TODAY IS THE DAY TO EMBRACE CHANGE

Greetings my blogger friends. I apoligize that I havent written in a while. Today I feel inspired to sit and wirite. Please feel free to send me a private message on my email danielisatruesoldier@aol.com anytime. You can also hit me up on FB anytime. I love to hear from yall and help in anyway that I can. I hope this post uplifts and inspires you in some way today. THANKS FOR READING!
                                                             
I want to start off by saying that YOU ARE A UNIQUE CHILD OF GOD. He lives and loves you. This is an eternal truth that brings peace to my heart when I think it. To know that GOD the creator of this universe and the creator of all things is not just real but He loves ME, that is awesome! I know He has a very specefic ETERNAL plan for us all. As many of you know my Mom recently passed away. I have reflected a lot on the eternal nature of life. I have reflected a lot on the reality that this  earth/mortal life is so temporary. This earth life will pass quickly and we will die, we will die to begin a new life in a different realm. I know that we will all be held accountable for our actions to some degree or another by our Maker. I say this as a reminder that our choices in this life are so important. We will all someday look back onto our mortal life and have to answer or report what we have done with our time here on this earth. Let us choose wisely how we spend our time and with the choices we make. Choose today to have more of an ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE because one thing is forsure, this time on earth as we know it will end SOON! I encourage you to begin to think more of the end. We all need to prepare to meet our maker. If you are living in addiction, TODAY IS THE DAY TO EMBRACE CHANGE AND TURN TO GOD FOR HELP. JESUS CHRIST WILL RESTORE YOU TO COMPLETE SPIRITUAL HEALTH. We know from the Bible that Jesus Christ is most concerned about the one lost sheep. JESUS CHRIST IS CONCERNED ABOUT YOU, HE LIVES AND CALLS OUT TO YOU. LET HIM IN!  
                                                                                  
Satan desires for you to live a dark, cold, and dreary life, Satan desires to drag you into misery through all types of addiction. I am on a mission to help as many folks as I can come to the realization that GOD IS REAL AND SATAN IS REAL. We are fighting in a spiritual battle. We can put on the armor of God and be true soldiers in Gods army by humbling ourselves and turning to Christ for help. HUMILITY is the key to recovery and change. When we are humble we are willing to learn and embrace new ideas and change. When we are humble and turn to Christ for strength our addictions will dissappear. As we recognize that we are infact fighting against evil forces we are able to prepare to stand strong in the face of evil temptations. Temptation is a very important part of this mortal excistence. God allows Satan to tempt us so we will have the opportunity to choose for ourselves good or evil. Temptation is an opportunity to do the right thing as much as it is to do the wrong thing. Lets join ranks with Gods army and decide to put our addictions behind us. Lets decide today that we will master our self. We will be the master of what we put into our bodies. I believe in you! God believes in you! We  will overcome our addictions as we humble ourselves and have hope that their is a better way. DRUGS AND ALCOHOL AND PORNOGRAPHY LEAD TO SLAVERY , DEATH AND DARKNESS. JESUS CHRIST WILL LEAD YOU TO FREEDOM, LIFE AND LIGHT...HE IS THE TRUE SOURCE OF LASTING INNER PEACE AND HAPPINESS. LET HIM IN YOUR LIFE TODAY!

Having said this I realize that we are all on different levels and are going through different things. I just encourage you to begin change by making small choices. Even if it is only a small desire in you to change continue to feed that desire and call out to God in prayer. HE WILL ANSWER YOU! The power of prayer is real. It is through prayer, meditation, and scripture study that we build our spiritual muscles and put on the armor of God. HUMILITY IS THE KEY, NEVER BE ASHAMED TO ASK FOR HELP AND TO ACCEPT HELP. WE ALL NEED HELP IN LIFE!!!
                                                                                    

BE ALL YOU CAN BE AS A TRUE SOLDIER IN GODS ARMY...STAY TRUE...STAY STRONG...STAY POSITIVE...STAY SOBER AND LOVE LIFE BABY!!!        

RESILIENCY

Hello blogger world, Im back again. I just wrote this paper for school and I thought some of you might benefit from reading it. I  discovered the word and concept of resiliency while I was in a treatment facility recovering from addiction. Today I am resilient. I bounce back from adversity very quickly. I have been empowered by embracing this concept and I hope it helps you in some way also. Thank you all for reading and commenting to me about reading my blog. I appreciate it more than you know. You can always private message me on FB or email danielisatruesoldier@aol.com. I would love to hear from you.

                                                 RESILIENCY 

                                                 

I chose to write about chapter 10 “Prevention of substance abuse problems” for many reasons. I am very passionate about helping others overcome addiction and about helping others avoid the consequences of drug and alcohol abuse. As you know I am in recovery myself and I have begun to build my life around helping and inspiring others. I always say I am using the adversity in my life as stepping stones to success.

