Transformation Ranch Ministries
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T.R.M. News
Issue No.  9
June  2010
Transformation Ranch Ministries is a Christian non-profit ministry that is supported directly by the donations of individuals.

We provide the following services to families or individuals in our community with no fees or costs to the families:

--Biblical Counseling for families   or individuals dealing with:         1.   Substance Abuse
    2.   After-Care Training
    3.   Interventions
    4.   Marriage
--Support Groups for parents, spouses or individuals affected by substance abuse.
--Resource assistance for anyone looking for detox, drug rehab or aftercare.
--Transformation and recovery mentoring for men and women looking for help.
--On the horizon: Build a Transformation Ranch with a school for young people (12-18) struggling with chemical dependency, substance abuse and other systemic behaviors. For more information about the ranch and how you can be a part of that, call Rock Hobbs at 205-470-3830.

Please pray for the continued blessings of the Lord on this work for the Kingdom. If you'd like to help, we can take monthly donations via credit cards or mail in support to: TRM, P.O. Box 282, Chelsea, AL. 35043.


Transformation Ranch

Employment Hiring:

The following positions are open to receive resume and interview applications:
Nurse (RN)
Cook/Nutritionist
Night Shift Supervision
Weekend Supervisors
Counselor (Master Level)
Grounds/Maintenance(Part Time)

College student interns are welcome for some positions.

Send resume to:
[email protected]
           or mail to:
 T.R.M. , PO Box 282, Chelsea, AL. 35043.
For more information please contact Valerie Wheeler at 205-229-1580.
Rock Hobbs at 205-470-3830

Material Needs:


Transformation Ranch is now beginning to seek donations to help furnish and equip the ranch facility for boys 12-18. We will need bunk beds, dressers, lamps, a large dining room table and chairs, Kitchen utensils, pots and pans, microwave, refrigerator, freezer, dishwasher, washer and dryer, computers for school and office as well as office equipment. We also need donated roofing materials and tiles for bathrooms as well as bathroom fixtures.  For help with these items please contact Valerie Wheeler at 205-229-1580 or Rock Hobbs at 205-470-3830.


Volunteer Needs:

-Timothy House Mentors
   -- One night a month
   -- Help with monthly service           projects

-People with trucks and trailers to help pick up donated materials.

-The Bonner Church of Bessemer Project is about to begin! People are getting excited about ministering to those in need.  We need a few more men to help work a repair project for a small Methodist church in Bessemer. It's a weekend work project and we can take turns working the weekends. The first group of men will begin this project after the 4th of July holiday but we could use more help and resources. Besides physical help, we need donated lumber, windows, flooring and paint. This will be weekend work at the church site in Bessemer. You can help as much or as little as you want.

Please contact  Bud Flora at 205-966-4323 or Rock Hobbs at 470-3830 if you want to help.


Schedule of Meetings

Free At Last - Recovery Class Wednesday 5:30pm at Church of the Highlands.

Individual or Family Counseling available at TRM office.
 Tue,Wed,Thur; 9-5pm

For more information on each meeting  and it's location, call Rock Hobbs at 470-3830.
Helpful Recovery Links

Biblical Counseling:

Truth in Love Ministries:
Contact Mark Shaw at:
[email protected]



If you need
a comprehensive resource for help with drug or alcohol related issues: 
 
 www.theFreedomSource.com


Adult Christian addiction rehab:
 
 www.thefoundryonline.com

 www.turningpointalabama.org

New Start Ladies Home
Becky Farrell, Director
205-477--0555

God's Unfailing Promises

2 Timothy 1:7            Nahum 1:13

Isaiah 58:6                Obadiah 17

Luke 4:18                  Micah 7:8

Acts 10:38                Mark 1:25,26

Psalm 91                   Mark 1: 32-34

Joel 2:32                   Psalm 91:3
 
" Are You Under Seize?"

  Have you ever felt like something was out of wack in your life and that you were under some sort of attack? Nothing seems to be going right and everything seems to be falling apart around you?  Maybe its relationships with children that have gotten totally out of control. Or maybe your spouse just isn't the person you thought you were marrying. Is your job or lack of a job, just driving you to the brink of madness? Does it seems that whenever you are about to catch up, another bomb hits your family finances and puts you further into the pit of debt?

