Horseback Riding and Butt Jokes

Well that was an arduous journey, but well worth it! Had a wonderful time with Jeremy, Lacie, and the girls! We went and did some of their jobs through the day, had lunch at CiCi's pizza, went with Avery to her first horseback riding lesson (she's a natural), and then had dinner at Hardee's. Yeah. It was a menu of junk food all day long, but it was good and the company was great!

I'm having an awesome time connecting with my family so far.... and today was only the first day. We're watching A Christmas Carol right now, and the girls are already passed out. I discovered that my niece, Ella, is quite the extrovert and has an affinity for butt jokes too.

We'll have most of the day tomorrow and Sunday. Dad and Teresa come out Sunday morning, and church is on the agenda as well. Then on Sunday evening we head to north Georgia for the week!

Well. I've been literally falling asleep where I sit all day. It's about to happen now. Here's the meditation from 24 Hours...

I will discipline myself. I will do this disciplining now. I will turn out all useless thoughts. I know that the goodness of my life is a necessary foundation for its usefulness. I will welcome this training, for without it, God cannot give me His power. I believe that this power is a mighty power when it is used in the right way.

Interesting note- I did fall asleep while writing this. Bout to head to bed now. Good night!

Run Run Run

I ended up deciding to come back to the apartment to get my luggage instead of leaving straight from work. It's a bit more expensive to take a cab, but worth the convenience.

Anyway... I was bound and determined to write something before I left. I make it a point to post at least once a day. And it's been a very good day so far. Very busy, but very good. I think I have everything ready to go.

Here's the Meditation for the Day from the 24 Hours book-

I believe that God's presence brings peace and that peace, like a quiet-flowing river, will cleanse all irritants away. In these quiet times, God will teach me how to rest my nerves. I will not be afraid. I will learn how to relax. When I am relaxed, God's strength will flow into me. I will be at peace.

I believe that is an incredibly valuable thing to remember when life gets a bit overwhelming. Take a deep breath, quieten your soul, and turn it over to him. I plan to use this time with my family, and the time in the quiet country to enrich myself spiritually and mentally. It'll be fun and it will be a great opportunity to grow.

Tomorrow I post from Auburn, Alabama! Have a good night, world.

Enter the Cyclone

Just got off work. At approximately 8 pm central time my life became a whirlwind.... and it will be one until Friday morning. Not to worry, though. It's a good whirlwind. I still have a lot to do tonight before my trip. I doubt I'm going to get much sleep.

So I'm spending time with my bro and his fam this weekend. Hopefully seeing some of my Alexander City peeps while there. Then I'm off to north Georgia to hang with my folks. It'll be a nice laid back week in the country. Like I said in a previous post... I can't wait to hit some of those mountain meetings too. The people are great and really enjoy their recovery.

I'll have a few new friends from last time to visit as well. Total strangers who took such an interest in my beating this disease. It's absolutely amazing what impact someone you don't even know can have on your life. I do believe that one person, in particular, is going to be shocked at my willingness to sit down and pray with him. I was such the intellectual asshole before. Even then.

I'll still post everyday. Maybe even twice on some days. I'll be grillin', helping around the house, playing with kitties, holding a baby, sitting on the porch chatting, visiting some of the neighboring towns, and more. The usual stuff, but a different Jay.

Well. I'd better get cracking. Lot's to do. Have a great night and a blessed day tomorrow!

A Road Paved of Good Intentions

I love going to the men's group. I told someone earlier that it was a lot of laughing and cursing. It's a great fellowship of guys who like to cut up a little and talk about their recovery. I met my sponsor there too.

Our topic tonight was about service work. Someone shared something that stuck with me... "Intention doesn't get results, action does." Another guy quoted Yoda with one of my favorite pearls of wisdom, "Do... or do not. There is no 'try'." Basically... Service requires action.

Or does it?

The discussion reminded me of last night's step study. I thought of my initial reaction to hearing what the newcomer was saying. I shared about it tonight. That what I would have done previously was run right to him after the meeting and say, "Ok! This is what you need to do!" This particular situation, however, required more humility from me than it did knowledge. I'm in absolutely no position right now to give this guy advice. Maybe a little ways down the road, but not now.

