Encourager Coaches, SHARE WITH CAUTION!

The Celebrate Recovery One Day Seminar in Rochester, Minnesota was awesome!  The Seven Keys Seminar was well attended, as was the Advanced Leadership tract. Several State Reps. from nearby States were in attendance, connecting with ministry leaders from their regions! Thanks to the Autumn Ridge team who helped make it so successful! 

Today, I want to revisit a familiar topic once again.  As mentioned before, Facebook is a great social tool for connecting with family and friends. Personally, I have recently located a high school buddy that I have not seen or heard from since graduation.  What fun! 

In regards to Celebrate Recovery, we must use caution in our sharing. Occasionally, I love to make a brief statement on my Facebook page about returning from a CR meeting and let everyone know it was a terrific meeting. I AM NOT FREE to say who I saw or what was shared in the meeting. That would be breaking confidentiality and anonymity. In addition, I would break copy right laws to share the lesson taught during the meeting on the web.  The CR material is copyrighted.  

What can I share?????? I can share about me.  I can share my growth, my story, my breakthroughs, my life.  Remember the first guideline?  I love the phrase  "What is shared in the group stays in the group". That includes the large group meeting too!

Jim mentioned in his blog last week that cameras do not belong in a CR meeting, even the Large Group Meeting.  To take photos is breaking confidentiality and anonymity. Remember I am not free to say or SHOW who I saw or or what was shared in the meeting. Let's guard the safety of our meetings!

As Encourager Coaches, we want to keep our leaders and attendees from any unnecessary harm.  Let's keep our meetings safe!  It is a number one priority!

Bless you,

Paula

Facebook As A Means of Connecting

I am very excited today about the social connections being made because of Facebook. People of all ages are tapping into this social network to visit with family and friends, as well as friends and acquaintances made years ago! This network is also providing a means of connection for Celebrate Recovery and the many people involved all around the world. If you don't yet have a page, let me encourage you to start today!

Working with Facebook is not difficult. If you don't know how to get started, ask your teen or a friend or spouse to help you get going.

Before I share more about Facebook and its advantages, let me say that Facebook is a social network. It is not a place for deep sharing. In fact, I recommend that you place high security on all of your postings, even your pictures. There are several safety features available to the Facebook user. I don't connect with people I don't know. I simply ignore requests for friends from those I don't wish to connect with. I only let my connected friends see my comments, my photos and anything else I post. You are in control of your own page.

Now for the good stuff, the reason why I am so excited about Facebook. On your Facebook page, in the upper right corner, is a search box. As you enter Celebrate Recovery, you will find many Celebrate Recovery Facebook pages from all over the country.  Johnny Baker started a Celebrate Recovery National Facebook page for people in recovery to connect and share. Some have shared about their ministries and some have shared about their personal recoveries. Awesome! Several of the State Reps and Regional Directors have started pages for their area. Some pages are there for anyone to join and then some are closed, where you have to be approved to join, depending on the purpose of the page. It is exciting to see the connections that are being made around the country and even the globe!

People are hearing about Celebrate Recovery from Facebook and finding a meeting for the first time. I have heard accounts of people attending their first CR meeting because a friend or relative shared Celebrate Recovery via their Facebook page. I use my page to share when I have attended a great meeting or about a recent One Day Seminar I attended and how lives are being changed. I have been posting pictures and comments on the Celebrate Recovery One Day Conferences as I can. The possibilities are unlimited!

HOWEVER, I must also add that confidentiality and anonymity are just as important on Facebook as anywhere else. Please do not post private conversations or names and faces of those who have not given you permission to do so. Facebook needs to be kept social and safe for all concerned.

Have a blessed week!

Paula

Time Is Valuable to Those in Recovery!

As last minute presents are purchased and traffic backs up on major roads, time flies by. Christmas deadlines press in on the procrastinators. In the next few days, many of us will take some time off from work to enjoy this Christmas Season and our families. Between Christmas and the New Year Celebrations, many companies reduce their hours and allow employees extra time off. What will we do with that time? Time is a gift.  How will we use it well?

The New Year lies just around the corner.  As the year 2008 ends, another year in time has passed. Those of us in recovery know how valuable Holidays and changes in Seasons are to our recoveries.  They can be times of victory or times of regret.  

