Good afternoon! My name is Lauren, and I'm a grateful, recovering alcoholic/addict. Almost 1,000 Days Clean and Sober, isn't that crazy??? There have been times in my life where I have wanted to give so I would eventually get something back in return. Jim Rohn said "Only by giving are you able to receive more than you already have." And that is so true, but doing it for the wrong reasons is a huge problem. Giving only so you will get something in return is very wrong. We need to give so others want to give also. We want it to spread. People can usually see our attitiude in what we do. They can tell if we are doing things for ourselves as the end goal or other people. We need to be selfish, giving all of ourselves. The more me honestly give of ourselves, the more we truly receive. If you want joy, give joy. If you want love, give love. Be an real inspiration for others. That's all I have today. Have a great day! Happy Halloween!
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Good afternoon! My name is Lauren, and I'm a grateful, recovering alcoholic/addict. Today I wanted to write to one particular person, YOU. No one else, but you, the person reading this. Whatever you have been wanting to create, try, write, sing, make, do, just do it. You DO have the potential to make beautiful things. I know sometimes you doubt yourself, because others doubt you. Don't worry about what they think. Do it. You can do it! Believe in yourself! That is where is starts! Then is just takes one more, and I believe in you! So there you go, get a move on. Start doing whatever you have been putting off. I may not be the best writer in the world, but I love to write. But if I can help one person, or even help myself for one day, then it is worth it. I may not be the best photographer in the world, but I love to take pictures. Same there, if I can help someone see something they wouldn't have been before, by looking at my pictures, it's worth it. Plus, it is takes up the time I used to drink and use, so it keeps me busy. :) So start something you have been reluctant to start for one reason or another. I challenge YOU today! That's all for today! Have a great one!
Good morning! My name is Lauren, and I'm a grateful, recovering alcoholic/addict. God's grace is good enough for me. Sometimes I fail to understand that and I think that if God could save me He could save anyone. What makes my sin worse that anyone elses' or not as bad for that matter. God's grace is sufficient for all to those to ask of it. And His strength is made perfect in my weakness. When I am weak, He is strong. That's when I go to Him, that's when I trust in Him. That's when I realize I can't do this alone. That's when I surrender. When I am weak in myself, I am strong in the Lord. Another vers is Phillipians 4:13, " I can do all things through Christ who strenghtens me." It is no my own strength, but God's. I have to keep reminding myself of of that. And if I don't, I'm sure God will. :) That's all for today. Have a great one!
Good afternoon! My name is Lauren and I'm a grateful, recovering alcoholic/addict. I have been pushed around physically and emotionally. But when I get totally dropped to my knees I am in the perfect position to pray. When I have nowhere else to go but up I can look to God and pray. When I am having just a kind of bad day I can pray. When I am having a great day I can pray! But this quote is about being down, and I'm not talking about praying the foxhole prayers of "Lord please get me of this situation and I'll do this." But the sincere prayer. The honest prayer of what is really on our heart. Sometimes we are brought to our knees, so we can surrender back to God, to fully give Him our hearts. Some of us have that constant battle with God of control. Give and take. Praying for His will in our lives and guidance through our day makes each day easier. It still has it's ups and downs. But He is always there to walk me through it. That's all for today. Have a great one!
Good morning! My name is Lauren, and I'm a grateful, recovering alcoholic/addict. I just wanted to share some other people's links today. Share some other people stories for one day. :) Enjoy!
My friend Liv has a great site about nutrition and recovery and addiction. http://www.livsrecoverykitchen.com/ My friend Omar has a great Podcast The SHAIR Podcast (Sharing Helps Addicts In Recovery) (I've even shared my story on it before :) ) http://theshairpodcast.com Make sure you check these out! Have a great day! Good morning! My name is Lauren and I'm a grateful, recovering alcoholic/addict. When people "change" they usually say they are turning over a new leaf. I really like how this quote puts it. That we should actually be pruning our tree so that new leaves blossom. The Twelve and Twelve Traditions book says on pg 94, " . . . we know that the pains of drinking had to come before sobriety, and emotional turmoil before serenity." Sometimes we have to grow through the pain. God is continuing to teach me. In the Bible, John 15:2 says, "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit." So we aren't just turning over a new leaf, we are cutting back all the bad branches, so new can grow. What a great thing! That's all I have for today! Have a great one! Don't forget to sign up for my book drawing. On the side ---> Also check out my store (my books and photography) If you purchase anything on amazon please go thougth the link on the side or bottom (depending if you access this through a phone or desktop). It helps pay for this site.