The chapter talks about “high risk youth” which I am very interested in. I feel like if we can catch the youth before they become severely addicted we can make such a difference in their lives. We can save them from so many unnecessary consequences. I just started a job at a place called “Angel Reach” that helps kids that age out of foster care or that comes out of CPS. This program does so much to help these youth. It is truly amazing. I am so thankful for the opportunity to play a positive role in the lives of others. This program helps prevent substance abuse problems by providing counseling and doing drug test. This program helps these “high risk youth” to stay off the streets by providing housing, food, clothing, transportation and many other services. I believe many factors play a part in helping our youth stay off of drugs and alcohol. I feel like this chapter does a very good job at educating us on this subject. I believe we need more people out sharing their real true life stories of the reality of what drug and alcohol abuse brings. I feel like we could reach these kids on a deeper level by being real and sharing our real life stories. I am doing my part by speaking and sharing my true life recovery story every opportunity I get.

I really enjoyed all the topics in this chapter, but my favorite is on “Resiliency”. I was introduced to this empowering concept of being resilient when I was in treatment myself. To be resilient means so many things, but it generally means to recover quickly, to bounce back quickly. If one is resilient they will not allow a relapse to ruin their whole life. They will bounce back very quickly and recover quickly. In this chapter the author defines resiliency in several different ways that are super healing and therapeutic. I will list and discuss them now. The author says that resiliency is “Mastering your painful memories rather than compulsively rehashing the damage you have suffered”.  What a great concept. If we can master our negative memories they will not drive us to use drugs and alcohol. The author also says that resiliency is “Accepting that your troubled family has left its mark and give up the futile wish that your scars can ever disappear completely”. To me this means to just accept the fact that we all have issues in our family life and learn to press forward in life with hope and faith that things will work out. I firmly believe that hope and faith are very powerful in the recovery process.

The next definition the author gives of resilience is “getting revenge by living well instead of squandering your energy by blaming and fault-finding”. What a powerful message. Many of us play the victim in life. It’s so easy to be a victim, to find fault and blame everything under the son for our mistakes. By learning to take responsibility for our own actions we take control of our own destiny. The author also defines resiliency as “Breaking the cycle of your family’s troubles and putting the past in its place”. Lots of people use drugs and alcohol because of family troubles. We could prevent so much sorrow and suffering by learning to be resilient. As a professional I will teach clients what it means to be resilient. I will be as resilient as possible in my own life. I strive to be a living breathing example that addiction can be overcome. I firmly believe that with the right attitude and effort we can actually turn our weaknesses into our greatest strengths. As I have stated many times. The key is to be humble or teachable and to have a desire to become a better person. With desire and effort great things will happen. I plan to continue to make a real effort to make a big impact in as many people as I can. I hope to be a powerful influence for good in this world for the rest of my life.

As far as prevention of substance abuse problems goes I have learned from first hand experience that physical,mental and spiritual exercises and any good hobby plays a very important role in staying sober. I believe that we need to replace negative habits with positive habits as much as possible. These hobbies could include exercise, fishing, hunting, golfing, reading, writing, fixing cars, working, riding horses, spending time with family and the list goes on and on. I feel like if we learn to appreciate and stay thankful for the small things that sober-life has to offer we will stay at peace and happy. A grateful attitude is so powerful in finding contentment and happiness in life. If we are at peace and happy then we don’t need to turn to alcohol and drugs as a way to feel better. We don’t need to turn to alcohol and drugs as a way to cope. I have discovered that there are so many simple truths that make a huge difference in our lives such as staying thankful for the little things in life like food, air, water, family, shelter, clothing and transportation to name a few.  I highly reccomend to count your many blessings and name them one by one, count your many blessings and see what God has done. You will find a surpluss of happiness as you do.

I will continue to learn and experiment with what works and doesn’t work in helping people turn away from drugs and alcohol. I will continue to work hard at making a positive impact in this world and in the lives of many. I hope to be a powerful instrument in the hands of our creator to help save souls from prison and death. As you and I know that most alcoholics and drug addicts end up in prison or dead. I believe that addiction is a spiritual prison also. It is my mission in life to help as many as I can escape the prison of addiction. This is why I am writing a book called BE A TRUE SOLDIER IN GODS ARMY (TWELVE STEPS TO UNDERSTANDING LIFES SPIRITUAL BATTLE & OVERCOMING ADDICTION). My motto is: BE ALL YOU CAN BE AS A TRUE SOLDIER IN GODS ARMY…STAY STRONG…STAY TRUE…STAY POSITIVE…STAY SOBER…and LOVE LIFE BABY!!!

Thank you again for reading. I hope this post helps someone to heal.  I hope this post inspires you to become more resilient and live a happier more fulfilled life. I hope this post inspires someone to turn away from the poison of drugs and alcohol and I might add pornography to the list. These things will rob you of everything that matters most in life.

