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Transformation Ranch Ministries

T.R.M. NewsIssue No. 22September 2011

The Unit Be a part of a special forcesunit that operates inspiritual warfare andpartnership with other menand women that believe inthe ministry and vision ofTRM. Sign up today andyour monthly support willkeep the warriors in thewar. For more informationabout "The Unit" giveValerie Wheeler a call at205-229-1580 or RockHobbs at 205-470-3830.

We Need Partners

Dear Friends and Families,

Before you read the articles below and as we approach theanniversary of TRM's second year of ministry, I thank God forall that He has accomplished through TRM in the lives,marriages and children of hundreds of families struggling withaddiction related issues. I need your help right now as ouroperating costs continue to rise and our support has fallen inthe past few months. Our ministry operates solely from thedonations of individuals like you and churches in our community.We are a non-profit ministry and operate without chargingfamilies for our services and counsel. Eighty percent of thepeople we see are struggling financially due to the currenteconomic recession.

Please prayerfully consider joining our fight against drugs andalcohol by partnering with me on a monthly basis and joining ourpartnership group called, "The Unit". This Unit is a uniquegroup of compassionate people dedicated to spiritual warfareagainst the attacks of the enemy in our families and our teens.Your monthly support or a one time gift helps me stay in thefight and gives you spiritual purpose and outreach.

Our battle cry is Matthew 11:12 where Jesus said, "From thedays of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven hasbeen forcefully advancing and forceful men/women will lay holdof it!".

For more information about how you can be involved with "TheUnit" and to get your membership coin, monthly updates andVIP invites to lunches and teachings with myself and other"Unit" members, drop me a note or give me a call. I pray thatGod speaks to your heart.... I need your help, TRM needs yourhelp and we can't keep up the fight without your help!

BOOKS, BOOKS ANDMORE BOOKS......."Thanks to all yoursupport the book drive isbeginning to get results." We are still collectingbooks, DVD's, and CD'sas donations to TRM.Check out our requestsbelow in one of thecurrent articles.....

We Need Your Support... - Inner Healing of Transformation Ranch Ministriesis a Christian non-profit ministrythat is supported directly by thedonations of individuals.

We provide the followingservices to families orindividuals in our communitywith no fees or costs to thefamilies:

1. Biblical Counseling forfamilies or individuals dealingwith: - Grief & Lose of Loved loved one - End of Life Preparation - Inner Healing for the Wounded Heart - Marriage - Substance Abuse - After-Care Training - Interventions - Addiction Sponsorship - Same Sex Attractions - Parent "Coaching" - Mentoring Dads - Single Moms

2. Support Groups for parents,spouses or individuals affectedby substance abuse.

3. Resource assistance foranyone looking for detox, drugrehab or aftercare.

4. Transformation and

Thank You,Rock

TRM UnitPo Box 282Chelsea, AL 35043

Does God Expect Me To Forgive A"Cheating" Spouse?"

He/She has hurt me so bad...

This is such a tough question. It's also a risky place togo in this discussion because so many nerves areexposed and raw. Also because there are usually somany other things that are also straining the marriagerelationship leading up to the actual infidelity.However, I feel the Lord wanting us to explore one keyaspect of this painful situation. In my opinion theanswer to the question is "YES BUT...." Yes, we needto forgive our spouse for the sin they committedagainst us, but that doesn't always mean the spousewill change and that things at home will be OK. InMark 11:25 Jesus says, "...if you hold anything againstanyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heavenmay forgive you your sins." But the purpose of thisarticle is not to give insight to marriage counseling. What the Lord has impressed on my heart to share

recovery mentoring for menand women looking for help.

5. On the horizon: Build aTransformation Ranch with aschool for young people (12-18) struggling with chemicaldependency, substance abuseand other systemic behaviors.For more information about theranch and how you can be apart of that, call Rock Hobbs at205-470-3830.

