Transformation Ranch Ministries
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T.R.M. News
Issue No.  11
August  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
    5.   Life Coaching Issues
    6.   Addiction Sponsorship

--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.

Schedule of Meetings

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

Free Indeed - Support group for parents or spouses touched by addictions or troubled family members.
Thursday 6:30-8:00pm.

Individual or Family Counseling available at TRM office.
 Mon:  1-4pm
 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]

For Discipleship:

Jason Cooke
Call Christ Health Center at:
205-380-9455


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

Psalm 32:7                Psalm 34:4

Isaiah 41-13-14        Luke 10:19-20

Nahum 1:13              James 4:7

World View vs. Biblical View

Monica Seles (Tennis Pro) - after dealing with depression and eating disorders and after the 1993 stabbing by a deranged spectator:

"Everybody has their story. At some point you have to say, this is who I am: now its up to me to become what I want to be." 

She almost got it right. You have to make a choice but once you do, 2 C0r. 5:17-21 tells us exactly who we are in Christ. We are new creations and we are reconciled with God.  No matter what the past, God has made us righteous through Christ and we are to be His ambassadors.


 
Quotes of the Month

"Jesus promised the disciples three things-- that they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy and in constant trouble."
   -- G.K. Chesterton

"The world - it is a wilderness where tears are hung on every tree."
   -- Thomas Hood

"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
   -- Jesus   John 16:33

 
October 9th
Ranch Property
Prayer Walk

TRM invites any individuals interested in the ministry of Transformation Ranch to join our team for a short prayer walk on October 9th at 11am on one of the proposed locations for Transformation Ranch. This beautiful 25 acre crystal clear Blue Springs lake combined with 300 acres of scenic trails along the Coosa River will be a perfect time and place to join us in prayer over God's blessings on our ranch project. We need your prayers.

Just a short drive east on 280 will get you to Childersburg and the property entrance north of Childersburg. More information and directions will be posted in next months newsletter. Mark you calendars!!!

 Why Are My Emotions Out of Control?

   Many times in my life I have heard parents, teachers, friends and even pastors express the idea that the feelings that I am experiencing are a problem or wrong. That I need to control my feelings.  I began to believe that I was a bad person or weak Christian because my feelings had been hurt or I was angry with someone or afraid of something in my life.  Time and time again I felt the need to control my bad  feelings and emotions to avoid  displeasing God and falling into sin. That somehow, if I could love God more or increase my faith, I wouldn't feel this way. Instead of accepting my feelings as a God given warning signal, I so desperately tried to repress, hide and deny them. When I was unable to control those feelings (which happened all the time), I inevitably began to attach beliefs to those feelings which made me feel even more guilty and full of shame.

  As I have grown closer to the Lord over the years,  I have discovered that even if I wanted to, I cannot control my feelings or emotions. No one can.  According to John Sanford of Elijah House, "We are not to let feelings control our lives, but we are also not to do away with them.  They are the messages which inform us of our heart's condition. We need to identify, label and accept them, as well as learn to express them appropriately. When we can do this as Jesus did, it becomes possible for us to truly share ourselves with others."

  The biggest challenge I see in my daily prayer ministry is with people who have unresolved issues caused by  feelings that are evoked as a result of hurt.  Before I address that topic, however, lets define what feelings and emotions really are.

  Feelings are a physiological response or reaction to events or experiences that occur in our daily relationships.  Emotions are simple strong feelings with attitudes or beliefs attached to them. No matter what you try to do, you cannot control your feelings. If you tried to not blink or breath; you couldn't do it.  It's an automatic response that our body does. If someone hurts you, you are going to have feelings. You can not control that. You can control your behaviors both before and after feelings and emotions are generated. What Jesus did and what we must do is learn to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us with our reactions to our feelings. And then use the those feelings to understand why our heart is hurting.

  Let's look at how we react when we are hurt. The most common reactions to hurt are blame and judgment. Imagine if you will you are walking down a beautiful beach on a paradise vacation; bare footed and just on cloud nine when all of a sudden out of no where you stub your toe on a large brick laying in the sand. The one and only brick on the entire beach and you stepped on it.  What would be your first reaction after you finished  screaming out in pain? Well it would be one of three things:
     1.  I could blame myself for stubbing my toe on the only brick on the entire beach. How could I be so stupid?
     2.  I could blame the brick. How could you do this to me? As if this inanimate object had any control over being where it was or you stepping on it.
     3.  I could blame the person that put the brick there. Who put this brick in the middle of this beautiful beach?

  When I ask most people, their first reaction is number three. When I am hurt I want to blame some one else for what I am feeling. We've all done it and we all do it! Now what usually happens is that the blame leads you to judgment.  "That person wanted to hurt me."  " I'll never do anything that mean to anyone else."  "I'll never be like that person" (a vow) or worse than that, "I'll never forgive that person for what they did to me."

  Now stay with me on this progression. That judgment if never dealt with turns into potentially a life long resentment which causes us to attach beliefs and attitudes to the original hurt feeling. And that's where so many people struggle. This begins to explain why a person can have unexplainable anger outbursts, "out of the blue" bouts with depression or relationships that are never healed and always tenuous. Many times it is directly related to the bitter root of our reaction to a sin done against them.

