Coffee is to the body what the Word of God is to the soul.

I was asked to share some thoughts on Hope at an Al-Anon meeting. This is what I shared.

Hope
“Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things and no good thing ever dies”. That is a line from Shawshank Redemption, one of my favorite movies. One of the things that got me through some of our tough times was to remember that where there is life, there is hope. It did not seem that way sometimes. Sometimes you have to go through some pretty stinky stuff to reach the end but in the end there is hope. Even in death there is hope for us. I believe in Heaven and there was a time I saw an image in my mind. I saw that I would see my qualifier in heaven, that I would hug his neck and tell him I loved him. I was just not sure which one of us got there first.

I think this condition of addiction tries to swallow our hope. It strives to isolate us and deny us the companionship that keeps us healthy. It tries to get the addict alone and focused on just the addiction. That leads to death ultimately but I think we die long before our heart stops beating. Aside from capital punishment the next harshest punishment we impose on criminals is solitary confinement. Locked up alone is what we do to them and that is what the addiction tries to do to the addict or alcoholic.

It tries to do it to us too, those of us who live with an addict or alcoholic.

Treatment for the alcoholic is to be in community. To be accountable to another human being. To have a sponsor who helps in the insanity of alcoholism. It is the same for us. To have someone to talk to. To have a community we can talk to that tells us we are not crazy or if we are that it is a normal sort of crazy. We are not in this room to treat an addiction but rather to treat isolation.

I think we can get isolated in lots of ways. We can shut the door of course but we can also work, read, eat, sleep and watch tv or listen to the Ipod or a multitude of other things. They can all isolate us but what we crave most is community. Like minded community helps (as long as the minds are healthy).
I got to spend two days at a training retreat and we talked about lots of things but mostly we talked about hope. It was in the form of doing the right things and working with the right people and staying in community and getting a sponsor (we called them a coach) and staying on track. We go to these meetings in the hope that we don’t need a meeting but if we do then we are where we need to be. We come here to share our hope with those that are lacking in it. To learn that this too shall pass. To learn about boundaries, love, community and hope.

If you are new (or old), keep coming back. It helps you, it helps me and it helps everyone in here and those that will be coming later.

Thanks for listening.

I am a member of Al-Anon. We are here to help families of alcoholics and last week I was asked to share some thoughts on Tradition 5. These are those thoughts. Take what you like and leave the rest. If you want to know more about Al-Anon please call me. I will help.

Al-Anon Tradition 5: Each Al-Anon Family Group has but one purpose: to help families of alcoholics. We do this by practicing the Twelve Steps of AA ourselves, by encouraging and understanding our alcoholic relatives, and by welcoming and giving comfort to families of alcoholics.

It is good to define ‘help’. I listen to Dave Ramsey and he says we have to define help. In his case it is usually about money and what to do to help someone who is struggling financially. Most of the time, it is best to not give them money just because they are struggling. He also says that it is not help to give a drunk a drink even if that is what he wants. When my sons were younger I always told them that if they got themselves into jail they could get themselves out. That was part of my definition of help back then. Today the definition includes getting them out if need be. Circumstances are different so a definition is important. This is ours. It has 3 parts.

Practicing the 12 steps of AA ourselves – we can’t help others if we are not healthy ourselves. The steps are a progression that gets us to a point of being healthy. It is a process and we do it over and over and we are never done with it. It is how we do life. As we get better we are able to really help someone else. Located in the panel above your head is an oxygen mask. If the mask drops down place it over your nose and mouth and breathe normally. If you need to help a small child or someone acting like a small child, place your own mask on first and then help the child. We have all heard that on an airplane and we understand it there. It is the same here. Help yourself first so you can then help others.

Encouraging and understanding our alcoholic relatives – This is the hard one. How can we do that?? Isn’t he the reason we are here? Wasn’t her drinking the real problem? This has to start with forgiveness. We have to forgive ourselves first for all the ‘help’ we gave the alcoholic that was not really help at all. Then we have to forgive the alcoholic and get to the place where we can realize that this is a disease. I have a confession to make. I struggle with the concept of ‘disease’ but I get the idea that they really can’t help it. Maybe this idea will help you. It helped me.

The best explanation I have heard is that they are now a pickle. They used to be a cucumber but now they’re a pickle and they will never be a cucumber again. Alcohol has changed them somehow and they really can’t help it anymore. There might have been a point where they could help it but that has past and we need to accept them for what they are. They are pickles but I really like pickles. Some pickles are favorites of mine and I love them.

Remember that forgiveness is about the past and it is about us, not them. No, they might not deserve forgiveness. Forgive them anyway. I am not suggesting that you trust them unless they earn the trust back. They might be trusted again if they get into a program and work it well but trust is about the future not the past. Forgiveness is more for you than it is for them. They don’t have to ask for forgiveness for you to give it to them. They don’t even need to know you are forgiving them for it to help you. It might be too late to forgive them in person for some of you but you need to forgive them anyway. Just forgive them and you start to get better and THEN you can start to love and encourage and your understanding will increase as you ask for wisdom and understanding from God.

