people you have difficulty loving and why. What is your definition of love? What do you think your answers will reveal about love changing your world? Bonded in changing our world with love, 4C WFS Member Explore our updated website. Check out Women for Sobriety's official blog. Join our online community of support (women in recovery only, please). If you received this email from a friend, we welcome you to join our mailing 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 https://womenforsobriety.org

Women for Sobriety, Inc. | P.O. Box 618, Quakertown, PA 18951-0618 | About our service provider Sent by contact@womenforsobriety.org

Do you have your TAM Lights of Hope tee-shirt? Just 2 days left! Check out our new design and get one today! https://www.customink.com/fundraising/tam-lights-of-hope Visit The Addict's Mom at: http://addictsmom.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

August 13, 2018 NAADAC Advocacy Webinar Series: Building Effective Relationships with Lawmakers Are you interested in learning about advocacy, NAADAC’s public policy initiatives, and the many resources NAADAC provides to help you stay current on important state and national public policy issues that impact addiction professionals? NAADAC's Advocacy Webinar Series has a new Advocacy webinar on Wednesday!   Building Effective Relationships with Lawmakers: Understand Your Role as a NAADAC Constituent Wednesday, August 15, 2018 @ 3:00 - 4:00 pm ET (2 CT/1 MT/12 PT) Description: This session seeks to provide insight into the role advocacy has in shaping policy and ultimately your practice. NAADAC members will also learn strategies for engaging Congress and amplifying your profession’s voice. Presenters: Tim Casey, Policy Advisor, Polsinelli & Julie Shroyer, MSW, Senior Policy Advisory, Polsinelli Tim Casey has a proven record of leadership in advancing the federal priorities of national associations, corporations, consumer organizations, and nonprofits. On Capitol Hill Tim is a trusted resource to Members of Congress and their staff. Casey's experience in the House and Senate combined with his time as a senior lobbyist for prominent health care organizations offers clients sound policy advice, strategic political counsel, and a keen instinct for delivering on key priorities before Congress and the Administration. Julie Shroyer has had long-term relationships with health and education policy decision makers that allow her to be a forceful voice for clients’ interests. With 29 years of government relations experience on health care issues, she is in daily contact with Washington’s leading health care experts on Capitol Hill, in regulatory agencies, national organizations, and advocacy coalitions. Her work has resulted in numerous legislative victories, including increased Congressional awareness of client policy initiatives, earmarked appropriations, and favorable legislative and regulatory language. Price: Education is FREE to all professionals Continuing Education Hours (CEs): Earn a certificate of completion for 1 NAADAC CE by passing an online CE quiz upon completion of the webinar. FREE for NAADAC members (Join now!). $15 for Non-members. Did you miss our first five advocacy webinars? Watch them on demand. What’s Advocacy Got to Do With You and the Future of Addiction Services Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Program: Reducing Substance Use Disorders 42 CFR Part 2: Understanding the New Final Rules and Where We Go From Here Advocating in Your State – Where Most of the Rubber Meets the Road! The Current Status of Federal Funding Supporting Substance Use Disorder Services Stay tuned for the dates of the additional webinars in the series to be announced!  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 | Update Profile | Subscribe |

This is the first in a series of Facebook Live events, which will highlight techniques from our partners at CMC: Foundation for Change’s Invitation to Change Approach, a unique mix of Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT), Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). These techniques are evidence-based approaches shown to help individuals move toward making meaningful life changes. Dr. Carpenter will share how this important perspective can be of help when parents and caregivers are concerned about their child’s substance use and how participants can apply these techniques at home with their own families. The Facebook event will end with a Q&A session, where viewers can ask questions of Dr. Carpenter. Learn More   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 | manage email preferences

https://youtu.be/spWr7XXcoZU

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