A Wellspring of Hope
Newsletter of The Recovery Group


February 2003
Volume 5, Issue 2



ser*en*dip*i*ty ~ (noun) First appeared 1754:
the faculty or phenomenon of finding
valuable or agreeable things not sought for.


PLEASE SEND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR TO:
SerendipityNewsletter@yahoo.com
FEATURED ARTICLES

From Our Editors
From Our Founder
From Our Recovery Administrators
From the ODAT Committee
The Recovery Sponsor Program
From Sponsor to Sponsee
Letters to the Editor
From the Loops: Spotlight of the Month
Recovery Writers' Series
From the Literature
Recovery Meditations Calendar
The Recovery Group Meetings
Overeaters Anonymous Contacts
Recovery Group Contacts
Serenity Prayer


SERENDIPITY SUBSCRIPTIONS



~ FROM OUR EDITOR ~

FROM OUR EDITOR

Dear Serendipity Readers,

It is with a lot of excitement and a little trepidation that I come before you as the new Editor of Serendipity. God works in mysterious ways, and I welcome the challenge of this new form of service. I enjoyed my newspaper work in high school and entered the computer field after college, so this Trusted Servant position seems to give me the very best of both worlds. Thank you for welcoming me to my new area of service. I have always found Serendipity full of inspiring articles and know that I will continue to be led by my Higher Power, as Suzanne was before me, to bring the same quality newsletter to you that she did.

This month's Serendipity will bring you news from the Trusted Servants we have working in many areas, articles from our members and, from beginning to end, words to inspire, interest and inform you about events in the world of recovery. In this cold month of February, I hope this issue of Serendipity is one that will warm your hearts and that you will feel the love this month is known for, with all that surrounds you here. Please send me your comments, suggestions and questions. This is your Serendipity and I want to keep the "Letters to the Editor" column full of your input.

Yours in recovery,
     Marty
     Editor, SERENDIPITY
     Newsletter of The Recovery Group





~ FOUNDER'S CORNER ~


Dear Serendipity Readers,

I am very pleased to introduce to you the new Serendity Editor. Her name is Marty, and she has been working behind the scenes for a long time as the Serendipity Web Trusted Servant who is responsible for preparing the newsletter each month and seeing that it makes its way to the Recovery Website. I'm sure she will do as excellent a job on Serendipity as she does with so many things. A member of the ODAT committee, a singer, wife and mother, Marty also brings excellent organizational and technical skills to this job.

I also want to express our deep appreciation to Serendipity's first editor who brought so much of herself to this beautiful little newspaper. Suzanne has dedicated so much time and energy in making our Serendipity what it is, and I don't think she will ever truly leave us. As I personally browse issues from 1999 onward, memories and a few little tears remind me of the dreams Suzanne had for this publication and the hard work she put into each issue.

So ... on behalf of all the readers of the Serendipity newsletter, deep thanks to both Marty and Suzanne.

@-}-}-}------
Love in recovery,
Mari


~ FROM OUR RECOVERY ADMINISTRATORS ~

Dear Friends in Recovery,

February is an eclectic month of celebration which includes Valentine's Day, "International Friendship Month", "Responsible Pet Owners Month", and the sharing of the gift of recovery one day at a time on The Recovery Group!

TRG meetings continue to be a splendid daily opportunity to celebrate recovery with our members in "real time" daily at 9:30pm Eastern. TRG loops continue to offer the opportunity to celebrate recovery with loop members in a more flexible time frame. The TRG WebPages are always available to us providing many pages of recovery insight and celebration.

This gift of daily sharing is available to each of us with the assistance of the many Trusted Servants who share their recovery through service to others. We celebrate this generous service with a warm word of thanks and gratitude this February.

If you would like to join with those who are reaching out in service to others, the following loops are in need of Coordinators at this time:

  • FRENCH AND RECOVERY
  • HOTJ
  • GERMAN AND RECOVERY
  • MEDITATIONS AND RECOVERY
Please contact us for more information.

Cate, John and Patt
TRG Administration Team

TRGAdm@TheRecoveryGroup.org
http://www.TheRecoveryGroup.org





~ FROM OUR ODAT COMMITTEE ~

Dear ODAT/TRG Members,

Greetings from the ODAT loops. January has come and gone in the blink of an eye. Here in the Pacific Northwest we have yet to see any winter... not a good thing when summer comes and there is no snow pack for water.

January has been a quiet month for the ODAT loops. We have a few new coordinators who are settling in to their new jobs, and recruiting other Trusted Servants to help them.

If you aren't a member of any of the ODAT loops, there might be something of interest to you. Take a look at our website and see what we offer: http://www.TheRecoveryGroup.org/odat/index.html.

Thanks to all who help out.

Love to all,
Sande
ODAT Adm Chair





~ THE RECOVERY SPONSOR PROGRAM ~



When we build a house, we use tools. When we plant a garden, we use tools. If we cook a meal, there are kitchen tools we use. And when we work a recovery program, we use tools. There are many tools ... but one of the most important by far is Sponsorship. The Recovery Group offers an extensive sponsor program including:

  • The Recovery Sponsor Directory
  • The Recovery Sponsor's Biographies
  • The Sponsors and Recovery Loop
  • The Recovery Sponsors List of Permanent Sponsors
  • The WTS Step Sponsors List of Temporary Sponsors
Good luck in finding your sponsor. It will be one of the most important things you will ever do for yourself . . . and your recovery.

If you need help, please write to: Sponsors@TheRecoveryGroup.org



~ FROM SPONSOR TO SPONSEE ~



  1. I will not help you to stay and wallow in limbo.

  2. I will help you to grow, to become more productive, by your definition.

  3. I will help you become more autonomous, more loving of yourself, more excited, less sensitive, more free to become the authority for your own living.

  4. I cannot give you dreams or "fix you up" simply because I cannot.

  5. I cannot give you growth, or grow for you. You must grow for yourself by facing reality, grim as it may be at times.

  6. I cannot take away your loneliness or your pain.

  7. I cannot sense your world for you, evaluate your goals for you, tell you what is best for your world; because you have your own world in which you must live.

  8. I cannot convince you of the necessity to make the vital decision of choosing the frightening uncertainty of growing over the safe misery of remaining static.

  9. I want to be with you and know you as a rich and growing friend; yet I cannot get close to you when you choose not to grow.

  10. When I begin to care for you out of pity or when I begin to lose faith in you, then I am inhibiting both for you and for me.

  11. You must know and understand my help is conditional. I will be with you and "hang in there" with you so long as I continue to get even the slightest hint that you are still trying to grow.

  12. If you can accept this, then perhaps we can help each other to become what God meant us to be, mature adults, leaving childishness forever to the little children of the world.



~ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ~