December AA Party and More music

I like to think of myself as a musician, and I think I am pretty versatile, here is my website where I keep some good music and some not so good music  https://soundcloud.com/christopher-hyer Go there and rate the songs if you don't mind.

My 12 step AA group had a glorious meeting last night . It was our December Christmas party with food catered by Odessa, Texas Country Club. You can't get much better than that and for a group of about 12 souls who usually go to these AA meetings, we had a crowd of well over a 100 people come to the PDAP place where we held this Christmas Party. The speaker was fantastic from SanAngelo, Texas. His name was Jim , I believe, and his son had just passed away that morning from Heroin overdose , which was very sad. However, like this man said, we have no control over addiction and the people who are addicted. His son celebrated his one year birthday at an AA club in San Angelo, then went out and celebrated with some Heroin, and it was his last celebration. It goes to show we are just one drug or drink away from losing our life. This addiction stuff is deadly and it needs to be taken seriously. Hollywood glamorizes the smoking of Pot and other drugs such as drinking, but hardly focuses on the families that have to deal with the true addict. God bless this man who came to speak as he did not have to come with his loss of his son the same day, but in reality it was probably good therapy to some and speak at a meeting then be at home and mourn your child's death. Sucha tragedy to be had, I cannot even think of this being me in his situation. The meeting was upbeat, however, and it was possibly the best I have been to.

God bless you all out there in cyberland who read this blog, and like I said this is just a journal of mine I keep to look back someday to see how far I have come. Stay clean and enjoy this thing we call life or get help and start enjoying life without drugs and alcohol. It can be done.

Christmas is Almost Here How Do you feel about this?

Sobriety is a wonderful feeling in the morning , waking up to no headaches, and no remorse for what you may have done the night before. Well, Christmas is upon us in a few weeks, and I beg of you not to let that interfere with your sobriety. It can be easy to slip into old habits of drinking and smoking dope. The reason is that you might be going home to family and friends that do these things and they might expect you to do them with you. Run as fast as you can from this place. Find a hotel room and find a meeting if this is a strong connection to you starting back your old ways. I have had to do this once, and I am glad, and my family understood, and I still had the best Christmas ever.

I am like a little boy when Christmas comes around, there is a spiritual feeling I get in my stomach, and the only bummer is on Christmas day , I usually don't have a tree  and there are no presents, as I am 53 and my family lives in so many cities, that I end up with myself going for Christmas Lunch with my mother and her husband. We do exchange gifts but it is just not the same. Then after we eat , I go home to an empty house. SO my Christmas last for about an hour and maybe two hours. That is called growing older I guess. I still look forward to this day and dress up for lunch and try to make something out of this day. There is no reason to drink about it, because imagine what that would do? Fro me it would ruin my life. So take it easy and enjoy what relatives you may have and give thanks to God that you are alive one more year to celebrate Jesus Christ's Birthday!! That in itself should be enough for Christmas. Chris Hyer

Thanksgiving and What it Means To Sober Alcoholics

Thanksgiving is a time spent with family to get together and enjoy each others company. My family is split , so it usually means having to drive to two towns and celebrating with my Mother and my Father. This is difficult and I spend most fo the day going between homes than I do actually staying there and relaxing. My family is always on the go , so relaxing is something that rarely happens for me, as I am always on my toes trying to pleasure whom I am with.
As an alcoholic , there is seldom any drinking going on at either house for fear that I might want to indulge, this has been going on for years. I really don't pay much attention to this but when I leave they pop open the liquor at my fathers house, SO am I in the way? I don't care really they should not invite me if they did not want me to come. Putting up the liquor is ridiculous as I have no desire to drink it any way. People do not understand an alcoholic can got o the store at anytime and buy the drink of their choice in the morning , afternoon or late at night. Just be cause it is a holiday does not mean I am going to drink or not drink. Relatives are only trying to help, I understand, but in a way, they hinder the relationship. Let them be what they are, and if stuck ina situation where liquor is being a part of Thanksgiving and it gets in your mind, just leave and make a excuse.

SO enjoy your family as we all need them in our lives, do not cause a problem at these gatherings and leave if you decide it is time. It is only one day and you have 364 other days to work with in your sobriety. Personally , I don't think of the Holidays as much anymore, and every holiday is not a drinking day, it was everyday when I was drinking some eight years ago.

