FREED MINISTRIES

From Feeding America Foundation

2012-02-19T10:04:00.000-05:00

On February 13, President Barack Obama released his 2013 Budget Proposal and Hunger Champions nationwide were encouraged that the proposal recognized the importance of strong investments in hunger-relief programs—particularly when so many are still struggling—while still making strides to reduce the deficit.

As Feeding America President and CEO Vicki Escarra said in a statement of support for the President’s budget, “Feeding America applauds the President’s new budget proposal for providing strong funding for federal nutrition programs, which help millions of struggling Americans put food on the table.” Read her full statement here.

Now we need you to help get the word out in your community. In honor of “Random Acts of Kindness Day,” please share your thoughts about the President’s budget and why we should invest in hunger-relief programs with your social networks—Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc. Here are some sample posts you might use:

Facebook: “In honor of Random Acts of Kindness Day and as a Feeding America advocate, I’m raising awareness of President Obama’s 2013 budget. Thankfully, the budget includes funding for federal hunger relief and nutrition programs. With so many Americans facing hunger, we should all help make hunger relief a top priority in Washington!”

Twitter: “2013 Pres budget recognizes need for investment in #hunger relief programs #HungerCostsUsAll.”

By sharing this news with your online circles, you can help raise awareness and be a “social voice” for hunger relief. You can also join the conversation by following us on Facebook and Twitter.

How does the new budget proposal support hunger relief?

It restores SNAP benefits used to help pay for the Child Nutrition Reauthorization.
It fully funds the purchase of nutritious commodities for TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program), a critical source of food for our nation’s food banks.
It provides sufficient funding for CFSP (Commodity Supplemental Food Program), which provides monthly packages of food primarily to low-income seniors who are struggling to make ends meet.
It provides funding for WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children), which ensures America's children - our future - get the nutrition they need.
It supports implementation of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which improves child nutrition programs.

The decisions our elected officials make really do matter—to families struggling to get by, to seniors whose savings have been decimated by the recession, and to the millions of kids all across America who go to bed hungry.

Stay tuned to Feeding America and the Hunger Action Center. We’ll keep you up-to-date at key junctures as Congress and the President debate our nation’s priorities—and we’ll let you know when it’s time to take action! Together we can ensure hunger relief remains a priority.

BJ's Wholesale Club Feeding Communities Program

2011-12-28T11:58:00.000-05:00

BJ's Wholesale Club Feeding Communities Program

What's it like to share your SSN with 50 people? Follow a victim's struggle

2011-11-08T16:17:00.000-05:00

What's it like to share your SSN with 50 people? Follow a victim's struggle

Hunger at Home: Steve Osunsami Talks About His Personal Struggles with Hunger and Poverty - ABC News

2011-08-24T09:44:00.000-04:00

Hunger at Home: Steve Osunsami Talks About His Personal Struggles with Hunger and Poverty - ABC News

Step 4 scriptures

2011-06-17T11:04:00.000-04:00

Step 4 - We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves

Psa 119:57 [Heth] You are my portion, O LORD: I have said that I would keep your words.
Psa 119:58 I entreated your favor with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to your word.
Psa 119:59 I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto your testimonies.
Psa 119:60 I made haste, and delayed not to keep your commandments.
Psa 119:61 The bands of the wicked have robbed me: but I have not forgotten your law.
Psa 119:62 At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto you because of your righteous judgments.
Psa 119:63 I am a companion of all them that fear you, and of them that keep your precepts.
Psa 119:64 The earth, O LORD, is full of your mercy: teach me your statutes.

Psa 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
Psa 139:24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Pro 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Pro 4:24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and perverse lips put far from you.
Pro 4:25 Let your eyes look directly forward, and let your eyelids look straight before you.
Pro 4:26 Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established.
Pro 4:27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove your foot from evil.

This group of verses from Proverbs speaks to many issues in working our 4th step. These proverbs tell us how important it is to be protective of our heart, for out of our heart come the issues of life. In the 4th step, we examine how we have violated this advice. We look back to find the ways that we have not guarded our heart, ways that we have let foolishness and folly rule our feelings rather than a loving and careful spirit. We examine how to put away the deceitful words and ways that we have found in our addictive ways. We begin to see how to direct our lives in a straight path, not being distracted by the temptations of the world, the triggers of our addiction. Probably most to the point for the 4th step is verse 4:26. We are told to ponder the path of our feet and let all of our ways be established. In the 4th step we ponder where our feet have been, what we have done in our lives and how that has affected our lives. We examine the good and the bad. And in that examination, we begin to understand what was worthwhile and what was not worthwhile. Where was God in our lives trying to direct us and protect us, and how did we ignore or rebel against God's leading? In understanding how God has sought to work in our lives in the past, we can better understand how to walk in the future, to have all of our ways be established in the ways of the Lord.

Lam 3:39 Why does a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?
Lam 3:40 Let us search and examine our ways, and turn again to the LORD.
Lam 3:41 Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.
Lam 3:42 We have transgressed and have rebelled: you have not pardoned.
Lam 3:43 You have covered with anger, and persecuted us: you have slain, you have not pitied.
Lam 3:44 You have covered yourself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through.
Lam 3:45 You have made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people.

It is fitting that these words are from the book of Lamentations, for the book describes the aftermath of falling away from the ways of righteousness, as we have done in our addictive behaviors. We are told in verse 40 to search and examine our ways and turn again to the LORD. This is what we are to do in step 4 of our program. We examine our life in the light of God's righteousness, making a moral inventory of our lives. In this inventory we will probably see at least some of these things in our lives that the subsequent verses talk about - how we have blocked God's pity, pardon and answered prayers from our life. As Christians we have hope that through the blood of Christ we can find forgiveness for these sins and a redeemed relationship with God. This examination of our lives also begins to set up a precendent where we can invite our God to examine our lives as well (Psalm 17:3, 26:2) that we might continue to be found in God.

Hag 1:5 Now therefore thus says the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.
Hag 1:6 You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but you have not enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he that earns wages earns wages to put it into a bag with holes.
Hag 1:7 Thus says the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.

The book of Haggai is about the need for the people of God to build the temple of God. At this time the temple was the physical structure in Jerusalem. In the Christian dispensation, we are told that our bodies are the temple of God () and that the church universal is the Body of Christ (). In this passage we are told to consider our ways - to reflect on how our lives are and ...

Mat 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives many instances of how we are blessed. In this verse, He tells us that we are blessed when we mourn appropriately. Step 4 can be a step of mourning those places in our lives where we messed up and missed the good life that God would have liked to have given us. In this mourning, though, we become blessed as we find the healing and comfort from the Lord.

2Co 13:4 For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.
2Co 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith; prove your own selves. Know you not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are counterfeits?
2Co 13:6 But I trust that you shall know that we are not counterfeits.
2Co 13:7 Now I pray to God that you do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that you should do that which is honest, though we be as failures.
2Co 13:8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.
2Co 13:9 For we are glad, when we are weak, and you are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection.
2Co 13:10 Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord has given me to edification, and not to destruction.
2Co 13:11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Be restored, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.
2Co 13:12 Greet one another with a holy kiss.
2Co 13:13 All the saints greet you.
2Co 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.