  If you can identify with what I'm talking about, now imagine yourself as a city. Everything around you, your entire sphere of influence is surrounded by a huge wall and you are living in this city of relationships and activities protected by the wall that God has created to keep you safe and secure in life. Picture in your mind a 12th century Medieval city,if you will,  with a mote and wall around it. The only way in and out is through the gates that can be raised and  lowered, only by you, over the mote to allow access to and from the inner city.

  Those gates are called the Eye Gate, Ear Gate, Mouth Gate, Nose Gate and Touch Gate.  Stay with me here, now imagine that maybe that  inner city is like your mind, soul and spirit. All the rest of the players are the people, places and relationships in your city(your life). And God created all of that just to have a peaceful and loving relationship with YOU!  And God's plan was to come daily and just walk with you and talk to you and to meet all the needs of the city.

  Here's my thought. the bible says that we live in a world that is controlled temporarily by the prince of darkness. He is the great deceiver and liar and is like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). As a Christian, God's word tells us that we are in this world but no longer of this world. Like the city. You are surrounded by the world but not of the world. You have control of those gates and what goes in and out of your city. 

  Imagine with me that your life, if it is in chaos right now, is like this city that God built but it is under seize. The things of this world, lusts of the flesh, carnal desires, temptations for the eye, longing for love and all the seemingly "fun and good" stuff have been laid out there before the gates.  The great deceiver stands outside your gates and says, "lower the gate and let us in, for we will make you feel real good and besides its just for a little while then we'll leave. Who's going to know and who's going to get hurt?"

  That's how it all starts. It's very insidious and usually the gates are lowered under the cover of darkness. Once the gates get lowered we begin to lose control of the gates themselves and the city is compromised and under seize. 

  Well, now I've done a full circle and I'm asking myself and God, " Why are my kids out of control? Why has my husband not been faithful or my wife have a drinking problem?  Why are my finances going down the toilet?"

  The answer I've discovered is that we are under seize from the enemy and we need to be rescued. We need God's help to regain control of the gates and to clean out the city of all the past trash. We don't need to worry about how the trash got there or who's fault it is that the trash is even there. We just need to get rid of it and bring our city back to the beautiful way it was created by our Heavenly Father.

  So if anything of what I've just described makes sense to you, then the question I would ask is: "Is there any hope for me, my city  and my life?"  The answer is absolutely. Here's a wonderful promise in Jeremiah 33:8,9:
      "I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise, and honor before all nations on the earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it."

 
The answer to solving relationship problems and trash problems in our city is through intensifying the one relationship that can bring healing to the heart and soul of our city.  2 Peter 1:3,4 says:
     "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption(trash) in the world caused by evil desires."

  If you want direction, if you need help in the time of crisis, if relationships are falling apart, the answer is take a time out from trying to solve the problems and take time to get closer to the Creator of the City. Seek to enhance your relationship with the Father and in doing that, He will help you clean out and restore your city.

May God Bless You,
Rock

               

"How do You Spin the Ball?"
 
  I was watching a family bowling the other day and it occurred to me that religion and bowling have a lot in common.  First, there is the basic truth.  If you roll the ball down the alley to a perfect spot, then all the pins will be knocked over and you will be happy and get a good score. If you're not a very good bowler we'll even put up some bumper- guards to keep your ball out of the gutter enabling you to at least hit something.

   I think "religion" says the same thing. If you come to this building every week, give money in the offering, follow the rules, accept what our church believes as the only way, then you may have a chance at knocking down all the "pins of life" and having a happy and fulfilled life. And as in bowling we don't want anyone in or from the gutter so we will put up guards to keep those kind out of our church and direct you to the church more fitting down the street.

 Second, I have noticed, that the good bowlers put a spin on their ball. What looks to be a gutter ball shot for sure at the last minute turns sharply towards the middle of the lane and smashes directly into the center of the pins, scattering them in all directions. That spin is put on the ball with intention and is controllable. The bowler has a choice whether to put that spin on the ball or not.

  Sometimes I think Christians do that with God's word. They put their own spin on it. They make the truth of God's word kinda roll down the "lane of life" with a bit of a curve to it. So it almost goes into the gutter, but not quite. Then at the last minute it explodes on the scene at just the right spot with lots of "religious(pin) action". Again the spin is intentional and the individual has a choice in what spin they are choosing to believe.

