What I Want 2 Do and How You Can Help

When I was a kid I listened to heavy metal. I can still remember the Twisted Sister video for their song "I Want to Rock." The father is yelling at his son, who he obviously feels is wasting his life, and asks the question,  "What do you want to do with your life?" The son yells, "I want to rock." This is what today is about, because my answer would be, "I WANT TO TALK!" Just a spoiler, I could really use your  help in my endeavors and will talk about how at the end of this.

FYI when I use the word  recovery it refers to those who have overcame struggles they have had with drinking/drugs, physical/sexual abuse, mental illnesses, eating disorders, cutting, bullying, losing faith and everything in between.

I want to use my past and present life as a way to enable BLiR to:

1. Steer people away from addiction and other life consuming issues
2. Let those who have been physically/sexually abused and/or struggle with mental illnesses know that they are not alone
3. Give hope to those who are struggling with issues that control their lives or the lives of people that they care about
4. Educate youth and young adults on the dangers of addiction
5. Make parents more aware of the dangers their children face and teach them how to have conversations with their children and what to be aware of
6. Share with those in the church what it means to be a Christian while discussing ways they can make an impact in their own communities
7. Remove the stigma those who struggle with addictions, trauma and mental illnesses face both from themselves and the community
8. Educate the community on the strength and power those in recovery have and the wonderful things they do to begin reducing the stigma

In order to do these things, BLiR has to be able to get out and share more. There are various ways to accomplish the goals above, and they are to complete the Better Life in Recovery documentary , complete writing the book entitled Spiritual Spackle and filing for non-profit status for Better Life in Recovery, Inc. Those 3 things will allow BLiR to really begin sharing the message of hope and recovery.

I know that I need to do this. I was built from the ground up to do this, and I am a little depressed currently because I feel that I am not making the type of impact that I need to be because I am not reaching my goals. I feel that I have been given a commission and a second chance and I am squandering it. This is where you can really help me if you are so inclined.

For starters, BLiR will be having a fundraiser at the end of Summer or the beginning of Fall. My wife will be putting this together, but I know that she needs help in multiple ways. She needs someone to help her plan the event. It will be for 50 people and we do not even know who those 50 people will be. It will consist of a meal, a discussion of what Better Life in Recovery, Inc purpose and vision are and a silent auction.

BLiR needs items donated for the silent auction. BLiR needs 45 attendees that can help us meet our goal of raising between $2,000-5,000. This money will pay for the event, help us file for nonprofit status and hopefully allow us to throw another BLiR event. BLiR also needs people to talk about and share the event once we have the date.

BLiR needs to finish the documentary. In order to do that, there is a need people who  have overcame struggles with drugs, alcohol, eating and abuse that are willing to share that story on camera. The need is currently for youth and young adults that are not Caucasian. If that is you or you know someone who is willing please let get a hold of me.

Finally, BLiR needs to have more events and I need to speak more. This can only be accomplished by me getting more opportunities. I speak in and at schools, events, seminars, trainings, churches, recovery groups, small groups, youth groups, city/school council meetings, etc. If you or someone you know has a venue that I could speak at or would like to partner with BLiR for a BLiR event, please contact me.

BLiR (Better Life in Recovery) Event March 15th: What is the Event

On March 15th, we will be having the second BLiR event at New Life Church from 6-10. The first one was in Ash Grove last Fall. The first BLiR event was a success. It was a success because fun was had, things were given away, food was eaten, music was listened to and there was a positive message heard by those who attended. Next week I am meeting with a group of youth pastors to talk to them about the upcoming event so they will want to not only attend with their youth, but become a part of it and contribute to and/or hold future BLiR events.

So, here is what I am going to tell them in the 5 minutes that I have:

BLiR is a fun, free time for youth and young adults to come out and enjoy themselves.  We provide games that range from single person Minute to Win It competitions to group games where those playing have an opportunity to win things. They can win Youth/Student Bibles, Youth devotionals, worship CDs, T-Shirts and we are hoping to give away a Nintendo Wii-U gaming system and/or Dr Dre Beats headphones.

We are going to have a car bash and a 6th Degree Black Belt doing some demonstrations. We will have goggles that simulate the effects of drinking for people to wear. We are going to have several bands playing worship music and positive covers live. We will have free food and drinks. Our idea is to have a lot of fun things to do and free stuff to win so that we have a lot of youth and young adults come out for the event.

Now that we have them here, we come to the main reason for the event. We have real people with real problems who have found real answers. We have several testimonies from people who have faced severe struggles in their lives: being bullied, physically abused, sexually abused, not fitting in, depression, their parents divorcing. Those struggles led them down different paths.

One overcame her struggles by turning to Christ, and has been sharing her struggles with other youth ever since. Others, when faced with life consuming issues turned to: eating disorders, cutting, sleeping around, drugs, alcohol, violence and ended up attempting suicide, getting kicked out of school and/or going to jail. In the end though, they have all found hope and recovery through Christ. 

Our goal is to help transform lives by sharing testimonies from real people who had real problems and found real answers through Christ. We want those who come to the event to leave knowing that everyone struggles, but that using substances and developing negative coping skills is not the way to deal with them. We want them to know it is okay to share their struggles with other people and that there is a better life to be found through faith in Christ.

We end the evening with a positive message and an altar call. The night becomes all about not becoming like those around you and falling into temptation and peer pressure but instead living a life that guides others to Christ.

The focus of this event is to not only have fun, but to share Christ and recovery with everyone there. We want to give youth pastors and parents an opportunity over the weekend to talk to their kids about what they heard and engage in more open dialogue with them about the pressures they may face or are already facing. We hope that by talking openly about serious, sometimes taboo issues kids gain the courage to talk about them too.

That is what Better Life in Recovery is all about, and I hope that you bring your youth to the event. In fact, I hope that you can help  us with some of our needs. We do this event at no cost to all who attend, but there are costs and needs. We will work on the food and drinks for the kids. We will have the volunteers to supervise and run the games we play. We need things to give away: Bibles, CDs, gift cards and the big prizes. We need one more band to play. We need money to order BLiR T-shirts and hats as well as for the printing of flyers for the event. It would be nice to give the bands an honorarium, too. We need you to help us promote the event, as well as the ones we will have in the future.

Most importantly we need your prayers. Prayers that we can bring the message of hope to those who are struggling. Prayers that we can bring Jesus, in fact that we can represent Jesus, to all that attend. Pray that through this event we have an impact on those who come. Pray that we act as the hands and feet of God and give a message of faith that falls on open ears and open hearts.

That is what I am going to say to the pastors. The same is true for everyone else. If you would like to donate services, items, time or money please contact me at david.stoecker@gmail.com . If you have children, are a youth pastor, teacher, teen-ager, junior high, high school or college student please attend and tell your friends. This is going to be a lot of fun, and the more people there the more opportunity we have to make an impact. Most of all, please pray for this to have an impact in the lives of the people who come! Thanks!!

NEEDS

1. Food (Hot Dogs, Burgers, Buns, Chips, Sweets, Water, Tea,etc.)
2. Worship CDs, Student/Youth Bibles, Student/Youth Devotionals/Books
3. Nintendo Wii U
4. Dr Dre Beats Headphones
5. Cash for printing T-Shirts, Hats and Flyers for the event, possibly an honorarium for the bands/speakers as well as money for the above items
6. A Band (Teenagers who play worship and positive covers)
7. Sharing the upcoming event with others and letting us know who is coming
8. PRAYER