The apostle Paul here is ending his second letter to the Corinthian church, and giving them advice on how to live as Christians. There were many struggling Christians in this congregation, just as we may also struggle in our attempts to be true to the teachings of Christ. Yet we are told that in our weakness we can live by God's power in us, even as Christ Himself was crucified in weakness and yet lives by God's power. Furthermore, to carry this out we are told to examine ourselves (v5) that we may prove ourselves in the faith or not. This is relevant to step 4, because in step 4 we examine our lives and determine when we were or were not acting in faith and obedience to God's moral standards. This would be most pointed at those who were Christians during the time of their ...

Gal 6:3 For if a man thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
Gal 6:4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
Gal 6:5 For every man shall bear his own burden.
Gal 6:6 Let him that is taught in the word share with him that teaches in all good things.
Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.
Gal 6:8 For he that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

The Spirit of God writing through the apostle Paul exhorts us here to be honest and objective with ourselves. Especially when we have become used to being seduced by the lies of our addiction, we then find it more difficult to separate truth from fiction. One of the easiest ways to deceive ourselves is to have a false sense of ourselves and how we relate to others and especially to God. For many of us, it is easy to get in the habit of thinking more of ourselves in order to give us permission to indulge in our addictive behaviors and think that it is OK. We may think that we are special or have special privileges because of reason 'XYZ', and 'XYZ' might be different for each one of us. But the common thread to this excuse is that whatever we may use to justify our being special, it can lead us to pride and an unwarranted sense of privilege. We may have this attitude also to temporarily keep us from facing the shame and guilt of our addictive activities.

But instead of a false sense of ourself, we are admonished to prove our own work. The NKJV translates this word as "examine" instead of "prove". This is the value of the 4th step. We can prove or examine our own work by looking back on our life and try to get an objective picture of what was wrong in our past (and that may still linger in the present), as well as what was and is right in our life. We try to look at our life from God's perspective, knowing that Christ died for millions of other people throughout the world and throughout history. It is to His credit that He can be so intimate and loving with us and also be intimate and loving with millions of other people. In this we are special - in our relationship with God. But we are no more special than the millions of other people whom God loves and cares for, and our being in this special relationship does not put us above the laws that He has given us. In looking at our life from God's perspective (a "moral" perspective, as the 4th step is worded), we get a more objective and truthful sense of who we have really been. We examine with our own conscience before God what has been good and what has been evil in our life.

In this passage, we are further warned that God is not mocked. Looking back on our life as we do our inventory, we can see how God has been faithful and just. He has chastened and disciplined us when we have gone against His ways, especially when we have done this willfully. Even when we thought we might have been getting away with something, we actually were not. We may have survived, but we missed the larger picture of how God wanted to bless us in extraordinary ways. We also now have a choice by His grace to sow to the Spirit instead, and reap the reward of life everlasting. Part of this process of growing in God's ways is by taking our inventory - proving our own work. Then we can go forward with a realistic picture of our own lives from a God's moral perspective and find the peace and mercy of God (vs. 16).

Rev 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against you, because you have left your first love.
Rev 2:5 Remember therefore from where you are fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto you quickly, and will remove your lampstand out of its place, except you repent.

These verses will apply to the 4th step in greatest measure if we were Christians or had an affection for Christ before we started down the path of our addiction. In these verses, Christ is admonishing the Church at Ephesus to return to their first love and remember from where they were fallen. Perhaps in remembering where they had fallen from, they would again be able to rekindle the devotion to Christ that they had once known. In the 4th step, we work on remembering all of our life and later laying it before the eyes of God, ourselves and at least one other person. If this remembering of our life brings us memories of a broken relationship with God, then it becomes bittersweet. There is the bitterness of knowing that we have turned away from the ways of God's truth. Yet there is also a sweetness of remembering how sweet it was to trust in Jesus and how full of grace and love He is. The remembering and the healing of those memories is an important part of our recovery process.

STEP 3 scriptures

2011-04-21T13:24:00.000-04:00

Step 3 Scriptures

Step 3: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God

Psalms 3:1-6
3:1	Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.
3:2	Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.
3:3	But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
3:4	I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.
3:5	I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.
3:6	I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.
12Step.org Comments:
When we are setting our face towards finding the Truth about a Higher Power who can restore us to sanity, and as we turn more and more to the God that we find in that search, then sometimes it may seem that things can get difficult. It might seem that those who would want to entice us back into our addictive habits are "many" that would "rise up against me". Just by selling what they are selling or doing what they are doing these people, businesses or organizations can be sources of tempation for us, whether it be alcohol, pornography, easy credit, gambling, prescription or illegal drugs, or whatever our area of temptation or those of our loved ones might be. We can realize, though, that it has always been so. There have always been those in every age who aim to bring down the righteous, to destroy righteousness in their own lives and the lives of others. In this Psalm, David was to some extent reaping what he sowed because of his sin with Bathsheba and the killing of her husband Uriah. The prophet Nathan predicted that trouble would not leave David's house because of this sin. In a similar way, we are reaping from the sin in our lives. And yet, David knew that in spite of his sin God still loved him and wanted the best for him. David turned to God as his shield and found rest and sustenance in God's protection. We, too, can turn to God and in His mercy we can find rest, sustenance and deliverance from the evil and temptations around us. We no longer have to be afraid of the "ten thousands of people" that may be in the businesses, organizations or in unhealthy belief systems that can be sources of temptation for us. We have found our protection, our rest and our peace in God.

Psalms 142:1-7
142:1	I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication.
142:2	I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.
142:3	When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.
142:4	I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.
142:5	I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.
142:6	Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
142:7	Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.
12Step.org Comments:
This is a cry, a plea for help from God, from the LORD who is the only one who can truly deliver.It is a cry from when "my spirit is overwhelmed within me". It is a cry when "there was no man that would acknowledge me". It is a cry when "no man cared for my soul". It is a cry to bring "my soul out of prison". And the hope and belief of David in this psalm is that the LORD will be "my refuge and my portion in the land of the living." The LORD will "deliver me from my persecutors". The LORD will "deal bountifully with me." We have the benefit of being able to look back in time and see that the LORD did indeed fulfill all of these pleas of David. We have the advantage of time also in that in this age God has given us the way of the cross, of redemption through Christ Jesus. In the situation of our recovery, our enemies are the addictions that we have allowed or brought into our lives. The power behind these addictions is also crafty, having "secretly laid a snare" for us. In our addiction, we usually come to the point where "no man cared for my soul" and our soul is in the prison of our addictive behaviors. We can have confidence that when we cry to the LORD in sincerity and honesty for deliverance through the grace that is in Christ Jesus, that the LORD will "deal bountifully" with us as well.

Matthew 4:18-23
4:18	And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
4:19	And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
4:20	And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
4:21	And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
4:22	And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
4:23	And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
12Step.org Comments:
Peter, Andrew, James and John all followed Jesus when He called them from their regular tasks. They obviously sensed in some manner that this was a call from a Higher Power, from their God. So they turned over their lives to God, leaving behind the familiar so that they could know and experience the true life that comes from following the true God.

Matthew 6:24-34
6:24	No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
6:25	Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
6:26	Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
6:27	Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
6:28	And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
6:29	And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
6:30	Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
6:31	Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
6:32	(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
6:33	But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
6:34	Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
12Step.org Comments:
Here Christ Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount that we need to put God first and foremost in our lives, above the pursuit of money (mammon) or any other earthly concern..And having done that, then we can trust God in faith to take care of all of our day to day needs. We just need to trust and obey Him," turning our lives over to God as we understand God" so far in our walk of living in the Truth.

