My Story
I was instructed to do 8 weeks in rehab, 9 meetings in 90 days, and 3 months of sober living; far, far too long to be away from my kids and not collect a paycheck.
Multiple Approaches
Not sure the 12 steps are the right program? Listen to Joe & Charlie's Introduction
A sample schedule after 9 years of sobriety
| Frequency | Activity |
|---|---|
| 1 day a week | Full Time Job & AA meeting |
| 1 day a week | Full Time Job & Bible Study |
| 3 days a week | Full Time Job |
| 1 day a week | Day Off & Service Work |
| 1 day a week | Day Off, Home Group & Church |
| All Days | Upon Awakening, Immediate Amends, Step Work (current step) |
12-Steps and Biblical Inspiration
- Admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable. — Romans 7:15–19
- Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. — Philippians 2:13; 2 Timothy 1:7
- Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. — Proverbs 3:5–6; Matthew 6:10
- Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. — Lamentations 3:40
- Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. — James 5:16
- Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. — Ezekiel 36:26
- Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. — Psalm 51:10
- Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. — Luke 6:31
- Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. — Matthew 5:23–24
- Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. — Proverbs 28:13
- 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. — Philippians 4:6–7
- 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. — Galatians 6:1–2
I am so tired of watching my friends intentionally or unintentionally ending their lives before even trying a few things on this list: