RECOVERY-LIGHT-LIFE

"The problem is not that there are problems.  The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem."           Theodore Isaac Rubin "Begin with the end in mind."           Stephen R. Covey "No experience will be the same as it was last time."           Shane Scott I remember as a boy playing darts in the back yard with my friend Galen.  We had a dart board hanging on a tree, and were throwing darts...yes, the metal tipped ones that were really sharp...at the target.  I somehow got myself on the other side of the tree, and it didn't take long before I got a dart right in the middle of my chest.  It startled me, it hurt, and it was just stuck there.  I looked down and had to pull it out.  Of course, there was no major damage, and it really didn't bleed much, and yes...it could have been much worse in an eye, or somewhere else.    But it wasn't....

  "Keep your word...Honor your word."                     Shane Scott "And God said..."                     Genesis, Chapter 1 Words have power and meaning.  While I was at Desert Solace I learned the power of words...of what we speak and how we say it...to ourselves and others. As an addict, words were meaningless.  I was the consummate liar...covering my tracks and always living in the fear of being found out.  And the more fear I felt, the farther from the truth I got.  So for years,  I was not to be trusted or believed, but nobody really knew that except me.  Living with lies begins to weigh heavy on your soul, and it did mine, and that was definitely part of being "past feeling"...not being able to recognize truth from fiction, and not feeling any guilt or remorse for living a lie every day.  Faking life. Choosing a certain word or words can ma...

  "We're here to experience life, not to understand it."                   Shane Scott "You're not a product of your circumstances, you're a product of your choices."                   Lynne Clark Brunson "Life is like a box of chocolates..."                     Forrest Gump I remember the first time at Desert Solace when Shane held out two dry erase markers and said, "chocolate or vanilla?  Make a choice."  We all looked at him like he'd lost his mind, but one of us finally said "chocolate".  Shane asked "why"?  "Well, I like chocolate better...it tastes better."  Shane..."No.  Choose again, that's a decision, not a choice."  What?!  I didn't get it.  What's the difference between a choice and a decision?  Aren't they the same thing?  Well, I learned over time that they are not the same th...

  "I am the light of the world"                     Jesus "It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ's Atonement shines"                     Jeffrey R. Holland "It is my belief that He (Jesus) can bring light into even the darkest spaces and the best parts of our stories will be the parts where he enters in"                     Morgan Jones I remember vividly the day I returned home from my ninety days at Desert Solace...March 10th, 2017.  The inside of our home seemed so light...everything was just so much brighter than I remember.  It was weird, but so amazing.  As I thought about it, I realized I was seeing with new eyes.  I was sober, clean, and really paying attention for the first time in many, many years.  What a difference! As winter turned to spring in Saint George, th...

  "Our beliefs and fears result from our giving meaning to our experiences"                     Shane Scott "The enemy is fear.  We think it is hate; but, it is fear"                     Gandhi "You see, we're all living out a story, but then there's the story we tell ourselves.  We need to make sure what we're telling ourselves is the right story.  And the right story is, yes, God will give us more than we can handle.  But He always has eventual good in mind"                     Lysa Terkeurst We are all living a story.  Our stories...each and every one of ours...has power.  This is one reason a Twelve Step meeting works, because we are willing to open up, be honest, be vulnerable, listen to, and share our stories.  As we share, we also unload.  We can dispel the myth that "my story doesn't mat...

"The Lord is in the details of our lives"                     Thomas S. Monson "If there is no certain 'way', then you get to experience life.  Don't let the 'how' or the 'why' get in your way."                     Kyle Copeland "The past is just fertilizer - it helps us grow"                     Lynne Clark Brunson Marilyn and I watched the October, 2017 general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from home, on TV.  The women's session was first then, on Friday night, and we sat together on the couch to watch.  The third speaker that night was the general president of the primary, Joy D. Jones, and she delivered a talk that was entitled "Value Beyond Measure".  All I can say is, when she was done and the "amen" was said, Marilyn and I looked at each other and we were each in tears.  Her a...

  "If you love me, keep my commandments"                     Jesus "Love is patient, love is kind, Rescues hearts and changes lives... Gotta keep it real simple... 'Cause it all comes down to this, Love God and love people."                     Danny Gokey "We love Him, because He first loved us...If a man say,  I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?  And this commandment have we from Him, That he who loveth God love his brother also."                     John 4: 19-21 KJV As I wrote before, when I began my recovery journey that first day at Desert Solace I had no idea what it would look like or where it would lead me.  No idea.  No clue.  But, I had hit rock bottom big time, and was in no condition to eve...