Love and Tolerance

Good day to  everyone that   has found this blog. I am Chris and I am a recovering alcoholic. I have been sober more than 4 years and I love life today. I have my obstacles to overcome and who doesn't. This blog is to help other alcoholics get through today and hopefully the new person that is just curious as to how we do it.

The first thing you do in AA or anything in life is not drink for today. The craving will go away once you accept God into your life. Do not fret for not a one of us have been perfect at maintaining our sobriety. Some of us have slipped and fell and drank again, saying that we were going to stop. Then when you have a spiritual awakening, whatever that could be for you. You will lose all craving and want to learn how to live sober.

Living sober by reading the many books out there. The little red Big Book is what I carry with me, so many prayers are in it. There is hardly much about drinking in this book. There is a lot of information to getting through the day. Page 85 is a favorite of mine.

Page 85 talks about the promises you will recieve from God once you have mastered the not drinking stage,it is beautiful and true. Many people from AA love the promises. Please find this online and read it. It will make your day. We have stopped fighting the urge to drink and stop fighting ourselves. We are at a moment of reprieve of this day. God is doing for us what we could not do. We are functioning in this world and doing quite good because we believe in a spirit that is bigger than us. He will follow you through the day if you ask God to.

Ask God to help you all day long, this is a selfish program and it is ok. God just wants to hear from you. Do not be too extravagant and expect miracles to take place, cause they will. Be careful what you ask for , you just might get it.

When starting out with sobriety, we need to understand that years of drinking is in our system and it may take some time to realize what God is and how he can help. By practice and prayer , you can overcome these feelings. With help that is from God.

Have a great day and remeber to pray every moment before you speak and hesitate what comes from your mouth. It could destroy you if you don't watch it. Be aware of your feelings, not expressing them could be good or bad. Ask Him for help in your daily living. God Bless.

Some Things to Think About

Life is too short for drama and petty things, laugh alot, love truly,and forgive quickly!

Sometimes in AA we get caught up in ourselves. I know I do this. I try not to. There are little sayings that you can remeber that will take you out of yourself. This is what I am focusing on today.

We are something special. That even though we lack the wisdom ourselves, with God we can have the wisdom needed to fulfill the tasks ahead.

Another great saying written by someone I don't know.

God came as one of his people, to show His people that with him, and through Him, we can do all things.
Today no matter how lowly you feel , or how much you lack,remember with God you are complete.

Go to AA tonight , even if its your first time, and share your self with another. You will feel better, that is a for sure thing. Get outside the realm of self, and you will have a better day. God Bless

Monday and "God Grant Me"

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change those things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference"

copy2008@hyerspecialties

Monday's are always hard on me, the start of a work week and the unknown? It;s why I use to drink on Sunday night, and call  in on a Monday morning. I don't do that now, I face the next day with G
od and we get through it. I can't help but be a bit nervous on some days . I work in the computer break/ fix dept. of my company and what may seem easy usually ends up a bit confusing.

I pray to God every night and morning and hit an AA meeting on Sunday night, it was a Step Study night. The step study is not really any different in AA than any other night. We talk about how we are doing spiritually and how progress has happened in our lives. No war stories about what we use to drink or smoke. We do reflect back on how it was when we were using or drinking and how much better life is now that God is in our lives taking control.

Is God taking control over your life today? Ask for him to guide you through the day and you will have a better day. Stay sober today only. Expect the best of today. Its a beautiful sunny day in Midland, Texas. I hope you and God make it a great day, and do not let anyone break your spirit.

Sober as Dr. Bob and Bill See It AA

As Dr. Bob and Bill See It,

ChristopherHyer2013oil painting

Good day and welcome to Sober, my blog for people that want to live without drinking alcohol or drugs. There are plenty of us in this world that want the relief of just drinking a little bit when the time arises. There is another group of us that cannot drink alcohol and stop. We are at the mercy of a truly baffling disease called Alcoholism. We are upstanding people and hold down many occupations. White collar and Blue Collar workers. Some of us are Doctors and Lawyers, and others are Airplane pilots and manufacturers or even retired.

