Grateful For What God Has So Freely Given Me

It is easy for me to get lost in my problems with life and forget to be grateful for those things in which God has given me. It is easy to get lost in the confusion of the day and realize that I am sober from alcohol and drugs and should be grateful that God has given me the strength to carry forward in this life. I am grateful to be able to type this at 8:00 AM on Friday morning because eight years ago I sure would of not been doing this blog. I was always hung over and to combat the hangover I would smoke a joint upon waking then the cycle of the addiction would take over my day.

I believe we all have all sorts of issues we have to deal with on a daily basis. The best way I prepare for the next day is to not expect that I will have another next day, I give it to God in prayer at night and ask him to do for me what I can't do for myself and to guide me , that is about it. Upon waking the next morning , surprise phone calls or seeing my dog wag her tail at me in enthusiasm is a wonderful start to a new day. My days are not perfect, and I still have my faults but I am clear headed and make some sense of what I am doing for the most part of the day. I try to help another human being out as often as I can but I forget to do this also, and then it comes natural. Helping another person out takes me out of self and makes me feel useful to this life. I am ever so grateful for God in making me a sober individual that my family wants to be around, and my friends also. This is a blessing, even the computers I have to write this blog are miracles to have considering when I was in my addiction I had no car or anything of materials as I sold most all twice in my life to afford my addiction to alcohol and drugs. I hit bottom so many times , I have lost count, I don't think this will happen again, or i at least pray for this not to be the case for me. Have a grateful Day, Chris

July 4th,2017 A Day to Stay Sober

What better thing to do today then to stop drinking alcohol than the 4th of July, 2017? Yeah, I know it is celebration time, however, is there not a day that is celebration time? A person who is not alcoholic does not think this the day to get hammered, but a day to spend with the family and kids . An alcoholic by this time of day has already possibly had the first drink to make it through the morning shakes and jitters. The alcoholic cannot control his drinking because it is a disease like cancer. Until the alcoholic gets true help he will keep up his drinking no matter what you say, because he cannot stop on his own will. You are not to blame for the alcoholic's ways, his brain is wired differently and he just wants you to shut up about his habit and let him live his day, even though deep inside he would like to quit.

So what do you do when you have a loved one that drinks and does not stop drinking. One answer is a treatment center and yes they are free in most cities in the USA. They are not nice like the Betty Ford Clinics, but all treatment centers are the same, they get the alcoholic off the drink for at least a short period of time. The other option is to make the alcoholic leave and not come back, which is hard to do for any one's family but a necessity is to make sure that the alcoholic knows you will not put up with his drinking. If drunk he will complain and leave because he is tired of hearing you bitch about his drinking, but then as most drunks will do , they will call you back sober and tell you they have a plan for not drinking. Beware of this plan , and if does not involve some type of counseling or AA , do not let the alcoholic come home. We alcoholics are quite manipulative and know how to get what we need and want. Most alcoholics are very smart and intelligent working citizens, they are not the bums that you see underneath a bridge in a dark long coat. They will be this person if they do not quit and lose all and get locked up in prison or jail. I have met them all.

Sometimes jail really helps an alcoholic or drug abuser, I don't recommend this but I have seen it work in other cases. It is a drastic way to sober up , and the treatment center is not usually there to help with withdrawals. Many people get busted for DUI and DWI on this weekend, and other weekends as well. You see an alcoholic hass many holidays even though he would not call them this. Drinking socially is not drinking beer after beer for a 12 pack in a couple of hours. Your not drinking for the taste but for the effect it has on you and you enjoy this effect or addicted to the feel good effect.
Today is a great day to start drinking water or soda's and not pick up a beer for just today, then when work comes in the morning you might think of doing the same thing, and if you have a problem with not drinking on the next day call AA and discuss this with someone. You can do this and there is help 24 hours a day with so many of us recovering alcoholics with phones you can talk to. We have lived this life of lies and hurting our families, we know where you have been, don't feel ashamed as you will not surprise us that use to drink. Good Luck Today and have a Happy 4th of July this year 2017. Chris Hyer

Building Self -Confidence

I found this in my email about building up self confidence and thought it was great. So I will share it with you. Have a blessed day. Chris July 3rd 2017

1. Focus on improving just one thing or habit at a time.

 

Spreading yourself too thin pretty much always leads to failure because life tends
to get in the way.

 

If you have a regular life then you'll probably not have the time and energy to
change three things at once even though you really hope and think you can.

 

2. Find one or a few supportive voices.

 

Your environment at this point in time may contain people who are neutral,
uninterested or discouraging to the change you want to make.

 

A simple thing you can do to counterbalance the influence of those people is
to spend time with people who are supportive and may even have made the
change you want to make.

 

If you do not know any such people in real life or there is not a local club you can
join then add supportive voices from people elsewhere.

 

You can find them in books written last year or 200 years ago. You can find them
on blogs and websites. You can find them in various Facebook groups or in online
forums.

 

This will help you to keep going and to not revert back into your old habit or ways
in a week or two.

 

3. Get the ball rolling by taking one small action today.

 

Don't get lost in daydreams or promises to yourself about getting started with
making this change next week or someday.

 

Instead, ask yourself:

 

What is one small and practical action I can take today to get the ball rolling with
improving this area of my life?

