Celebrate Recovery; the words that describe it

We are celebrating two years of Celebrate Recovery at Cottonwood this week. I've been thinking about that all week, ready to share some thoughts with you all.

When we started Celebrate Recovery, we did not know much about it. A friend told me about it. I checked it out and felt that God was leading me toward this. I went to the elders, shared my burden to provide ministry for those struggling and hurting, got permission and support. A few of us went to the CR in Brownwood to visit, spent some time with the leader there. It was mid summer, and we felt that we couldn't waste any time, we needed to get this started. That August, we began preparing and training. I was overwhelmed with the number of people that showed up to help, this seemed to strike a chord with many people. We learned what C.R. is and how to do it, we prayed and did everything we could to prepare, then we opened the doors. And we have been blessed!

There are a number of words that come to mind when I think of C.R.:

Grateful. I am so very very grateful to be a part of this ministry. I am overwhelmed when I consider everything that God has done in these 2 years. I am grateful for every one of our volunteers. Many of the people who help with C.R. now were at the very first meeting. I appreciate them all sooooo much. That includes my husband. He had no burden for CR, no idea of what it is or what it would be, but he was willing to join me and lead worship. I am grateful for every person that has come to CR these last two years grateful for new friendships, soooo grateful for having the opportunity to see God at work, to see people being transformed, growing, being set free, restored...

Family. I had few expectations of CR. Really, only that God would work because I knew He had put it on our hearts. One thing I did not expect was the sense of family we have. Since the very beginning. In those first weeks, before we really started, when it was just us volunteers coming together every week, we experienced being family. Very precious.

Acceptance. This was the key word from the beginning. We made the decision that every one who comes through those doors would know that they are accepted, welcomed, no matter what. We committed to receive without ever judging or condemning. I have heard many people say that the first time they came, they felt accepted for who they are, without the need to put up walls or pretend to be something they are not. The result is that every one of us feel it. When I stand up to teach, I feel completely comfortable. I am going to do my very beat to follow God and share what he gives me, and do it the best way I can, but I’m not perfect, not great, just willing, and I just feel accepted.

Commitment. The first week we met with just volunteers, I said that we would be here every Thursday night until the Lord comes back! I have heard people repeat that many times.  I have seen a level of commitment that is rare. The leaders are here every week. If someone is sick or out of town, I know about it. I know that many times we have leaders, including worship leaders, who are here when they don't feel like it. Tired, sick, down, frustrated...but they are here. Man, that is amazing.

Love. Love is a word that is so overused that I almost didn't use it. But I have to. We love each other. Not a mushy, "Love you!" kind of love, but a love that is profound, deep, and real. I have seen this demonstrated over and over. Many times, I hear of a need of one of the CR family, in the context of what is being done to meet the need. “Someone needs a car, so a few of us are getting money together to try to help him get one.”  “Someone is moving, so we are meeting Sat.morning to do the work”...”I was worried about Wilbur, so I called and found out he is not doing well”...amazing how love is shown in very practical ways. 

Tools. I have learned that to walk in freedom we need tools. Jesus promised freedom, and He is ready to help us walk in it, but it is sometimes not so easy. CR steps are tools. CR share group is a tool. I have learned a lot of tools in these 2 years. CR curriculum has been very helpful, provides a lot. I have seen the need for more help, found a lot of tools out there that are helpful for specific issues. These tools have helped us go deeper and further in some areas.

Newness. There is a freshness and newness about CR. Often, we see a new person walking up the sidewalk, looking like they don't want to be here, looking tired and weary. After a few weeks, they are walking with a spring in their step, a smile on their face, ready to come, excited. Not healed and whole and free, but making progress. They are experiencing something new.  God said that he is in the business of making everything new, and we are seeing Him do that. 