I wished him the best, kept my mouth shut after that, and let God and someone with alot more experience handle it. In a nutshell, I guess what I'm saying is that sometimes you have to realize that your best intentions can do more harm than good. There was once a time for me, as well, that those intentions were bred more from ego than from a genuine willingness to help.

The rest of the day was good too. Started the food drive benefiting Second Harvest of New Orleans. If you live in the area, the food drop is in the Walgreen's at 3227 Magazine St. My theme is "The Other 363- Hunger Still Happens After The Holidays". They recommend that you have a theme. :)

Gotta lot of work to do tonight, so I'm going to get to it. Goodnight, all and have a great tomorrow!

The Most Important Person in the Room

We had a very important person at our step study tonight. In fact, he's the most important person in the whole organization. He's a newcomer. A person who is there looking for help. The poor guy has been detoxing without medical assistance for 3 days... Which is incredibly dangerous. This article on Livestrong.com talks about it. Click here to view.

He basically lost everything in the course of 2 weeks. Looking at him, I saw a shadow of a man. Slumped over, beaten, sobbing. Not only are we all there to help him, but he also helps us. We see from the outside what we were like at our first meeting. Or our second or third "first" meeting. And that alone is more than enough to remind us of why we quit drinking and started recovery.

We passed a meeting schedule to him with our phone numbers on it, and one of the old-timers talked to him afterward. I hope nothing but the best for the guy.

On a bit of a lighter note, I need to start remembering that it's no longer 2011. I'm accustomed to ending with "this year" when giving my full sobriety date. We do that at the beginning of some meetings. I think the only thing anybody heard was "this year". I couldn't figure out why everyone's jaws dropped when I gave mine. One lady I haven't met before said, "Keep coming back." I just smiled like an idiot, without realizing what I'd just said, and told her, "Thank you." Thought it was kinda funny. Had to quickly correct myself when I realized my error.

Goodnight and peace be with you.

Mountain Meetings and the Play-Offs

Had a great day at work. Got to catch bits and pieces of the Saints game. That's 8 in a row and it's play-off time. Woot!

Now I'm hanging back at my place. I have some research to do on the net, other than that, I'm going to relax. I have to work everyday until my vacation. Going to GA and AL Friday to visit my fam. It'll be a bittersweet trip because an important part of it will be missing this time around. But it's ok. I understand why. I can't wait to see my folks, though, and spend time with them. I plan on making every moment count! I'm also looking forward to those north Georgia mountain AA meetings. They are some of the best groups I've ever sat with. Hope they remember me... I have a LOT to share. I'll post about them while I'm up there. ;)

There's really not much more that I can write about the day except that it was awesome. Just absolutely awesome.

Well... Have a wonderful night. I hope the first day of your new year was blessed. Mine was.

Welcome 2012!

I just got back from seeing a live jazz trio at The Columns Hotel on St. Charles. I know it's nobody's fault but my own, but I got kind of weary of spending holidays alone so I went out and did something to celebrate. I must tell you up front that I celebrated with nothing more than cranberry and soda.... with a twist of lime.

Here are a few pics that I took with my phone. The camera on that thing is terrible. You'd expect more from a Blackberry. Especially a newer model.

I can assure you that I'm not normally that blurry. Geez. It looks like a circa 1970's picture of Bigfoot. Had a good time, though, and I made some new friends. Friends I'll probably never see again, but it was nice to have some interaction. One of the little things that recovery has given me is that I'm more social.

Anyway... I hope that you all have a blessed 2012. May the new year bring us love, prosperity, and happiness. I have big plans for my first full year of sobriety. The sky's the limit. I can now realistically concentrate on starting a family. An actual career. A home. Having a real life, being the man, and the provider I should have been years ago. I owe all that to God.

Once again. Best wishes. I hope we see a better world in the new year.... and not a Mayan apocalypse.