Luke 9:59-62
9:59	And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
9:60	Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
9:61	And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
9:62	And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
12Step.org Comments:
Here is Luke's Gospel we see Jesus telling His followers that following Him requires great commitment. It requires following Him above and beyond what we might have thought was valuable before we began following Him.

John 1:12-13
1:12	But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
1:13	Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
12Step.org Comments:
In this passage we find that through believing "on his name", that is the name of Jesus, we are re-born as a child of God. This re-birth is not from a willing of man or of birth, but it is through the power and grace of God through Christ Jesus. If we have found Jesus Christ to be our Higher Power, then by this belief in Him we are re-born as God's child by God's grace. God in Christ Jesus then provides the power that can lead us away from the insanity of our addictive behaviors.

SCRIPTURES ON STEP 2 OF RECOVERY

2011-04-20T17:06:00.000-04:00

Step 2 Scriptures

Step 2: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity

Psalms 18:2-6
18:2	The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
18:3	I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
18:4	The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
18:5	The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
18:6	In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
12Step.org Comments:
David proclaims the strength, protection and deliverance that comes from the Lord. When David was overcome with sorrow and fear, he called upon the Lord, and the Lord heard him in his distress and brought safety and deliverance. During the second step, we search for a power that can deliver us from the insanity of our addictive behaviors. This power needs to be something or someone on whom we can rely and in whom we can have confidence. David's witness in the Psalms as well as the experiences of many, many others as recorded in the Bible and throughout history attest to the faithfulness of the Lord in providing safety and deliverance from distress when we turn to Him in our sincere need.

Matthew 11:28-30
11:28	Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
11:29	Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
11:30	For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
12Step.org Comments:
This is a promise that when we come to Jesus we will find rest. This is so much needed to save us from the insanity of our addiction that we admitted in step 1. We have carried the yoke of slavery of our addiction for a long time. Jesus promises a different type of a yoke, one that is light and easy, one in which we can find rest and peace. And how needed is that rest! Addictive behaviors usually rob us of this rest, whether it is from staying up all hours of the night and morning as we seek our addiction of choice or whether it is from the troubled sleep that we have from a guilty conscience and polluted body and mind from our addictive behaviors. How blessed is the rest and peace that comes, then, from the One who is our peace.

Matthew 12:18-21
12:18	Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
12:19	He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
12:20	A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.
12:21	And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
12Step.org Comments:
This is from a prophecy from the book of Isaiah about the Messiah. Jesus fulfilled this prophecy when He showed Himself to be a Messiah of meekness and yet justice, gentleness and strength, victorious and trustworthy. He did not strive or cry out but went forth in quiet victory, bringing justice. He is someone in whom we can trust. In the second step of the 12 step program, that is what it is all about - someone whom we can trust to carry us out of our sin and the burdens of our addiction. And Jesus brings this deliverance in such an approachable way, not striving or crying out, but gently offering to us the victory through His grace and gentleness towards us.

Hebrews 2:14-18
2:14	Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
2:15	And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
2:16	For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
2:17	Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
2:18	For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
12Step.org Comments:
This passage from Hebrews states how Christ took the form of human flesh and blood as He walked this earth. He did this out of compassion and love, to deliver us from a "lifetime subject to bondage". And the way that He could do this is that sin was not found in His life. We are not like that. From our first step, we know that sin has not only been in our lives, but it has taken control of our lives, making us powerless over the sin. Jesus had no sin in His life, even though He lived as a human being like us. Being a human being, He knows firsthand how trials and temptations can abound - "he is able to help them that are tempted". Being sinless, He can act as our high priest before God, reconciling us to God in spite of our sins. He is unique in the history of mankind, for no other man lived a sinless life before God. And we can be very thankful, because Christ Jesus didn't live such a life in order to condemn us or set Himself apart, but so that He could identify with us, make the perfect sacrifice and save us through His love.

Bible passages on step1

2011-04-18T13:24:00.000-04:00

Step 1 Scriptures

Step 1: We admitted we were powerless over our addiction - that our lives had become unmanageable

Psalms 38:3-14
38:3	There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.
38:4	For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
38:5	My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.
38:6	I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.
38:7	For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh.
38:8	I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.
38:9	Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.
38:10	My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me.
38:11	My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.
38:12	They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long.
38:13	But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.
38:14	Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs.
12Step.org Comments:
Here we see the psalmist in great pain and misery because of the sin in his life. As addicts we can identify with these types of feelings or conditions that have come from our sin as well. No sane person would want to find themselves in this state of corruption and decay. But because of the sin in our addictive behaviors and our inability to say no to those behaviors, we find ourselves feeling bad in body, heart, mind and soul. Notice the many areas of consequences. In the soul there is a feeling "as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me." In the body, there is "no soundness in the flesh" and even a "loathsome disease". In the heart there is "turmoil of my heart" and the resulting groaning. In relationships, there is a turning away of lovers, friends and family. In society there are "snares" and people say mischevious and deceitful things about us. There is a hint in this psalm also of the solution in laying it before God (38:9). These are what should be covered in the following steps of the program - how to turn it over to God and begin making things right before God and man. But first we have to admit that we need help, that we are powerless to overcome this addiction in our own strength.

Proverbs 26:11-12
26:11	As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.
26:12	Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
12Step.org Comments:
Both of these verses from Proverbs can be relevant to how we probably have lived before taking the first step. In verse 11, the fool returns to his folly as a dog returns to its vomit. Our addictive behaviors have been our folly, that which makes a fool out of us. And just as the dog returns to what it knows and is familiar with, even though it may be unhealthy and nasty from an objective viewpoint, so also we have returned to our own addictive behaviors over and over again, even though they are unhealthy and nasty from any objective viewpoint. What may have blinded us to the insanity of this behavior is given in the next verse, verse 12. If we have been wise in our own eyes, saying to ourselves that most everyone or everything else is stupid or wrong or too inhibited or dull in their beliefs and life (name your own excuse that allows you to be wise in your own eyes), then we set ourselves up for being a fool or worse. In reality, we have really become addicted and have let that addiction rule our reason, rather than the other way around. We usually only wake up to this fact when we find our lives out of control and have to admit that perhaps we were not so wise after all. This can be a difficult thing to do, but is the first step on the road to recovery.

Mark 5:2-15
5:2	And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
5:3	Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
5:4	Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.
5:5	And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
5:6	But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
5:7	And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
5:8	For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.
5:9	And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
5:10	And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.
5:11	Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.
5:12	And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.
5:13	And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.
5:14	And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.
5:15	And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
12Step.org Comments:
This passage tells of the healing by Jesus of a man who had many demons. In modern times we may wonder about what demon possession was really about. But regardless of our conclusions, there are many parallels between someone with demon possession and how we can act in our addictive behaviors. Verse 5:5 tells of the man crying and cutting himself with stones day and night. If we have gone very far into our addictive behaviors we most likely have found ourselves crying and hating ourselves afterwards for what we have done. The hatred may even have gone as far as cutting or doing bodily harm to ourselves in one way or another. It may go on day and night, having no end to the addictive behavior until we finally collapse in sheer exhaustion. And when we get up from the sleep of exhaustion the addictive behavior may take over again until exhaustion, creating an utterly self-destructive form of living. Also, we see in verses 5:3 and 5:4 about the incredible strength of this man. In our addictive behaviors with our adrenalin rushing through us, we also can often have a physical strength beyond our normal day to day strength. This may even be a source of pride and one reason that we turn to our addictive behavior, to have a feeling of strength or empowerment that we normally cannot find within ourselves. The lie of the addiction is, of course, that when we are through with our addictive behavior then we are usually weaker overall than before, having exhausted our strength or goodwill from others in often daredevil or foolhardy schemes that bring us no lasting good and often destruction. In verses 5:6 and 5:7 we see the answer to this man's dilemma. By God's grace this demon possessed man has the sense to run and worship Jesus. Whether it was the demons within this man or the man himself, there was an acknowledgement of Jesus' position as the "Son of the most high God". Following this, Jesus yielded His power over the man's demons and by verse 5:15 we see that this man had been returned to his right mind. So from the 12 step perspective, one might say that this passage covers steps 1 through 3. The last phrase in verse 15 is very telling also. Instead of rejoicing with this man that he had been delivered, the towns people "were afraid". So it may be also as we turn from our addictive habits. Instead of support and appreciation it may be that others shun us or are afraid of us, especially those who somehow benefit from our addiction (e.g., fellow addicts). This should not deter us from moving forward. In the context of the 12 step program, going forward would mean creating an inventory, the 4th step. In the case of this demon possessed man, an inventory would remind him strongly what he had been delivered from and help motivate him to never return to that state of being again.

Romans 7:18-23
7:18	For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
7:19	For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
7:20	Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
7:21	I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
7:22	For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
7:23	But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
12Step.org Comments:
This is a classic passage that tells of how the apostle Paul was ultimately powerless over the sin in his life apart from the power of God. He had the will to do what is right, but at the same time he also had the inclination to do what brought him into the "captivity of sin". In the facing of our addiction and the taking of our first step, we also become aware of how powerless we are over the sin of our addictive behaviors. We realize that no matter how strongly we might will or want ourselves to be a certain way, to do a certain thing or to not do a certain thing, then we find that we are not able to carry through with that in a consistent manner. We find ourselves back to the same old self-destructive behaviors that we have grown accustomed to, that have become so much a part of our lives. In our "flesh", we are not able to carry through on staying away from our addictive behaviors, even though we may want to and know at some level how self-destructive they are. We have been powerless over our addictive behaviors and our life has become unmanageable.

Satan, Disguised as An Angel of Light!

2011-04-11T10:11:00.000-04:00

Satan, Disguised as An Angel of Light!

THE SIN OF INDIFFERENCE

2011-04-10T08:47:00.000-04:00

The Sin of Indifference

Bill Mosely
Tucson, Arizona

There are many obstacles to the growth of the church in our day. One of the greatest of these is the indifferent church member. Webster ~ New Collegiate Dictionary defines indifference as follows: "apathy; lack of feeling for or against anything." He goes on to say "... not interested in or con6erned about something; neutral; having no prepondering influence or value." How many people, claiming membership in the Lord's body fall into this category! They have no feeling for or against the church; they are not concerned about it, nor interested in it. As a result of such attitudes, they are of no value to the church. As far as they are concerned, the church can live or die.

In the light of these definitions, we can see why the indifferent member is a hindrance to the church. He does more harm to the church than one who professes no religion. Everybody knows what the atheist is, and he is not likely to bring any lasting harm to the church - only to himself. The Laodiceans were condemned because they were neither cold nor hot; not for nor against. They were to be rejected because of their lukewarmness -indifference.

Note what Joseph Fletcher says about indifference. "The true opposite of love is not hate but indifference. Hate, bad as it is, at least treats the neighbor as a THOU, whereas indifference turns the neighbor into an IT, a thing. This is why we may say that there is actually one thing worse than evil itself, and that is indifference to evil. In human relations the nadir of morality, the lowest point as far as Christian ethics are concerned, is manifest in the phrase, 'I couldn't care less'."

(Reader ~ Digest, Nov. 1968)

As I reflected on these words, I thought how true they are! I had to agree when Fletcher said "... the lowest point as far as Christian ethics are concerned, is manifest in the phrase, 'I couldn't care less.’" This is the way some members feel - "I couldn't care less." They won't say it with words, but their actions speak it far more eloquently than words ever could. Such have no active interest in the work and worship of the congregation of which they are a member. They are lax in their assembling for worship or study. They never take time to visit or call a sick brother. They do not engage in a private study of the Word; this fact is shouted out by their obvious lack of knowledge concerning that Word. They are indifferent, and have no value to the church. Yet, for the sake of numbers, the brethren seldom exercise any corrective or disciplinary measures against such indifferent members. We need to realize that the church is better off without such members. Lest some think this to be a harsh statement, remember what the Lord said he would do concerning such people. (Rev. 3: 14-16)

The ultimate in indifference was brought home to me upon one occasion. I had preached a sermon on lukewarmness and indifference. One brother came out the door, shook my hand and said, "that was a good sermon, preacher. But I guess I'm just one of those lukewarm members you talked about." So far as I know, he never did do anything about his condition and probably is still lukewarm. He was indifferent about his indifference!

There is a need in the church today for members burning with zeal, overflowing with enthusiasm and abounding in labor and work. But such are hard to find. Enter in among the assembly of many congregations and witness a feeling of gloom, and feel the "deadness" of it. This is not so when a congregation is free of indifferent members. Hear the apostle as he says "... always abounding in the work of the Lord." Hear him as he commends the Thessalonians for their "labor of love." The scriptures teem with such phrases, but do they describe many today - individuals or congregations?

My brother or sister, if you have been indifferent toward your responsibility as a
Christian, and toward the church, you had better wake up! The Lord is coming one day,
and you will stand before him in judgment. Would he commend you as a tireless worker
for his cause; as one who ceaselessly labored without regard for personal or physical things? Or will you be as the slothful servant? If so, you will be cast into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Many try to excuse their indifference by saying, can't do this or that." I'm sure if these indifferent church members were sure the Lord would return tomorrow, they would move as heretofore thought impossible of them. They would get things done that even they thought they could never do! Do you know something? Tomorrow might be the day!

TRUTH MAGAZINE XIV; 32, pp. 8-9

June 18, 1970

Loving Others No Matter What

2011-03-31T12:09:00.000-04:00

Image by susan_d_p via Flickr

Are You Scared of Loving Zacchaeus?
Laura MacCorkle, Crosswalk.com Senior Editor

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” Luke 19:5, NIV

I’m scared of some things—and some people—but I’m not too scared about spending time with those who don’t know Jesus. Never have been.

In fact, I enjoy people who are vastly different than me. I must say, though, that I am nowhere even close to the greatest friend-who-knew-no-stranger-of-all-time: Jesus. And so I admire his ability to walk toward those who might scare you and me … those who we might walk away from today.

Zacchaeus was one such character. He really was a despicable little man. As I’m sure you know, tax collectors in Bible times were not the sort of person you invited over for a potluck to your home on an early spring evening. No, they were viewed as the lowest of the low. The pond scum of society. The ones you wouldn’t even let in your front door.

Amazingly, though, Jesus didn’t adjust his course when he was walking through Jericho one fine day. With his eye on the tax collector, Jesus walked right to where Zacchaeus was perched in a sycamore tree. Because he was small in stature, Zacchaeus had climbed up this tree so that he could see who Jesus was when he passed by in the crowd of people. He had heard about him, and now he wanted to see for himself.

Had he heard how he’d performed miracles? How he’d attracted and fed large crowds of people? How he’d touched the untouchables and healed those with leprosy? How he’d stood up to the religious establishment and called them on their legalistic teachings?

Who knows for sure. But whatever he had heard, Zacchaeus wanted to see this man who defied everyone’s expectations of what the Messiah would be.

“Zacchaeus,” Jesus said as he addressed him by name. “Come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”

Can you imagine what Zacchaeus must have thought? He knows me! Wait, HOW does he know me? And why is he coming to spend time with me? Doesn’t he know that everyone despises me because I take all of their money? Why would he want to spend time with ME?

But whatever Zaccheus may have thought didn’t stop him from scrambling down the tree and welcoming Jesus “gladly.” He was smitten with the love of the Savior. And he knew that this was the Christ.

“Look, Lord!” Zacchaeus said to him. “Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

And Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

How amazing is that? Jesus didn’t shy away from someone who the rest of society was shunning. He also didn’t get up in Zacchaeus’ face, make him feel like dirt and then strike him down with the Law in his initial effort to love him. No, he just said, “Hey, I see you and I’m going to spend some time with you. Come on, let’s go!”

It’s the “great commission” in action. “Go ye into all the world.” Even to the parts of town that you usually avoid. Even to the societal groups that offend you. Even to the family member who has chosen to live a different lifestyle. He, she, they … any of these people can represent Zacchaeus in your life.

But don’t walk away from them. Walk toward them. And extend an invitation for a better way of living and the hope of a glorious eternity. Just like Jesus did for you.

Intersecting Faith & Life:

So maybe you think I missed that one part of the Zacchaeus story with the crowd. Well, I didn’t. I just saved it for last. When the crowd witnessed Jesus make his invitation to Zacchaeus, they muttered, ”He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’” How sad. But isn’t that also you and me? We all have a person or a people group who is hard for us to love. Don’t be scared of loving the Zacchaeuses in your life. The Lord will help you follow his example as you love others to him.

Further Reading:

Mark 16:15, NIV

John 13:34-35, NIV

1 Peter 4:8-11, NIV

My Request

2011-03-30T15:17:00.000-04:00

My Request

WHAT THE STEPS TELL US

2011-03-23T09:56:00.000-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

The First Step tells us that our flesh and our spirit are always at war with one another and we are powerless in respect of trying by ourselves to win the war.

The Second Step tells us that coming to believe in Jesus Christ is the only way to overcome the flesh.

The Third Step tells us that unless we turn our entire will and lives over to the care of Jesus we will be still be acting as if we have the power to overcome.

The Fourth Step tells us that Jesus wants us to begin the process of healing our relationships both past and present so that we can become a disciple who can witness with no hanging baggage.

The Fifth Step tells us to continue the healing process by confessing our sins to another human being.

The Sixth Step tells us to be sure that this is what we want to do and if it is then we must be entirely ready for God to heal us of all sinful effects brought upon us by either our doing (victim) or someone else (perpatrator) or both.

The Seventh Step tells us to ask God outright to heal of the effects of our sins.

The Eight Step tells us to be willing to partake in the healing of the relationships we discovered in Step Four.

The Ninth Step tells us to actively move in conjunction with the Holy Spirit towards healing all of our relationships.

The Tenth Step tells us how to keep a Daily Inventory about our relationships and when we are wrong to try to prompltly admit it. Note: our relationships include that with God as well!

The Eleventh Step tells us to talk to God (prayer), to praise Him, to meditate on His word, and to ask that His will be done for us in our lives.

Step Twelve tells us to go and do the "great commission" given in all four gospels by Jesus.

A Word of Encouragement for a Season of Doubt,

2011-03-14T09:32:00.000-04:00

A Word of Encouragement for a Season of Doubt,

What will you say?

2011-03-09T15:02:00.000-05:00

When we get to heaven what if God asks us why did so many of his children suffer and starve to death?

Why were his children tortured, chopped to pieces?

Why were his children raped?

Why were his children murdered?

Why were his children blown to pieces?

Why were his children dying horrible deaths from disease?

Why were his children afraid?

Why were his children all alone?

On and on and on……………What if God asks you? What did you do to help people? What did you do to help people?

All the different people suffering and dying everyday. Are you or me held accountable?

How the bible says God hates a person who is lukewarm over the matter, the matter is now. The time has come that all God’s people need to decide if their with God or their not. Pick up your cross and do what you know God would do.

Stop the bull of those people are way over there. If they are way over there they don’t mean anything, that’s bull. God’s people are everywhere sitting right next to you. 10 thousand miles away, a child hurting so bad with only skin over his tiny bones, starving a slow miserable death from lack of food.

What did you do to help?

What if when I get to heaven my Lord says _______(Your Name) one of my children was being sold for sex at the age of six. Everyday living a nightmare she didn’t understand. Why is this happening to me? WHY? Adults hurting her body, her mind. Everyday over and over and over in pain. All the big people around her not helping her. All the big people around her not stopping the ugliness that keeps happening to her day after day. The little girl goes to sleep and hopes she won’t wake up the next day. The next day the little girl dose wake up. The next day is the same as the day before. She doesn’t understand. She can’t understand. Her little body hurts so bad she can’t bare it. Her nightmare won’t end. Her nightmare doesn’t stop.

WHY? Why doesn’t anyone help her? WHY?

WHY?

When we get to heaven will God ask us why? Why did my little child suffer?

WHY?

You were on earth ________(your name)You, you and you over there. You were on earth why did you allow this to happen to my little child?

Look over there, the child she’s here with me now. Why didn’t you help her? Why did you close your eyes? Why did you say she is so far away? I’m not responsible for her, she’s too far away. I don’t know that little girl. That girl died when she was 9 years old. Her little body was torn to pieces. Her little mind was scarred. Her heart was broken.

You let Satan have his way! You let Satan torture her! You let Satan rape and abuse that little child! My little child needed you, you people who live on earth. My little child needed you. WHY? Why did you allow this to happen to my little child?

You pray to me. You want me to answer your prayers. One on this side of the world, one on that side of the world. One over here they all call on me. They expect me the living God to be with them no matter where they are.

I the Lord your God expect you and you to protect my children. I don’t want to hear your lame excuses. I don’t want to hear how far away the children are. I don’t want to hear anymore of your unloving, ungodly words of how you can’t. You can’t help my children. How dare you call on me?

WHY?

Why do my children suffer? Why do you do nothing? Why don’t you help my children? Why?

If you don’t help my children then you are not with me. If you are not with me then you are against me. If you are against me then you are with Satan.

Lukewarm? Lukewarm, one foot on this side of the fence and one foot on that side of the fence. Part of your mind with me and part of your mind with the devil. One foot in heaven while the other foot is in hell.

Who is your God? Jesus? Satan? Decide. Decide today. You don’t know if you have tomorrow to make up your mind, do you?

You call on me, but I …. call on you. You are my little children.

You are to protect each other.

You are to feed each other.

You are to care for each other.

You are to love each other.

Clothe, house, keep warm,……

Don’t turn your face, don’t close your eyes.

Don’t pretend it’s not happening.

Don’t say they are too far away I don’t know them.

If you turn your back on my little children……….

Will I be lukewarm to you? Will I close my eyes to you? Will I say you are too far? Will I say don’t call on me I can’t hear you? Decide whose side you are on. Help my children. Help your brothers and sisters no matter how far. You are all the children. You are all the body. You are all part of each other. Unite all the people for all the people are one family. My family, your family we are all together. We are all responsible for each other and ourselves. Don’t turn your back on me. And I the Lord God will not turn my back on you.