Please pray for the continuedblessings of the Lord on thiswork for the Kingdom. If you'dlike to help, we can take monthlydonations via credit cards ormail in support to: TRM, P.O.Box 282, Chelsea, AL. 35043.

Schedule of MeetingsFree At Last - Recovery anddiscovery support group. If youstruggle with any addiction, thisis a good and safe place to findsupport. Wednesday 5:30pm atChurch of the Highlands. CallJim at 612-2163.

Free In-Deed - A support groupfor parents or spouses of lovedones struggling with addictionsand addictive behaviors. A safeplace to seek biblical and lovingsupport from other couples whohave been through the sameissues. Tuesday nights from6:30-8:00pm. Call JanCusimano at 408-9309 or Rockat 470-3830 for moreinformation.

Men's Recovery Breakfast- A Christian recovery group thatprovides small group supportand biblical training for mendealing with addictions.Breakfast provided. Open group.For more information call Charles at 835-5481.Sunday 9:30am at the GoldenRule BBQ, Irondale.

today is the concept of why we forgive. I've learnedthat successful relationships require us to forgive allthe time. But in this situation the gift of forgiveness isnot about the sinner, its about the wounds created bythe sinner. There are two kinds of sin in this world, the sins wecommit and the sins committed against us. The latteris an act committed out of our control and not committed by us. However, the inevitable effect of sincommitted against us, is our reaction to that sin;bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness. If we holdon to these things it becomes sin in our lives and iswhat Jesus was talking about in Mark 11. So let's look at forgiveness according to Jesus. Hecommanded us to forgive. It is not a feeling or aresultant action to someone asking for it. There are nopreconditions, no emotional requirements.... Jesussimply said to forgive. Why? Doesn't He know howmuch I've have been hurt? Why should I forgive thatperson, he/she's not even really sorry? Jesus knowsexactly how much we hurt. He experienced all thepain, rejection and betrayal when he paid the price forour sins on the cross. Imagine what he must have feltwhen at the moment he was dying, the reality of totalseparation from God for the first time(and only time)while taking on the sins of the world, he was separatedfrom his Heavenly Father. It's at that moment that Hecalls out to God rather than His Father... "why haveyou forsaken me?". He experienced all of what wefeel and the good news is that now he sits at the righthand of God the Father as our advocate! (Romans8:34) So if He knows how we are feeling why command toforgive? Because He loves you and doesn't want youto hurt. He knows that the results of bitterness andunforgivness are anger, anxiety, discontentment, fearand even depression. So He tells us to forgive and"cast all our cares on Him because He cares for you (1Peter 5:7). Jesus told a parable in Matthew 18 of a King who hadtwo servants. The first had a huge debt owed and theking forgave him of the entire debt. He was willing toabsorb the cost. That servant upon leaving the kingthen came upon a servant that owed him a small debt.He would not forgive him of that debt and ordered thesecond servant into prison until he could pay. Whenthe king heard of this he summoned the first servant

Dodge Ballers - A support groupfor men and women in theirtwenties and thirties that havequestions about life and whydodging God's truth seems to bea way of life. Open group.Sunday 4-5:30 pm. Call Rock470-3830 or Connie Alexanderat 213-5388 if you'd like tocheck this group out. Sundayafternoons at 4pm in LibertyPark. Call for directions.

Timothy House - Men'sDiscipleship and Leadershiptraining small group forChristians in recovery who wantto mature in their walk with theLord. Thursday at 6:30 in Leeds.Contact Tim Hendrix for moreinformation at 205-919-0180 orRock at 470-3830.

Drug Proofing Your Kids (DPYK)A 6 week program developedby Focus on the Family to helpparents of 8-13 year olds beginto recognize and preventsubstance abuse andexperimentation issues at anearly age. We have teams thatcan present this to groups in anychurch looking for solid teachingon tough issues. Call SandorCheka at 205-441-3066 for moreinformation on having a teamcome to your church or school.Our team will be teaching thisclass again this Sept. at DawsonBaptist church on Sundaynights.