So go out and eat with your family if you have one, if not find one at a free meal place and help out. That is doing 12 step work even if everybody is sober, you are helping others who cannot help themselves. I might as well do some volunteer
work myself at Thanksgiving, it would give me an excuse to get out of traveling to please everybody in my family. Chris Hyer

Life Goes On, Stay Sober and Peace will Come

I have hit a few ruff spots lately and if I was not sober right now, I don't think I would be handling them very well. How do you handle issues that come up where you have no control? You give it up to God. That is one lesson I have learned in AA. It is a good lesson because life goes on with or without my living body. This is true for most of us, if we were to die, the traffic would not stand still, well maybe for the funeral, but nothing would be said about me that would matter. I chose my direction in life when I was in my teens and some were smart. However now that I am in my fifties, I wish I would of made changes that would be a little bit more positive in my life today.

I have changed for the better since I have sobered up and I care for people that I use to not care about. It use to be all about myself that I was concerned with. Selfishness, and I find that I fall into this on some days even being sober. Life goes on, regardless of my mistakes I make now , but hopefully these mistakes will be learned by myself and cease to happen over and over again. Living in a sober world is not easy at times, we cannot breeze through it , or can we? Faith without works is death, so I would rather live in the now then worry about things that will change as time goes on and moves forward. I am on one of those days where I am confused about my life. I wish some things were better, and then I am blessed with the things that I have going for me . Confusion is casued when i don't attend AA meetings, and that is one thing I have not done for a week, so it is possibly time to get off my ass and go to a meeting or talk to a sponsor. These tools we have are valuable. Have a great day. Chris Hyer

Family and Sobriety

My brother who lives in California came for a visit to see my parents and myself over the last few days. He was proud of how my life seemed to be going. He and I were drinking buddies and pot smoking friends as well as brothers. He is older and wiser than I was growing up. He knew when to quit and his little brother just kept drinking and smoking all day long. He is a Doctor and I am a struggling job chaser. If I could change one thing it would be that I would of finished up college, then I might not be chasing jobs on a yearly basis. I am never satisfied I figure. He has been to Paris and Austin and now California with the same corporation for over 30 years. I envy people like this now, and never thought about what I did, doing alcohol and stuff would creep up on myself and put me years behind everyone I loved, but there are possibilities that one day I will be proud of what I do for a living and more happy with my living situation and where I live. I am happy with my progress , but this is a disease that I have and I have a few mental issues, and I live the best God will let me live. Therfor I am not 100% dissapoited with my life, but a little bit.

I did like the fact that my brother is proud of my sobriety and he said he would of killed me if I did not sober up. I have to admit I was pretty bad to my parents when drinking and bad to him, stealing his money for drugs and drinking and all the hell I put everyone through. However the program of AA has taught me not to live in the past but look forward to the future, and that is how I try to live my life on a daily basis. It has been good my last 8 years of sobriety and I am a little more quite and a Introvert, but that is just me. I can change some of the things and some I cannot , as the story goes with most recovering alcoholics. Maybe a few of you can understand where I am coming from.

Donanld Trump , now President is a good thing for our country we hope. I hope one day we can unite as one party and just get along as Americans not separated by two parties but that might be impossible. A new President who has to live up to what he has said might make a difference to everyone in the world and I hope it helps everyone. Anyway have a good day and put a smile on your face, You are alive! Chris Hyer

Proof that Sobriety is a Beautiful Idea to Achieve

My spnosor sent the following message to my email as he always shares very interesting things to me. I belive it is God placing two people who are recovered alcoholics together with the same thinking in mind . Sobriety is such a beautiful idea to conceive, if not sober today, I would not of found this as beautiful as I did this morning . I hope you enjoy this.

Wyman Meinzer, the Texas State Photographer, used to live in the old jail in Benjamin, TX. The photo of the coiled rattlesnake appeared on the cover of a wildlife magazine in the 80's. He said there were times he crawled a long way on his belly to get a good shot of a wild animal.

The music is by Doug Smith. Doug is from Petersburg, Texas and lives south of town. Doug plays by ear- He cannot read music, but has many CDs. A pickup accident left Doug paralyzed and he does not play anymore.

