His Ministries' 3rd Annual RecoveryFest Southwest  September 22, 2012!

On September 22, His Ministries of Big Stone Gap VA will hold its 3rd Annual RecoveryFest Southwest, as part of National Recovery Month.  This is a festival of activities for the entire family with live music and food.

Speakers for the event will be announced at a later date.

Guest speakers included-

Singers and musicians for the event:
--If Birds Could Fly, Big Stone Gap, VA

Great music, good food and wonderful people always bring out the people. More than 200 have attended our previous event. Also, human service agencies and organizations from the community provided information tables. It was s a festival of activities for the entire family.

 “Praise be to the God… who comforts us in all our troubles (2Cor 1:3)”

A true observation that Shakespeare made was “What has been done cannot be undone.”  However, situations and problems can change.  We learn that all that was done in the past cannot be changed but training and skills learned during those times can be used for good if we begin to look up for hope.  All the problems that came upon Joseph could not be undone. But Joseph believed that God had a plan for his life because he had dreams that showed that others would serve him. I am sure he couldn’t imagine the kind of position that was to be, but he had a dream to think about. 

I was saddened Monday after I left the jail.  It was just sad talking to the women.  The room was full and extra chairs had to be brought in. In the past weeks, many arrests had been made in a recent drug bust. A spirit of hopelessness filled that room. I left there with the sadden spirit because they did not know that God is a mighty God and He gives us hope, they did not know that God can do this for them. I know that he changed my life. I know I am not an important person, but He gave more than I ever expected to have in my life. And I wait now expecting to see what the end will be, because I have a dream that He gave me, His Ministries, ‘Setting Lives Free.’

Those thoughts reminded me that it was not until I felt that hopelessness in my life that I began to look up - for the one who could pull me out of that hopelessness grave that my lifestyle choices put me. First, let me say that I do not believe that it is God’s plan for us to make the wrong choices that put us in jail, or cause another to live a life of hardship. But God can do all things and bring about His will no matter what the situation and circumstances that occur in our lives. Now that being said, I share one of my devotions with you.

I wondered this morning during my devotion if it was when Joseph’s brothers left him to die in the pit, did he feel hopelessness, and was that when, he began to hear the caravan coming that soon rescued him? (Gen37:24)

Was he feeling hopelessness when he was a servant of Potiphar while remembering his dreams that revealed that he would be served? Was it at this time that Potiphar saw that Joseph was blessed by God and placed Joseph in charge of his household, and everything he owned?  (Gen39:4)

Was Joseph feeling hopelessness when he was in prison for something he didn’t do – was it at that time the prison warden gave him the job as overseer of everyone in the prison? Do you think Joseph may have thought that was the position in his dreams? (Gen39:20)

Was he feeling hopelessness when wondering that his freedom was gone forever, at the time two men of Pharaoh’s servants were arrested and asked him to interpret their dreams and one was set free promising to help him once released? He was giving hope by the very one he helped. (Gen40:15)

After several years had passed, I thought that maybe Joseph was feeling hopelessness of never being free again and knowing that he had been forgotten by the one he had helped. Was it at this time that Pharaoh began to have the dreams that none could interpret, reminding the chief cup bearer of the promise he made to Joseph? Was this when Joseph interpreted the Pharaoh’s dream and put him in charge of all, to be in second in command of Pharaoh? (Gen41:43)

Although Joseph now had his own family, was Joseph feeling hopelessness in that he may never see his dad, mom and brother again? Was it then that Joseph saw God’s plan for his life, when his brothers had to come to Egypt to buy food? (Gen42:6,9)

With fear and trembling his brothers believed he would have them all killed. But Joseph through all those years of serving in Egypt knew God had a plan.  He told his brothers, what they meant for bad, God meant for good. Thousands were going to live because of the wisdom and training he had gained and learned in his relationship with God and through his perspective jobs and hardships, the very reason he was able to do the work required of one being in second command to Pharaoh. (Gen45:1-8)

Both Joseph and his bothers made choices in their lives. Joseph chose to live to please God, believing that He had a plan for his life and later in his life, chose not to be resentful or take revenge upon his brothers.  It was these choices he made that God saw to it that he would see his dreams fulfilled.

It was during a time in my life I felt the most hopelessness that I sought God. What has been done can't be undone; it’s at the ‘moment’ that we live. The decision we make now will determine if what’s done is not regretted.  My prayer: men and women that I meet will look up – and see that our hope comes from God and that the plan He has for our lives is not lost, but still can come about.

Be encouraged dear friend, as God encourages me daily and especially when I write the newsletter for you. http://hisministries.hqters.com:80/Shirley Smith

To fear the Lord (for me) is to know he is right, what he says is true and my respect for him comes in knowing that if I disobey what he says I put myself in danger or I miss out on something very important.  That statement reminds me of my mama’s highway story.

 Mama taught us to fear two words, NO! and STOP!  When mama said NO! or STOP!, we knew to stop what we were doing immediately. She did not have to say those words twice. Mama always told us why she expected us to stop, and obey her voice immediately, because of the highway story. 

We lived near a big busy highway when we were small. Busy highway means that traffic was coming both ways very fast. Mama’s greatest fear was that we would run out of the house or from her toward the busy highway and if cars were coming and if we did not hear her scream STOP! or NO! we would be ran over by the cars.