Written by Linda Wright Fellow sister in CHRIST

Rise Up and Move: Are You Ready?,

2011-02-28T11:12:00.000-05:00

Rise Up and Move: Are You Ready?,

Top Ten Charecter Defects of all mankind

2011-02-27T08:53:00.000-05:00

#1 DIFFICULT BEHAVIOR TYPE: THE BULL

- Traits: Intimidating / pushy / aggressive / forceful / argumentative / likes to be in control (or seem to be) / drawn to being in authority in order to be in control (or appearing to be in authority) / expect fight or flight response (then they think they've won!)

- underlying probable cause: though it doesn’t appear so because they come on strong, they usually have a very low sense of self-worth; so they compensate for that by trying to seem confident; or, If they have a strong drive to be in control, they engage in intimidating behavior to hopefully silence opposition or resistance and regain control.

- how to cope with: let them blow off their steam / don't fight or flee - be calm, respond quietly, become "stone" (not necessarily Robert Stone :) / bring conversation back to the issue with objective rather than subjective language - don't react (if you react the same, you're probably a Bull too! Good luck with that!)

#2 DIFFICULT BEHAVIOR TYPE: The FOX

- traits: some ways very much like the Bull, but not overt in behavior - rather "covert" / uses sarcasm and little cloaked nasty-tainted comments (made in general - but intended specifically) / always does it in front of others, loves an audience, to gain agreement from others /prone to gossip and slander / can twist the knife with a pleasant smile on the face

- underlying probable causes: Usually a very insecure person, so wants to use negative comments about others to bring them down so that he doesn’t look so bad (may especially target those who seem to have little faults, or who have somehow offended him, at least in his view) / Not getting enough attention - wants to get noticed, often at the expense of others / Afraid to directly confront people, so use biting little sarcastic “snipes” to change others’ view of the target person / Often cover his little attacks with humor to make them seem harmless; when attacked back, this one will quickly say, “What? Can’t ya take a little joke? Gee, you’re touchy!!”

- ways to cope: don't engage in the same - this Fox is expert at sniping, and you'll lose! / avoid the audience and talk to this person one-on-one, and find out WHY they're not happy with you - you won't resolve this with an audience.

#3 DIFFICULT BEHAVIOR TYPE: The TIME BOMB

- traits: usually quiet and agreeable - overly agreeable - can't say NO / stuff their real feelings until "the last straw" and blow up on whoever is near by / tend to be used by others because they are such givers and people-pleasers

- underlying probable causes: believe they have to make everyone happy to have self-worth / if anyone is unhappy with them, whether legitimately or not, they cannot live with themselves

- ways to cope: don't react to their explosion - give them space to vent - when calm, one-on-one seek to get them to open up about what's really bothering them - let them know that you really want them to tell you what's bothering them WHEN it's bothering them - and not to stuff it / you must be very empathetic, patient, and lovingly persistent with this person for them to trust you.

#4 DIFFICULT BEHAVIOR TYPE: The WHINER (remember Joe Piscipo on SNL as "the Whiners"?)

- traits: "Whaaa, whaaa, whaaa - woe is me!" / complain about everything, very negative / very pessimistic / express and perpetuate a feeling of hopelessness, which is how they see their world.

- underlying probable causes: probably been hurt and let down many, many times / or they want to be taken care of /can be just lazy (whine enough so others will do for them) / have a severe disability to see solutions, so focus on the problem.

- ways to cope: don't join in the whine, just encourages more of the same / don't disagree, encourages more of the same / shift the focus to solutions, and help them (don't do it for them) to see clear steps to accomplishing the solution - and keep them in friendly accountability to get there.

#5 DIFFICULT BEHAVIOR TYPE: The STONE WALL (or, stubborn "donkey")

- traits: use deliberate silence when in disagreement / dull empty stare, arms folded across chest, pushed back in their chair / use silence and obvious body language to get attention or control back

- probable underlying causes: passive aggressive tactic / fear of speaking up from getting shot down before, or called "stupid" about their contribution / possible perfectionist - can't get people to listen, so withdraw / want control, want it their way, but not given to shouting or aggression, so use obvious withdrawal body language and silence to try and get noticed and invited to be heard

- ways to cope: don't react to withdrawal, instead acknowledge their obvious silence, asking them to please share what they're thinking / be wiling to wait them out / ask open ended questions (can't be answered "yes" or "no"

#6 DIFFICULT BEHAVIOR TYPE: The ULTRA-AGREEABLE

- traits: Yes-man, bootlicker, brown-noser, kiss up / outwardly agrees to most everything / very NICE person by all appearances / tends to over-commit or agree to tasks unequipped to do / may vent true feelings thru gossip and slander

- probable underlying causes: getting along is the goal, at any cost (even if its your self or conscious) / very strong need to be accepted for a sense of self-worth / fear rejection /agree in order to be liked or to get what they want

- ways to cope: encourage and verbally reward honesty / make honesty non-threatening / offer tight, friendly accountability out of genuine care for them / help them to learn to say "no" according to their abilities, realistic time of commitments, etc..

#7 DIFFICULT BEHAVIOR TYPE: The BUMP ON A LOG

- traits: this is the perfectionist - "If you can't do it RIGHT, you shouldn't do it at all!" motto / getting it right is more important than getting it done, so they will drag their feet and slow the team down / tend to come across as very negative, seeing the faults in everything (eye for detail)

- probable underlying causes: grew up in perfectionist model / were told the motto over and over / only get a sense of self-worth when they do things perfectly, though they know they never quite do / suffered many disappointments in life / so keyed to see what's wrong, they can't move on to solution / too many past failures, if the present thing isn't done perfectly, it's just another failure

- ways to cope: affirm them for the work they've done and do, and their insights / thank them for their eye for detail, and run everything by them to find problems / help them move from fault-finding to problem solving / breakdown generalizations for specifics / use exaggerated agreement to get a polar response (the opposite of what they said, for a more balanced statement from them)

#8 DIFFICULT BEHAVIOR TYPE: The KNOW IT ALL

- traits: they actually DO know what they're talking about, but they also get an unhealthy sense of self-worth from "knowledge" - and so flaunt it to get approval, attention, or acceptance / tend to be confident, outspoken, and assertive / often tend to be controlling - don't like contradiction or being corrected.

- probable underlying causes: somewhere they learned that to be wrong makes you nobody - to be right is everything / have come to believe their part in the world is to dominate, manipulate, and control - after all, they alone know what is right - and being right is power!

- ways to cope: never tell them they're wrong - that will be the end of any possible intelligent conversation - they take that as a personal attack (can't separate their ideas from their Self) / affirm them, affirm their knowledge - then add your "suggestions" not as contradictory, but as additional possibilities? / do YOUR homework, and contribute researched input - but NOT as contradictory, but asking for clarity of how it works with what they've shared (no element of "challenge", or the war's on!) / use them as mentors! Acknowledge their smarts, and invite them to help you learn!

#9 DIFFICULT BEHAVIOR TYPE: The FAKE KNOW IT ALL

- traits: this person DOESN'T know their facts, but they have a strong drive to be SEEN as having knowledge / will even invent experiences to gain a say / uses a lot of exaggerations and generalizations / tend to be assertive and push their way into conversations inappropriately / Chameleon - like the changeable lizard, will adapt to group to be involved.