For more information on eachmeeting and it's location, callRock Hobbs at 470-3830.

Helpful Recovery Links

Parenting Resources

Safe Harbor: Six Weekprogram for parents dealing withtroubled teens. Meets once aweek for two hours. ContactPaul Hunter, 205-901-3456 formore information.

Celebrate Recovery Meetings

Kingwood Church, Alabaster

and turned him over to the "tormenter" to be tortured.The king is God and the first servant is me. I havebeen forgiven much. More than I could ever repay!The second servant is someone in my life that has hurtme and owes me. If I don't forgive him/her my fate willbe the same as the first servant. I will be handed overto the jailer for torture. Jesus knows that ultimately theperson who is holding on to unforgivness is the onethat will suffer pain, not the sinner......Because of Hissacrifice, we can take the "gift of forgiveness" andget free from a wounded heart and anxiety caused bysomeone that has hurt us and owes us a huge debt. So, forgiveness is a command from a loving Father tohelp us not hurt us. It is not based on feelings and willprobably not initially change your feelings when youforgive someone. So how does this work? What weare to do is simple but hard to do. Come to the Fatherand verbally release the person that has hurt you fromall the debt that they owe you. You have noexpectation of them giving you anything that they oweyou. In your eyes and heart the debt has beenredeemed; paid in full.. They no longer owe youanything. In an act of obedience you take this beforethe Lord and release them from the debt (howeverlarge) they owe and ask God to heal your broken heartand restore you to a place of peace. The final part to this is found in James 5:16, "Thereforeconfess your sins to each other and pray for eachother so that you may be healed..." To actually get thehealing of the heart and the feelings that we want tofeel, you will need to find a friend, a pastor orcounselor and go to them for a time of prayer andconfession. This time of talking and praying withanother person is really where the Holy Spirit canfinish the process of healing your broken heart. Ifyou're willing to do the above, your life will be changedand your heart will be healed. Find a small group or acounselor and get connected with them. Don't try to dothis all alone. Forgiveness is a command. It requires obedience andis not tied to a feeling. It's relational and we need thehelp of the body of Christ to complete the healingprocess. If you have questions about forgiveness orneed help dealing with a broken or betrayed heart feelfree to give me a call, I'd love to pray with you. Rock

Friday, Food @6pm, 7pm Mtg

Bethel Baptist, Moody Friday5:30 BBQ / 7pm Mtg

Asbury Methodist, off Hwy119Tuesday 6:30pm

For more information on othermeetings or to learn more aboutCelebrate Recovery call Rock at205-470-3830.

Biblical Counseling:

Christ Health Center:Contact Casey Floyd at 205-380-9455 and Rock Hobbs at470-3830.

For Discipleship:

Rock Hobbs - Timothy House onThursday Nights 6:30-7:30pm,at: 205-470-3830.

If you need a comprehensiveresource for help with drug oralcohol related issues: www.thefreedomsource.com

Adult Christian addictionrehab: www.thefoundryonline.com

New Start Ladies HomeBecky Farrell, Director205-477--0555

God's UnfailingPromises

2 Thess. 3:3 John 14:30

2 Sam. 22:20 2 Timothy 4:17-18 Isaiah 41:13-14 Psalm 18:2

Defining Addiction

"The use of any potentiallyharmful substance with no

therapeutic value thataffects the brain. No

matter what they

"Why Do We Need To Learn Patience?"