Welcoming and giving comfort to families of alcoholics – This is easier for me. Hurting people walk through these doors and we do our best to give them hope and comfort. I think this group does a great job of that and I know Susan and I have been comforted and helped beyond what my words can relay. Just keep on doing what you do. It is working.

OK, I’m done. That is what I had to bring today and I just want to open it up for discussion. Who’s first?? You can leave comments if you log in so have at it.

I am very pleased about all the new volunteers that tried out helping on the Brewteam today. We have a great turnout and several that said they would be back to help again. Thanks to everyone that turned out and we’ll be in touch. If you need to get to me before I get back to you my email address is brewteam@12Stone.com so email me if you need me.

I will be working on the new schedules and don’t forget we have two more Sundays of 1st serve so there will be even more joining the team.

Thanks for being willing to help,

Jerry Robertson
Chaplain of Caffeine

There is an old story about JFK going to visit NASA during the 1960’s. We were building rockets to go to the moon before the end of decade. President Kennedy talked to rocket scientists, engineers and managers for the whole day. At one point he was walking down the hallway and met a janitor who was working to clean the floor. When the President stopped to talk to him for a minute, he ask the janitor what he was doing. The man straightened up noticeably and said “I am helping get a man on the moon”. It’s an old story but one I was reminded of this week.

As I sat in the service yesterday I heard the story of the dad and daughter who were baptized last week. The daughter who brought her dad to 12Stone. I was reminded that we are not making coffee. We are not cleaning up messes or refilling creamers. We are winning souls into the Kingdom of God. Along with all the other folks who work on Sunday to make it more comfortable for the seeker, new believer and anyone else who finds their way to our doors.

Smile and engage in conversation. Find out who it is that God is bringing to us. They need you. They need  you to smile, shake hands and just be welcoming. Thanks for all you do. It means a lot to me and to the people that smile back.

Thanks for listening,
Jerry Robertson
Chaplain of Caffeine

I feel like I have a new lease on ministry. I’ll explain more later on what is changing but my focus today was different. I got to engage someone for the Kingdom.

You all know me well enough to know my answer to “How are you doing??”. It’s almost always “Better than I deserve”. Yes, I listen to Dave Ramsey sometimes and yes, that is where I first heard that answer but it is not why I say it. I say it for two reasons.

First, it is always true. I am better than I deserve. The wages of sin is death and I am a sinner. I deserve death but by the the Grace and Mercy of God I have life in Christ so I am always better than I deserve. I never have to lie and say “Fine, I’m fine” when I am not. Life is hard. Sometimes it feels like we are either in a crisis, coming out of a crisis or headed for a crisis. Welcome to life on this planet!! Don’t misunderstand though, it’s a Good Life and I am better than I deserve no matter what is happening to me.

Second, it almost always starts a conversation and today was no exception. I got the question and my answer was “Better than I deserve” and that got another question. “What do you mean?”, he asked. Soooooo, I got to share my faith with someone I thought was a believer but perhaps did not get this basic premise of my life. We talked about Christ and death and sin and finally I said “It is by grace through faith that we are saved, not by works so that no one can boast. (Eph 2:8-9). He walked away with something of the Spirit to contemplate.

My point is that we are all called to share our lives and witness to those we serve and I pray that each of you on the Brewteam at 12Stone will take that seriously. We are there to clean the carts, put coffee up and make sure there is cream and sugar for the people that don’t take coffee in is intended form (black and hot ) but more importantly we are there to share Christ. You will get the chance to do so if you look for it.

Be alert and yet be relaxed. I don’t want to have you manufacture a moment but rather just be yourself and look for anyone that you can serve and talk to. God will lead you to the moment that He wants you to have.

Thanks for listening and remember that It’s a Good Life!!

Jerry Robertson
Chaplain of Caffeine

I just watched a movie called Into The Wild. Very cool movie. I won’t spoil it for you but I want to get some thoughts down about it. The big thought is about our relationship to God. To be free and unencumbered with this world and to relate to God the way we were meant to.

The bible says we will not marry in heaven. I am not sure what relationships will be like but I am sure it will be different than what we have now. I think we will find God is finally, consciously always with us. Not like he is with us now but in a way that we simply can’t fathom now. To walk in the cool of the evening with our God. How great is that!!!

To explore all that God has created for us. He made is so big that we will never run out of things to do even in all of eternity. Wow, do I feel small right now. To explore the planet, solar system, galaxy or universe with him at our sides. To know he created it all for his glory and to share it with us. To share it with other people that are in heaven with us. Those we know now and those we will find along the rest of this path.

Focus on the relationships. Us to God and us to others. Nothing else really matters.

Thanks for listening,
Jerry Robertson

Well, things are better but the message goes on. I was watching a little of the Ray Charles story and my wife said “how sad a story” and she was right. Ray almost lost it all because of heroin. My thought was “but that’s where the music comes from” and as we watched the end of the movie we see Ray had a successful music career of 40 years and never went back to heroin. 

Our stories are like that. Mine is still being written and the last few months have been rough but maybe that is where our song will come from. God has a song for us and He sings it over us all the time. The rough spots are just something we have to pass through in order to tune the instruments. To practice the music and get on the right key. 

Pray for us as we write our song and we’ll pray for you as you write yours. Let me know how to pray and I will.

It’s a Good Life,

Jerry W. Robertson
Chaplain of Caffeine

This one is out of my life right now. We are experiencing some pretty big challenges and I am talking to God more. That is how we operate sometimes. When I would ride a motorcycle and get in a difficult situation I would pray more. Life is like that. When things are going well we just seem to bump along on our own and even begin to think we are pretty good. 

Then something gets out of our control (like we ever had any in the first place) and we begin to panic and try to do everything we can think of to get things back under control and finally reach a point that we realize we never controlled it at all.

We are like that right now and frankly the last few days have been rough. I have had to go back to some basics. Here they are:

1. God Exists
2. I am not him
3. God Answers Prayer
4. God Love Me

Now that may not seem like a revelation to you but it is part of my journey today. I have to trust God. Most of us know the story of Job in the bible. He lost everything. Possessions, children, wealth, health. Everything. Yet in Job 19:25 he says “but as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives and that he will stand upon the earth at last.” 

That is confidence and trust in God. Job could not see the battle going on that we get to read about in the story but he knew that God could be trusted even if it did not feel like it at the time. Do we trust like that? I know I don’t have it under control but I am learning. 

No matter what happens I have to remember the 4 basics above and not let  life overwhelm me. I have my health, food, shelter and clothing. There is gas in the car and I even have a car!!! Who am I to worry?

What are you struggling with? Use this space if you like to share the struggles and how you are working on your trust in God in the midst of it. 

It’s a Good Life!!
Jerry W. Robertson
Chaplain of Caffeine

The desert. Standing in the desert before dawn looking up. The sky is clear. The air is cold and you can see the center of our galaxy called the Milky Way. More stars that ever before. You see motion just out of your field of view and adjust to look at whatever that is. It’s moving fast and in a laser straight line. Not like a plane. It’s much faster than that. It’s moving really fast. Relax, it is not a UFO but rather a satellite that you never noticed before because you have never been where there is no light to blind you to the stars and to the man made objects in the night sky. It is beautiful.

Now, project yourself back about 550 years. There is no satellite flying overhead but the sky looks the same otherwise. More stars than you have ever seen. The sky starts to brighten. It’s so subtle at first that you don’t notice it but it is getting brighter. The sun is coming up. Notice that? You said it is ‘coming up’. I mean, everyone says it that way because that is how it looks. You are standing still and the sun rises above your head. The sun is moving, isn’t it? You look off to the horizon and you can see the Earth we live on is flat and level in the desert. Nothing to get in the way of seeing all the way to the edge, is there? Imagine t hat we used to believe the Earth was flat and the Sun rose and sat around us. We were the center of the universe. How silly we were to believe that!!

Now, think about our current situation. Regardless of your politics, I am sure you can find things you agree with and things you disagree with. Imagine a line in the sand running from right to left. Conveniently it runs Right to Left. Conservative to Liberal. Lower yourself down onto the line. You are at ground level looking Right and Left along the line and deciding where on that line you will stand. My position is just to the Right of Ron Reagan. Yours may be next to FDR or Lincoln or Obama. We all think we are in the proper place and that anyone that is to the Right or Left of us is wrong.

Now, allow yourself to float up and get to about 3000 feet above the line. Look down. This is a different place. Right and Left don’t mean as much now. Maybe we need to allow ourselves to float up even higher to get a better perspective on the truth. I don’t know all the answers and certainly I don’t know where to stand on that line but if we allow ourselves to come higher maybe it won’t matter as we see more of the picture.

That line can be Right or Left, liberal or conservative, Catholic or Protestant, White or Black, rich or poor. You get the picture I hope and maybe we’ll realize someday that the world in not flat and that we don’t live on a line in the sand. Bring others up to a higher level and show them what it looks like from up here. Maybe it will make a difference.

It’s a Good Life!!
Jerry W. Robertson

We just found out that Stephen (my youngest) has been accepted at UGA for the Fall 2009 Semester. He applied through Early Action and we just got word today that he made it. I think that is awesome and a great reward for all the hard work he as done to earn it!!

Good Job Stephen!!

Thanks for listening,
Jerry W. Robertson