CASTIMONIA

Sexual Purity Support & Recovery Group

Castimonia

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Remembering September 11, 2001

I still remember what I was doing on the morning of September 11, 2001; sitting in my office, ignoring what I thought was just a freak accident in New York City.  About an hour later, when I finally got up to watch the TV, I realized what was going on.

I received this video this morning via an e-mail subscription to God Tube and found it powerful 11 years after the September 11th attacks.  Please take a momen to watch this video and pray for the families of the people that were lost on that day, and pray for our nation.

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=0JF2BJNU

Amazing Grace – Beautiful September 11 Tribute
It still feels as though the tragedies of September 11 transpired just yesterday–our wounds are still healing, buildings are still under construction and questions are still unanswered. But one thing we can know for certain is the amazing grace we receive from our Lord and Savior–it is in Him that we find our true hope, healing, joy and restoration.

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Castimonia Meeting at Rick’s Ranch – Saturday, September 15, 2012

September 15, 2012 – Castimonia at Rick’s Ranch On Saturday, Steptember 15, 2012, Castimonia will NOT be meeting at The Fellowship at Cinco Ranch.  The church will be holding a parent’s summit that Saturday.  Castimonia will meet at Rick’s Ranch near Sealy, TX.  We will have food & fellowship at 9:30am and then our regular meeting at 10am.  Afterwards, we will have some time to unwind for more fellowship.  We should be finished by 12:30pm but you may leave earlier if needed.

Rick’s Ranch 9597 SE I-10 Frontage Road Sealy, TX  77474

Here’s a bing map of the location: http://binged.it/JD7AIE

Click on the map below for a full-size image with driving directions.

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Castimonia Monday Night Meeting Topic – Step 9 Step Study

Step 9: We made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Honor one another above yourselves.  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (Romans 12:10,18)

Today’s meeting is the first meeting of the month which is typically a “Step Study” of the corresponding month.  Since September is the 9th month, we reviewed Step 9 in both The Twelve Steps for Christians and the SAA Green Book.

I believe the most important reason to make amends is to clean up “our side of the street.”  When we make amends to others, we are not asking for their forgiveness, we are simply taking ownership of what we did to wrong them and offering to “pay” for the damage we caused.  This “payment” can be done in terms of actual money or other non-financial reparations that need to be made in order to offset the damage we have done, such as being emotionally present if we were emotionally absent in our addiction.

In making amends, we do not concern ourselves with the out come of the amends or the other person’s reaction.  Their reaction is not a reflection on how well or poorly we made amends, that is their business and none of ours.  Our only task in making amends is to take ownership for what we did wrong and make amends as previously mentioned.

Some of the best amends we can make to others are what are called “living amends” or basically a change in lifestyle.  When our friends, family, etc… see that we are now living a different lifestyle filled with gratitude and thanksgiving, then our amends become living.  The change that began in the first few steps is now seen as evident when we make amends to others.  This change continues as we grow in maturity and in connection with God.

Finally, we must understand the second part of step 9 – except when to do those would injure them or others.  This is extremely important if our amends to certain individuals will harm them more than do good.  Perhaps they no long wish to have any contact with us, therefore, we respect their decisions and make amends privately, written in a letter form, to our Sponsor.  This is also true for those of us who are married and wish to make amends to old acting-out partners.  Amends to these past partners should only be done if our spouse approves of the amends and method, and maybe tags along too!  Many spouses do not want the addict to make contact with old acting-out partners, which is a completely acceptable request from the spouse.  In these cases, we also write letters to our old acting out partners and read those amends letters to our sponsor.

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Convergence Summit Highlight Video

Reposted from http://www.covenanteyes.com/2012/07/09/how-does-porn-effect-the-body-and-brain/

Dr. Struthers’ recent talk at the Convergence Summit is filled with interesting comments like this. In 30 minutes, he brings the audience through a crash course on how pornography impacts the brain. “As a neuroscientist,” Struthers comments, “what I know is that the brain is perhaps the most sexual organ in the body.”

  • Dr. Struthers shows how pornography “supercharges” the area of the brain called the hypothalamus, the part of the brain responsible for primary drives: eating, drinking and sex.
  • Dr. Struthers talks about how pornography taps into the area of the brain—called the amygdala—that is responsible for negative emotions such as stress or anxiety or sexual tension.
  • Dr. Struthers also talks about how viewing pornography and masturbating weakens the region of our brain known as the singular cortex, the region that is responsible for moral and ethical decision making.

Not many people realize that there have been many studies done on the effect of pornography on the brain. Dr. Struthers distills this information in a way that is accessible to a general audience.

You can now watch all of Dr. Struthers’ talk, as well as talks given by several other scientific minds from the Convergence Summit.

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Video – Mark’s Story

Mark Laaser speaks about his Sexual Addiction

Watch Mark’s story of sexual addiction recovery, and access all the available resources for all types of addiction recovery at http://www.addiction2recovery.com

Dr. Mark Laaser holds a PhD in religion and psychology from the University of Iowa and an MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary.  He is an internationally known author and speaker who has written six books, including Healing the Wounds of Sexual Addiction, Talking to Your Kids About Sex, and The Pornography Trap.  He is also an adjunct faculty member at several graduate schools.  He and Debbie started Faithful and True Ministries to counsel couples healing from sexual addiction.