Most of the pictures were taken in the rolling plains (cap rock to Seymour, the Fork, 6666, and Waggoner Ranches). There are some scenes in Palo Duro Canyon.

Please take a moment to watch this....I don't know if I've ever come across such a skillful combination of music and amazing animal and landscape photography. The changes in the tempo perfectly compliment the scenery.

This is simply a beautiful portrayal of the unique part of our continent.

Press this link to open up the video!!

God Bless Chris Hyer 11/6/2016

Phone Interviews For the Recovering Alcoholic

It would seem as I get older and look for jobs that a phone interview for most people looking for work is normal.Where have the days of dressing nice and Resume in hand gone to? I remember having to drive quite a bit to go fill out an application , and I have to admit that I like the online idea of being hired. You fill out an application online, and everyone knows you are looking for jobs, some how? However , this is how I tend to get hired on to work for someone anymore. Nothing on the Internet is sacred. When I talk about my alcoholism that i went through , I am putting myself out there in never , never land and anyone can read about it. It does not bother me in the least as a alcoholic is suppose to help other alcoholics and the Internet makes this posible, even if you don't want people to find out about it.

It is like searching for a job, I was called from all over the USA this week and told about jobs in my little city of Midland , Texas. How did they know I was looking for work? Well, I know enough about computers that the cookies that are put into your browser, will stay up to 90 days and they sell information about what your looking at on the Internet and what your trying to do on the Internet. There is no secret to anything anymore.

I grew up as a "Baby Boomer", age group is what socialogist call my age, and lucky enough I am pretty savy about how to work the Internet and work on computers for that fact. Cell phones and andything that is connected to the Internet is pretty easy for me to understand. Hell, when I was drunk I use to try hacking sites and stuff and I got myself in trouble a few times. I'm not much into trying to hack anything at all cause big brother is watching and I really don't care about the inner world of the dark side of the Internet. Alcoholics are pretty smart individuals and I bet if you are reading this, you would agree with me on this statement. I drank because I was too smart and I celebrated my clever ideas and then I would get sick. Of course it took a while to take the cure, of not drinking, and then realizing how intelligent I really was back in my drinking days, I was also addicted to drinking to prove how smart I was and you were not. Vicious circle they call this attitude. It is a disease, they say and It is a mental illness. Well, it is what it was and I am glad today I don't have to drink. Have a good day. Chris Hyer

Weight Loss With Sobriety, This is what I Did!!!

Hi , my name is Chris and I am a alcoholic that has recovered. I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes only 3-4 weeks ago. I am a 53 yr old male , that had let hamburgers and french fries rule my life. In fact anything I could get my hands on to eat and drink was making me fatter as the days went on. I really did not care until I was diagnosed with Diabetes. I have known many friends with Diabetes and thought not much about this disorder, but I was told I needed to lose weight by my Doctor.

That very day, I found a gym and threw out my chocolate cookie dough ice cream and all the junk food in my refrigerator and changed my life again. This is what I do on a daily basis and have lost 17 lbs in 3-4 weeks : This is not a diet plan I say works for every one but it does for me, so I thought as a fellow alcoholic I would share this simple plan that has made me lighter and more fulfilled as I continue to lose weight.

The first thing I did was enroll in a gym at 24.99 a month for 24 hr access. All I wanted to do was lose weight not gain muscles. I walk on the treadmill for 10 min. now and beef this up at least two minutes everyday. I also ride a bike inside and do this for 15 min. a day and beef this up as I feel like it, so in all I spend about 20 min to 25 min. in the gym. Then I drink a lot of water. Water every day in the morning at noon and at night, I over dose on water.

Breakfast , I eat Greek low-fat Yogurt and a Banana and then at lunch I drink a Boost chocolate drink and eat Almonds to fill me up. At night I have a Pork chop and Spinach with dressing or some type of fish like shrimp and vegetables and lots of fruit. I eat fruit all day long. I also eat Jerky when I get a craving and it fulfills me and I am satisfied . These are just different habits I have made in my life and I see the results each day as I weigh myself.

Changes have to happen when you want results from a job, or relationship or losing weight. Alcoholics have to change to cut out drinking and accept the way they live which is a different way in which they lived when they drank. Losing weight or having to change is quite normal for the recovering alcoholic because our lives change on a continuous circle of years.

If it is a positive change you will reap the rewards, I am figuring this out. Negative thinking has to go out the door with alcoholics and replaced with positive thinking when we want to accomplish our personal goals. Is this selfish, yes it can be , to make yourself a better person. That is why staying sober is so important to our everyday living and saying prayers to God to help us have the courage to change our ways for the better. I hope this might help someone, but like I say all the time this is my journal and I am just keeping track of my changes. Have a Great Day! Chris Hyer

Changes In Life with Sobriety

My life keeps foinf every day. Sometimes the changes are good and other times the changes are not that god. The 2 Steps of AA help me deal with change. I give this up to God. I have no other choice. I do my work in the program and he does his. If we really believe in God then changes work out pretty good. However they may not work out like we want them . I recently have been offered a couple of jobs then they were taken back. I never have experienced that type of change. I drive for Uber at times to make extra money and I like meeting other people who may not be as fortunate as I am in my life. It matters no how much money one has , but their character, is what is interesting. Uber is a humbling experience in Midland as most wealthy Oil and Gas business men use the service cause it is cheap for them and reliable. I have written a couple of children's books and put them on Amazon , and they are going nowhere, but the effort I put into these were not sufficient. Therefor you get what you put out.

I recently found out I had Diabetes and I have changed my lifestyle again. I read up on what foods I need to eat and went and bought these, and they are not so bad. I want to live, and I want to be healthy, so I do what I can to progress in my life. It took me a while to get my insurance to acept my medication for Diabetes which is ridiculous. I needed prior authorization before the Insurance would give me a break on this medication. It took me 2 weeks of fighting the Dr office, Pharmacy and Blue Cross before I got the price of a medication from 1300.00 to 10.00 but I did get it taken care of. God gives us tools to work with and when I mean fight, I don't mean that I was angry, I just had to follow a outline of what the Insurance was wanting, but it became a full time job. Ridiculous as it was , it saved me and my life is back to normal. Have a good day and please comment if you like and I will post thee. Have a Good Day! Chris Hyer

Sobriety and What I have done in The last 4 weeks

I wanted to document for my own reasons what I have done in the last 4 weeks since I am waiting to start my new position with a new company. Like I said before this is for me , and anyone that wants to read this sobriety blog is more than welcome. This is a journal for me so I can look back and see my progress.
I changed jobs due to the craziness of my boss, and got a new job the next day, however the wait for the new job has been over three weeks for the start date, so I have had time to clean out my closet so to speak.
I have been diagnosed with Diabetes from my Doctor and decided it was time to start a weight training program and I have been going every day since I was diagnosed, I have lost 5 lbs in two weeks. I have changed what I eat in calories for the last three weeks , and have stuck with this up until the present. This has probably helped me lose the weight as I only work out 30 min. each day at the gym. I have tried to quit dipping snuff for only the last two days using vaping. I never have tried vaping but I am on the second day of this and I woke up not desiring a dip of snuff, which is unusual because for over 30 years I have dipped snuff and only quit one time , and it was really tough. Vaping seems like I am doing something wrong , but it is only nicotine I am replacing and I am not smoking , so we will see how this goes in the future. I am proud to say I did not reach out for the snuff this morning but to my vape machine in order to fulfill my need, so I see this as a plus. I have new teeth being put in and I don't want to lose them from dipping snuff.

I am a musician that never really knew the notes on the guitar or the scales , and I have studied this for 3 weeks and now able to play much smoother and sound ten times better than I was. I am doing this every day. I discovered coloring books for adults and have set time eeveryday to work on these as it calms my nerves and I enjoy seeing the colors brighten up the book. I write in this blog almost every other day and discuss what I am doing and hopefully it will help someone else get some ideas on life and sobriety. I go to AA every day to full fill my life and my sobriety. I also read about God through Rick Warren's book, and have gained some more insight about what God wants for us.