Alcoholism affects the family and their loved ones. The only way to kill the disease is a spiritual foundation that one can believe in God. You must work the 12 steps aligned by the AA groups of Alcoholics Anonymous. Those who do this will and totally succeed from the craving and abstinence of drinking. This is proven. Unfortunate are those who do not follow the program outlined by AA will not ever quit, or if they do, will go back to alcohol, not because they want to, but because they have to.  

Meetings are a necessity, even if you think they are no suitable for you. I can’t explain why. You do not have to go every day, yet did you drink every day? If the answer is yes then attend a meeting every day and go to several different AA meetings. There are Big Book, Step studies and general discussion meetings. There are weekend outings with friends and families of alcoholics having fun without drinking alcohol. There is fun in these groups and watch out whom you hang around in these AA clubs. There are some people that are court appointed. This author suggest you treat them well, but beware that they have to be there, or they go to prison.

Yes, it is a challenge and your life will change. It will change for the better for not only you, but the people that truly love you. There are external problems; for example,  the wife may leave you for your drinking, or your kids will hate you because of how you acted when drinking. These can all be mended once you decide what we have to offer. A new employer may come about, bringing you back the materials you may have lost during your drinking period. There are quite a few of us that have lost everything and now have it back. It does not happen soon, it is a timely matter.

It’s Sunday June 2, 2013, a great day to stop drinking and start the new week out in an AA meeting tonight. It is only an hour usually, and you may know someone already there. Get a sponsor as soon as possible, and start working the steps. If you have questions ask them.

Do it for your self, Do it today! God Bless.

AA---Tonight and Sober

 My dog Cocoa 2013

I don't attend AA very often , in fact it has been three years since I last went. I took of tonight and headed to The Serenity Group in my home town. There was a crowd of about 12 people, sad to say most were from treatment centers in this town. They have to go, and I remeber being one of them, and not thinking about how long I would stay sober. Just to sit in an AA meeting and not be nervous was a blessing.

I highly recommend if you are like me, and sober for a while without going , that you go. It was good to talk and share a bit of knowledge that I have learned and how to keep my hands from being idle. There was no miraculous event that took place except that I saw a guy that I went to Church with when I was about 9 years old with 4 years sobriety. Small world it is. I felt like I belonged to this group and was not an outsider. It was a good meeting, about the Big Book.

Who knows I might find a Sponsor like they say to do , that and going to a few more meetings this year.lol  I really don't have much going between 8-9PM and I just decided it was time.

I hope your time is now , also. AA is good, there are positive results from going to a meeting. You realize your not as messed up as some of the others are. That being said , I already have been there, and it was good to see what could happen if I twist off. I learned a lot. Have a good day for Friday.

God Grant Me the Serenity To stay Sober Today

" God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change those things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference", What a prayer.

It covers you all day long if you think about it during your day today, say this prayer when things get tough out there. Stay sober just for today , you made it through the night, and now It is morning.

You may feel a bit edgy, but it is normal. Yes normal people feel edgy at times. To go out in this world not knowing, can be quite scary to us. We want to know what will happen during the day, some of us think negative . Pray to be positive, and loveing to one another. Just for today.

Have a great day and help someone else , just because you will.

Sober and the "God Prayer"

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference!”

Photos by christopherhyer.com cpy2013

This prayer is for everyone, alcoholic or not, it covers a wide range of daily living. Is that not all we seek? What a prayer that can cover all angles of life and what one person can accomplish in this prayer.

There are things we have no control over. It could be your husbands drinking, or his Saturday nights out at the casino. You can tell someone you don’t like what they are doing with their lives, but you can’t tell them how to live.

God will undoubtedly give you what you don’t have. Whether it is money, clothes or friendship. If you pray, and sincerely need these items they will come if prayed and asked for it. Be careful what you ask for you might get it.

Have a fantastic time and tell yourself this will be an perfect time for you to help another human being. Pay it forward to another human being, and give of yourself to him or her. Have a blessed day!!

