Good afternoon!  My name is Lauren, and I'm a grateful, recovering alcoholic/addict.  There have been a lot of times in my life where I have said things where I shouldn't have. I am working on keeping my mouth shut if I can't say anything nice.  We have all heard our mother's tell us, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."  And some of us mocked her as we turned away and mouthed it as we rolled our eyes or just thought it was a stupid saying and didn't mean anything.  But the older I grew the more truth I saw in it.  Words hurt, at least when they were spoken about me.  Today I teach my children this, and other young children for that matter.  There is no reason to talk bad of someone else, I wouldn't want someone talking bad about me.  It doesn't mean I have to lie, I just don't need to say anything then.  (And just because I am silent, doesn't mean I am thinking mean things.  :)  ) That's all for today.  Have a great one!

Good afternoon!  My name is Lauren, and I'm a grateful, recovering alcoholic/addict.  Sometimes asking God for forgiveness can be a hard thing to do, but that's usually when our ego gets in the way and we don't want to admit we are wrong.  But sometimes the harder things to do is forgive ourselves and leave the guilt behind.  For a long time after I got sober, I still held onto the guilt and shame of some of the things I had done or not done during my drinking days.  It was hard for me to forgive myself for not being the best mother I knew I could be.  I felt terrible.  I knew they were young, but they were smart.  I mean I was there, but I was just there, a physical body, nothing more.  But the only way I could move forward is to let that go, leave the guilt behind me and put one foot in front of the other and go forward.  Take care of my kids from that day forward the best I could.  I couldn't go back, so what was the use of thinking like I could.  So today, I just do the next right thing.  That is all I can do.  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.  The only person I have control over is myself, so I might as well be happy.  So by letting those that love me know I appreciate them, and helping those that need me, that can help keep me happy.  Also forgiving those that hurt me, and forgetting those who left me, probably will make my life a little easier too.  Keeping it as balanced as I can, as much as I have control over, and "keeping my side of the street clean." helps keep me as as sane as I can be nowadays.  :)  Just doing the next right thing.  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.  Getting myself in a habit of being grateful has been a big change for me.  Before I wanted to complain about everything.  Don't get me wrong, you'll still catch me eyeing a nice car or a big house, but today I am more grateful for what I DO have.  I have learned to be truly grateful for what I have.  It's interesting to think that job you have at McDonald's or wherever, and are complaining about, someone else out there is praying for a job..  Or that 1998 Chevy Cavelier with 170,000 miles on that you've been complaining about, someone else out there is just praying for a car.  Or your kids that drive you crazy sometimes cause they are fighting  or making messes, someone else out there is praying to have a baby. Somtimes we just need to be grateful for the things we DO have, maybe they are not exactly what we think we want, but do we really know what we want???  I think God has a better plan for us!  :)  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.  When I first got sober, I thought the only problem I had was a drinking problem.  The truth is, 10% of my problem was the drinking problem, the other 90% was that I had a thinking problem.  And once I got sober, I had to change my whole way of thinking for me to be able to change any of the problems I had created from before.  And that is a hard thing to do when you have been doing that off and on for over 15 years.  But by going to meetings...and listening, talking to my sponsor, talking to other friends in the program, and just living one day at a time, I was learning to think differently.  By thinking differently and reacting differently than I would have, I should be able to solve problems better than I would have when I would have been drinking.  And as long as I keep doing that day after day, that makes me happy. 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. I used to sit and think..why...why me?  Well...Why NOT me?  There are a lot of things going on in my life right now, and in those people I care a lot about life's right now.  Some people have heard words they didn't want to hear, some people did things they shouldn't have done.  Some things some people don't know how to talk about yet, some we are just praying for wisdom right now, some that are going to the ultimate 'wanting to end it all' reasoning.  It is frustrating and scary in the realization of me being helpless.  I know I am really not, when I was never in control anyway.  All I can do its pray.   I remember feeling so sad and lonely and questioning everything?  Questioning things I knew were true, but doubting it all.  Trying to reason with myself and my suicidal thoughts.  So all I can to today, in any situation I find myself in is pray.  I have no control of it.  And the little things I do have control over, I can change!  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.  Sometimes the most beautiful things come from such a different looking thing in the beginning.  It's crazy.  My first book was called "From the Weeds."  That's how I felt,  from the weeds came a beautiful flower.  Amist all the depression, and anger, and drugs and alcohol...the weeds, can come new life, sobrierty, hope, and joy...a beautiful flower.  God is always working in us, whether we know it or not, changing us, hopefully to be more like Him.  Yes, we have to go through some hard times, and some difficult things to get to be the people He wants us to be, but in the long run, it is so worth it.  And to one day spend eternity with Him, if we have placed Him in our hearts, beyond imaginable.  Well, 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.  In the busy hubbub of life, I still need to set aside quite time for God.  It is in this time, I get to know Him more, and my relationship with Him grows. I can read the Bible, and pray.  During this time I also read some daily meditations relating to recovery which helps me as well.  If my mind is racing or I am thinking about of things, I am not letting Him speak to me.  If I am thinking about what I making for dinner that night or how I am going to get Laney to girl scouts in time after I get off work, while I am reading, I am not getting anything out of it, and I not really listening to God.  Usually before I start my meditation time, I pray for God to quiet my heart and mind, so I can really absorb what I am about to read.  I want to get as much out of it as I can.  Well, that si all I have for today.  Have a great one!

Good morning!  My name is Lauren, and I'm a grateful, recovering alcoholic/addict.  It's easy for me to point the finger at someone and pick out all their flaws. It's easy to play the blame game.  It's not my fault.  They are the one who started it.  But when it comes down to it, it is my pride, and own insecurity.  I need to be real and look at myself. Apologize if there is a fight involved.  Don't let my pride or fear stand in the way.  I need to look at my own heart.  My children are watching me.  That is another thing I need to really think about.  Everything I do, I have little eyes watching, learning.  I need to set a good example, a Godly example.  Another thing I need to work on daily. I pray daily for strength and guidance and patience. I can't do this alone.  Thank you God!  So just look at your own heart.  Don't worry about what others are doing.  You have no control over it anyways.  That's all for today.  Have a great one!

Good afternoon!  My name is Lauren and I'm a grateful, recovering alcoholic/addict.  One thing I need to work on on a daily basis is my ego and my pride.  In my sobriety, I have learned more about my character defects, and what I need to work on.  I have an issue with always having to be right.  Any time, my husband and I fight, I will go look something up on Google to prove that I am right.  It is pathetic.  When I was in track, I always had to get first place. At baby or wedding showers, I always have to win a game.  I always have to do something to win something.  An acronym for EGO is Edging God Out.  I really like that definition.   It is putting me before God, and that is not right. That is a sin. Between that and my pride, I have some issues.  But me acknowledging that is a step in the right direction, and working on them daily is another.  2 Corinthains 12:9 states,  "But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me."  So I have my work cut out for me, but will continue to keep on keeping on, one day at a time.  That's all for today.  Have a great one!