I have accomplished quite a bit in the last 3-4 weeks , but I am ready for my new job to start and I am suppose to hear pretty soon that my start date is about to happen.Staying busing and not having idle hands has helped me with the last few weeks of waiting to start this new position..I hope all who read this will comment on how their lives are progrsseing. God Bless Chris Hyer

Changing Your Sobriety With Changing Yourself

It is Sunday 9/25/2016 and I woke up early as usual and in my mind, I knew that working out at the Gym this morning was going to start my day. I get confused do I want to take a shower and then sweat it out or get sweaty then take a shower. So many things run through my head on something this simple. Yes, I look forward to going to the gym now. I have only been there three days now and I feel really good about what I am doing for my body. I even feel a little bit of tightness in my stomach as if I am gaining  strength. I have not worked out in over 30 years, so this little feat of me going to the gym and working out is a new change in my sobriety and it is a good change. WHen you better yourself , it seems to pay off by making me feel like I have accomplished something that God wants in my life. When my new job starts , I am going to have to figure out how I am going to work in the workouts as I am committed to losing weight, mostly.

I am a big guy anyway and that is cool, but I don't want the belly of a big guy. So I mostly run and ride the cycle in the gym. I burn calories and two weeks ago I started eating right. I cheat on eating , a bit but I have cut back on chocolates and other junk that I know has caused me to gain so much weight. The good thing about change and sobriety is that I am not the only one trying to change. At first I did not want to go to the gym cause I have a phobia about all these buff men working out and her comes fatty, then I just made my mind up and went and realized I was smaller than most in the gym,. I psyche myself out at times and think I am the only one. I am wrong, as the re are several thousands of alcoholics that I am sure are working the program or at least trying to work it. That is what change is , it is trying and not talking yourself out of this change in which sobriety is all about is change for the better. Cod Bless. Chris Hyer

Weight Loss With Sobriety

I went to a Dr. and got on the scales and realized that I weighed too much. I could tell I had gained some weight and knew I had. I have a sweet tooth and I also like chips and chocolate, so I was doomed when I went there and weighed in. The Doctor did not say I needed to lose weight but I know I did, so last week I started buying smart foods, is what I will call them. I bought only lettuce and weight watchers dinners and have cut cokes down to one a day and drink a lot of water. When I stopped drinking , I was prety fine with my weight, cause I did not eat much when I drank alcoholl.Now , that I have been sober for over eight years I have built a few bad habits and one was eating too much or while I was on the road , getting chocolate. I have lost 4 lbs since last Monday and I can feel the weight coming off. It is a good , healthy feeling to lose the weight. I plan on staying on this so called low calorie diet for as long as I can stan it. I feel one night or day of the week I will eat anything I want for dinner or lunch, so not to deprive myself. lol

One staep at a time is what we say in AA , but it applies to eating and drinking colos also. Take baby steps and once you get into the groove try to stay into eating fruits and veggies and you should notice a few pounds coming off also. The feeling is terrific to get ont he scales and notice a little loss, and loss is good. Maybe you have neglected this also and this note will help you. Stick to it for 90 days and see the results. Have a Blessed Day . CHris Hyer

Life in Sobriety is a Merry Go Round

It would seem some day are better than others. I don't know why this is or if it's just the way our brains behave
. For me, life can be a merry go round type ride, some days I am motivated and singing and joyfully ready and others I am tired and sick of all the negative things I hear on the news. You would think there would be a positive news station , where they only talked about was positive information on our government, society, and children. However , there is no such news agency I am aware of to get up joyfully and listen to all the good that is happening in my life. God grant me the serenity , I guess is where this has all come down to living in the now, good and bad.

But this is a new day ,  a sober day for most of us, hopefully and if not your probably going , damn I wish this guy would shut up. I am very positive most of the time, but during the day my mood can change as I wait for my new job and my background check to clear. I just got word that all this company needs is my drug test results, well hell I submitted these last Tuesday, so are they lost? Shit, get your act together, and go ahead and find these results so I can go to work. Those people out in our community that have served jail time must have a hell of a wait to get past these background checks but my background is spotless. I thank God for not having to go to jail, and all the other miserable things that could of happen when I was drinking. I tend to forget how good I have it made in this life.
God prevails and I think I will go to the park and read a book for a few hours then color in my book,lol. God Bless Chris Hyer.

Sobriety and Mindfulness?