I. Sobriety: The Spiritual Malady "issue man"

Sobriety is a noun for the intention of being “staid” or “solemn”. The very name of solemn is to express a calm and collective person or individual. Is there addiction to being rational or in a solemn condition? There is a lot of people that believe in the “Issue Man”. What is the “Issue Man"? The Issue Man is a spiritual malady that exist in each and every person on this planet. The discovery of the Issue Man is from Chris R. from Ingram, Texas. A sober man with a black patch over one eye with the knowledge of a professor. However, he is just a normal recovering alcoholic, drug abuser that helps people world wide by his speeches.

In growing up we all had different backgrounds to sustain our childhoods. Some of the experiences were unpleasant, and others were not. Staying abstinent from alcohol and drugs was not even on people’s minds growing through the years. We would see relatives come over for drinks with our families and see some that drank too much and actually paid no attention to this. When we grew up to see whats right and wrong, we started to see the effects drugs and alcohol did to individual’s that were close to us. We would laugh at them, and some of the drunks and drug abusers were frightening also.

As time went on, and some of us went to school we started to drink and smoke pot or had been doing it for years before we even were old enough to buy liquor. Sneaking around our folks and stealing a bottle of whatever to seduce our minds. Having fun with drinking or were we killing the pain inside ourselves was to some of us a daily way of living in our teens.

There is a man from Ingram, Texas called Chris R. and he developed the concept of the “Issue Man”. He believes that inside every human being is a little man called the “Issue Man”. As silly as this is drawn out by Chris, it is tremendously compelling to take note of how he describes this concept.

When a person drinks too much or takes too many drugs and is unable to control his or her intake. This is not the fault of the individual. Each human has a resistance level and chemical make up that is different to substances that we ingest into our bodies. Is alcoholism based on the fact that because some external power invades your inner peace, that one will drink? Yes,  and no, there is simple evidence that do show that siblings can adopt a genetic gene around that if related you could become an alcoholic or drug user because of your genetic makeup.  Yet, let’s back up to the “Issue Man” inside each of us and talk about the alcoholic.

The spiritual malady or Issue Man we like to call it, tells an alcoholic that when they become agitated, irritable, unpredictable and uncontrollable inside their bodies. Alcoholics can replace this emotional trouble by just taking a drink or two like most people do. The only problem is that a real alcoholic will go overboard and not just drink one or two drinks, yet inside thinking they can. It is a illness, that is unmanageable unless you have the tools of Alcoholics Anonymous and the spiritual guidance from God.

Most alcoholics describe the symptoms of why they drink. They blame the poor economy or that they lost money in a big deal with work. There are many excuses that an alcoholic will use. The problem is we listen to these excuses. How many times are you going to quit drinking and then come back with beer on your breath ? Until you die or get advice. Are treatment centers the answer, no. Do treatment centers help the alcoholic? Yes, they will always be there to take your hard earned money or insurance. The experience from a treatment center is what an alcoholic will remember, and till he or she dies. Sober or not sober, the facts are that this disease kills. There is no quick fix.

Which treatment center should I go to ? Betty Ford clinic is one answer, why not? To be quite honest with yourself, the best place to start is to admit you have a problem and know you can’t just quit on your own. Treatment centers will install in your brain ideas and sober you up long enough to find out that that wife of yours is not who  you thought she was. Your whole outlook on life will change whether you stay sober or not. The treatment centers that you pay money for will always be on your mind for what good they did for you and how you were when you were off the drug or drink. The next post on this blog will be more about Chris R. and the treatment centers in our American soil. There are those that are run by the salvation army that are exceptionally courteous and free. They are not pretty and can scare the devil out of you, but you will remain sober for a few weeks.

Best bet if you're trying to get sober today is to go to an AA

meeting in your neighborhood or somewhere close by. If you go drunk, that is fine. It might be better if someone else drives though. You will find help if you seek it. Free and paid help are available in every major city. AA is free, and some of the facilities offer a place to spend the night, to let you dry up. Keep reading this blog, and from personal knowledge, you will be able to at least have ideas on what your next move should be. Start today, and get help, not for anyone but yourself, or you will not make it. That is a guaranteed answer from experience. God Bless and the only reason I am writing this blog are to hopefully help those that need it. I have to give back what has been giving to me, or I will not make it another day myself. Email me at filmpro45@yahoo.com and put NEED HELP. I will respond to you.