A Letter to Celebrate Recovery

Hello, my name is Nick; I’m a grateful believer in Jesus Christ who’s in recovery for pride and codependency.

LAST WEEK:
I believe each and every lesson we share and teach and explore at Celebrate Recovery is the BEST lesson that you could EVER hear! Each lesson has the insane potential to radically transform your situation, to make your life BETTER! This past week I discussed the idea of HOPE. HOPE is…

Higher Power
Openness to change
Power to change
Expect to change

Nobody wants to stay the same. Nobody walks through the doors of a recovery meeting thinking to themselves, “I just want to stay the same. I hope I never change.” No! We ALL want to get better! We ALL want to be set free from our anger, depression, resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness, addictions, hurts, habits, and hang-ups. We ALL want to experience FREEDOM and JOY and a FULL life! It all starts with HOPE.

Who is YOUR higher power? Does he or she have a name or is it merely a thing? A doorknob will get you in and out of a room. A phonebook will help you find a friend. A lamp will give you light. These things are HELPFUL, but we need RESCUE. These THINGS are not going to SAVE you, RESCUE you, PICK YOU UP when you’re down…they will not CHANGE YOUR LIFE! If you want to experience CHANGE, if you want a NEW LIFE, you gotta meet a dude named Jesus. He loves you. He died for you. He changes EVERYTHING (including you!).

HOPE begins with Jesus and ends with…well…it NEVER ends!

THIS WEEK:
I’m so EXCITED for the testimony this week! My buddy Erik will be sharing his story of overcoming the struggles that so many of us face, that lead to so many of us feeling as if life is over, nothing will ever get better, I’m stuck, I’m lost, I’m worthless…then in steps Jesus (the dude I mentioned earlier) and EVERYTHING CHANGES! Come out and hear how Erik found HOPE and how you can too! Friday at 7p

NEWS & UPDATES:
Here are 4 things I want to share with you this week…

#1 BBQ Team—Each week our BBQ Team (which has consisted of 2-3 people each week) prepares a meal to share with the community for FREE. Read that part again…2-3 people…and it’s FREE! I would LOVE to see this team grow to 5, 6, 10 people! Growing a TEAM grows PEOPLE. We learn to work together, supporting one another, fulfilling the call and purpose in our lives to SERVE others! Do you have a passion for cooking? Serving food? Organizing? Cleaning? If so, I want YOU to join the team! Email me at celebraterecovery@nlccwv.org or sign up to serve here.

Now, somebody read that, recognized how I mentioned the word FREE, not once, but TWICE and are still wondering…why did he say that…he didn’t talk about it. Well, please allow me a few moments to address that very thing. Each week we offer the meal for FREE. Entire families are eating TOGETHER (and it’s the ONLY time they get to all week!)! For some, it’s the only REAL meal they eat all week. It’s FREE. But nothing is without COST. Let me say that again, it’s FREE, but not without COST. There’s a donation bucket, but too often it’s overlooked. If I was actually in there, chances are I would overlook it too (I’m not perfect). We need to change this! I’ll go to Wendy’s or 5 Guys or Buffalo Wild Wings and drop $10-15 without blinking, but when it comes to the donation bucket my well has run dry. If we’re going to see this area of our Friday night meeting continue forward, if we’re going to continue providing a meal for our community, we gotta take OWNERSHIP of it and BE the difference! Something’s gotta CHANGE! Will it be you? If you’d like to make a one-time gift or recurring gift to the CR BBQ Team contact me at celebraterecovery@nlccwv.org

#2 Step Studies—Oh it’s that time again! Right now, there are over 20 ladies working through the 12 Steps and 8 Principles AND 10 guys doing the same (I mentioned the ladies first because there’s MORE and I dig that!!). Step Studies are the HEART of the program! It’s where we learn to get real and stay real. NEXT WEEK, on Monday, February 11 (6:30-8:30p) we’re launching another Women’s Step Study and (hopefully…possibly…maybe) another Men’s Step Study. If you make the decision to join a Step Study (which outside of the decision to follow Jesus is the BEST decision you’ll ever make…or second best) your life will NEVER BE THE SAME! If interested in signing up or participating in a Step Study, please email me at celebraterecovery@nlccwv.org

#3 I Love You—Somebody needed to hear that.

#4 Home Run the Movie—It’s coming! Mark your calendars for Friday, April 19th (I’m going to be conflicted since this IS the night our Celebrate Recovery meets) Home Run the Movie premieres NATION-WIDE…including MARTINSBURG, WV! This movie is going to change the landscape of CR. I believe we’re going to see a wave…a monsoon…a (insert GIANT thing) of people make their way through the front doors because they were introduced to the program IN the movie. People are going to be set FREE! How AWESOME is that?!? Be praying for it. Plan on who you’re taking to it on OPENING WEEKEND. Heck, buy tickets and give them away!

THE END:
I can’t wait to see you this Friday. Join me and continue praying for Erik as he prepares to share his testimony. Join me and continue praying for the people you’ve met, the friends you’ve made, and the people you no longer see at Celebrate Recovery. Reach out to someone this week. Let’em know you CARE!