I have been going to Barnes and Nobles almost every day to read and I came across the Best Sellers on the table and they were coloring books? Confused and out of date I must be , but they are also on the top list of wanted books on the New York Times. So of course, I went and bought a Adult coloring book and crayon pencils for about 40.00USD. Why? well I don't know why except I thought , you know this might be a way of keeping my anxiety down. When I was a child my parents bought me crayons and coloring books and I was not very good at doing this as I was a action type kid that liked to play Baseball and sports. However being an adult now, and coloring these books is a different meaning. My mother use to buy these books for the kids to keep them quite and calm, so I suppose that is the Mindfulness that belongs to these books for adults.
All these new words in the new world, lol, but I have to say this, coloring these books are no small feet, and they do help pass time, instead of watching TV. I also get a sigh of relief in coloring a black and white confused diagram in this book. Hey, they look pretty with color, and it is a great time to not think about anything for a short period of time.

So , I thought it was stupid at first, but in thinking about these coloring books, it is great for shaky hands and for focusing on what you are doing. So , I can't rule out the posiblility that they may be a good form of therapy for some of us. Let's put it this way , the first copy of one coloring book sold over 1 million copies when it came out for adults , so were either really stresed or bored to death. I can't really put my thumb on it. I get a little bit of everything, anxious,stressed, mad, and even calm now thanks to the my coloring book.Sobriety is many things to a alcoholic who was out of it for nearly 30 years, so this coloring book is kind of a cool idea for meditation and watching the page come alive. Give it a chot. God Bless. Chris Hyer

Why is AA so Important to Keep Sobriety

AA is a group of recovered or recovering alcoholics that meet usually on a daily basis or during the week at specific times. What we do in AA is talk about how to better our lives with the tools that we are given in AA. One tool is the use of the 12 Step Program which if followed in order can help one beat the use of alcohol and keep one sober for many months, and years. It is not a cult and is not a religious group. It is people who are looking for answers to thier questions that are usually found in th Big Book of AA that is a read for the purpose of staying sober and breaking down the 12 Step Program into a more understandable way for us former alcoholics.

Why is it a necessity to go to these groups? You make friends with some of these people in AA that may have drank for the same reasons you did. We share our experiences in these rooms and remember how insignificant they really were compared to our new life of sobriety.We change while we attend these meetings into citizens that people want to be around and do business with. It could be called a new awakening of of lives and even though most of us don't really see it , it is our families that usually see our positive changes and they tend to like the new face we have put on since going to these meetings and working the program steps. It's a spiritual congregation of love and understanding that binds most of these groups together.

There are a few that go back ut and drink some more and end up dead. These are terrible results from not staying with the program. Somehow , somewhere the program did not adhere to these people and since I have been going to AA , I do know if a few that have started drinking and ended up dead within a few days to a month. This is serious to keep attending or staying in touch with a Sponsor to keeping yourself sober and happy. Yes, it is not an easy program at times we all get tempted, but we who go to these meetings realize that it is up to us to stay sober and not someone else. You cannot blame another for your drinking addiction. Hopefully this provides a little bit of insight into what AA is and what it is not. Have a nice day.God Bless Chris Hyer

Sobriety and Living with the Power of God

I live with the power of God every day. That does not mean every day is going to be perfect, and by far this is not true. It means for me to stay sober, I have to hand over a lot of what is on my mind to God.
So , just how does a person do this? Well, for me it takes asking a prayer for God to take a hold of the situation and guide me through it the best he can. Very simple step right? However, I doubt God at times but have all my faith in him to bring me out of myself and gain control over my life. This has been an ongoing process for the last 8 years, and it seems to work. I do not stress as much as when I try to run the show. When I let my higher power take over my day or moment, it usually turns out pretty good and I stay active in keeping my human body functioning doing the right thing in life.

I have been a musician for most of my life but have not perfected theory of music , so I am now working on this with my guitars. I feel that it will make me a better guitar player and more musically inclined to step out and play for people and let them enjoy the music I play. I have always played several instruments but never really stayed with just one. This time, I will take it one instrument at a time, just like the AA program, and master one at a time. This is now what I do in my spare time instead of watching TV and isolating myself from the world. It feels good to know I am progressing in my music and it brings joy and pain to my fingers as I practice for about 4- 5 hours a day while my paperwork is processed for my new position in work. This takes about two weeks I am told. There is nothing else I can think of to do. I am an
artist that oil paints and I have this to tackle also as I could be a better painter if I chose to learn more abut my art.