BE ALL YOU CAN BE AS A TRUE SOLDIER IN GODS ARMY…STAY STRONG…STAY TRUE…STAY POSITIVE…STAY SOBER…and LOVE LIFE BABY!!!
                                                                                      

COME UNTO CHRIST

Hello blogger world. Im back again. I want to start off by saying thank you to everyone that has commented to me about how much you enjoy these writings. The fact that you are enjoying and benefiting from what I write motivates me to keep going. THANK YOU SO MUCH for all your kind comments. I hope this post inspires you in some way also. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO MESSAGE ME ANYTIME AT danielisatruesoldier@aol.com    you can follow me on twitter @beatruesoldier 

Since I wrote last My dear Mom passed away. I feel like I have been prepared for the loss of my Mother but its still very difficult to loose your own Mother. I am so thankful for the strength and comfort that has come through knowing and living he Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel of Jesus Christ contains all of lifes greatest answers. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a true source of peace and comfort in lifes hardest times. I do not know what I would do without my testimony in the reality of Gods ETERNAL plan. I will miss my Mother dearly, but I know she is very much alive in the spirit world with my Dad her eternal companion.

As a recovering drug addict it is so important to be prepared for life's curve balls such as death or the loss of a job or any hardship. As recovering addicts we must have a solid foundation to stand on when life throws a curve ball. We must have coping skills in place to ensure that we dont turn to drugs and alcohol for comfort and peace during lifes difficult times. For me this solid foundation is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact it is Jesus Christ Himself that I turn to for peace. He is very much alive and has real power to grant us in times of need. It is our job to come unto him. It is our job to invite Him into our hearts. We do this throgh sincere prayer, scripture study, and attending spiritual meetings. I work very hard to stay strong physically, mentally, and spiritually. As a result I feel my life is on a sure foundation, a foundation that provides real strength and safety when Satan strives to drag me down. I tell you this not to brag in any sort of way but to be a living breathing testimony to all the world that REAL STRENGTH AND COMFORT comes from living the principles of the Gospel. Our Savior Jesus Christ is readily available to grant us the strength we need as we turn to Him. We must do our part. One of my favorite scriptures comes from the Book of Mormon in the book of Helaman chapter 5: 12. It says                 "And now my sons, remember remember that it is upon the rock of our redeemer who is Christ the son of God that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you, to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."  My friends please hear me when I tell you that drigs and alcohol are not the answer to lifes problems. Infact they make lifes problems much worse. They will drag you down to the gulf of misery. I beg of you to come unto Christ and find true peace and comfort.

 I testify to you that this foundation is real. I am experiencing the strength and comfort in my life now as I mourn the loss of my Mom. I am a true testimony that Jesus Christ is real, His power is unlimited. I invite you to learn of Him and tap into His peace that only He can offer. It is a peace that the world cannot offer. It is a peace that will never come by partaking of drugs and alcohol. Infact drugs and alcohol as well as pornography will drive that peace away. Please fight to win the battle for your soul by coming unto Christ and turning away from drugs and alcohol. They will take you prisoner and make you a slave. Jesus Christ is the answer. He will restore you to complete spiritual health. He will bring you a high that is far sweeter than any controlled substance will ever offer. COME UNTO CHRIST!!!

   
  Thank you again for reading. I hope that this post is received in the spirit it was written in. BE ALL YOU CAN BE AS A TRUE SOLDIER IN GOD'S ARMY...STAY STRONG...STAY TRUE...STAY POSITIVE...STAY SOBER...LOVE LIFE BABY!!!

RECOVERY FROM ADDICTION IS ABOUT LEARNING TO APPRECIATE AND ENJOY THE LITTLE THINGS THAT LIFE HAS TO OFFER

Hello again, its me Daniel Blankenship. Blogger time baby.... I hope this inspires you in some way to be a better person. I also hope this inspires you to find greater peace, joy , and happiness in your life, and to stay living free of harmfull addictions. If you are living in addiction and reading this I hope your desires to change grow stronger and you decide today take the necessary action steps to change. If you would like you can always private message me via email danielisatruesoldier@aol.com I would love to hear from you!!!  Please like and share my fb page BE A TRUE SOLDIER IN GOD'S ARMY. You can also follow me on twitter @beatruesoldier   
  I am still in school to be a Substance Abuse Counselor. As part of that schooloing we are required to do a 300 hour clinical inside of a treaetment facility. I chose to do mine inside the Texas Prison system at a program called SAFPP which is a Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Program. It is at the Estelle unit in Huntsville ,Texas. This is a special needs therapudic community type program that last 9 months.  There are approximately 200 guys in this program that range from ages 18 all the way to over 80 years old!!! It is quite amazing to wittness the tranformation that takes place in these peoples lives as they go through this program. I took some notes while I was there and today I have decided to share some of these notes. I wrote words of wisdom down that can help us in our daily lives addicted or not, as well as things pertaining to addiction recovery. I wrote things down that relate to addiction recovery that stood out to me. Some of these notes might seem random, but I hope they inspire you today!

