This is week 30 of Celebrate Recovery here at Hydesville Church. It's been a wild ride. We have seen scores of new faces but our core group remains small. We have seen miraculous changes in the lives of the participants. I love the 'realness,' honesty and humility of Celebrate Recovery. There is just something powerful in knowing we are not alone in our life struggles. It is like a warm balm to a hurting and scraped up soul to have real people - spiritually broken people - offer non-judgmental encouragement and support on our own life's journey. The reality of Jesus Christ, expressed within this group, is that He is not a distant figure from the Bible, but a true friend today and a savior whose love, guidance and compassion is relevant to every struggle and triumph we have in life.
I like Celebrate Recovery, because it is the love of Jesus - with a human touch.
To fellowship and celebrate God's healing power in our lives and accept God's grace in solving our life problems.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Guest Post from Deborah Leathers
Question: How important do you think it is to have a Celebrate Recovery Ministry at Hydesville Church?
I feel it is very important. We just need people to get past the barrier of thinking that Celebrate Recovery is only for people who have drug or alcohol addictions. That is just not the case! Every person in our church has suffered from some hurt, loss or abuse of some kind. And we all need help getting past the pain. Letting go, making amends with those people who we have hurt or have hurt us. Doing this EXTREMELY hard step is important it not only sets you free but it enables us to grow into the individuals God has created us to be. I do know how hard it can be even in a church setting for people to humble themselves and admit they have a problem. We worry what others will say on Sunday after they have seen us at a meeting on Friday. It's hard for people to really trust that confidential means confidential. I say come trust and see. Your life is worth it
I feel it is very important. We just need people to get past the barrier of thinking that Celebrate Recovery is only for people who have drug or alcohol addictions. That is just not the case! Every person in our church has suffered from some hurt, loss or abuse of some kind. And we all need help getting past the pain. Letting go, making amends with those people who we have hurt or have hurt us. Doing this EXTREMELY hard step is important it not only sets you free but it enables us to grow into the individuals God has created us to be. I do know how hard it can be even in a church setting for people to humble themselves and admit they have a problem. We worry what others will say on Sunday after they have seen us at a meeting on Friday. It's hard for people to really trust that confidential means confidential. I say come trust and see. Your life is worth it
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Your Opinion
How important do you think it is to have a Celebrate Recovery Ministry at
Hydesville Church? Please vote your opinion on the poll on the lower right of this blog. Thank you!
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Stay Strong and Don't Be Alone!
Holidays can be wonderful or difficult depending on the memories attached to this time of year. It's a busy time to be sure. There are many activities and responsibilities that vie for our attention.
I was asked the other day if Celebrate Recovery at Hydesville Church takes time off during the holidays. No! We are here especially through the holidays. Although all human beings struggle with hurts, hang ups and habits (whether one chooses to acknowledge this or not) for some memories attached to Christmas are especially painful. Those hurts, hang ups and habits can tempt us to lose sight of our commitment to change. Sometimes as we ponder those memories the celebration of Christmas can feel lonley. So choose not to be alone! Celebrate Recovery will go on every Friday during the holiday season starting at 6 PM. A down home dinner is served for a very reasonable $4 ($3 for children 5 and under). And, even if holidays aren't personally difficult for you, YOU might help someone else. See you Friday!
I was asked the other day if Celebrate Recovery at Hydesville Church takes time off during the holidays. No! We are here especially through the holidays. Although all human beings struggle with hurts, hang ups and habits (whether one chooses to acknowledge this or not) for some memories attached to Christmas are especially painful. Those hurts, hang ups and habits can tempt us to lose sight of our commitment to change. Sometimes as we ponder those memories the celebration of Christmas can feel lonley. So choose not to be alone! Celebrate Recovery will go on every Friday during the holiday season starting at 6 PM. A down home dinner is served for a very reasonable $4 ($3 for children 5 and under). And, even if holidays aren't personally difficult for you, YOU might help someone else. See you Friday!
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Confession, the Way to Freedom
Friday night we are talking about 'Confess' and the way to freedom. Check out this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDIbOPLqVk8
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Do You Want to Get Better?
