CASTIMONIA

Sexual Purity Support & Recovery Group

meeting

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Castimonia Anniversary Celebration – Open Meeting Notice

Gentlemen,

As we celebrate two years of service (June 12, 2010 – June 12, 2012) to our Lord Jesus Christ this Saturday, June 16th, I would like to remind you that this meeting will be an “open meeting.”

An open meeting simply means that there will be men at this meeting who have not openly acknowledged a struggle with maintaining sexual purity or having a sexual addiction.  As we all know, almost every man struggles with some sort of sexual purity issue, however, not every man is required to be open in admitting this issue.  I have invited the church’s pastoral staff and elders to this meeting as well as various therapists from around the Houston area.

I hope the regular attendees to the Saturday morning meeting will make an extra effort to attend this open meeting in celebration of 2 years of service for God in the realm of sexual purity. Please feel free to invite any man you know over the age of 18, even if they say they don’t struggle with sexual purity. Attending an “open” meeting may help them ease into their own recovery rather than thinking they are attending a meeting for sex addicts.

Thank you,

Jorge S.
jorge@castimonia.org

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Castimonia Saturday Morning Meeting Topic 6/09/12 – Working Step 6

Working Step 6

Step 6: We were entirely ready to have God remove our defects of character.
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” (James 4:10)

In working step 6 I need to come to an understanding of God and who He is in my life.  I also need to be able to re-word step 6 as follows: We were entirely ready to have God, not me, remove our defects of character.  In adding those two simple words, I have come to understand that it is God, not me, who will remove my defects of character.  There is nothing I can do to help this other than be entirely ready.

Understanding that there is a difference between wanting and being entirely ready is very important.  In the past, I wanted God to remove my defects of character, but I was not entirely ready.  I had grown up using these defects of character to protect myself, to survive.  Some of these defects of character such as lack of patience, anger, and control helped get me through college and early on into my career as an engineer.  I would use these defects of character to my advantage, not realizing that they would be part of my demise and are at the root of why I would act out constantly with my sexual addiction, my rage, alcohol, or drug use.

In order to understand my acting out behavior, I have to understand that my “malady has roots” and these roots are my character defects.  I can cut down the tree of “sexual addiction” on my life, but if I don’t cut out the roots, then the tree will continue to grow.  Side note, I actually experienced this recently when I tried to cut down a tree in my back yard.  Although, I cut it down, it was still partially connected to the roots, as I had to leave the roots in because they were so deep.  Within a few days, green leaves were growing on what was left of the tree, laying on the ground.  Then, after removing the actual tree, the roots started sprouting new stems with leaves.  With enough time, a new tree would have grown in the old tree’s place.  I finally had to kill the roots in order to ultimately kill the tree.  So too, must we identify and kill these roots, or have our higher power do it.  We have to be entirely ready to have God remove the roots of our addiction, for if we do not, then the “addiction tree” will continue to grow!

When we are entirely ready to have God remove these defects of character, when we have finally had enough of our acting out in various ways, when we have finally said enough is enough, and been truly entirely ready to have God remove negative character traits which use to keep us alive, we can move on to Step 7.

In working this step study, I read from two different books, The Twelve Steps for Christians and the SAA Green Book.

Take what you like and leave the rest.

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Castimonia Saturday Morning Meeting Topic 05-26-2012

This morning’s topic is a “Musical Topic” where I hand out the lyrics to a “recovery-related” song and we all share. This also relates to our work in Step 5. Below are the lyrics and my discussion on the subject:

Born Again
Third Day

Today I found myself
After searching all these years
And the man that I saw, he wasn’t at all who I thought he’d be
I was lost when you found me here
And I was broken beyond repair
Then you came along and you sang your song over me

(Chorus)
It feels like I’m born again
It feels like I’m living
For the very first time
For the very first time
In my life

Make a promise to me now
Reassure my heart somehow
That the love that I feel is so much more real than anything
I’ve a feeling in my soul
And I pray that I’m not wrong
That the life I have now, it is only the beginning

(Chorus)
It feels like I’m breathing
It feels like I’m moving
For the very first time
For the very first time

I wasn’t looking for something that was more
Than what I had yesterday
Then you came to me and you gave to me
Life and a love that I’ve never known
That I’ve never felt before

(Chorus)
It feels like I’m breathing
It feels like I’m moving
For the very first time
I’m living for the first time
In my life

Topic:

The topic for this meeting is to listen to, read, and share about the lyrics to this song.  To me, this song has special meaning.  This album was released in July 2008 and the music from this album became widely popular in late 2008 and early 2009.  Until 2009, I rarely listened to Christian music, as a matter of fact, I had resentment against the genre thinking all these “Christian” artists were just singing to make money and not for God’s glory, but their own.  Funny how things change when one hits rock bottom.  As I entered recovery early in 2009, I recall listening to various songs from Third Day.  I had heard some music from Third Day during my years of addiction, but never paid much attention to the music or the lyrics until Jesus opened my eyes, my heart, and my mind.

After entering recovery, all of a sudden, all these Christian songs made sense!  We all had one thing in common, we all needed God at the center of our lives, I needed God, not my addiction, at the center of my life.  When I heard the song “Born Again” I recall the tears coming from deep within.  The lyrics spoke to me.  After searching all these years, I finally saw the man who I was, in my addiction, and I wasn’t at all who I thought I was.  When I hit rock bottom, that is when Jesus found me, completely and totally broken beyond repair, or so I thought!  And after entering recovery, and trying to live a life of honesty, my life was beginning to feel like I was really living it for the very first time.  Such a huge burden was lifted off of me when I entered recovery.

Then, as the female vocalist sings, the meaning for me was twofold.  First, it is me asking God to help me believe that this feeling of love I have is real and true and that it is only the beginning.  Secondly, as the female sings, I can picture my wife saying these same words, that I promise her that this new love she feels from me and for me is real and true, and that it is just the beginning of something wonderful.

Living a life of recovery, especially after doing a disclosure, is truly liberating and basically a “do-over” in life, not only with our spouses but with all of our loved ones regardless if the marriage, family, or friendship stays intact.  God gives us second (and third, and fourth, and fifth, etc…) chances, so let’s make the best of it.  When we enter a life of recovery, we truly are Born Again!

Take what you like and leave the rest.

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Castimonia Thursday Night Meeting

Just a reminder to everyone that we are starting a third weekly Castimonia meeting on Thursday nights!  The meeting will be held “off campus” at another church who was gracious enough to donate one of their rooms for this Men’s Sexual Purity Support & Recovery group!

I look forward to seeing you this Thursday night!

Castimonia Men’s Sexual Purity Support & Recovery Group
Time: Thursday Nights, 7:00PM – 8:30PM
Location: Grace Fellowship United Methodist Church – Epicentre Youth Building, Room 213
2655 South Mason Road
Katy, TX  77450
281.646.1903

  
Map to Church                            Campus Map

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Memorial Day

Today I am grateful for those that gave their lives so that I could enjoy the freedoms I have living in this country which iniclude the freedom to seek help for my addiction and the freedom to choose the recovery program that is best for me and my sobriety.

All Gave Some, Some Gave All….