YOU CANNOT HELP MEN PERMANENTLY BY DOING FOR THEM WHAT THEY COULD AND SHOULD DO FOR THEMSELVES....

---A man's actions won't change until his thinking does.

---When we exercise patience instead of instant gratification we enjoy the things that we achieve and work for much much more.

---Alcohol is a drug--it can and will kill, steal, and destroy your life--alcohol kills people everyday.

---Destiny is not a matter of chance, Its a matter of choice.

---Character is the sum of those those qualities which make a man a good man and a woman a good woman.

---Choose humility over pride.

---One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesnt pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself (Lucille Ball)

---Fill you time with good and you wont have time to do bad...

---Fail to plan, plan to fail

--- Figure out what your core beliefs are, develop strong values,standards, and get your behavior in harmony with your beliefs.

---BE ALL YOU CAN BE IN YOUR RECOVERY

---Learn from your mistakes.

---Your attitude will make or break you.

---I was sad I had no shoes until I saw a man with no feet.

---Stay thankful for the small things in life, some of the small things clients said they were thankful for now that they are sober are: birds, trees, flowers, clouds, breath, pillows, second chance at life, sobriety, family, health, pillows, food, time, opportunity.

---Find someone to encourage everyday.

---Their is a real power in loving one another, having compassion, and in treating others the way you would want to be treated.

---Dont throw your future away, life is short, dont throw your life away.

---Attitude is everything.

---The greatest discovery of this generation is that a human being can alter their life by altering their attitude (William James)

---Drugs lead to prison or death. As Addicts we have three choices we can choose to stay in addiction and suffer death or prison or we can CHOOSE TO RECOVER.

---Take the first step in faith. You dont have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step(Martin Luther King).

---Drugs deceive! First drugs thrill-then drugs kill!(Leola Hoekstra)

---Commit to do the next right thing.

---At first the "high" was good and fun then it turned into fear and terror in my mind, I became paranoid and miserable.

---We asked the clients, "What does recovery mean to you?" These are some of the answers we got: Recovery is a personal thing. Recovery means having a family,being happy,being a good father and husband. Recovery means growth. Recovery is a lifestyle. Recovery is the way I have to live in order to have a life. Recovery is acheiving my goals and taking it one day at a time. Recovery is replacing bad habbits with good habits. Recovery is learning to appreciate and enjoy the little things that life has to offer. Recovery is filling your life with so much good that you dont have time for the bad.

---Living in your addiction is living in prison. The biggest prison I have been in is in my own mind

---Be willing to do whatever it takes to heal and change.

---In your recovery, be that "little engine that could".

---I never had a problem that once I drank or used drugs the problem got better.

---   3 major keys to recovery are Honesty, open mindedness &  willingness
  
---Effort is very important in recovery and a little bit of effort goes a long way.

---Drugs turn you into a slave.

---We gotta chase after recovery like we chased after the drug...without ceasing!

----"Rock Bottom" is the foundation upon which I built my life...

----Some of the greatest battles we fight are fought inside the silient chambers of our own minds (Ezra T Benson)

I hope this blog post has inspired and helped you in some way. Remember that recovery and loving life is about learning to appreciate and enjoy the little things life has to offer such as food, family, friends, music, freedom. breath, sobriety, water, hope, love and happiness to name a few. I know that we can use the adversity in our lives as stepping stones to success.  I know that recovery from addiction is possible because I am living proof and if I can do it than so can you. I know that God lives and that He loves us ALL. I know that as we humble ourselves and turn to Jesus Christ for strength and power He will restore us to complete spiritual health. I know in my life sobriety has brought an inner peace and an inner happiness that is far better than any high that a controlled substance provides. I know that YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Life is what you make it, so learn to accept the things you cannot change and to change the things you can. Your attitude is everything!   So as always my motto is ....BE ALL YOU CAN BE AS A TRUE SOLDIER IN GODS ARMY....STAY TRUE...STAY STRONG...STAY POSITIVE....STAY SOBER...LOVE  LIFE !!!

TUNING INTO THE WHISPERS OF YOUR ANGELS

 Hello everyone. Its blogger time again! I  feel very strong that I should write at this very moment but Im not sure what Im going to write. Sooo I will trust my inner gut feeling and just move forward with action and write whatever comes. I will write the Whispers of my Angels...

I do strongly and firmly believe that their are Angels among us and that they speak to us often, they whisper in our spiritual ears. "Whispers of Angels"...what a cool concept, that our God loves us so much the He has provided angels to help us in our everyday life. What an awesome God we serve that He is so concerned with the details of our lives that he provides real Angels to help us along the path of life. Our God is the Father of our spirits. He desires for us to return to His presence one day. This is why He provided a Savior (Jesus Christ) for us to look to and follow. For God so loved the world that He sent His Son to this earth to bleed and die for you and me. I know without any doubt that God and Jesus Christ live. They truly are involved in the very details of our lives. They really do have an army of Angels working with them to help you and me in this spiritual battle we call life. Again these words are just popping into my mind as I write them...these are "Whispers of angels"...I know they are real!