Sobriety and Stress Toys

Ive noticed recently that the marketing media has pushed this year not the iphone versions and the types of television you need to have . Yet the idea that I need to buy a spinner or a Infinity stress cube is one of my answers to stress. Is the whole world just messed up on insanity items. It would seem like sobriety and giving your sobriety to God would be stressful to some I would imagine. These gimmicks give all the indications of how they will help you with your mood and feeling less ADD or give them to your kids and watch them turn them into just what they are, which are mindless toys. I know I had to buy a spinner because I wanted to feel less stress. In my opinion it just keeps my fingers busy. Kind of like typing on a laptop keyboard like I am doing now, keeps me from having idle hands.

I write about the "idle hand ", syndrome for alcoholics in one of my blogs. It basically means that when your hands are idle that you might be in for some trouble with wanting a drink to put in your hands. These toys very well might help with this but other things such as painting art, photography, mowing the grass, are those in which we don't have to spend any money on a gadget that does nothing but keeps are hands from being idle. It seems like everyday , some marketing company comes up with a gadget that will take anxiety away or ADD or add to our memory and I am all for it , but I think it can also be a scam on parents and kids alike. Here are a few pictures

of a couple of these gadgets that are making millions of dollars in the marketplace. Do you have one? If you have a kid , I bet you do. Chris , Have a good July 4th and shoot fireworks but don't blow off your fingers..lol

"The Habit" Of Your Life and Mine

I found this in my email and I thought I would share it with those who struggle feeling good during the day at times. I hope you enjoy it. Chris 6/28/2017

The habit?

 

To simply take 2 minutes at the end of your day to appreciate yourself. To think
back and to celebrate the small and bigger positive things you have done today.

 

It could be that you listened to your friend when she really needed to vent today.

Or took the first small step with something you have been procrastinating on for
too long.

 

Or that you got up from the comfy couch and went out for a run or into the gym to
get stronger. It could be that you were kind in a situation where it would have
been so easy to be judgmental and to derive pleasure from that.

 

It could be things you may often take for granted in your everyday life. Like doing
the dishes. Or washing the dirty clothes. Or cooking a healthy and tasty dinner.

 

A few questions that can help you to start finding things to appreciate about
yourself today are:

 

• What is one small thing I can appreciate about what I have done today?
• What is one small thing I can appreciate about what I have thought today?
• How did I add value to one person's life today?
• What thing that is positive but I usually take for granted did I do today?

 

By making this self-celebration into a very small habit at the end of your day -
perhaps when you are in bed or resting after your dinner or taking a shower after
work - every day you can start to change how you think about yourself and the
things you do.

 

This quick evening habit has helped me to raise my self-esteem and to keep it
steady (even on tough days when things didn't go as I had wished).

It has helped me to build new positive energy within and to up my motivation
for life and for tomorrow.

 

I have also found that after a while as this self-kinder way of thinking becomes
more and more of a habit it will start to seep into the rest of the day too. And that
can help you to react to and handle life's ups and downs in a more constructive
and optimistic way. Staying sober is a good way to live life, god bless..

Living Sober and "The act of normality"

What is a normal person? This question is one in which I think has several different possibilities. Is an alcoholic a normal person? Could be , depends how you look at society. Society has a lot of people who drink alcohol. If you ask me , I think most people drink alcohol, I just assume this as normal. Also in reality I think there are a lot of problems with these people who continue to drink and their everyday lives. Alcohol, can really taste good but can it really improve yourself? I think it can temporarily make a person think he is better than he is and possibly think he is on top of the world and or some type of God. However that is my perception of the world. Or should I say the USA. The United States probably has more alcoholics than any other country.
Normal is a word for people who appear to have their act together with family, wealth and finances and perfect marriages, which we know is not true. If we were all so called normal then we would have no problems and life would have a lot of rose colored cheeks on peoples faces with big smiles. I don't see that every where, but I do see it at times. To be normal is to be your self , the good and the bad, hopefully the bad will go away if you want it to or will it to.

In the dictionary "Normal" means, " conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected.", so I guess I am normal and maybe you are also. We just have problems which are normal as well. 

Some people are above the normal state , in money and in their living habits, we all want something we don't have. Try to be happy with your normaily and being a recovering alcoholic is perfectly a normal state of being.Chris 

Service Work For AA Chair a Meeting

I have been volunteered to chair meetings for my home group in Midland, Texas for Monday nights. I use to chair quite a bit back a few years ago, and I have time to do it now. It is always interesting to see who comes to my meetings and how a short topic can sometimes draw such a large response. There are some who come in that have never been to a AA meeting and you have to make them feel welcome, and I try to do this, but then their are the regular ones that show up every night we have meetings, and then there are the court appointed people that come because they have to..It is always a little strange taking the lead of a AA meeting because all eyes are on you. Some look up to you others judge you , and that is just life. I am not much of a talker except when it comes to the solution and I can't quote phrases from the Big Book, but I don't give a damn. I am not that hard core into memorizing something that I carry on me into meetings. It does give me something useful to do on a Monday night so be it. I will run a discussion group talking about anything alcohol or drug related, and I will gritt my teeth and wish I was not there at times. It is all about being a par tof the solution so if you get a chance , chair a meeting every once in a while. I have changed a few people thoughts and they recognize me at other meetings and this is the big pay off for me. I actually help some people out , and that is what AA and staying sober , doing service work is all about. Chris