Freedom NEWSLETTER Brought to you by New Life Spirit Recovery               September, 2009    Volume 1, Issue 6   Our Growing Pains Have Blossomed into Blessings by Dr. Robert T. Tucker We've had an exciting and eventful few months! NLSR recently In this Issue:   Newsletter Home   Get Ready for Change! by Dr. Tucker   Intervention: The Help an Addict Needs By Stephanie Tucker   Alumni Events   Focus on Changes YOU Should Make by Doug Britton   Personal Testimonies    Find a Meeting     moved to a new location just a few doors down the hall from our previous location. Although it was just a short distance, I'm sure that anyone who moved recently remembers the planning and effort that goes into it. For us, this move meant more than just an address change or a new office. It represented the faithfulness of God. He provided us with the perfect space to meet the exact needs of our clients, His children, for this new season of our organization as we continue to grow. Yet, we are fully aware that God is not just about "physical needs" and our external "face". God is always after the heart. He cares more about content, what takes place inside His children, then anything else. Whether it is an organization or a person, God's principles are true and apply in all situations. A part of life is that we are required to grow. In recovery, we acknowledge that "if we aren't growing, we are going." A failure to grow is certainty that some sort of death - emotionally, spiritually or physically - will take place. For some, that might show up in a relapse.    We can easily see this principle at work with the plant life that surrounds us. Either a plant thrives, blossoms and grows, or it withers and dies. The Christian journey, especially for the alcoholic, addict and codependent, requires a daily regimen of watering, nurturing and pruning. Sometimes growth is painful. It takes us to places we don't really want to go. It reveals things in us we don't really want to see. There is an old saying that certainly applies; no pain, no gain! Yet God says, "my child, you must, it is a natural path for you take. It proves that my life is in you."   How often we want to get comfortable and arrive at a place of complacency where life is simply "good enough." Or worse, we stop trying altogether, allowing our addiction and lusts for things of this world to consume the life of God in us.   Isn't it interesting to know that as we give God access into our life and allow Him to take us through His process of transformation, we may be asked to be "uncomfortable" at times. We may even feel the stress, strain and "growing pains" of the new life He perfectly planned for each of us. Yet at the same time, He says that in Him, through the growth, the labor and the effort - we will find rest. "Come all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Mat 11:28) The very thing we seek, peace, can only be attained when we let our Maker have His way with us.   Are you feeling the pain and sting of growth or are you stagnant and dying in your faith? We serve a mighty God of second chances and new beginnings. Release yourself to Him, let Him have His way in you.      "to bestow on them a crown of beauty        instead of ashes,        the oil of gladness        instead of mourning,        and a garment of praise        instead of a spirit of despair.        They will be called oaks of righteousness,        a planting of the LORD        for the display of his splendor". – Isaiah 61:3

What's Happening Now NLSR Current Events   Attention Pastors, Recovery Leaders, Sponsors or anyone who desires to learn more about addiction through a biblical persepctive!   Join us for this free seminar Facing Addiction: Embracing Solution A Biblical approach to drug and alcohol recovery Sponsored by New Life Spirit Recovery & ACADC Institute Thursday, November 12th Schedule of Events Fellowship: 2:30-3:00 Seminar: 3:00 pm-5:00 pm   Attendance is by RSVP only Please RSVP by November 5th Location will be announced prior to the event. All attendees will be contacted. (Huntington Beach area)   Click here for complete information   Please call 714-841-1906 or e-mail stephanie@newlifespiritrecovery.com to make your reservation. 2 CEU'S are available for $20 from the Association of Christian Drug & Alcohol Counselors. Please let us know when you RSVP if you will be requesting them. The seminar is free of charge.        Upcoming Alumni/Family Events:        The last Saturday of each month Next event: September 26th Schedule of Events: 11:30 Fellowship 12:00 BBQ is served 1:00 Message 1:30 Baptisms 2:00 Speed Sponsor   This event is for all clients, client family members, alumni and alumni family members. Family members must be invited by the client in order to attend. Students, interns and staff members also attend this event. If you work in the recovery ministry, we welcome you as well, but ask that you please call us ahead at 714-841-1906.  What's the Purpose of Alumni Events? Our alumni events are a special time of thankfulness and praise for how God is working in the lives of the people going through our program. At these events we have praise and worship, a recovery message, baptisms and testimonies. We also "send off" and congratulate those that have successfully completed the program. For those of you who have "graduated", remember that recovery isn't limited to 30 days! Rather, it's an ongoing process for the rest of our lives. Remember to stay connected to us as a part of your network. We are here to support, encourage, lift up and embrace you at this place in your recovery, no matter where you are!    See Pictures from this last month's BBQ   Read the latest testimonies!   To view our alumni page, click here