 
                                                       


I believe that it is our job to tap into the right frequency of the angels assigned to work with us. Yes I truly believe that we all have specific angels assigned to stay with us and to help us through life. These angels are communicating to our spiritual ears all the time. If we focus and tune in to the right station and frequency we can find a surpluss of guidance, joy and happiness. I know its true because I have read and heard  many testimonies and I have heard their whispers often. Its usually when Im striving to shut down my thoughts and just be still, or while Im exercising or even at this very moment as I write. I challenge you to put forth a real effort to tap into the whispers of your angels. You will hear the whispers, for they come as thoughts, feelings and impressions on the mind. We are so bombarded with information and things of this world that sometimes we lose contact with our own intuition, we lose contact with the HOLY SPIRIT. The Holy Ghost is a real personage of spirit. He is a member of the God head. He is a personage of spirit and for this reason He has the power to impress thoughts, feelings, guidance, knowledge  ,protection, joy, love , peace and other powerful influences directly to your spirit. We learn from the scriptures that angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost. They speak directly to your mind and heart as impressions, thoughts and feelings. They speak what Christ wants you to hear. They are real and they do speak to us!!! They can come in many different forms. I believe a perfect stranger or a friend or family member can be an angel to us.  In this writing I am speaking of spiritual entities.

                                                                    

 I can remember when I was on my mission for the church I belong to from 2000-2002 I was living in the hood, I mean the ghetto of Bridgeport Connecticut. At the time it was the murder capitol of the USA.  My companion and I were out walking the streets seeking someone that desired to learn of Christ. We came across this lady that had just had a very real experience with real Angels. As we stood there together in the street in front of the three story apartment building that she lived in she told us this story. She pointed to the top story of that apartment building to a bedroom window over 45 ft in the air and said that her three year old child had been playing in that window. Her child was leaning out the window and fell out of that window all the way to the ground!!! She told us how they just knew for sure that her child would be brain dead or paralyzed or dead. Then her eyes filled up with tears as she told us what her young child told her once they were in the Hospital. They couldnt figure out why their were not serious injuries. The Doctor said that their is no way that this child just fell from that high out of a window free falling and hit the concrete. That is simply not true the Doctor said. This child would be seriuosly injured.  Then it all begin to make more sence when the child told them "They carried me down, and laid me on the ground". "Who carried you down?" asked the mother. They carried me down, they were all dressed in white, there was two on each side of me and they carried me down and laid me on the ground". The tears continued to flow as she begin to tell us that ANGELS ARE REAL. She testified to us that angels saved her child that day. She knew her child was saved that day by real Angels. I knew she was telling the truth. I could feel that she was being honest and real. I will never forget that story and the testimony that she shared with me that day.

 I choose to believe that angels are among us. As the old country music group Alabama song goes, "I believe their are angels among us, sent down to us from somewhere up above, they come to you and me in our darkest hour, to teach us how to live. to teach us how to give, to guide us with a light of love." They along with the Holy Spirit will lead us and guide us as we strive to tune into their frequency of a still small voice not a loud voice but a voice that enters the inner most parts of our heart and soul. I know for me I get distracted in this world full of sooo much information and influences coming into our lives. I have to take a break from Facebook and TV and  find time to just be quiet and listen. I usually do this after Im done praying, or while Im jogging or walking. All of the great spiritual leaders in life teach us that prayer and meditation can be powerful avenues to a surpluss of inspiration, motivation, mental health and happiness. I am going to make it a point to do better and take more time away from Facebook, TV and the influx of information of this world and tap into the WHISPERS OF MY ANGELS.  

                                                               

So having said all that, How does all that relate to addiction recovery? It is my desire and hope that your faith in God and angels has increased.  It is by that same Faith that you can move forward to action and continue on the road of recovery.  It is by having faith in God, Angels and in your self that you can do all things. Honest effort coupled with sincere faith will move mountians! Thats right with Faith you and God will remove that mountian of addiction from your life. As your faith grows and you turn to your higher power, (for me that is God and Jesus Christ), you will be restored to complete spiritual health. I firmly believe that it is our spiritual health that is most important. When we take time to exercise our spiritual musceles we are able to refrain from our self destructive behaviors much easier. When we are spiritually strong we can stand strong in the face of any temptation. The temptations will still come but we will be strong enough to say no and go on about our lives. It has helped me tremendously to remember that when temptations come it is not only the opportunity to do wrong, but more importantly its the opportunity to do what is right. A great motto is to "Just do the next right thing".  STAY TRUE...STAY POSITIVE...STAY STRONG...STAY SOBER...LOVE LIFE!!!