A wise teacher recently enlightened me on thesubject of Patience. He discussed what God's wordtells us about the need to learn patience in ourChristian walk with the Lord. I wanted to justsummarize his discussion and look at three mainreasons why we need to learn patience. First, because patience transforms us into thelikeness of Jesus. Hebrews 6:12 says, "We do notwant you to become lazy, but to imitate those whothrough faith and patience inherit what has beenpromised." Ephesians 1:4 says, "For He chose us inhim before the creation of the world to be holy andblameless..." We are to strive for that and it is adeveloped patience through the "fires of life" thatmakes us more like Jesus. Second, patience develops our faith. In Romans15:4 Paul says, "For everything that was written in thepast was written to teach us, so that throughendurance(patience) and the encouragement of thescriptures we might have hope." Faith comes byhearing and hearing by the word of God. As we learnto use the scriptures to increase our faith we grow inpatience as we walk with the Lord. Thirdly, and this is important, it increases ourdevelopment and ability to receive and handle ourcoming season and blessings. Wow, that point issomething that really hit home for me. I know that weall have different seasons in life. God uses situationsin our life to teach us patience so that once we havelearned it, our faith is increased and we are ready forthe next season in our life. He will never give us morethan we are ready to handle. This process takes timeand often, much to our chagrin, is not a comfortableplace to be. The apostle James wrote, "Be patient,then brothers, until the Lords coming. See how thefarmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop andhow patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. Youtoo, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord'scoming is near." (James 5:7,8).

acknowledge, addicts justcan't stop."

Dr. Drew Pinsky

"Addiction can be topeople. in treating

alcoholics, the family isthe patient."

Melody Beattie

"Addiction is a separateand even more self-

defeating force. It abusesour freedom and makes usdo things we really don't

want to do. It attachesbonds and enslaves the

energy of desire to certainspecific behaviors,things

or people"Dr. Gerald May

"If we do not worship theliving God, we will

worship someone orsomething else. Our

addiction/substance abusebecomes or idol/god."

Blaise Pascal

"But when they came toBaal Peor, they

consecrated themselves tothat shameful

idol(fertility cult) andbecame as vile as the

thing they loved."Jeremiah 2:5

"There is a way that seemsright to man, but in theend it leads to death."

SolomonProverbs 14:12

None of us like the process of learning patience but Ihave learned that it is through this training in ourspiritual growth that God can prepare us for the nextseason in our life. It is a prerequisite to maturity inspiritual growth. I guess that's why Paul could writefrom his prison cell, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I willsay it again; REJOICE! Let your gentleness be evidentto all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious aboutanything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, withthanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Phil.4:4-6)

"The Book Drive is Going Great!" But we still We Need Your Help!

We've been receiving lots of books and DVD's andVicki has been working hard getting everything loggedin and categorized. So thanks for the help and keepthem coming. This is an on going process. Let yourfriends and neighbors know that we would appreciatetheir help as well. Thanks for all your support! Would you be willing to donate BOOKS, DVDs, CDs,or Electronic Games to help support our ministry? It'seasy and it really helps! Please help us out in thatregard. Even that old "Game-Boy" in the closet or thevideo game in the dresser drawer can help. You can drop a box or bag of stuff off at the WMUmain entrance at any time between the hours of 9am-

TRM Prayer TeamLooking for Prayer

Warriors.

It is our belief that ourministry is on the front lineof spiritual warfare andneeds to be covered inprayer. Our Board ofTrustees as well as thestaff are looking foranyone that feels called tocommit to praying forTransformation RanchMinistries and for revivaland healing in the youngpeople of our city, stateand country. If you are interested inbeing a very importantpart of the Ranch and theRanch development withthe prayer team, pleasegive Valerie Wheeler acall at 205-229-1580 orRock Hobbs at 205-470-3830.

4:30pm, just put a note on it for: Rock Hobbs orTransformation Ranch Ministries. They will get it to us.Its easy just drive right up to the front door and leavethem at the receptionist desk. Call Vicki Hobbs at 678-9460 to answer anyquestions you might have about particular items ordelivery of your items. Your donation could help ateen get a mentor or a mom get the support she needsin a time of crisis. The address for the WMU Building is: 100 Missionary Ridge B'ham, AL 35242 Thank You, Vicki ------------------------------------------------------------

"Why Do We Need A RanchFor At-Risk Teens?"

As we continue to ask you, theBirmingham community and ourAlabama state leaders to help usbuild this ranch for troubled teens,let me share with you a few morestatistics and reasons why ourparents and communities sodesperately need the healing programs thatTransformation Ranch will offer.

1) A great number of teens across the country are indepression. A study released in 2005 by the NationalAssociation of Psychiatry found that the use of drugs,alcohol and promiscuous sex led to teen depression inup to 12 times greater proportions than for teens thatabstained from those activities. Depression is aleading cause of teen suicide.

2) Teen suicide is the third leading cause of death inpeople ages 14-24. While no date is available onattempted suicide, there is an estimated 8-25attempted suicides for each suicide death.

3) A 2002 report by the National Institute on AlcoholAbuse and Alcoholism attributed 1,400 deaths,500,000 injuries and 70,000 sexual assaults a year to

on campus alcohol use. Since then those numbershave increased and the age group affected has gottenyounger.

4) Incarcerating our youth for substance abuse andother behavioral issues is not working to rehabilitateour children. According to Alabama's Department ofYouth Services(DYS) in a report released in 2005 andpublished in the Birmingham News, more than 70% ofAlabama children sent to DYS return to the legalsystem. 5) "Huffing" or "Dusting" is a form of substance abusethat is on the rise. The inhaling of aerosolizedproducts can lead to a paralyzing euphoric sensationfor several minutes but in affect can freeze the lungsand cause immediate death without normalproblematic systems. Keyboard cleaner aerosol cansare a common off the shelf product that teens will huff.

I leave you with these statistics on our programphilosophy and "relapse rates" in the reality ofaddictions.

Statistic One:

Our program model from Youth Town in Jackson,Tennessee has a documented 80% success rate instudents not returning to the legal system if theirprogram is completed successfully. Additionally, it hasbeen proven that these evidenced-based programs willsave DYS $50-75,000 dollars a year per student ifentry into the system is eliminated.

Statistic Two: If you can help an adolescent truly transform theirheart by a process of renewing their minds; personallyaccept the Christian world view for their life; and getfreedom from addiction before the age of twenty, thereis a 85-90% chance that they will never go back. Overthe age of twenty that number drops to 12% and AAclaims the number is 3%. So if you were looking to putyour charitable giving into something with a good Rateof Return( ROI), facilities dealing with the adolescentswould bring the most "bang for your buck".

Statistic Three:

"The number of faith-based facilities with long termcare, counseling and education for adolescents in

Alabama is ZERO."

Statistic Four:

"For anyone out there who doesn't know where you'regoing, anyone groping in the dark, Here's what: Trustin God. Lean on your God! But if all you're after ismaking trouble, playing with fire; Go ahead and seewhere it gets you. Set your fires, stir people up, blowon the flames (do your own thing), But don't expect meto just stand there and watch. I'll hold your feet tothose flames." (NIV says you will lie down in torment) Isaiah 50: 10,11 (Msg)The use of drugs and alcohol to fix the pain will workfor a short period of time but ultimately leads todepression and ruin; especially in adolescents.

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Help us turn these statistics around in our city and ourstate. Help us build this ranch. Be proactive....be a partof the solution. Help provide our kids with a wonderfulalternative to suicide.

If you've been affected by a child or grandchildstruggling with all the family problems created bydrugs and alcohol and want to help us fight this battle,please contact me or Vicki at 205-470-3830. If youhave a church group or community club that would liketo hear more of what we are trying to do, I'd love tocome share our vision with your group. For moreinformation on the ranch vision check out our websiteat :

www.Transformationranch.com.

"Learning to Trust in the Name of the Lord can change yourperspective of what you see in a storm." Rock

Contact UsT.R.M.P.O. Box 282Chelsea, AL 35043.Cell - (205) 470-3830Office-(205) 701-3800

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