New Beginnings July Newsletter

New Beginnings is a culmination of our Recovery First Clients’ talents, words, expressions, and art used to illustrate what is meaningful in their lives.

The goal is to inspire others to a life of:

• Hope
• Happiness
• Love
• Respect
• Sobriety

What does recovery mean to our clients?

Recovery Quotes created by Recovery First Clients

• “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud” – Karra
• “Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another” – anonymous client
• “Embrace the suck” – P.J.
• “The circus is gone, but the monkey is still in town” – Jorge
• “Getting over painful experiences is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.” – Jeannette
• “My choices will determine my sobriety” – anonymous client
• “Why give up everything for one thing, when you can give up one thing for everything” – Brandon

Faith-Based Group Thoughts

I can do ALL THINGS through Christ who strengthens me. – Philippians 4:13

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. – Lamentations 3:22-23

Greater love has no one than this; to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. – John 15:13

Cast all your anxieties on him because He cares for you. – 1 Peter 5:7

12 Steps of Recovery

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Residential Art Projects

Chain Pulling (pictured middle above) is an activity in which clients use a canvas, paint, and a chain to design unique artwork which demonstrates their special identity. The acrylic paint is placed on the canvas and the client uses a chain to direct patterns in any direction. Residential clients created beautiful artwork to create lasting memories.

Beach Art (pictured right above) is an activity in which clients create beautiful representations of their ideal beach in a glass jar. Each client is able to select their choice of different sand colors, shells, and ocean items to make them special and unique. The beach is seen by many in recovery as a serene environment for self-reflection and inner peace.

Addiction and Recovery Movies

My Name is Bill W

This film is based on the true story of Bill W., the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. It looks at how Bill came to terms with his own substance abuse issues, and how he joined with other people who struggled with alcohol use to form the self-help group that would became the most widely known type of addiction treatment.

Flight

Denzel Washington plays airline pilot Whip Whitaker, who struggles with drug and alcohol use. Although he is able to successfully save the passengers when something goes wrong on a flight, an investigation into what happened reveals that he was intoxicated at the time. Over the course of the film, the viewer sees how substances have negatively impacted Whip’s life.

Permanent Midnight

Based on the autobiography of Jerry Stahl, Permanent Midnight tells the story of a television writer and his battle with substance abuse. Although he achieves professional success, his life is derailed when his drug use becomes out of control. In a detox program, Stahl shares his life story… but will he be able to overcome his demons?

28 Days

The main character has a good career, but is forced to enter rehab after a series of alcohol related incidents. Sandra Bullock plays a character by the name of Gwen who refuses to put any real effort into the rehab program. She finds herself becoming entangled in the lives of the other clients and starts to notice uncomfortable similarities. In the end circumstances force Gwen to take an honest look at her life. She acknowledges that she has made a mess of things, and that alcohol was a part of the problem. 28 Days is a realistic depiction of how people can find a new direction in life when they become willing to face the truth.

Stay tuned for more from the clients and team at Recovery First.