Prayer

The power of prayer never fails. NEVER!!

Coping skills

Coping skills are sometimes all we have but are usually enough to get us through.

Hopeless

When I was hopeless it seemed that doom was with me every waking moment. Alcohol is nothing more than liquid hopelessness.

Without a drink...

Without a drink life is decent even on the worst of days.

Bi Polar

Nearly eighteen years after my last drink I was diagnosed as being Bi Polar. That was today. Today was the same as any other day. I lived it without a drink. I will survive my Bi Polar without the aid of prescription drugs. Sobriety is good and do is God!

Hope

I receive so much hope through the people who come into my life when I need them most.
I hope to be one of those people to you. None of us are here by accident.

Hope

I have a lot of emotional issues that alcohol made worse. Hope is a cure we all need and alcohol washes away all forms of hope.

Job description.

Drunk and disorderly is not a part of any job description.

Help is on the way

If I ever drink again I will most certainly need your help.

Too long

It took me too long to get my but into recovery. Drinking has a way of going that to us.

Abusive

Alcohol is the way I chose to abuse myself for a long, long time.

Tough times

I live in a town that officially changes its name to New Dublin and celebrates St. Patrick's Day heavy duty for seven days straight. Drunkenness and drinking are the norm those seven days. What makes this especially tough is I not only live in this town, but my birthday falls on St. Patrick's Day.

Way to lose

I drink, I drive, I eventually lose...BIG TIME!

Coffee

Coffee tastes much better in the morning than a beer ever did.

No rush

Recovery, there is no way you can rush it. Relapse happens when we rush our healing.

Fear

The fear of killing myself sent me to recovery. Daily maintenance is what keeps me away from that first drink. Prayer, exercise, charity and tolerance are just part of my maintenance routine. Drop the maintenance and the first drink returns.

The scenario

The illness is strong, the abuse is relentless and the result is sad and grim.

Silent

I was a quiet drunk. Quiet, desperate and destructive.

Shame

My public drunkenness resulted in a lot of private shame.

Drama

Drama is that bitter after taste that comes from alcohol abuse.

Wasted

A beautiful mind is a terrible thing to get wasted.

Not a clue

I was homeless, hungry, cold, tired, penniless, scared and I couldn't figure out why.
Alcohol has a way of doing that to a person.

Hungry

There were times I didn't have anything too eat, but sadly I always had enough to drink.

Win or lose

Nobody goes into treatment or recovery on a winning streak.
Be who you are and sobriety can't help but find you.

Accidental?

Being able to stop drinking completely is no accident.

If...

If I drink tomorrow it's not because I want to.
There came a time when I began to hate drinking, but I did it anyway and with force!

Blackout

After a few years of drinking blackouts became the norm. My norm was a frightening place to be and I really don't remember it too much!
That's alcohol abuse.

Perfection

In my quest for perfection I constantly stumbled and found the bottom of the bottle.

Mistakes

Even clean and sober I find myself becoming angry and making mistakes. But gratefully I don't have to drink anymore when I experience shame.

Sickness

I drank to the point of getting sick. And then I drank a whole lot more.
Now that is a sickness.

Responsibility

We might not be responsible for the way we drink but we are definitely responsible for getting the help we need'

Control

I was out of control because my drinking was out of control.

My thoughts

I used to think more about drinking than anything else in the world.

God is good

God is good even when things SEEM bad. I'm not going to wait until a million dollars falls from the sky to say that.

Coping skills

After 17 years without a drink I have felt some temptation as of late. But thankfully I have a wealth of coping skills and people in my life that get me through.
All is well!

Alcohol takes over

It dictates time, reason and emotion.

Bad debt

Homeless, hopeless and helpless. That was me and I owed it all to the bottle.

Right on!

If I see you without a drink something has gone terribly right.

Find some

Without hope the bottle wins.

All the time

Day and night, night and day we seek and think about the drink.

Life

Even when life is bad, life is good. That's just how sobriety is.

The truth is...

I am terrible in a large crowd like church. I usually have to stand in the back.
Just one of those strange things that began after I sobered up.