It is necessary to have times of busyness and preparation.  It is also necessary to have times of rest and reflection.  During these important times, let's remember the blessings and victories that have brought us to the place where we are today, not forgetting to journal and pray and work the steps.  

I was driving home from an appointment this afternoon.  I took the slower, more scenic, route that winds around the lake and goes through the hills. Somewhere in the drive, I decided to look at the last colors on the trees before the latest cold front removed the last bits of color. I was not driving the full speed limit, instead choosing to enjoy the view at every turn.  As I thanked the Lord for His beauty, and that I live in the warmer climate of Texas, I rounded the last corner of the Lake to head for home.  As I leisurely rounded that last corner, there rose up within me an answer to a question I had been praying about for weeks. It was in that quiet drive that the "a-ha" hit me deep within my spirit, a place beyond all reasoning.  I knew at that moment I had that new breakthrough that I had been seeking. The rest of the drive was a a time of tears and prayers of thanksgiving.

I believe that there are many breakthroughs (God moments) waiting to happen during this Christmas Season. My prayer is that not one opportunity for growth and maturity will be missed!  I pray that each of us will represent Celebrate Recovery, and what our Lord and Savior has done in us, well!  

As the New Year is approaching, don't forget to secure your place in a Celebrate Recovery One Day Seminar near you! 2009 is going to be an awesome year, but let's make the most of the rest of this year!

Christmas Blessings to each of you and your families,

Paula:)

You Are The Celebrate Recovery Sermon that Someone Else Reads

There were over 3,000 participants at this year's Celebrate Recovery Summit! Many of us came home charged up and overflowing with passion and renewed vision for this ministry. It's like a B-12 vitamin shot in the arm.  There is a renewed energy and excitement, a renewal of the call to help hurting people.

Three thousand is a great crowd of people, a full campus at Saddleback.  But with those numbers, a whole lot of people involved in this great ministry were not there.  In fact, about 75%, of those attending, raised their hands when asked who was there for the first time. This says to me that many of our veteran ministry teams were not there, for whatever reasons. 

As I have prayed for you this week, I have felt impressed to encourage those veteran teams, those who have CR ministries in place and have been faithful and committed each week to helping those in their churches and communities overcome hurts, habits and hangups.  As you remain consistent to following the model every week, attend Team meetings and trainings, prepare for step study groups, practice the music, or whatever you do, you are showing maturity and are setting a tremendous example for those who are watching you.  

Who is watching? Other leaders are watching, hopefully holding each other accountable to work the program and keep  to the model of Celebrate Recovery. The participants are watching. You are a role model for them as so many of the participants came from very dysfunctional, unsafe homes. They need godly role models. Your church is watching you! Many times newcomers from our Church would share with me in the Newcomer's group that they had been watching CR for several YEARS before they were ready to attend our meetings! Our families are watching. The change they see in you may be the key to drawing them into CR. What you do as a leader in ministry is IMPORTANT to God, to your Church, and to other people!

Thank you for all that you do for the ministry of Celebrate Recovery and for God's Kingdom! Lives are being changed!

Paula

When the Celebrate Recovery Encourager Coach Needs Encouragement

We all have times of difficulty. Ordinary times of difficulty are not what I want to address today, but instead to look at those difficult seasons or life events that can be overwhelming and possibly bring relapse, feelings of defeat and hopelessness, or even depression. These times are not as easily dismissed or dealt with as everyday struggles of life. What does the Encourager Coach or any other person in recovery do during these difficult times?

Who is your support team? Who can you call on? Who will hold you accountable so that you do not relapse? Are you sharing your struggles or isolating? Are you processing your situation or in denial? Are you grieving those things that need to be grieved?

I recently entered a difficult season. It is not over, I am in the middle of it. Without my support team to walk me through, I would be overwhelmed. I might even be depressed. As I am walking through, I am sharing, I am talking about my situation on a regular basis. I am also praying and seeking guidance from my Heavenly Father and asking His perspective.

If you are also in a painful season, be encouraged. You are not alone! Talk about it, don't be in denial! One of my favorite sayings of all time is "This too shall pass!" There is an end to every season and another side to every problem.

Oh, and don't forget to count your blessings!!

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14.......

I want to send a grateful thanks to all of the wise individuals who have spoken into my life in recent weeks! Thanks!