Of course, freedom, health, recovery. I believe that we are finding new freedom every week. Jesus said that He came to set us free. He came to give us a life that is abundant. He wants each of us to be free to be the person that He created us to be. He died so that we can live, but not just exist. LIVE. He said that he will give us his joy, that we can have full joy with Him. He promises a peace that passes understanding, a life that is full of purpose, that is satisfying. He plans for us to have confidence. He said that perfect love casts out fear. His love is perfect, so he came to cast out all fear. He said to come to him when we are tired and weary and our load is too much for us. He said He will take our load and give us rest. CR brings to mind all of I shared those things at our last CR meeting of the year (CR year begins Oct 1, so this week was the end of the CR year.) I asked if there were other words that describe Celebrate Recovery, and here are some of the answers.

Home Base. When we were kids and played Hide & Seek, you hide and you’re scared, until you get to run to home, and you are safe. That’s what CR feels like.

Valued. At CR everyone is valued for who they are.

Unstuck. I’m not stuck in my addiction any moren.

Fulfilled. Serving in CR makes me feel fulfilled.

Real Church. This is what church is supposed to be.

Forgiven. 

A buffet. Everything you could want is here, and lots of it.

Learning to love.

Hope.

Fun. We didn’t expect that!

Refreshing. Sometimes I am really tired when I come and I feel great after our worship.

Transparent. No hiding, we are open and honest.

In the past two years, I have seen God work in our lives. I have seen some be saved; receive the gift of eternal life by giving their lives to Jesus. I have seen many people set free from addictions. Some who were depressed, grieving,  and broken hearted are walking in joy. Some have been freed from fear, from worry, from anger, from bitterness. I am so excited, so happy, so grateful. I am so blessed to be a part of CR. God is not through. He has plans for next year that we can't even imagine yet.

We are all ready to start the new year!

I KNEW Laughter was good for you!

I just finished a very interesting book by Dr. Caroline Leaf, The Gift in You. The book deals with how our brains operate, how “toxic” thoughts create a chain reaction with emotional and physical responses that make rob our health and happiness. Maybe I can write more about the book another time, but right now, I am eager to share her great insights on the health benefits of laughter.

It releases an instant flood of feel-good chemicals that boost the immune system. Amost instantly, it reduces levels of stress hormones. A really good belly laugh can make cortisol drop by 39%, adrenalin by 70% and the “feel good hormone,” endorphin, increase by 29%. It can even make growth hormones skyrocket by 87%! Other research shows how laughter boosts your immune system by increasing levels of immunity and disease-fighting cells…

In fact, according to research, laughing 100 to 200 times a day is equal to 10 minutes of rowing or jogging!…

Laughter quite literally dissolves distressing toxic emotions because you can’t feel mad or sad when you laugh. When you laugh and have fun, endorphins are released which make you feel so great and at peace, those toxic thoughts can’t get out of your brain fast enough. Fun protects your heart because when you laugh and enjoy yourself, your body releases chemicals that improve the function of blood vessels and increase blood flow, protective against heart attack.  Fun reduces damaging stress chemicals quickly, which, if they hang around in your body for too long, will make you mentally and physically sick. Fun and laughter also increase your energy levels.

Scientific proof that “A cheerful heart is good medicine”                          Proverbs 17:22

Special Earrings

Lately, I picked up some old earrings and began wearing them regularly. There is a sweet story that makes these earrings special.

For ten years, when we were a young family, Les and were in a VERY strict, conservative, legalistic church. I often refer to this as our cult years. Maybe it was  a cult, maybe not, but we found ourselves under a great deal of pressure to conform to certain standards.

In this group, the women dressed in an ultra conservative manner. We only wore dresses or skirts, wore no make-up and no jewelry, except simple wedding rings. Even using products like skin cream seemed a worldly thing to do. The worst part of this environment was the extreme focus on the church. At a time when we should have been learning to love each other and nurturing our children, all of our energy went into serving this church.

One day, right in the middle of our years with this group, my husband Les walked in with a gift for me. (We did not celebrate Christmas or birthdays for adults, so receiving any kind of gift was very unusual.)  When I opened the small box, I was shocked to see a pair of diamond post earrings. This was shocking to me for several reasons. First, I did not wear jewelry. It was against our religious beliefs! I surely did not wear expensive, fancy jewelry. Besides the religious things, there was also the money. We didn’t have any. It took everything we had to raise three children on one income. We barely could pay our mortgage, car payment, and other necessities (which included tithe and offerings).  The diamonds were tiny, but, still, diamond earrings were certainly a very extravagant gift.

Les was so proud of that gift. And I was so proud to wear them. I wore them every day, and with no guilt whatsoever. So what if no one else wore earrings, my husband gave them to me and he wanted me to wear them. A few years later, he bought a pair of hoops that go with the posts. I haven’t worn them much the last few years, because, since we left the superconservitivecultishkindofchurh, he has bought me a lot of other, more flashy earrings.  But, recently, I brought them out and have been enjoying them again.

When we can’t look up

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.  And there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself.  When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your disability."  And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God.                Luke 13:10-14

Here we are told of a woman who had been sick for eighteen years, bent over and not able to straighten herself. She was destined to look at the ground, to see the dirt, the rocks and stones, the feet and shoes of the people. Looking up was hard. She was bent over and looked down all the time. This woman was suffering. Jesus saw her. He noticed her. He didn’t stare at her because of her disability. He didn’t look at her and wonder what she had done wrong to end up in that condition. He saw the person inside the bent body. And he spoke to her. He called her over. He told her to come to Him.

Then, He said words that she never expected to hear. “Woman, you are freed.” What amazing words to hear, after eighteen years of bondage. Then, Jesus laid his hands on her. The words of Jesus, now the touch of Jesus. He required nothing of her. Sometimes, Jesus asked questions of people before He healed. Sometimes people had to take some action; touch His garment, call out to Him, show faith. This woman was not able to do anything. Jesus had so much mercy, called her over, spoke to her, laid hands on her. Immediately she was made straight. After eighteen years, a word from Jesus, and a touch, and she is free. The Bible says, “…and she glorified God.” Almost like an afterthought. Oh, yes, and she glorified God. After eighteen years of being bent over, unable to straighten up, I bet she made some noise in her praising God!

Sometimes we get bent over in our soul. Sometimes pain, suffering, illness, hurts, worry, stress…cause us to be bent over, weary, unable to help ourselves. Sometimes we are not able to even look up. Our eyes are downcast, only seeing the things that are on the ground; the dirt, the rocks, the ugly and hard things of this life. We only see the feet of our friends and family. We can’t look them in the eye, we look down when we see them. Hurt, pain, and shame cause us to keep our eyes downcast. When we get into that place, we can’t help ourselves. We get stuck in that position. People may tell us to “look up”, but we are just not able to do that.

Then, Jesus comes along. In His mercy, He calls to us, he says, “Come to me.” That is all He requires. Just get to Jesus, limp, stumble or crawl to Him. Jesus speaks to us. He speaks words to us that bring freedom and strength, and He reaches out and touches us. His touch heals. Suddenly, we are able to look up! We can see the sky, the beautiful things around us. We can look people in the eyes. The pain may still be there, the problem, the struggle; but we are free from the bondage of being bent over. The shame and fear are gone.

And then, we glorify God. We are set free from bondage to praise our God.

God missed the walks in the Garden

I started a new class last Wednesday night, a study on the major stories of the Old Testament. Of course, we began with the story of creation, in Genesis 1-2.

Last night, we studied Genesis 3-5. I have loved it. You know, these are very familiar stories, but God has shown me lots of cool new things already. The material is not real familiar to some of the women. They are hungry and excited, and it is so much fun to see the Bible through their eyes.  The discussion we had last night about the two trees in the garden was priceless.

The best part, though, was at the very end.

Gen 5:21-24 “When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah.  Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters.  Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years.  Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.”

We read those verses, and I said that Enoch walked with God every day, and one day, God said, “Just come on home with me today.”

One of our really excited women, Jennifer, said, “Oh, it was because God missed that. You know, how Adam walked with God in the garden in the beginning. No one had done that since.”

I have thought about that ever since. God missed having a human walk with him. Of course, she is right.

A New Name

Last night at our Kick-off, we talked about names; how we got our names, what we like and don’t like about our names, what name we have wanted to be called, and what our names mean.