There are a lot of things God may put in your life that is just right in your home that you may want to be better at and this keeps your mind busy and occupied. I believe God wants us to be creative no matter what age we are. Have a Blessed Day..Chris Hyer

Sobriety Curve Balls In our Social Living

Its is Monday 9/12/2016 and a pretty day in Western Texas, I have almost 9 years of sobriety as of this time of year. I have just let go of one full- time job that has lasted almost a year. Why the curve ball has been thrown ? Well, the job was boring and not very interesting to myself. It Paid the bills but I have another job lined up that will do the same, pay the bills. God works in ways that I do not understand , nor or we suppose to understand why God works his miracles in the way he does with us. I have been wanting to leave this former company for months and when the opportunity came and I found another position in which I am interested , I changed like a normal person would.

Now that is not to say I am normal because to me a normal person is one who can drink normal and still hold a job and so the definition of normality is hard to be defined. I am normal in the fact that I pray to God , go to AA meetings and try to live the way God would want me to live. I am 53 and yes I am still stubborn in my ways. I am single with one child who is 24 and I am very proud to call him my son, and he loves me. These things I know because now, he can tell me and wants to be around me. We are not very close but close enough to understand that when I am sober he really takes a liking to me.A very fine young man that does not cuss, drink or smoke and works as a cashier for a grocery store in Midland, Texas. He has thrown me a curve ball in how he lives his life, very quite he is and loving and clean.That is all I can be thankful for is he does not have tattoos and not doing drugs and alcohol like his Daddy did. I am very blessed.

I am blessed also with a clear conscious mind that I am doing the right and legal things in my life and not having to look back to see if I have done wrong. That is a plus in sobriety is looking forward  and to the future no matter what age you may be. The Lord has my back all the time and he watches out for me , and when i feel I may be doing something wrong I feel it and retract. God either is or he is not, what is he to you. God Bless Chris Hyer 9/12/2016

God is a Driving Force in My Sobriety

What drives us to change and do better or worse. There is a power greater than myself in that drives my spirit up or down. Possibly the downward spiral of myself is from my own actions. I may not include God in everything that I do, while trying to keep in touch with God I lose touch. I have a spiritual connection with God and I have, to be honest, that I use this sometimes when things are rough and not when life is moving forward in my sobriety and just plain living. Living without a connection to God is self- imposed and it can be very easy to start playing God when you forget that you are not God. People say to me at times, have a Blessed Day! I think these people are more spiritual than I am because it comes so natural for these individuals to say this. I also find that when I am told this remark that I feel better about my day. I try to copy these people and say ,:Have a blessed Day", as I know what it feels to have a clerk at a convenience store say this to me, and when it feels good it must be good.

When it is right and feels good then it must be God working in my life. If I do something wrong and I question what I might be doing then I must be disobeying the spirit of God that resides in me. To stay sober one must believe in God to keep going through the day. I have to do this and I practice praying to my friend, " God" on an hourly basis. No one said this God thing would be easy , but at times it really can be to get yourself through the next hurdle of life. Have a great day Chris Hyer

The Big Book and Sobriety

I don't make it a habit to read the Big Book of AA. I do read it in the mornings or evenings where I get bored. I usually see myself in some fashion or another in this book. This could be a present or past reflection on whom I have become as a sober individual. When reading the Big Book of AA , I find passages that are out of date. The meaning of some of the words can be quite confusing to me, so I look some of them up in a dictionary, and the word makes perfect sense to the context in which it is written. I find that reading the pages in the back of the book can be enlightening to myself, as when I go to AA meetings these back chapters are ignored.Most of the AA meetings are focused on the 12 steps of the book in the first 100 or so pages. This is good information and if lived with a spiritual connection do work for the alcoholic who is trying to understand what this whole book and program is about.

I also read the Bible on a daily basis and Rick Warren a Pastor out of California has a book called "The Spirit Driven Life", I believe that is the name of it. This book helps me to understand what God wants for me out of my relationship with him. I was hesitant to read a Pastor book , because of the church , but he has made the words make good sense to me in what my program is all about and that is a spiritual journey into God's life and how to please my God .