Good morning! My name is Lauren, and I'm a grateful, recovering alcoholic/addict. When I was drinking and using I was always looking for the answer to life...how to fix all my problems. I was thinking somehow I was the solution to overcome all the obstacles I had created for myself. I was nowhere NEAR the solution, I was the problem. I was lost and wandering in the dark, thinking I was alone. I was calling out for help, while God was by my side the whole time, sometimes carrying me through my hardships. My occasional foxhole prayers meant nothing, I just needed help for the moment. But when I was truly ready to surrender He was there. He was there ready to carry me out of the hole I had dug so deep. Today, He is my hope, my light, my strength, my comforter. He is always with me. He loves me and never leaves me. Deuteronomy 31:8 says, "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. " I truly believe this today. That's all for today. Have a great one!
Good morning! My name is Lauren, and I'm a grateful, recovering alcoholic/addict. I was fishing this past weekend for hours on end and was wondering how I could have the patience to fish for hours and only catch one fish, (it was a big one though) but can lose my patience so quickly with my children or husband. It's because I am selfish. I pray for patience and even THAT I want right now! I can't even be patient about getting patience. I guess that is something I am working on. Progress not perfection, right? God is making me work on patience daily, and that is what I need. And I understand it is not something once I get it I will just GET it and have it. It is something I have to learn to control. Self-control is another one. But we can keep that for another day. :) One day at a time right? Thank you Lord for today! That's all I got for today! Have a great one! Don't forget to check out my other site too! laurenyoderphotography.com and my store. Thanks for reading and don't forget to comment if you like it!
,Good afternoon! My name is Lauren and I'm a grateful, recovering alcoholic/addict.
With all the hype about the parents that were found in their car doped out of their mind, that “didn’t care about their child”, or “need to go to prison forever.” Let me start of with, this is just my opinion. I am not a doctor. I am not a psychiatrist. I am not an addiction specialist. I am a grateful recovering alcoholic/addict. I did not choose to be an addict. I did not wake up one day and say, “I want to drink as much as I can for the rest of my life to ruin it.” I did not say, “I want to buy pot, then sell it, then do coke and more drugs.” I also did not wake up one day and start drinking a fifth a day either. It is a progressive disease. People don’t just wake up one day and say, “Hey, I think I’m going to walk the corners and find someone to sell me some kind of amount of that methamphetamine I hear is so good.” My brain was different long before I actually started drinking and using. I have an addictive personality in alot of the things I do on a daily basis. It was hard for me when I quit drinking and using to not switch to something else to replace that, like food or cigarettes or sugar. I felt I needed to fill that time or void with something. I found I replaced it with things I used to do before I drank and used: photography and writing. Addiction does not discriminate either. You can be black or white, rich or poor, a CEO or receptionist, working mom or college student. I thought that since I had my life together (or so I thought), I didn’t have a DUI, hadn’t lost my kids, still had my husband, and still had a job, that I was immune to this disease, that I did not have a problem. But the truth was I did. This really might hit a nerve, but I was guilty of it as well. Another thing that bothers me is what if this picture above was a guy driving home with his child buzzed. He just had a few beers. He was barely over the limit. Should he get a DUI? Would that have gone as viral? I have seen people time and time again leave functions with their children in the car after “only having a few beers”, knowing good and well they were over the limit. Today I say something, and offer a ride. But in our society alcohol is legal. It is socially accceptable. So that’s what I thought. That’s why I switched from drugs to alcohol, and that’s what took me down. With alcohol I totally lost control. Is it because it’s legal? I could get it anytime I wanted. It’s sold on every corner, almost every restaurant. Beverly A. Potter & Sebastian Orfali said, “Because alcohol is encouraged by our culture, we get the idea that it isn’t dangerous. However, alcohol is the most potent and most toxic of the legal psychoactive drugs.” I would have done anything for my kids, I loved them more than anything, but I couldn’t quit for them. The disease was stronger than my love. That’s how sick I was. Today I am clean and sober. Today with a relationship with God, my daily conscious contact with God, a good support system, meetings, a sponsor, and close friends in recovery as well, I can stay sober one day at a time. Only by the grace of God. God bless! Don't forget to check out my books in my store! Good afternoon! My name is Lauren and I'm a grateful, recovering alcoholic/addict. I used to think that God would not give us more than we can handle, but now I believe that sometimes He does. He does so that we will have to depend on Him. So that we will surrender to Him and have to trust fully in Him. Sometimes we get cocky and think we can do things all on our own. We can't. We rest on our laurels. We want to be self-sufficient and not need anyone else. But the reality is that God created us to need him, and sometimes he brings us to the same place in our lives for us to learn something or to remember that. We need to always remember He is the reason for our lives. We were created for God, by God. Let us not forget that. When you feel like you can't take anymore, just give it to God, that's what you are supposed to do, anyway. That's all I have today. Have a great one!
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July 2019
Lauren YoderI'm Lauren. Get inside the head of a recovering alcoholic/ addict. |