I like my name, Jeannette. I think it is a pretty name. It means gracious, or gift from God, and I like that. BUT, somehow, it does not seem right for me. It is too long and sounds too formal. Often, when I hear it, I feel like I am in trouble, because it sounds harsh.

Our names are important, but they are given to us by our parents before they know what kind of person we will be. The name may not reflect the person at all.

According to the Bible, God has a remedy for that.

Isa 62:2…and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.

Rev 2:17  To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.'

God often changed the name of people in the Bible. He gave them new names that reflected their new character or their new calling. Abram became Abraham, Jacob became Israel, Simon became Peter, Saul became Paul. I think that God has a new name for each one of us. I imagine that at the time of the coming of the New Heaven and New Earth, that He will tell each of us our new name. It will be a special name that only He knows, a name that will perfectly reflect each of us, a name that will connect with your heart. Each of us will have a unique name. In heaven, if I say Nancy or Emily, I won’t have to say which Nancy or Emily. There will be only one. God has infinite wisdom and infinite creativity, so there is no end of names, so He won’t have to repeat. Each individual person, with unique gifts and abilities, unique ways of thinking and processing things, each one will have a unique name that God made up just for you!

I love thinking about that.

“I Really Like It When People Compare Me To You”

Today is the anniversary of 9/11.This week, I watched a moving program on ABC called The Children of 9/11, about the children who lost their fathers in the attack on the World Trade Center. Diane Sawyer had done a show focusing on these children shortly after the attack, interviewing some of them and their mothers, and taking a group picture. Many of these children are close friends, with a profound bond brought about by a shared tragedy.

I was immensely impressed with these children, who ranged in age from 10 years to early 20’s. Of the ones interviewed for the show, most were mature, grounded, and articulate. There seemed to be an amazing lack of anger and bitterness. But, the one thing that came across more than any other was their desire to be like their fathers. Again and again, these children said that the thing that made them most proud was when someone would say that they were like their father in some way.  Many played a sport that their father played. Seventeen children became firefighters, many younger ones plan to be, because their fathers had been. These children and young adults strive to be like their fathers. They smiled as they talked about the things they have achieved that they know would have made their fathers proud.

I have thought about that show for a few days, considering the words of 1 John 3:1-2.“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.  Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears  we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”

Patrick Mate Lyons, who was born Oct. 7, 2001, wrote this in an open letter to his father, Patrick, one of those killed in the World Trade Center:

“I want you to know that Mommy is doing a great job of loving me and raising me in a happy home," Patrick said. "I play flag football in the same league as you, and in the same position as you, as quarterback. In baseball, I pitch, just like you did. I really like it when people compare me to you."

Some Senior Adult Humor

On Monday, Les and I went to Ft. Worth and picked up my parents to take them to see Melody’s new house. As we drove, my 94 year old Dad said, “The lady from Wheel of Fortune came by last week and told us that we qualify to have a nurse come and check on us every couple of months.”

I thought, Vana White came to their house? That can’t be right. Is my Dad’s mind finally going? Up to this point, he has had a clear and keen mind. NO, I get it. I said, “Daddy, I think you meant that the lady from Meals on Wheels came by, right?”

My dad is not a funny man. He has always been conservative, cautious, dependable, you know the type. But, has he has gotten older, he has loosened up and developed quit a wit.

A few years ago, he was walking in the mall and was approached by a salesman from a jewelry kiosk. Daddy said he was not interested in buying anything. The man said, “Wouldn’t you like to take something home to surprise your wife?” My dad replied, “I’m 83 years old, my wife is surprised when I come home alive.”

Spa Day Pictures

Last Sunday was our annual Single Mom’s Spa Day, and our great photographer, Melissa Sones brought the pictures to me today. 

Of course, we have great refreshments to properly pamper single moms.

 

 

Professional haircuts, exactly what each woman asked for!     

FANCY manicures! 

 

 

The ultimate in pampering…pedicures!

 

Facials…where are the facials, no pictures??? Facials were in a restroom on the far side, I guess the photog didn’t know! Sorry.

So, after the facials, make up!