Press onward and forward my friends, learn from your mistakes and others mistakes. They say a smart person will learn from his own mistakes but a wise person will learn from others mistakes. Focus on improvement not perfection. By small and simple means great things come to pass. Our God is an awesome God and He has great things in store for us. He desires to bless us with His richest of blessings. We must have Faith in Him and as the scriptures teach us we should trust that He is a rewarder of those that diligintly seek Him. He will bless us regardless in so many ways, but when we put forth honest effort to live rightously He blesses us even more. Obedience to Him opens up the windows of Heaven. He gave us commandments for our own protection. A good analogy is to think of His commandments kind of like traffic lights. If we didnt have traffic lights in the streets it would be crazy, chaotic and deadly. That is how His Commandments are, they are put in place for our protection because He loves us. They are not to just restrict us and boss us around  the commandments truly are given in His infinite wisdom for our own good. I challenge you to focus on the things of God and tune into the spiritual realm more and more. As you do I promise you will be granted greater self control and after all that is really the key to addiction recovery "Self control", If we are in complete control of ourselves we live in moderation and in harmony with Gods laws. I challenge you to take time out of your busy day and just be still and listen for the whispers of your angels. You will be inspired!  It takes real effort to stop our thoughts and tune into the higher frequency of the spiritual realm. YOU CAN DO IT! I promise you that you will begin to have more peace inside and more vision for your life. you will tap into the true source of all knowledge and power. Even the power of our God. He knows you by name, He and your angels are watching you, so be good for goodness sake!!!  
                                                                
                                                                    


My sweet sweet beautiful ,creative,and loving sister has a blog called http://thenotsoordinaryangels.blogspot.com
Yall go check it out. If you like my blog you will love her blog.
 If you feel the need to contact me you can email me at danielisatruesoldier@aol.com
Dont forget to BE ALL YOU CAN BE AS A TRUE SOLDIER IN GOD'S ARMY...STAY TRUE...STAY STRONG...STAY POSITIVE...STAY SOBER....LOVE LIFE!!!

                                                                       

MY NEPHEW TRAVIS ASHTON THE INSPIRATIONAL GOLFER

MY THOUGHTS: Hello world, Its blogger time again, its a new year and a new beginning. I am excited for this new year. I just know it will be a great one! I hope you are excited about your life. I hope you are doing what your passionate about and loving life. As you know my motto is BE ALL YOU CAN BE AS A TRUE SOLDIER IN GOD'S ARMY...STAY TRUE...STAY STRONG...STAY POSITIVE...STAY SOBER...LOVE LIFE!!!
I am loving my new sober lifestyle. It can be kinda boring sometimes, but I have learned to appreciate the peace and quiet. I love living a drama free lifestyle. It is amazing how many life problems go away just by staying clean and sober. I am so thankful for my second chance at life. I was so lost in my addiction that I was headed to death, prison or both!!! I feel soooo blessed to be free and alive and sober!! God is so much involved in the very details of our lives. He (God) will put you in a position to become sober. It might be prison, jail, rehab, or even death but at some point you will get sober! You might as well choose recovery today!  I believe that ALL THINGS DENOTE THAT GOD IS REAL, THE SUN, THE MOON, THE STARS. So many facts testify that God is real, human life is a true miracle. YOU ARE A MIRACLE...NEVER FORGET THAT..YOU ARE ONE OF A KIND...THEIR WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER YOU...YOU ARE A MIRACLE!!! My message to you today is keep on pressing forward with hope. Keep on pressing forward with a positive attitude. YOUR ATTITUDE WILL MAKE OR BREAK YOU!!!  

Today's blog post is all about my nephew Travis Ashton. My sister tells his whole story in detail on her blog http://thenotsoordinaryangels.blogspot.com  I highly recommend that you read and follow her blog. Travis' story is so inspiring! I just want to share today a little of Travis' story and how it relates to addiction and recovery in general. Travis' story is a powerful story of recovery! Here is the short version of Travis' story.....I was out serving a full time mission for my church from 2000-2002 and just before my mission was complete, my sister’s oldest son Travis was in a terrible car accident that caused a very severe traumatic brain injury. His accident left him in a coma and unconscious for many weeks. Once he awoke he was unable to use any part of his body. He could not hold his head up, sit up or move his arms or legs. He could not move his eyes or blink at will. He had a feeding tube, wore diapers, had a shunt in his head and was confined to a wheel chair. Through Travis’ determination, faith, hard work and countless hours of therapy, he has been blessed to overcome all of those things. Although he has an unusual gift to communicate with his spirit, his speech has yet to return. His right arm has had some movement come back, but he cannot use it functionally. Travis is a true soldier in God’s army and living proof that through hard work and dedication we can recover from just about anything! He has had to learn to do everything over again. Before his accident he was an all star baseball player, football player, basketball player, he was even a gifted pianist! Travis has had to relearn to walk and eat and use his left arm for everything even though he is right handed. Today Travis plays golf with me often and he hits the ball great using only his left arm!!!Travis stays positive and upbeat almost all of the time AND HE DOES IT WITHOUT ANY DRUGS OR ALCOHOL!!! He is an inspiration to us all. I figure if he can go through life sober than I dang sure can!!!