The 12 Steps from a Biblical Perspective Series Steps 4 & 5: Get Ready for Change! by Dr. Robert T. Tucker Learn some practical insight into addressing and overcoming your habits, hang-ups and hurts. Get a specific plan of action to begin working an inventory to rid yourself of defects and sinful tendencies. Need to search your heart? Are you getting ready to do a “searching and fearless moral inventory?” Who is capable of helping you look deep within your inner most self? Who knows your heart better than you? If you want to know what’s going on inside you, why not ask your Maker? God knows your strengths, your weaknesses, and every detail about you. He even knows the exact number of hairs on our head. When it comes to your heart and mind, God is the only One capable of revealing the problems, and presenting the solutions. Without Him, there is no recovery. As a matter of Biblical fact, Jesus is the solution to all our problems. Psychology can, at times, analyze problems, but it can’t fix (heal) them. Only God has the power to heal.  To read the full article, click here Read archived articles about the process of recovery, leading to lifelong and genuine change: The True Path to Recovery Struggles Are Blessings Understanding the Recovery Process from a Biblical Perspective The 12 Steps from a Biblical Perspective Series: Intro to the 12 Steps The 12 Steps from a Biblical Perspectibe Series:Step 1-3: From Powerless to All-Powerful in Christ     Intervention: The Help an Addict Needs by Stephanie Tucker, MDAAC, MMin. Are you caught up in the cycle of a loved one's addiction? Do you feel unable to help? Learn practical ways you can positively address the cycle of addiction without falling in the trap of enablement. As he slammed the door to leave, Ann felt that sick, queasy feeling in her stomach. She knew what was next. She always knew what was next, and the chaos and frustration left her paralyzed. Brad promised to quit time and time again. But his promises meant nothing to her anymore.  Ann tried to hold their life together the best she could. She cared for their two daughters and worked a job to pay the bills. But she knew this couldn’t go on. All her efforts to make Brad quit failed. One part of her had love and compassion for him, she knew some of the things he has been through. On the other hand, Ann felt angry, betrayed and let down by his selfish need to go use drugs. You may have a “Brad” in your life. He or she may be drinking alcohol excessively, using street or prescription drugs or finding another way to “get high” You may be a parent, a spouse, or a family member that simply can’t grasp how someone can continue down this road of insanity.   To read the full article, click here Read archived article relating to family member issues and codependency What's My Role in Addiction? My Family Member is in Treatment, Now What? Facing Codependency Understanding Boundaries Embracing True Identity Anger Management: Focus on Changes YOU Should Make by Doug Britton   Use this practical resource to assess and deal with your anger issues while avoiding the pitfall of blame.  Click here to read the full article This article was printed by permission from www.dougbrittonbooks.com   Personal Testimonies These are the testimonies of actual clients who recently participated in our program and want to share their personal strength and hope they have found. WE HAVE CHANGED THEIR NAMES TO PROTECT CONFIDENTIALITY. We encourage all alumni or anyone who has experienced deliverance from an addiction to send us your story. E-mail to nlsrnewsletter@gmail.com     Keith's Story - Starting Over On August 19, 1980, I stepped off a plane in America to make what I thought was the biggest change in my life, as I left my native Ireland to begin life anew here.  Little did I know, that today, August 19, 2009, 29 years later to the day, I would truly begin my life again, this time with not only body, but mind and spirit.  What lays behind me now is nothing short of a miracle! For full testimony, click here Larry's Story - The End of The Road As it was about five years ago much like for most of us I was using very heavily, I had been arrested several times, and was invited to stay at Orange counties best hotel, COUNTY JAIL. At this time I already lost everything that meant anything to me such as my kids, my girlfriend, my house up in the mountains, and most of all the trust of my mother and my father. For full testimony, click here

Meet Our Staff New Life Spirit Recovery  Dr. Robert & Stephanie Tucker Owners/Directors Dr. Jerry Morris Consulting Physician Dr. Michael Belzman Director of Education Robert B. (3Bob) Manager Randall O. Assistant Elizabeth O. Intake Coordinator   AOD Instructors Tom K. Roxanna G. Tracy C. Stephanie T. Robert B.   Detox   Dr. Jerry & Minda Morris Owners/Medical Director   Dr. Robert & Stephanie Tucker Owners/Clinical Director   Steve G. Detox Technician Jeff T. Detox Technician   Ben S. . Detox Technician Heath K. Detox Technician Victor R. Detox Technician Tia D. Detox Technician   Other Volunteers & Helpers Sean & Missy S. Patrick S.   Kenny K.      Thank you to all our dedicated staff members.            Become a fan of  NLSR on facebook!       Words of Life And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; .   Jeremiah 29:13-14