From sobriety

From sobriety much comes.
I am a husband, father, master photographer, author of six books, public speaker, blogger, radio host and bodybuilding enthusiast and owner of a lot of stuff. All of this came to be after I put the bottle down.

Either way

Beer, vodka, gin, wine, weekends, once a month or every night.
It's not what I drank or how often. But rather what happened to me after I took that first drink.

Only you

When I was at my worst it was almost too late. "Too late" is a place none of us need to be.
Only you can start the recovery process

It's tough

It's tough when I see people destroying their lives with drugs & alcohol and there isn't a thing I can do about it.

Mixed emotions

I am sometimes sad that I did not sober up until the age of 34. I am however, very grateful, that I was able to finally sober up at the age of 34.

Something better

Wherever alcohol takes us sobriety can take us somewhere better.

Everywhere

I drank on the big stage. I drank in secret. I drank everywhere!

I turned around...

One day I turned around and saw the wreckage of my past. That was the first time I saw myself as others had seen me for years.

365

The ultimate rush was a full 365 days without a drink!

Healing

Recovery was all about healing and getting acquainted with myself. And honesty held it all together.

Full speed

I drank beyond my limits. I would not and could not stop.

Eager to pass it on

Have sobriety, will travel!

Remembering

I often try and remember the day before the day I took my first drink.

The miracle

The miracle of God is the amazing people he puts in my life. We all have something to offer to another human being.

Pure joy

The joy of sobriety. I went to the gym with my son today and we pumped iron together. A simple, yet powerful reminder about the joy of sobriety.

Life has improved

Life has improved tremendously since my last drink. Everything around me remains the same. The change has come on the inside. Emotionally, mentally and spiritually I am a different person.

If...

If I lean on you it's because your stronger than me, not because I'm drunk.

Higher power

A higher power is much more dependable than I'll ever be. My higher power is God.

I have a thirst

I have a thirst. It's who I am. I have found a positive replacement for alcohol. I have developed coping skills to forever keep me away from that first drink.

The fact is...

I realize that putting the bottle down for the past 17 years is not enough. But I guess it's a good start.

Nothing

I have no real agenda except to be available for God and of course share my sobriety with others.

Do I know you?

One drink is what separates many of us from getting to know each other.

I'm not well

I'm not well and one drink makes me worse. Worse is where I lived for a long, long time.

I knew better...

I knew better and I was still powerless over alcohol.

Complications

The complications of the bottle are mind boggling. I was once so involved with myself that it seemed as if I roamed the earth alone.

One sentence

If I could sum up my drunkenness in one sentence it would be...
Death before life, at best.

Numbness

Drinking kept me from feeling. When I cried, my tears flowed numb without emotion or pain.

17 years

17 years without a drink has taught me many things. One thing especially is that being sober itself just isn't enough.

Open up

I am here because others were here before me and I decided to let them in.

Sweet

There is a sweet innocence that returns when the bottle is no longer involved. It takes the place of bitterness, fear and anger.

Daddy time

I have been a dad for thirteen years. None of which included the bottle.

I'm new

Nothing is old except that which we do over and over expecting different results.

Good night

Good night dad I'll be home early.
Early never came.
Dad's gone now and I'm home early all the time:(

10%

To about 10% of the population one drink is a very dangerous quantity!

The alcoholic

Just because we have never met doesn't mean we don't know each other.

Life

Life was that thing I used to attempt in between big drunks.

Alone

Sometimes being alone with the bottle is the hardest part.

Today

Sober & strong!! Not much more I can say today.

Better or not

I can't make you better people but I can help you put the bottle down and then you'll have a fighting chance in this world.

I've been around

But I was never around myself when I drank. I was just too drunk to ever see myself as others saw me.

Three

The three stages of alcoholism...
Drunkenness, recovery and sobriety.

My soul

My soul turns my brain from an organ into a beautiful symphony.

The killer within me...

The killer within me is the reason I choose to pray everyday.
Alcohol turns me into a killer. If I ever choose to drink again driving drink can't be far behind.
Daily prayer is what keeps me away from the bottle.

Recovery

Recovery is dirty, ugly, painful and messy. But the results are beautiful!

Who I am

For a guy that can never get enough drinking is a bad choice!