If you think wealth is a million of something, dollars, pounds sterling, rubles, gold, silver or oil, I suppose you could measure wealth that way. I did in the beginning! I just wanted a job, food and a place to sleep everyday. I was not an under the bridge alcoholic! Yet anyway!ha
Learning to deprive yourself of the petty passions associated with our excessive abuse of alcohol and other chemicals is the beginning of achieving wealth. If you do not spend every dime you have on "stuff" you have extra funds to invest. No I have nothing to sell but the reality of our addictions is evidence that we can be an industrious group.
I began by saving my change in a quart jar. I never spent my change because it went into the jar everyday. At the end of the week if I was low on funds i could spend a couple of bucks in quarters. I learned that the money spent on "junk, soda, candy, and the rest, added up in a months time.
I wise man told me never to work less than half a day, each day! He explained that 8am-8pm was in fact, half a day! He placed responsibility for my success on my shoulders, taught me to deprive myself of petty passions and live by the traditions and steps of the AA program. Tradition no. 7 "Every AA group ought to be fully self supporting, declining outside contributions." As a member of the program I adopted the suggestions as literally as I could. I was retired by age 43 and have traveled to many countries since my retirement. The AA program simply works for all areas of your life. Blog on,www.acureforaddiction.com Blessings, Mr. Denny

Today, the calls started at 8am. It is a good day when everyone reports in about their recovery. On my third call a fellow was trying to figure out his drivers license suspension and when he could apply for reinstatement. He was disappointed at how long he would be without a license and he began complaining!" Stopping him a little curtly I explained about the previous 2 callers who together had 8 DWI's and had served a total of 10 years in prison for felony crimes committed under the influence of chemicals.
Today their collective sobriety totaled 11 years and their prosperity was unimaginable to either of them years ago. GRATITUDE! If we are alive, be grateful. Remember, only 3-6% of the addicted population achieve longterm sobriety,(depending on which stats' you accept?)Most addicted people die as a result of their addiction. If we are attending AA/NA, church,therapy sessions or individual counseling we should be grateful that we have the opportunity to do so.
We had a drunk fleeing from police here last week who ran a stop sign and hit a service truck with a man going home to his family for dinner. He did nothing to deserve death. How many times did I come within inches or seconds of tragedy myself? I am grateful today that whatever my station in life, I am alive, sober, happily married and this afternoon our sweet foster daughter, 1 month old, was adopted by her new parents! God loves me enough to allow me to be a part of these precious peoples lives.
20 years ago I was sick with alcohol and homeless. One day at a time you can make your life exactly what you want it to be, with a little help from those who truly do love and care for you. Stay close to your AA family, get a sponsor and go to 2-3 meetings every week. Keep coming back until the miracle happens for you also! Believe that I believe in you, I do!! (www.acureforaddiction.com)
Blessings to you!Merry Christmas and BLOG ON!!!!! Mr. Denny

I received a telephone call in mid December, not too long ago that two young men I had been counseling with had been murdered during a drug deal! The trauma of this event sets you back! You can not be detached or uneffected. It is a blow to everything you hold to be true and you inventory your final activities?
What did I say, what could I have done differently? What should I have said or done when I had the opportunity to do something, anything which could have prevented such a horrible event? As sponsors and therapists do, we look on with powerless inability to make corrrect choices for those we attempt to help! Free will is the gift of God and America where, so far, we can make our own choices and decisions, for the good or not, only time judges the results.
In the self-help field, those who are providers of services must accept that we are not able to control the outcome of a single case! We must let God be God and encourage our kids,(clients),probationers, inmates, patients and the rest to be responsible in their choices and decisions especially where associations are concerned. (Players,) thugs, thieves, dopers, drunks, conartists and all the rest are to be avoided like they were a raging fire ready and willing to consume you!
When we were small children if we were lucky we had loving parents who warned us about the cold weather,(take your coat honey!)or that the stove was really hot(don't get burned sweety!)When we try to get sober those precious people called sponsors care and feel about us exactly the same as our loving families did when we were but children. How it hurts to know I was powerless to stop those two boys from that terrible decision not to get sober, not yet anyway? Now the choice is out of their hands and forever I will remember them at Christmas time. Loosing my own couldn't hurt any worse! Please pray for me and for their families. God Bless you all and lets be grateful we have another sober day to love our families! Mr.Denny (www.acureforaddiction.com) Blog On!!

I love blogging, don't you? Ha Ha! Well Member # 771 will get their book soon. I encouraged them to join our blog because it is thereputic. The principle is found in 17th century Utilitarianism. This is the belief that sharing with others and hearing their "feedback" doubles your coping choices, 3 people triples your coping choices. The 21 st. century principle is called by a doctor friend of mine, simply, TTR. Stands for talk to recover. When you "get outside of self" you benefit from the departure. After all, doing things our own way is what resulted in our current circumstance, at least, to some degree. We are each culpable for our decisions, right or wrong!
When I share with others and they share with me regarding similar things, all of a sudden I am not so different. If you know of a solution which has helped in similar circumstances, it can possibly(probably) help you!!
BLOG ON, and again welcome member #771 to acure for addiction Mr. Denny

Living the program of recovery requires that we do things differently. The loss of my children during the using years was a scar on my conscience. My Pamela suggested that we spend time in service to children as the years lost could never be regained. This was 14 years ago and we have had over 70 children in our care since we began.
The first 3 years we worked with the division of family services. After many difficult cases we decided to specialize in infants to be adopted. The damage done was far more manageable with the babies. Every adoption is a good ending as far as we are involved.
Every Christmas we get a "slew" of pictures and letters from "our kids" and it is great! Had I not achieved recovery in AA and church I am sure this would not have been possible. My Pamela worked as hard as I ever did in our business. She types like a machine gunner! AMAZING!!! The thing about it is. she hates it! After a few months in business I could hire a secretary so the typing was over for her. She had a 10th degree Black Belt(10 years) in Ala-non and was as good a therapist as I was!(she maybe looking over my shoulder!!! He He!)
I was passionate about helping alcoholics and my business never seemed like work. I loved what I did! Principle" If you love what you do, you will never work another day in your lifetime! When you love it, it is not work! We never took government money in our office. I taught people to be self-supporting which is the AA way. I will be in church tomorrow because I need the help. It is good to know we are not different but the same, sinners in need of grace!
Have a good day everyone!!! Mr. Denny