  Because of the insidious deception that can creep into our lives because of "spin" we must be very vigilant in filtering out all the erroneous "spin" through an ever increasing knowledge of God the Father  through Jesus Christ our Lord. He will bring us wisdom (James 3:13-17) and allow us to know the truth. 

  Finally, in bowling a lot of effort is put into keeping a very accurate score. If you mess up or miss the spare it will cost you dearly on your total score and may even cost you the game.  In religion people do a lot of things with motives of good intentions.  But the things are often  looked at, counted, and measured as a "standard for your faith".  This results in score keeping and  a lot of judgment by the people in the church. The more you do with the least amount of mess-ups the more you win in the game of religion.  And the bystanders will watch and cheer you on.

  Here's my spin and the reason for this whole article. God's calling His church back to a place of Grace. He wants a people that understand what an intimacy in relationship really means. He wants our hearts not just our working hands.  For the many of his children that are struggling with strongholds of addiction, The Father is calling you to a place of Holiness which is founded on Grace. 1 Peter 1:13-16 calls us to prepare our minds for action and for us to live in holiness.

  So you see, it's not about the spin that we can put on the ball or that we knock down all the pins every time. It's about an attitude of heart that says no matter what, each time I step up to roll the ball down the "alley of life" I will do it to honor God and bring glory to his name.  That people will see the love of God in me each time I step up and roll the ball. And our Father in Heaven will the say, "Good job, my good and faithful servant!". 

God Bless,
Rock



Contact Us
T.R.M.
P.O. Box 282
Chelsea, AL 35043
.
Cell  -  (205) 470-3830
Office-(205) 701-3800
[email protected]
www.transformationranch.com

What is Pride?

Who Me?

I recently received an email teaching on Pride and wanted to share it with you as I had a flash back to my "old days" and was reminded that they might not be so "old". 
So what is pride? Pride is deadly. Proverbs 16:18 NIV says that "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."  This is particularly true when a person is dealing with an addiction.  Pride and addiction go hand in hand and when you mix the two one thing happens 100% of the time.....Relationships are destroyed!

  You might be able to work for a while. You might be able to play for a while. You might even be able to be in love for a while. But my experience has proven this one statement to be true, "you can't have lasting intimacy in relationship if you are trapped in addiction".  Why, because you can't get out of self long enough to give to another person. How do I know this to be true?  I was stuck that way for 15 years. And if you don't believe me, ask my wife.

  In the community of penguins everyone sticks together and supports one another so that the survival of the individual is dependent on the group. The same is true in our relationships. We were designed to get our needs met by other people. This can only be accomplished if you are meeting their needs and so on. Like the penguin, we become reliant on each other.

  Pride is just the opposite. It is faith in yourself, instead of faith in God. The root of pride is selfishness: putting yourself first. Thinking you know the most. Have you ever heard or said this, "What's the big deal?  I'm only hurting myself"  Oh, here's a good one,  "Why is this such a big deal for you? I'm not hurting anyone."  Pride deceives you into thinking you deserve better than  someone else or that your needs are most important. Pride will cause you to go your own way instead of God's way. Pride makes you think you do not need God's advice or help. Ultimately with addiction involved pride deceives you to the point of thinking you don't need anyone in your life, "just leave me the H... alone!"  And that will happen given enough time.

  Pride is the root of all sin. It causes you to turn away from God instead of turning to Him. It rises up in your own sin and rebellion and tries to blame God for what is happening to you rather than see the consequences of your own rebellion. All rebellion has pride behind it!  All mistreatment of other people, especially our beloved  spouses or family members, is caused by pride: putting yourself and your feelings above that of the other person, their feelings and their needs. 

  The world system promotes people who are proud, and often gives them riches. In Mark 7:21-23, Jesus says, "pride is evil and defiles a person."  James 4:6 NKJ says it like this, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

  Pride is the most serious yet most subtle sin. It often goes unrecognized. Has your penguin community, your sphere of influence been infected by pride? If the answer is ...... yes or maybe? Then just ask the Lord to identify the pride areas in your life and help you remove it from your life.  Ask Him to teach you to be humble. God's word says He will do that and you will discover that your relationships around you will get better as well.

  If you'd like to talk more about this pride thing or feel you might need some help with some relationship issues, please feel free to give me a call, 470-3830. I'd love to sit down with you and share with you what God's word has shown me about shedding pride and learning to love.
 
May God's Grace abound in you,

Rock