- probable underlying causes: have an insatiable desire for attention and appreciation by seeming to be knowledgeable / sacrifice respect for attention / very people-oriented, much more than needed by the task or subject discussed / more concerned about acceptance from others than acceptance of their ideas

- ways to cope: don't tear apart what they've shared - you will destroy them / they require much patience and compassion / affirm their personhood - this is what they're longing for / asknowledge their good intentions, and ANY, if any, of what they've shared as helpful / one-on-one approach will work best (they want to win the audience) - gently share that you care about them as a person, that you realize what they're doing by how they share, but that they don't have to do that - to just be themselves and let people accept them, or not, for who they are, not what they know.

#10 DIFFICULT BEHAVIOR TYPE: The PROCRASTINATOR ("I'll be bach! Sometime.")

- traits: indecisive / their whole attitude is MAYBE / trouble accomplishing a goal

- probable underlying causes: could be laziness / could be perfectionism / more than likely, though, it is a lack of knowing what to do - HOW to accomplish the task / lack of skills / fear of responsibility (from past failures, criticisms - not wanting to be responsible for results or consequences or disfavor).

- ways to cope: Your goal with the Procrastinator: give them a strategy for decision-making and the motivation to use it / If you react in anger and impatience, they will only be more indecisive / Alleviate possible fears of the effect of their decision (your own reaction or that of others) - calmly stress the need for their honest input (might need private conversation and assurance of confidentiality if appropriate) / Patiently help them explore all their possible obstacles and options in a particular decision or task - listen to hesitations and explore deeper /Don’t let them trick you into making their decision for them (it’s easier, but you’ll continue to have the same problem with the Procrastinator). Put it back on them as their responsibility, affirming their ability (“I’ll help you”) / Teach them a decision-making system: list of pluses/minuses for each decision possibility (have them write it out to visualize - more effective).

Whew! There you go! See yourself in any of these! I sure do (I mean, see ME, not you - that's between you and the Lord!)

Hope this is helpful - I use this in a treatment center for recovering from addictions, and it is well received - despite the "ouches" !

Will you Help

2011-02-23T12:46:00.000-05:00

Tell Congress to Protect Hunger-Relief Programs

Dear Robert,

Last week, House of Representatives passed their version of the FY2011 Continuing Resolution (H.R. 1) by a vote of 235-189. This bill is intended to fund the Federal government from March 4th through the remainder of the fiscal year. In total, this legislation contains more than $65 billion of cuts to non-security discretionary spending compared to what was enacted last year. Several hunger-relief programs which are critical to food banks and low income Americans struggling with hunger, faced serious cuts:

* The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) was cut by $20 million compared to the funding level enacted last year.
* The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) Infrastructure Grants was zeroed out. This program was funded for the first time last year at $6 million.

We understand that Congress must make some difficult decisions to balance the budget. However, as advocates for the hungry, we must let our leaders in Washington know that they should not balance the budget on the backs of our nation’s most vulnerable citizens.

Help us urge Congress to protect hunger-relief programs by calling your Senators right now.

Here's how you can call your Senators:

* Dial 877-698-8228 and enter your zip code to connect directly to your Senator's office.
* Tell them that you are a constituent and state the name of the town you are calling from.
* Let them know you are calling about H.R. 1
* Deliver this simple message:

As an advocate for hungry Americans and a supporter of my local food bank, I urge you to oppose cuts to CSFP and other programs that are vital to food banks and low-income people at risk of hunger.

STEP 2 Healing Faith

2011-02-16T08:15:00.000-05:00

Healing Faith
Bible Reading: Luke 8:43-48
We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves
could restore us to sanity.
Faith is a key to successfully working the second step. For some
of us faith comes easily. For others, especially if we have experienced
betrayal, it may be more diffi cult. Sometimes we must
exhaust all of our own resources in trying to overcome our addictive
“disease” before we will risk believing in a higher Power.
When Jesus was on earth he was renowned for his healing
power. Crowds of sick people constantly pressed in on him. One
day there was “a woman in the crowd [who] had suffered for twelve
years with constant bleeding, and she could fi nd no cure. Coming
up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately,
the bleeding stopped.” Jesus realized that someone had deliberately
touched him because he felt the healing power go out from him.
When the woman confessed that she was the one who had been
healed, Jesus said, “Your faith has made you well. Go in peace”
(Luke 8:43-48).
In order to recover we need to follow the example of this
woman. We cannot afford to stand back, hoping for a “cure,” and
avoid deliberate action because of our lack of faith. We may have
lived with our condition for many years, spending our resources on
promising “cures” without success. When we can come to believe
in a Power greater than ourselves and have the faith to take hold
of our own recovery, we will find the healing power we’ve been
looking for.

What a difference between knowing about Jesus and
reaching out to touch him!

STEP 2 daily Devotion

2011-02-14T08:28:00.000-05:00

STEP TWO
Day 1
Grandiose Thinking
Bible Reading: Daniel 4:19-33
We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves
could restore us to sanity.
When we’re caught up in our addiction, it’s common for
us to deceive ourselves with grandiose thinking. We
may believe that we’re above it all, a god unto ourselves,
accountable to no one.
In his day, Nebuchadnezzar, king of ancient Babylon, was
the most powerful ruler on earth. He believed himself to be a god
and demanded worship as such. God said to him, “The Most High
has declared . . . [that] you will be driven from human society, and
you will live in the fields with the wild animals . . . until you learn
that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives
them to anyone he chooses” (Daniel 4:24-25).
All this happened just as predicted. At the end of the
king’s time in exile, he said, “I . . . looked up to heaven. My sanity
worshiped the Most High and honored returned, and I praised and w
. the one who lives forever. . . . When my sanity returned to me, so
did my honor and glory and kingdom . . . with even greater honor
than before. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor
acts are just and true, and he is able to the King of heaven. All his a4
:34, 36-37). humble the proud” (Daniel 4hWe must remember that we are not God. We’re accountable
to a higher Power who can remedy our “madness” and restore our
lives to be even better than before our season of insanity.

God is not going to shape our lives until we
acknowledge him as God

2011-02-10T08:01:00.000-05:00

We must give it away if we want to keep it. Jesus told us this in His great commission. Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-1,Luke 24:45-48, John 21:15-17. Jesus was telling us that we needed to give away what we recieved from Him not only for those who need Him, but in the process, we would become more like Him because we then would be giving away the only thing in this world that is important-the Love of God. Only by an act of God's love will any of us take the time to help another person. And when we help another person who has the same or similar problems that we have we are allowing that same love of God to heal us. This is the difference of being recovered or in a state of forever recovering. We are recovered when we are always in the process of helping other, we are recovering we are always in the process of only helping ourselves.

Being selfish has nothing to do with getting better. We are commanded by Jesus in the above scriptures to help others.
We do this by sponsoring others and helping them to apply the principles to their life. Only really coming to understand our position in CHRIST, is the key to overcoming our addictions is all about. We are saved so we do not do this for salvation, but to walk in daily victory. If we did not have someone show us, we would not be where we are today. We must continue to train others in the ways of CHRIST and serve each other out of love and compassion.

What does the bibl say about addiction

2011-02-04T15:51:00.000-05:00

What Does The Bible Say About Addiction?
By Dale Linton

This verse holds the foundational keys that explain the mystery of addiction.

2Peter 2:19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

Let's begin by examining some truths in life that build a foundation for which addiction thrives:

First, each and every one of us are attracted to and stimulated by the substance of the Earth. By substance I'm speaking of things like a new car, money, a new boyfriend or girlfriend,or a drug.
Secondly, the same substances which attracted and stimulated us does not have the ability to sustain the stimulation or excitement we felt when we first attached ourselves to them.

