Prayer Wall

This is an interesting link to a virtual prayer wall. Reading through it you can slightly touch on what it must be like for God.

Co-dependent Meme Found on Random Blog

“I wonder if the oil changer guys will get mad at me for having so much snow on my car. After all it is inside, in a heated environment, and some snow might melt, creating a sloppy situation.”

“Yeah, they might get a little upset, but I really don’t feel like cleaning the snow off my roof and trunk, isn’t that a little unnecessary? Won’t people be looking at me weird for doing that? Who cleans the snow off of their entire car anyways?”

“Point well taken self, but how many times have you seen a snow covered car being taken indoors, especially during a mechanical checking or fixing type thing? Never, that’s right, never!”

“Okay, but I’m on my way there and what am I going to do? Stop at a gas station, get out, and scrape the snow off my car? People would think I was absolutely crazy.”

“Hmm, I wonder if I could find a building to pull behind, out of public view.”

Being an approval junkie makes us crazy. It is funny but it is also sad.

(BTW the wikipedia 'def of co-dependence is poor at best and at worst is a collection of ill-informed assumptions.)

Celebrate Recovery: Some Personal Notes

I have narrowed down some direct benefits of the church based recovery program I have been involved with called Celebrate Recovery. While I have studied it's literature and even met it's founder, as all of mankind's programs there are faults, but a critique is for another post. You only have to go once and hear the testimony of a crack addict, prostitute, or alcoholic husaband and father who has been set free to understand.

1) Truth Saying.
• Breaking the system of denial.
• A foundation for real intimacy
• Feeling the pain of ours and other's choices.

2) Relationships
• Peer review
• Equality, Experience, and Empathy.
• Caring relationships where acceptance is not performance driven.
• Support.

3) New Thought.
• Discovery.
• The Wisdom of Crowds.
• It is your system that has failed not everyone else's.
• 12 Step Structure creates life application of spiritual values.

Video: "My Name is Lisa" By Ben Shelton

Every once in awhile media transcends the commercial, the self effacing, the foolish, and the empty pursuit, and connects us to the human experience.

Listen to this song: Colin Hay

'And you said,"Be still, my love
Open up your heart
Let the light shine in"
Don't you understand?
I already have a plan' more

Quite Van Morrisonish'.

Bethlehem Smackdown

New Christmas Ornaments





While I am not any less human, this is just wrong in so many ways:

"Robed and bearded Greek Orthodox priests and Armenian priests fought for over an hour using fists, brooms and iron rods as weapons."

Favorite quote from blog comments:

"It's too bad there isn't some sort of set of ethics or maybe a book detailing how these type of situations can be handled which these priests can turn to in times of trouble.

Oh, wait..."

Oye vey! We are a people in need of grace.

Quote:

`Facts don't enter a world dominated by our beliefs.'

Marcel Proust

Listen to this song: "Fold" Jose Gonzalez

A short simple song about grace.

"Please hold me back
if I tend to lose it and steer into old tracks.

Please don't let me down this time.
I've come a long way to just fold back into line"

Incredible Story

Jillian B. shares her story of traveling to Africa and her experience of mental anguish.

"..if only I could wake myself out of this unreality in Ghana I could live my real life or that I didn’t even exist at all, I was the creation of someone somewhere using me for entertainment. These thoughts came to me after night after night of no sleep and pacing around under a dark, muggy Ghanan roof: drums beating, sweat pouring off my face.."

Read Here (some adult language)

Thank you Jillian for sharing the story and know that you touch all those that read it. You have me.

The Ten Habits of Emotionally Intelligent People

1. Label their feelings, rather than labeling people or situations.
2. Distinguish between thoughts and feelings.
3. Take responsibility for their feelings.
4. Use their feelings to help them make decisions. (gasp!)
5. Show respect for other people's feelings.
6. Feel energized, not angry.
7. Validate other people's feelings.
8. Practice getting a positive value from their negative emotions.
9. Don't advise, command, control, criticize, judge or lecture to others.
10. Avoid people who invalidate them, or don't respect their feelings.

more

Quote:

To live, man must hold three things as the ruling values of his life: Reason—Purpose—Self-esteem. Reason, as his only tool of knowledge—Purpose, as his choice of the happiness which that tool must proceed to achieve—Self-esteem, as his inviolate certainty that his mind is competent to think and his person is worthy of happiness, which means: worthy of living. These three values imply and require all of man’s virtues…

— Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

Don't Assume

The "Bystander Effect" is documented human behavioral trait that describes the tendency for a group of people to do nothing when someone is being attacked or in need, or in an emergency situation. As opposed to the common action of intervention when only one person happens on the same situation.

We assume someone else is going to or is doing something.

Choices

glumbert - Don't Drink and Drive

Adddiction Destroys Life Ad

Not entirely true but a striking way to make a point.

Eagles Sing About Sobriety

"One Day At A Time" Eagles

Keep Breathing

via fuzzballchronicles
music by Ingrid Michaelson

Stop Drop & Recover

Fireman John of StopDrop&Recover blog reports on about.com article citing the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment panel defining recovery as "a voluntarily maintained lifestyle characterized by sobriety, personal health, and citizenship."

Personal health refers to sobriety and self care, while citizenship refers to "social health".

I think the idea of social health is an excellent perspective on recovery and is why admitting to others our faults, making amends where possible and carrying the message of hope to others is pinnacle to genuine lasting change.

via nu

Bedtime Tunes

I just stumbled across this audio serenity site called "Bedtime Tunes" the songs are updated nightly. It is a nice little browser fed database with nice descriptions and tags. I am listening to one of my favorite female vocalists Anna Nalick "Wreck Of the Day" and it isn't even bedtime.