Post
92
SPECIAL
ANNOUNCEMENTS!
IGCCB**
CLERGY/LAY MINISTER TRAINING TOWARD CERTIFICATION
in
Gambling Addiction Prevention, Education, Awareness, and Spiritual Outreach
Care
WILL
BE HELD MARCH 10-11, 17-18 BALTIMORE, MD AREA
REGISTRATION IS STILL OPEN! FREE TRAININGS!!
(**
International Gambling Counselor Certification Board)
Call
the Maryland Center of Excellence in Problem Gambling for registration details
ALSO!
IGCCB**
CLERGY/LAY MINISTER TRAINING TOWARD CERTIFICATION
in
Gambling Addiction Prevention, Education, Awareness, and Spiritual Outreach
Care
WILL
BE HELD MARCH 24-25, MARCH 31-APRIL 1 GARY, INDIANA
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!! FREE TRAININGS!!
(**
International Gambling Counselor Certification Board)
Call
the Maryland Center of Excellence in Problem Gambling for registration details
Phone:
(667) 214-2128 and ask for Jeff Beck.
MORE!!
INDIANA STATEWIDE CONFERENCE
ON PROBLEM GAMBLING
in
observance of National Problem Gambling Awareness Month
FREE TRAINING!! March 29-30 8:30am-4:15pm both days
NCAA
Hall of Champions, 700 W. Washington
St., Indianapolis, IN 46204
For
more information on registration details, contact
Indiana
Problem Gambling Awareness Program at www.ipgap.indiana.edu
Post 92 continued Pot O’ Gold Nuggets
In Post 37 – March
2013 - I wrote, “ this part-Irish woman just loves
the holiday [of St. Patrick’s Day]: wooly sheep-strewn hill scenes on
picturesque greeting cards; full-bodied, steaming tea in "cozy-ed"
china pots; lively fiddle tunes reminding Americans that Appalachian music has
a close first-cousin across "the pond"; and the charm of soul-warming
words, wrapped together in blessings - centuries old - and a
comfort to all.” Appreciations have been expressed for the re-worded
Irish Blessing – in a new Recovery Blessing format – that
followed this introduction. I invite you
to scroll back the Posts and enjoy it once again!
In
the presentation Pioneers and Frontiers I made last month at the Kentucky Council on
Problem Gambling 20th Annual Awareness & Education
Conference, I urged the clergy and lay
ministers present to identify “gold-nugget” resources in helping them with
their ministries of outreach to problem gamblers and their loved ones. The point is real: through networking and
asking for help and advice, there truly will be found persons, organizations, and agencies worth their “weight in gold”
in our endeavors to break ground in establishing effective outreach to those
affected by gambling addiction. For this month’s GRM Blog Post 92, I have grouped three categories of gold nuggets to share: resources, tell-it-like-it-is experience-talk (i.e., to be learned from), and recovery-wisdom,. As you will see, each nugget is based on true experience!
RESOURCES
· State Councils and Agencies on Problem Gambling
There is much to be said in praise of these
organizations! Check them out for free
(yes: free!) giveaways – brochures,
fact sheets, and posters … all great for community bulletin boards,
programming, and mini-recovery resource centers
in your own faith-parish facility. You
might even be able to obtain free videos for presentations … and often, these
entities will have Speakers’ Bureaus that offer interesting presentations! Moreover, State Conferences administered by
these agencies usually provide much sought-after continuing education units
with national speakers and outstanding programs!
·
National Council on
Problem Gambling (www.ncpgambling.org ) for National Problem Gambling Awareness Month
Free online materials: Press Release scripts, PA
announcements, and flyers/fact sheets!
·
Gamblers Anonymous and
Gam-Anon
One of the very best things the Gambling
Recovery Ministries Board ever has done was to invite local GA and Gam-Anon
Members to provide a workshop for us to learn about recovery from gambling
addiction. Simply put - the sharing was
absolutely priceless … and friendships
were made too!
TELL-IT-LIKE-IT-IS EXPERIENCE-TALK (to be
learned from!)
·
When you’re in addiction for so long, you don’t feel worthy
·
Do I talk to myself the way I talk to my friends?
·
If I’m constantly trying to get something from everybody else,
I’m never going to get it.
·
I didn’t want to feel anything because it was so painful
·
Poor self-care: happens … even weeks or months before relapse
·
Relapse actually is the heart of addiction … like a microcosm of
addiction.
·
(S)he stole the family’s dignity from me.
·
I didn’t like gambling anymore; but I knew there was no way out.
·
Hoping for the wrong things: think instead, what are God’s hopes for me?
·
At first, I didn’t want to understand the questions asking “Are
you livening with a compulsive gambler?”
RECOVERY WISDOM
·
Recovery or chaos: your choice
·
“The capacity to learn is a gift … the ability to learn is a
skill … the willingness to learn is a choice”
(Brochure from 26th
Annual Lexington GA Mini-Conference, 2017)
·
HOPE: from just a word … to a concept … to a way of life – as put
into living-practice by
encouragement, love, and patience
·
Good night’s rest; three meals a day; ask for help
·
Doing for myself NOT by myself.
·
Anything I’ll put in front of my recovery, I’ll lose.
·
Stop living in the pain of the past.
·
If you can choose not to gamble, a world of choices opens up;
otherwise, when gambling, there’s no choosing … gambling just is.
·
God is all powerful; God can do the best for us.
·
God loves and cares for you.
God will not give up on you.
Please, do not give up on yourself.
And until we meet
again,
May God hold you in
the palm of His hand.
And may we stay
forever within the grip of God,
Sharing with others
This message of
recovery and hope!
Blessings,
Rev.
Janet Jacobs, CCGSO
Founding
Director
Gambling
Recovery Ministries
For
more information on recovery from compulsive gambling, go to