The inability of a substance to offer permanent satisfaction may be explained in a couple of ways:
The substance of the Earth is temporal and so it can only offer temporary satisfaction.

We are choosing something from the natural realm, (substance of the Earth) to feed a spiritual desire, (the need to become happy) and this will not work. Unfortunately, the endeavor to feed something spiritual with something natural creates more dysfunction the longer we're in this method of operation. Each time we fail to fulfill what we're looking for we become progressively worse. The greatest pitfall is not the problem itself, it is in not knowing there is a worsening in us as we're making these mistakes.

2 Peter 2:19 has three telling words:

Servant, Bondage, Overcome

What is a Servant?
Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

We are a servant to anyone or anything we yield to or obey.

What is Bondage?
Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage

Bondage is a form of slavery.

What does it mean to be Overcome?
The next verse answers this question: 2Peter 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
.
Our biblical word bondage aligns itself perfectly in character with the modern day word addiction. The following description will hopefully leave little doubt.

Galatians 5:1

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage

Why is the word bondage aligned with the word yoke?

A yoke is something used to join two animals together for the purpose of keeping their forces headed in the same direction. The important point is that the yoke "joins together". Likewise, whatever we put our hope in, we join together with or bond to.In the same way we've become bound to the object of our hope, we also become a servant of this object, because we are in debt to the power we believe it has to satisfy our needs. In other words we tend to obey it. The key is, all this is happening without us really thinking about it, or more importantly we're not aware this is true.

2 Peter 2:19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

What does it mean to be brought in bondage?

The verse reads that by whom a man is overcome, or made worse, he is brought in bondage. It means the vehicle this man is riding in that transports him to being overcome is called bondage. It also means this vehicle called bondage that is transporting his condition to become worse, obeys no speed limits and the brakes are no longer functioning. Finally the door locks will not release as this vehicle called bondage has enslaved it's occupant demanding they drive on. Now the reality is they're no longer driving, the vehicle is driving them and they have become its servant. One last point here: if all this is happening and we're not aware of it, then by the time we realize we're in such a vehicle it's to late because it has already trapped us. This is addiction!

How is it that while most of us have experienced this failure to choose anything that will sustain our desires, we keep right on choosing? The driving force is our quest for happiness. It is quite natural and instinctive and yet it eludes us creating a life time of bad decisions and dysfunction. Of these dysfunctions, the epidemic of addiction is only one in a long list of societal problems facing us today. The truth is we all have a flaw within us as we believe we have the ability and the control over our lives to obtain and retain happiness. However, we lack the knowledge, wisdom and understanding of spiritual matters, especially concerning ourselves.

I have a desire to see the body of Christ edified. Within the broad spectrum of edification I feel there exists a great need and opportunity for spiritual education at foundational levels. Please contact me about speaking at your church. Dale Linton 410-378-5035 or dale@agapesolutions.org

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITER-MAKE A WEBSITE

FREED MINISTRIES: latest Statistics on addiction in the USA

2011-02-02T09:12:00.000-05:00

FREED MINISTRIES: latest Statistics on addiction in the USA

latest Statistics on addiction in the USA

2011-02-02T09:02:00.000-05:00

The Stats on Drug Addiction
Author: Mervin Hester

Some people don't like being quoted statistics. But when we speak of statistics on drug addiction, the numbers are actually important. These numbers can help us identify problem areas with drug addictions and help us better understand what exactly is going on with drug addiction in the country.

For example, marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States according to a 2005 survey. Over seventy-six percent of the population reported using marijuana in that year's time.

An estimated 15.9 million Americans aged twelve or older reported using illicit drug in the month prior to the 2005 survey. That statistic represents 7.1 percent of the population 12 or older. This is an increase of almost 8 percent from the previous year.

Drug addiction statistics can be a little bit scary as well. Consider that in 2003, there were nearly 20,000 deaths directly attributed to drug use both legal and illegal. Of those deaths, about 3 percent were to people 21 years of age and under.

In the year 2001 alone, use of the club drug Ecstasy increased by 58 percent from the previous year. This statistic was calculated by the amount of people who were admitted to a hospital emergency room with Ecstasy overdoses.

Statistics on rehabilitation center admissions also paint a sad picture of drug addiction. In 2006, there were over 175,000 people who checked themselves into a rehab facility. It is estimated that 5 percent of those people returned to using drugs after they were released.

Methamphetamine use is on the rise as well. In 2006, a whopping 15 percent of the population reported using meth as their primary illicit drug. This can be attributed to the fact that meth is easy to make with common household items and produces a significant high for the user that cannot be obtained by using any other drug.

Perhaps the scariest statistics on drug addiction are the ones that involve our youth. A significant percentage of young people report having been introduced to one type of drug or another on a regular basis by the age of 13. Nearly fifty percent of those children will try drugs by that age, and 20 percent will become addicted before graduating from high school.

It can be a big, bad world out there - for adults and children alike. We may sincerely want to bury our heads in the sand when it comes to drug abuse and addiction, but we can't. When presented with statistics on drug addiction, there's really no way we can ignore the fact that there's a problem in this country - a serious problem - with drugs.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/the-stats-on-drug-addiction-1412590.html
About the Author

Visit the Health And Nutrition Tips website to learn about benefits of onions, benefits of papaya and other information.

working

2011-01-03T12:24:00.001-05:00

Working Poor

One of the most common misconceptions is the assumption that if someone is hungry, that means they do not have a job and are living on the streets. What most people don’t understand is that anyone can experience hunger. It is a silent epidemic that affects more than 49 million Americans.

According to the US Census Bureau, in 2008, 19 million people lived in working-poor families. This translates into nearly 9 percent of all American families living below 100 percent of poverty have at least one family member working. i In fact, 36 percent of client households served by the Feeding America network have one or more adults working. ii

Working Poor Facts

* Female-headed households were more than twice as likely to be among the working poor than male-headed households in 2008. iii
* Married-couple families with children under 18 were almost 5 times as likely as families without children to be among the working poor in 2008. iii
* Among families with at least one member working at least half a year, families with children were 4 times more likely than families without children to live in poverty in 2008.iii
* According to a survey on hunger and homelessness conducted by the United States Conference of Mayors, 92% of cities participating in the survey cited unemployment as one of three major causes of hunger in their city. iv
*

Thirty-nine percent of all adult clients served by Feeding America have completed high school or equivalent degree with no further education beyond high school. ii
*

Thirty-four percent of all client households served by Feeding America have had to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care.ii

* Sixty-five percent of working families that received SNAP were single-parent families. v

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i U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2009 Annual Social and Economic Supplement (POV 10).

ii Rhoda Cohen, J., Mabli, F., Potter, Z., Zhao.Hunger In America 2010. Feeding America. February 2010.

iii U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A Profile of the Working Poor, 2007.

iv The U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2008 Hunger and Homelessness Survey. December 2008.

v Urban Institute, Sheila R. Zedlewski, E. Mon. Many Low-income Working Families Turn To The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program For Help. August 2009.

vi Urban Institute, Gregory Acs, P. Loprest. Who Are Low-Income Working Families? September 2005.

FREED MINISTRIES

From Feeding America Foundation

BJ's Wholesale Club Feeding Communities Program

What's it like to share your SSN with 50 people? Follow a victim's struggle

Hunger at Home: Steve Osunsami Talks About His Personal Struggles with Hunger and Poverty - ABC News

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