Good afternoon!  My name is Lauren, and I'm a grateful, recovering alcoholic/addict.  With thisweekend being Memorial Day weekend, a lot of people will be out partying, getting wasted, being hungover, not remembering things.  Today I get to enjoy my long weekend with my family, grill out, and remember it.  I won't feel like crap every morning.  When I first got sober, I thought it was going to be boring.  How was I ever going to have fun again. Drugs and alcohol made my life fun, or so I thought.  But there is so much that I really don't remember, but one thing I DO remember is that I always felt like crap afterward.  Today I don't have to feel like that.  Being sober can be and is fun.  There is so much to do in life being sober.  I know I won't get a DUI when I drive anywhere, I wake up in the mornings feeling good, I get to spend more quality time with my kids, I just get more opportunities in life. But also for the fun side of it I know for my AA group, we have picnics, potlucks, luncheons, we grill out, we go out to eat, we just have fun together.  I enjoy my life today.  You can too.  I am sober, not boring!  That's all I have today1 Have a great weekend!

Good afternoon!  My name is Lauren, and I'm a grateful, recovering alcoholic/addict.  for the longest time I made up excuses of why I wouldn't go to treatment, or why I didn't need to get sober.  I didn't really have a problem, or other people drank more than I did, or work wouldn't be able to get function without me, or how would the children survive without their mom?  Well, I finally ended up realizing I needed help, so I went.  Work got along without me, my children are still alive today, and the world is still spinning, so I think everything turned out ok.  If you want something bad enough, you will find a way to make it happen.  If you really want to get clean or sober bad enough you will find a way to do it.  If you need to get somewhere, to a friend's that is willing to help you out, if you want if bad enough, you will make it happen.  Quit making excusing, and do something about it.  Action speak louder than words.  You can tell me all day long what you want to do or what you are planning on doing, but until there is some action behind those words, they mean nothing.  That's all I have for today.  Have a great one!

Good afternoon!  My name is Lauren, and I'm grateful, recovering alcoholic/addict.  The hardest thing to realize is that the only person that is going to be able to change you is you.  No one else can do it for you.  But the amazing thing is once you realize you have that power, once you realize that you have the oppotunity to make that decision, and that all you have to do it take that first step.  But you have to want to and you have to work hard at it.  It doesn't just happen.  It also takes continous steps in the right direction afterwards.  Surround yourself with like-minded people.  No matter what you want to change, your weight, drinking/using, your job, your attitude, whatever.  You are the only one that can do it.  So take charge of your life today.  Be who you want to be.  That's all I have for today! Have a great one!  Don't forget to check out my store.

Good afternoon!  My name is Lauren, and I'm a grateful, recovering alcoholic/addict.  When anything gets built the first thing they do is build a foundation.  And when people are building something, they want it on solid ground, not sand.  They build they foundation to hold up the rest of the buildling.  That supports it...for the rest of its life.  God did the same thing with my life.  It was a mess.  He took me out of a horrible pit and set my feet on a rock, and gave me a firm place to stand.  HE is the firm foundation of which I live today.  I need to trust in Him in everything.  Pray to Him whenever I am struggling.  He is always there to guide me today.  That's all I have for today!  Have a great one!

Good afternoon!  My name is Lauren, and I'm a grateful, recovering alcoholic/addict.  An unplanned door has been shut recently and stress is rising.  But I have to remember, all I can do is trust in God.  He is in control, and He will provide.  When He closes one door, He will open another, but I have to remember it is in HIS timing.  Another quote I found that I like is.  "Until God opens the next door for you, praise Him in the hallway."  Ain't that the truth.  All I can do is accept the situation.  Do what I can with it, and work hard.  So please pray for everything to fall into place with this.  In the meantime, if you need something from Amazon, just click on the link on this page, any of the books, and order whatever you need, and I get a little kick-back.  Every little bit helps!  Thanks so much!  That's all for today!  Have a great one!  Also check out my other webpage.  It is 125 fun things to do with the kids over the summer.  It is a Kids Bucket List.  www.kidsbucketlist.weebly.com.  Also, check out my photography website www.laurenyoderphotography.com. Don't forget to sign up for the free book drawing!