Consistency is hard for most people. Many seasons of life can be incredibly busy or chaotic just be virtue of the responsibilities involved. Young adults are feeling great pressures in trying to figure out their lives. Young parents can be overwhelmed by the demands of children. Careers change, jobs are lost and finances can be tough. We move a lot. Older children bring their own set of challenges. There are a lot of grandparents raising grandchildren. Relationships break up. There is a lot going on. Add on to this the mental and emotional shake up that hurts, habits and hang ups can bring. It is a recipe for inconsistency, for sure.
But the reality is that we make choices everyday about what is most important to us and that is demonstrated in a strong way by our daytimers and our checkbooks. This is an article about our daytimers.
When I gave art lessons to children I noticed that this activity, probably because I was too gracious about it, became the lesser priority. Although I worked hard to plan the lessons if a soccer coach scheduled an extra practice, there went the art lesson. There were many scenarios that meant that the art lesson would be cancelled by the parent. I realized that it just wasn't being taken that seriously. If there was nothing else going on that day it was easy not to take the child to the art lesson.
Recovery in life, or said another way, our spiritual journey with Christ seems to be put on the back burner a lot. Oh, we would never say that because we don't equate consistency with gatherings such as Celebrate Recovery or church to be a measure of our spirituality - but I would challenge that idea. Actually, the writer of Hebrews challenged that idea. We are told quite clearly not to "neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other...".
It is true that God alone sees the heart and that God alone knows motive. Absolutely true. But if we want to get better at anything, it takes consistency. If we are serious, we engage in those activities that not only encourage us but hold us accountable to what we have said is important in our lives. Chances are we won't work those Celebrate Recovery steps on our own - and if we do, certainly not on a steady pace. If we are lone rangers our progress will be haphazard at best. As much as we hate to admit it, we do need others and God designed us that way. Hit and miss means mostly miss.
A New Year is around the corner. What is important to you? Do you want to get better? Here's a challenge - not only for you - but for your close circle of family and friends that are very affected and influenced by you. Dig in. Make the commitment and make a decision to stick with it. Is getting better important to you? Write it in your daytimer with a sharpie - that's permanent ink. Or enter it on your iphone - every gathering for three months until it becomes a good habit. The people in your life will one day thank you.
But the reality is that we make choices everyday about what is most important to us and that is demonstrated in a strong way by our daytimers and our checkbooks. This is an article about our daytimers.
When I gave art lessons to children I noticed that this activity, probably because I was too gracious about it, became the lesser priority. Although I worked hard to plan the lessons if a soccer coach scheduled an extra practice, there went the art lesson. There were many scenarios that meant that the art lesson would be cancelled by the parent. I realized that it just wasn't being taken that seriously. If there was nothing else going on that day it was easy not to take the child to the art lesson.
Recovery in life, or said another way, our spiritual journey with Christ seems to be put on the back burner a lot. Oh, we would never say that because we don't equate consistency with gatherings such as Celebrate Recovery or church to be a measure of our spirituality - but I would challenge that idea. Actually, the writer of Hebrews challenged that idea. We are told quite clearly not to "neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other...".
It is true that God alone sees the heart and that God alone knows motive. Absolutely true. But if we want to get better at anything, it takes consistency. If we are serious, we engage in those activities that not only encourage us but hold us accountable to what we have said is important in our lives. Chances are we won't work those Celebrate Recovery steps on our own - and if we do, certainly not on a steady pace. If we are lone rangers our progress will be haphazard at best. As much as we hate to admit it, we do need others and God designed us that way. Hit and miss means mostly miss.
A New Year is around the corner. What is important to you? Do you want to get better? Here's a challenge - not only for you - but for your close circle of family and friends that are very affected and influenced by you. Dig in. Make the commitment and make a decision to stick with it. Is getting better important to you? Write it in your daytimer with a sharpie - that's permanent ink. Or enter it on your iphone - every gathering for three months until it becomes a good habit. The people in your life will one day thank you.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Hurtin' for Certain
The holidays can be a tough time when you are hurting. It may be a loss - death, divorce, a job, a significant relationship....it may be a decline in health, a problem that won't seem to go away, an inner discouragement. Perhaps you feel, "hey, I made some bad choices, why would anyone care about me? I'm hurtin' for certain." To that we can say, we are all human, we struggle. But there is a God in heaven who loves us tremendously. In fact, He specializes in taking broken hearts and restoring them to a beautiful place. Sound hard to believe? Join us for Celebrate Recovery where we hear and see people who are on a spiritual journey and very positive change is taking place. Where there is God, there is hope. Join us!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)