Here is a pic of Travis a few days before his accident

This is a few days after his accident.

I would like to propose a question to you. IS A HANDICAP A CURSE OR A BLESSING? I had to think about that for a moment, but I must tell you that Travis has been so much of a blessing in my life that I choose to say its a blessing.
I believe that their are many ways that we can be handicapped and addiction is definitely one of them. A lot of us become handicapped and get in the attitude of poor me, I'm a victim, I can never be the same. A lot of us will become bitter and angry and feel justified because life is just so dang hard. Travis' motto from the beginning has been "Whats Wrong with Hard?" It might be a long road to recovery but I'm thankful for the road! How many of us Have become bitter at life? We have a clear choice, we can become bitter or better! Travis inspires us all because he chooses to become better. Travis chooses to stay upbeat and positive even though he has every reason to be bitter and upset. Travis chooses to be a victor not a victim. He chooses to stay positive and appreciate what life has to offer, and I will mention again HE DOES IT ALL CLEAN AND SOBER!!! Travis is a TRUE SOLDIER IN GOD'S ARMY! He is a great example to all of us to keep on keeping on and never give up hope. Never think that you do not have the opportunity to change your attitude and change your life. WE DO RECOVER!! I choose to believe that we are not always addicts, we do recover!

My question to you today is are you a victim? Or are you a victor?  Are you choosing to have a bitter attitude towards the challenges you face in life or are you becoming better and stronger because of them? We can use the adversity in our lives as stepping stones to success. We can choose to be resilient and bounce back quickly when we fall down. I am inspired by Travis each and every day to be thankful for the blessings in my life. Travis helps me to realize that I should be thankful for my ability to speak and to walk and run and smell and hear and touch and feel! Travis helps me to appreciate many of the blessings in life that are so many times overlooked and under-appreciated.

 We are children of God and we all have great potential. Our souls are of great worth to our Father in Heaven. He loves us even when we are living in our addictions. He is rooting for us to choose recovery and tap into the power that comes from following Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has the power to restore you to complete spiritual health. He will restore you to complete spiritual health as you choose to humble yourself and follow Him. This life is a spiritual battle and Satan desires to kill steal and destroy our happiness and eternal reward. He uses drugs and all types of addiction as a powerful tool to drag us down to misery and hell. Once we realize that this spiritual battle is real we can choose to stay strong and stand firm in our sobriety. We can choose to exercise in every way each day to get stronger. When we are healthy we are happy and able to maintain a sober lifestyle much easier. It is my hope that today you are inspired on many different levels by TRAVIS ASHTON THE INSPIRATIONAL GOLFER.
Click HERE to watch Travis play golf:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWxlO2hpuG4

We would love to share your comments with Travis, so please comment here or on Facebook. Please like and share this post. You can always send me a private message by email danielisatruesoldier@aol.com   You can follow me on twitter @beatruesoldier  I also have a Facebook page called "Be a True Soldier in God's Army". Please go "like" the page and you can follow my blog that way also.  Thank you for reading and following my blog. I wish God's richest of blessings for you and your family!!! BE ALL YOU CAN BE AS A TRUE SOLDIER IN GOD'S ARMY...STAY TRUE...STAY POSITIVE...STAY STRONG...STAY SOBER...LOVE LIFE!!!  

LOVING THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART

MY THOUGHTS:  Its been a while...its blogger time again.  Each time I get a comment that someone has benefited from this blog it inspires me to keep writing. I even heard that one of my post was brought inside the Utah state prison to help inspire those guys in there. Thats why I do this yall. Please share this blog with anyone you know that struggles with addiction or that has a loved one that is dealing with an addict. You can always send me private messages at danielisatruesoldier@aol.com. I am seeking opportuinties to share my story anywhere by public speaking. If you know of someone or would like to hear my story please message me and we will make it happen. I plan on becoming a powerful motivational speaker. I am well on my way. Thanks for reading and sharing yall. I hope you are inspired and uplifted by this post....

 Well the weather outside is frightful, the lights are turned way down low, let it snow, let it snow...Its Christmas time and love is in the air. I love Christmas time because everyone seems a little more cheerful and happier. I love christmas time because I truly love my Savior Jesus Christ and He is the reason for the season. Christmas time reminds us that its better to give than to receive. Christmas time brings families together. Christmas time reminds us that Jesus Christ is a real person that actually lived on this earth.  Its just a wonderful time of year and it helps me to love life just a little bit more. Merry Christmas from Texas Yall!!!