Good afternoon!  My name is Lauren, and I'm a grateful, recovering alcoholic/addict.  Making mistakes is a part of life, and we all do it.  But usually it's when we don't know what we are doing.  When it happens over and over, we are making a choice to do it.  We know what we are doing.  When when consistently do it expecting a different result, that's insanity at it's best.  When we make a mistake, that's ok, We can say I'm sorry.   But I'm sorry only works so many times, when we are making the same "mistake."  When I was driking and using, I ws always saying I'm sorry, and it got to the point where it didn't mean anything anymore.  It took awhile, once I got clean and sober, for people to trust me again.  For the "I'm sorry" to be believable.  I had to mean it and to prove I meant it.  That's all I have for today.  Don't forget to sign up for the book drawing, and check out my website www.laurenyoderphotography.com  also check out my books and photography for sale in my store.

Good afternoon!  My name is Lauren, and I'm grateful, recovering alcoholic/addict.  We all have been through different struggles, different pains, and some are contuning to go through them. Some haven't gone through big ones yet.  But we all have hurts that we have been through, that we can share with others, that we can empathize with others.  Not everyone has been through the same situations, the same circumstances.  But we all can share what experience, strength, and hope that we do have with one another.  I do believe God uses what we have been through to help others.  He uses our past to help our future, and to help others as well.  We should want to help others too.  So help someone today.  Get out of your little bubble, and help someone.  Maybe it's just listening to someone.  That's all I have for today.  Have a great one!

Good morning!  My name is Lauren, and I'm a grateful, recovering alcholic/addict.  Today is giveaway day!  I finally hit my goal and had 50 people enter the drawing, so we will pick a winner for a book of mine of their choice! And the winner is...​Mary Dancer!!!!  Congratulations! Let me know which book you want.  From the Weeds: a collection of poems is a collection of poems from all stages of my life, from depression and addiction to recovery and hope. It was my first book. 100 Days (sober) was my second book and is more journalistic.  Each day starts out with a quote, and I write about how I was and how I am today.  It also has some of my story in the beginning of the book, and my mom writes a preface too.  Just let me know, and I will get it out to you! Thank you to everyone who entered!  I will go ahead and start another drawing, so if you have not enetered, go ahead and sign up with your email on the side or below!

Good morning!  My name is Lauren, and I'm a grateful recovering alcoholic/addict.  Some days when I am struggling with something, all I can do is concentrate on the issue itself, when the reality is I should be I should be giving it to God.  Fear is a strong thing if I let it take control, but I don't have to let it.  And once I realize that it is not in control and God is, I feel better.  The anxiety is gone.  I remember being so anxious and panicy and worrying all the time before when I was drinking, but it was because I was in control ( or at least thougth I was).  I was trying to rule my life, but I obviously wasn't dong a very good job at it, because my life was falling apart.  So I put my life in the hands of God, and continue to on a daily basis, life is easier.  Now, I still get thrown curve balls.  Life is life.  It still has it's ups and downs, but with God in control, it is easier to handle.  That's all I have for today!  Have a great one!  Don't forget to sign up for the drawing for my free book!  I only need 5 more email addresses!  So please sign up today!  
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Good morning!  My name is Lauren, and I'm a grateful, recovering alcoholic/addict.  Having a blind faith is hard. Trusting in something we can't see is a very hard thing to do.  But if we just trust in God, He usually has something better in store for us.  We don't see the big picture.  We just see what is in front of us.  He is all-knowing, and knows what is best for us.  It is hard to comprehend, and we always want to be right, or at least I do.  :)  But letting go, and getting God take control of our situations is always the right and best thing to do.  So whatever your struggle is, or even just life, let go and let God.  Give Him the steering wheel.  I have to daily, because I am constantly wanting to drive my life, but every time I try, I mess it up.  So I give it back to Him.  I am not perfect and never will be.  It is a daily struggle, sometimes, minute by minute.  So I pray to Him for guidance.  Trust in God today, give Him control of your life, and take some pressure of yourself.  He does know what if best, and will help you through it.  That'a all I have for today!  Have a great one! Don't forget to check out my store!  Also, I only need 9 more emails to do a drawing to give away a free book!  You can sign up below or on the side!