Years ago I could not care a less what these two books have to say. In sobriety, you need to believe in a spiritual life bigger than yourself  which can help you get over the first step in AA. How you do this can be confusing but in reality it just means you will give up drinking and or using for a power greater than yourself , the obsession will leave once you believe in this attitude. This sometimes will happen fast and other times it will be slow, I think it is how you believe in a power greater than you as to how fast this approach will transform your brain.The disease of alcoholics is really unfounded, it is a mental instability that causes most of us to drink until we pass out or otherwise get to the point in which we are comfortably numb. To stay sober  means that we will neglect alcohol and drugs and move on through the day and be as normal people do such as work and help others help themselves.

Helping others is key to living a spiritual life, but we first must focus on helping yourself get through the pain of so many years of self-abuse. This takes time and to each individual, this time also can be short to long term. You get what you put into your mind from reading and going to AA meetings and the people that you let yourself be around. I am amazed at the sober ones that have a boyfriend or girlfriend that still drinks and they are trying to stay in this sick relationship. Drinking is fine for those who do not abuse it. So I am not talking about the casual drinker , but the alcoholic who has to live with one whom is alcoholic , this must be a hard situation to cope with. I would have to get away from this person , or I could not of stayed sober for very long.

Well, it is Sunday 8/21/2016 amd I am still employed and paying bills, I go to the grocery store and run errands and do my paper work for work. I am a functioning recovered alcoholic. In the past I put off these things or they would not get done any of them. I seee my progression through these pages in my blog. I also see it and hear it from people in my AA program that say I have come a long way. That is pleasing but in reality I have a little more than 8 years of sobriety with about 20-30 years of drinking, and I am very glad that I do not crave anything like alcohol to make it through the day. I get bored and that just means I need to get busy. I call this idle hands syndrome. You have to be careful and not isolate yourself from the world and I know this at it's best. Have a great day and to feel God is to get knowledge about the spirit of God and I challenge you and myself to know more each day of our creator , so you can live one day at a time and live a whole new outlook on life. God Bles Christopher Hyer

Saturday and Staying Sober

Saturday in the years of my drinking were days to re0couperate from Friday night highs and drinking. I would not wake up until noon or later and then go get food as I was hungry in which woke me up. It would be close to three or four in the afternoon before my head kicked in and I was truly awake. I am not sure how your Saturday was but for me it was quite and sleepy most of the day. Of course, I was preparing for Saturday night and what I was going to drink or smoke. If I was out of weed, I started to make phone calls to get some for the rest of the week. It was like a totally different lifestyle than it is now.
Eight years later in my present tense, I wake up about six AM and try to sleep in till 7 AM and then I let my puppy out the backdoor and let her do her stuff and fix breakfast and drink juice. That is my usual Saturday now. After breakfast, I look at my work phone to see if I have calls for the day I need to take care of , and then get ready to work them or if I don't I get ready for AA as I have a meeting at 10 AM I like to go to in Midland, Texas. I sometimes go grocery shopping in the morning but that habit has changed, and sometimes I just go and buy a few things cause I really just but what I can eat for a few days , but I buy a lot of sparling water. I like Swepps Sparkling water it is my beer for the day , and I like the fizz and taste of this drink. I have progressed to Gatorade also , for some odd reason, I like the taste.

So you now see the change of when I was using alcohol and drugs and to the now when I do not use these things. I really did not know the difference until I started writing this down on this blog. Maybe it is good to have a blog and write how your past was and what you are like now. It sure makes a difference in how far one has come to be sober and living with God. Yes, there is that God word again, he and I are best of friends on a daily basis. I have to have a higher power with me at all times. Call me co-dependent..lol However, it seems to work for me to have gone through these changes and end up not hung over and up and early like I am now. What a miracle once I read over what I just wrote. If you want what I have just take a few steps from AA and work them and then you become a better more productive human being, and you might help change someones life . I write this for me to loook back on and it is interesting to note that I have about 900 people that read this blog a month. So people are interested in how I live I guess. I hope it helps someone. Have a good Saturday, and God Bless. Christopher Hyer.