Thursday, December 22, 2011

WELCOME TO ALL OUR VSITIORS AND NEW MEMBERS.PLEASE WRITE OR CALL ANYTIME AND LEAVE A VOICE MAIL, 239 . 851 . 2283. I WILL GET BACK TO YOU WITHIN 24 HOURS. YOU CAN SEND AN IM OR ADD ME TO YOUR SKYPE CONTACTS AS: revjohnpetrusk

Now that my daughter and her children are living with us, we get to have breakfast and dinner together as a family where we can get to really know each other. It is a wonderful blessing.

Today's Inspiation.......OVERCOMING FEAR

As we look back over our drinking / drugging careers, we must realize that our lives were a hot mess because we were a hot mess inside. Our thinkin' was stinkin' and twisted and centered arond our disease. The trouble was in us, not in life. Yes, life is full of heart ache and sorrow and diasspointment but how we resond to our situations determines how it will affect us. Even if we had a relatively good life itself or the so called " American Dream, " we were still very empty without God. That was truly the story in my case. MY faith is the anchor that holds me firmly and strengthens me to help others. Even if we had faith and were filling our body with these chemical poisons, our brain was so screwed up that our spirit man could not connect with the Real Creator. There are many deceiving spirits than can come to us saying that they are God but the Bible tells us that Satan, himself can disguise himself as an Angel of Light.

We were looking at life through the bottom of a glass, crack pipe or a needle full of drugs to make us high and forget our fears and emptiness. Everything we thought and saw was distorted. We could not see all the beauty and goodness and purpose in the world because our vision was blurred. We were in a house with one-way glass in the windows. People could see us but we could not look out and see what life really was all about. Life is all about relationships, not things. A relationship with God always comes first and then others on the planet. I once was lost but now am found, was blind now we can see. These words are in the first verses of the song Amazing Grace, all about how God can reach through our insanity to save us and change us.

God does use ordinary people like myself and programs and doctors to help us. I thank God for A.A and N.A and all the faith based programs that set captives free from their addiction. Yes we will always find flaws in people and programs everywhere we look but that should not keep us from finding help. I do not have all the answers but I know that God does.

Heart and Soul

Fear no evil, because the power of God can conquer evil. Evil has power to seriously hurt only those who do not place themselves under the protection of the Higher Power. When Jesus was crucified, he defeated the slavery of sin and death. He broke the chains of bondage and in His resurrection guaranteed everlasting life in heaven. He was not just a baby, born in a manger. He is the Son of God who continues to set captives free today. It is not about a religion, it is about a relationship with the living God. Listen to the words of the Christmas Carols, they tell the true story of Christmas. This is not a question of feeling; it is an assured fact of our experience. Say to yourself with as little faith as you may have, that whatever it is, no evil can seriously harm you as long as you depend on God's presence in your life and His power. Be sure of the protection of God's grace. Seek Him with all your heart and He will lead you in paths of righteousness and freedom. Do not base your faith on someone else's experience but have your own spiritual awakening as our 12th step proclaims. Do not only experience a psychological awakening but also a spiritual rebirth.

Prayer for Today

I pray that fear of evil will not get me down. I will not allow depression or PTSD to overcome my faith. I will put my faith in the God of my understanding and let Him reveal Himself to me in a way that I can unserstand. I pray that I may try to place myself today under the protection of God's grace.

Don't forget to request your free welcome packet for joining the group. Send full name and mailing address. Always confidential.

If you wish to send a gift of recovery literature, such as Big Books or Step Books or any other gifts to share with my clients, my mailing address is:

Chaplain John Petruska

5781 Lee Blvd. # 208 - 394

Lehigh, Fl. 33971

Hugz and Luv to All

pj