The message that has been on my heart is to write about Loving the Lord. The Lord taught us in the Bible that the most important commandment is to LOVE THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, MIND, AND STRENGTH. As many of you know I have experienced many things in my life and I have grown to truly love the Lord with all my heart. Well its a work in progress. I love the Lord more and more each day that I choose to follow Him. I have noticed that as my love for the Lord grows my desires and behavior continues to change for the better. My heart continues to change. I am more compassionate with others. I have more patience with myself and others. I desire to be a better man each day because I love the Lord more and more all the time. Jesus Christ also said "IF YOU LOVE ME keep my commandments". My main point is that a true and sincere relationship with the Lord will change you from the inside out. As we come to know and appreciate the Lord we will be better happier people. I know its true because Im experiencing it. I know with all my heart that God lives and Jesus Christ knows ME, just as HE KNOWS AND LOVES YOU!  DO YOU LOVE HIM BACK?

You see I have experienced the very real misery and unhappiness that comes with drug and alcohol addiction. I have been homeless, jobless, and in such a spiritual prison that even jail was a relief from my miserable addicted lifestyle. I know what its like to turn away from the Lord and seek pleasure in worldly selfish ways. I thought happiness could come from money, cars , clothes, and just living for the moment. I discovered that its quite the opposite. Living for worldly pleasures creates a hole inside of our souls that never seem to get filled. Its a constant mary go round that never ends. When we live for worldly pleasure and seek happiness from money, cars , clothes, drugs, alcohol, gambling, shopping and meaningless sex we are really cheating our very own souls. We are being led very gradually and carefully down to misery and endless torment. This hole inside your soul will continue to grow deeper and deeper, it will continue to be empty and you will never be satisfied as long as you are seeking happiness in worldly things. A great American prohet once put it like this..."WICKEDNESS NEVER WAS HAPPINESS"  I KNOW THIS IS TRUE BECAUSE I HAVE LIVED IT!! I see it everyday in my everyday life dealing with everyday people. Do you have an empty hole in your heart and soul? Do you seek happiness and peace but cant seem to find it? The answer is in LOVING THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART!!! That Jesus guy really knew what He was talking about.

 As I sincerly humble myself and Love the Lord I experience greater understanding, and a very real inner peace and happiness that I never experienced when I was getting high on worldly things. The high that I have today is not as extreme or intense as the high I had when I was using drugs, but it is far better and so much more real and lasting. The high Im on today is a lasting high that is much sweeter, purer, and sustaining. The high Im on today is from the true source of peace and happiness. The high I was on before was from the source of misery, lies, and darkness. Today I choose to stand strong and sober as a TRUE SOLDIER IN GODS ARMY. I invite you to turn to our Lord and savior in your life with all your heart and experience this inner peace that I speak of. Please dont confuse what Im saying and think that Im saying that when you love the Lord life is all skittles and rainbows. Thats not what Im saying. I am saying that when you love the Lord with all your heart you will be granted the inner peace and strength to get through your trials and temptations. Life is a test. We are to learn of good and evil and choose one path or the other. Its our own free choice. I beg of you to choose to follow Christ. Choose to be a true soldier in Gods army today! Dont allow Satan to fool you and trick you with his brillliant evil designs. Learn to love Jesus and If you love Him than prove it by your actions. IF YOU LOVE HIM YOU WILL strive to KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. Focus on improvement not perfection.  We all fall short and fall down. He actually gives us weaknesses so we will humble ourselves and turn to Him, and as we do our weaknesses become our strengths. GODS PLAN IS REAL...JESUS CHRIST LIVES AND WILL RETURN TO THIS EARTH SOON. BE PREPARED!!

I promise you as you strive to Love the Lord with more sincerity and on a deeper level the hole inside of you will be filled with a peace that surpasses all understanding. AGAIN I KNOW FOR MYSELF ITS REAL AND TRUE BECAUSE I EXPERIENCE IT EVERYDAY. I truly hope I dont sound all preachy and holier than thou.. I am honestly and humbly just writing from my heart and following the inspiraion that comes to me.   I am far from any place to judge anyone. I do not judge others I am learning to see people not as we are but as we can become. We all have great worth and purpose. We all deserve and desire to be loved. This Christmas season and always let us love one another and learn to love the Lord with all our hearts, souls, might, mind, and strenghth. Let this love be your motivator and motive for all you do. He will reward you for your honor and commitment with ETERNAL  rewards that we cant even imagine at this time...

UPLIFTING MOTIVATING QUOTES:




A QUOTE FROM MY BOOK:

 A change of heart is a process that takes time. This process takes place as you take these twelve steps, humble yourself, and turn to Jesus Christ with your whole heart. The secret is to include Jesus Christ in your life as much as possible. Jesus Christ is the one with the healing power.  Ezra Taft Benson described this process so beautifully when he said, “The Lord works from the inside out; the world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature….Yes, Christ changes men, and changed men can change the world. (in Gen. conf. report Oct. 1985, 5-6).

THANK YOU FOR READING....STAY STRONG...STAY SOBER...STAY POSITIVE...STAY TRUE...LOVE LIFE!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM TEXAS YALL!!!!