Interesting Quotes on Alcoholism, which can Apply to Drug Addiction

 Alcoholism isn't a spectator sport. Eventually the whole family gets to play.  

http://hisministries.hqters.com:80/ Joyce Rebeta-Burditt

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Water is the only drink for a wise man.  

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Drunkenness is nothing but voluntary madness.  
http://hisministries.hqters.com:80/ Henry David Thoreau

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One reason I don't drink is that I want to know when I'm having a good time.

http://hisministries.hqters.com:80/ Seneca the Younger

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We should learn to have a good time without the use of Alcohol or Drugs  

do remember USE can lead to ABUSE. http://hisministries.hqters.com:80/ Nancy Astor

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First the man takes a drink; then the drink takes a drink; then the drink takes
the man.

http://hisministries.hqters.com:80/ Japanese Proverb

 The next quote brings home the point that everyday drinking has
become an American lifestyle because of television programs, movies, commercials and strategic marketing!

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Is "all things in moderation" your motto? Really?.…

I don't follow that old, tired saying.

It's too easy to become an alcoholic.

Too easy to believe that you need a drink to cope,

especially when movies and TV shows like Bewitched pounded the
"I need a drink"catch-phrase into our brains since childhood.

http://hisministries.hqters.com:80/ Duane Alan Hahn

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Pleasure which must be enjoyed at the expense of another's pain can never

be enjoyed by a worthy mind. Pleasure's couch is virtues grave.

 http://hisministries.hqters.com:80/ Augustine J. Duganne

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"…that men should put an enemy in their mouths to steal their brains."
Shakespeare’s Othello
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I have been brought up and trained to have the utmost contempt for people who
get drunk. http://hisministries.hqters.com:80/ Winston Churchill

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http://hisministries.hqters.com:80/ Shirley Smith

Strengthening communities, Empowering youth, Making a difference, It starts with you.

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Your gifts to His Ministries change lives.

More than 200 men and women in the past year turned to His Ministries to take that

first step into recovery. We devote the resources, creativity and passion to the

prevention and intervention of substance abuse, but we can not do this work
without the help of people like you.

Please consider a contribution to support His Ministries programs and services.

You can be a part of helping more people who need and deserve hope and healing.

If you can, please make a donation…Make check out to His Ministries and mail to

the address below.

His Ministries | 407 Wood Ave E | Big Stone Gap, VA 24219
E-mail: hisministries@verizon.net
(((((( All Gifts are Tax Deductible ))))))

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Let’s help one another, please pass it on to your friends, clients and colleagues.

Shirley Smith, President, BS, CSAC
Certified Substance Abuse Counselor
His Ministries Providing Life Changing Programs
''Setting Lives Free'

You also can view His Ministries, The Edge or my profile at

http://www.facebook/theedgemusicvenue

http://www.myspace.com/hismin

http://www.facebook/shilreysmith

http://www.linkedin.com/in/presidentsmith
http://www.twitter.com/presidentsmith

If the direction of one youth is diverted to not using and abusing drugs you would most likely change the lives of four generations! If you had the opportunity to assist four generations of lives would you? If you helped one youth, your gift can be the blessing to all of his or her children and their children.

Children live in a world unaware of danger.  Their thoughts are always on playing.  The world is their playground and the things of this world are their toys.  Children imitate the lives of others.  The child sees a gun.  He loves to pretend.  He remembers a show on television and picks the gun up.

“If you saw a child with a loaded gun pointing the gun to his head, your first reaction would be to run to the child, praying that he doesn’t pull the trigger before you are able to take the gun from his head.  You know the gun is loaded.  You know that if he pulls the trigger he will die.  If you don’t react now, he may not get another chance to live.  You know this and you will act!  You are his only hope to live!

A child experimenting with alcohol and other drugs is like the trigger of that loaded gun, slowly making its way to the temple of the brain.  Pressed and waiting.  You are his only hope.  If you don’t reach the child in time, before he pulls that trigger …. Three things are possible; 1.) He will die of an overdose sometime during his life.  2.) Be disabled for life, such as contracting diseases of the liver, pancreatic, stomach etc, mental incompetence, living aimlessly.   OR  3.) He may on his own put the gun down, moving away from it realizing its danger or become bored with the game and live.

If this was your son or daughter and he was holding a loaded gun to his head, would you wait and hope he realizes the danger, allowing him to put it down on his own?   Well, this is our mission at His Ministries, doing all that we can to remove a loaded gun from the temples of our youth so they will live.

It’s no secret that alcohol and drug abuse has become a great problem in our country, our state our county.  How many families do you know that Are Not Affected in some way by a parent or youth with an addiction. I don’t know not one family, not one person!  We are all affected, when you begin to count the rising costs from rising health care premiums from addiction related diseases, price increase from shoplifting, increase in crime from stealing, and the hiring of more police due to an increase in drug charges and its related offenses. Read the paper and more and more are arrested because of substance abuse. In the areas where their the increase of foster care to provide safe homes for the children. In our area, most of the children removed from their homes occurs because of substance abuse.

In 1996, His Ministries incorporated as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization to provide services to assist drug and alcohol addicted individuals in overcoming substance abuse problems, work to prevent substance abuse in our youth and to break the cycle of intergenerational substance abuse in families living throughout the area through mission outreach.  We continue to add programs to help in the need to combat drug and alcohol addictions.

Your help is needed.

Shirley Smith,

His Ministries, Inc.

“Setting Lives Free”