Old Habits Die Hard Pt. 2- Anger (Cornerstone Sermon Podcast 01-15-12)

I was just going over old podcasts on the Cornerstone Church website and came across parts 2 and 3 of Old Habits Die Hard... The series on the seven deadly sins. As this shouldn't be substituted for therapy, it is very helpful in recognizing and dealing with certain emotions and behaviors. Part 2 was about anger. More specifically, unhealthy anger.

I particularly liked how it was put in its place as a secondary emotion. Used as a tool or defense mechanism to deal with other less comfortable events and feelings. This is another good sermon topic that can be related to addiction. We use anger and alcohol to escape hurt, disappointment, fear, rejection... the list could go on and on. We deal with these things by lashing out. We also lash out at the people we love, and destroy wonderful relationships in the process.

Listen for the 4 ways of expressing anger too. I could see my pre-recovery self in all of them. Don't get me wrong, I still get mad sometimes.

The best of us do, however. The challenging thing is learning to deal with it positively. Click here to listen- Old Habits Die Hard Pt. 2- Anger .

How am I doing today? Still down, unfortunately. Not getting mad about it, blaming others or drinking over it, though.... so I guess in a way I can say that I'm doing well. :)

It'll be a late night at work, but I'll post again for the night owls when I get back.

An Evening With the Old-Timers

I have been looking forward to this meeting for months! I absolutely love the Helen, Ga. old-timers group. I wish I could find one like it around New Orleans... not that there aren't great groups there. NOLA has an amazing AA support system.

The folks here, though, are just some of the kindest country people you could hope to meet. I told them in my share that I wished I could load them all up on a bus and take them back home with me. One lady said she'd go if she could meet Drew Brees.

There were some familiar faces from September that I was glad to see. We had a good topic too. The 10th step, anger, and how we deal with it. We all still deal with anger and resentment sometimes. The difference is that, now, I can identify my frustrations and consciously deal with them in a healthier way. And I don't get frustrated nearly as easily as I once did. That's a character defect I turned over to God.

Got to go gem mining with my dad today. It was actually his suggestion. He's been on the lookout for rubies that he can put in his rock polisher. We found him a couple. Found some other really cool gems too.

Cooked an awesome crawfish pasta casserole for dinner. Gonna try and remember how I made it so I can do it back home too.

It was a really cool day that I got to spend with my folks... And I can't wait to see my old-timers again in June!

Goodnight, all.

The Lost Child- Pt. 2

The little boy lived an almost storybook life out there in those woods. Surrounded by a loving family and a beautiful world. It was all he knew now, and he didn't mind it at all.

He didn't know much about change. Just the easygoing life of the country and being the center of attention. Inevitably change would come, though.

And it did. One night his dad brought home a lady that he worked with and had started dating. This new, unfamiliar element was met by immediate suspicion and confusion. Who was this person, this outsider being introduced into his safe world? His father's intentions were very serious concerning her and before long they were married. They would be moving out and living, what seemed like, a million miles away from the only place the boy knew as home. He was plucked from the love and protection he had gotten so used to and taken to live among, what seemed to him, total strangers. He went to a new church, had new family, went to a daycare... He was scared to death of this new life that he had had no say-so in. Fear would eventually turn to resentment, and resentment is a mighty grown-up feeling to have.

So is guilt. The child actually felt guilty for having left his grandparents. He would have to deal with this for years. He felt guilty calling someone else "grandparent" (as wonderful as these new grandparents were). He felt guilty calling someone else "momma" even though the first one wasn't exactly a winner. He found himself openly comparing his new family with the people who had raised him. Not to be mean, but to alleviate some of the emotion. This still bred resentment toward him.

He'd spend weekends out in the country from time to time. When it was time to go home, he would cry and hug everyone because he didn't want to leave. His father didn't know how to deal with this. He was confused and perhaps took it personally. This confusion would turn to anger, sometimes even spanking the boy for not wanting to go. He got a spanking one time for putting change in an envelope to send to his mommaw and pawpaw. He would begin fearing his father too, and they would start drifting apart.

This was the beginning of a world the child would create in which to escape. A world that the child still lived in well into his adulthood.