  My father beat me but my mother never stopped him. That overwhelming feeling of a mother's rejection is very hurtful and actually worse than the beating that was received. So, all women are weak and I can't trust them. That hurt from childhood can form a belief and when that man gets married, the wound that was buried alive is still festering in his heart. He has learned to cope with it but not resolve it. So when he finally gets married, what happens when he gets any kind of hurt?  It triggers a subconscious reaction from when his mother never defended him and he gets angry at the wife. Even if the hurt was not from the wife. As that anger grows and is unchecked it turns into rage and that's where the violence enters the picture.   Many times I've heard the husband say, "I don't know why I did that, I love my wife?"

  So back to John Sanford's statement that feelings are messages that tell us the condition of the heart. If feelings are the messengers then we don't want to "kill the messenger".  We want to learn to understand them. Feelings help us find hurts and where there are hurts there are judgments and vows and if you can discover those it will lead you directly to the bitter root. It is the root that we want the Lord to heal. We want to confess and be released by the Lord from the judgments and vows we had made.  Most people who struggle with anger issues have made inner vows NOT to be angry. Trying to use anger management is helpful but doesn't solve the problem.  Applying God's truths and healing touch will release us from our unresolved issues of the past vow and totally set us free. This is baggage we really don't want to carry around!

  How we react to our feelings is the key. Jesus had feelings. In Mark 3:5 it says, "And after looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart..."
He resolved his anger righteously and it resulted in compassion for the people. If we don't express and resolve anger or any feelings righteously, it manifests in unrighteous ways. Ephesians 4:26-27 says, "Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity."  An opportunity for what? For those God given feelings to be turned into judgments and resentments.

  So let me recap what I've said.  First, attitudes, beliefs and actions tied to feelings can lead to sinful behavior but the feelings themselves are mostly morally neutral. Feelings are God given messengers that warn us of the heart's condition and can not be controlled. Second, people often bury or suppress feelings because they believe their feelings are sinful or they try to live life coping with the negative affects produced by those feelings. And thirdly, when feelings are suppressed or buried alive the inevitable affect of those feelings will nonetheless be expressed in indirect  and often inappropriate ways that can become sinful.

  If you can understand and identify your feelings, you will, if you are honest with yourself, be able to identify the judgments which may lead you to discover the bitter roots in your life. Then you can exercise the freeing truth of James 5:16. I believe that James really understood the hurts of his Christian brothers and sisters. He was telling them how to find freedom. He tells them, "Therefore confess your sins(reveal and talk about your issues) to each other and pray for each other that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." Small groups, pastoral counseling and close friendships can all be avenues for this kind of ministry. It's not "rocket science" or hidden spiritual talents or knowledge, its simply God's truth. He has told us, if we pray for one another our prayers can be powerful and effective. What a gift God has given us for the healing of our aching soul and its free for the taking.

  If you're hurting or someone you know is hurting, find someone to talk to. Take a chance, trust them and express your feelings to them. Their prayers can be the gateway to the freedom you have been looking for for a long time.

Rock
            

"TRM Announces the Appointment of New
Board of Trustees "


 
  On August 23, 2010 Transformation Ranch Ministries drew one step closer to the fulfillment of the vision to provide Birmingham and the state of Alabama with a Christian long term facility for at-risk teens struggling with substance abuse and other systemic behaviors. Nine men and women have accepted the exciting challenge to join Rock and Vicki Hobbs  in the final stages of the ranch property procurement, facilities construction, and the academy curriculum development. At the August 23rd meeting Charlie White, a new Trustee stated, "It's time to stop talking and start doing.  We believe God is going to bless this entire project and use it to save the lives of many troubled teens."

  Bud Flora also a new Trustee stated that, "The need is so great, but our God is even greater! Let's not limit our objectives or our Heavenly Father.  He will lead us through the Holy Spirit to the resources we will need to build this ranch."  Bud went on to quote the famous evangelist, Reinhard Bonnke on how God builds His Kingdom projects on earth: "God wills it, Jesus speaks it and the Holy Spirit brings it into action."

Our prayer is, "Come Holy Spirit!"

  Everyday, I listen to mothers and dads who, in tears, cry out that they are exhausted and bewildered over their child who is totally out of control. They don't know what to do or where to turn for help.  They are embarrassed by the situation and most feel that they have done something wrong as parents for this to be happening. This is especially true when there are other children in the family that are not making bad decisions. Those that can afford it, send their child out of state to get help. 

  I leave you with this statistic on "relapse rates" in the reality of addictions.

Statistic One:
 
If you can help an adolescent truly transform their heart by a process of renewing their minds; personally accept the Christian world view for their life; and get freedom from addiction before the age of twenty, there is a 85-90% chance that they will never go back. Over the age of twenty that number drops to 12% and AA claims the number is 3%.  So if you were looking to put your charitable giving into something with a good Rate of Return( ROI), facilities dealing with the adolescents would bring the most "bang for your buck".

Statistic Two:

  "The number of faith-based facilities with long term care, counseling and education for adolescents in Alabama is ZERO."

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

                  www.Transformationranch.com.


    


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