1. NEW YEAR'S BEST WISHES 2. YEAR END DONATIONS: WE     ARE A 501 (c) (3) NON-     PROFIT ORGANIZATION 3. THIS WEEK'S SHOW: **NEW     YEAR'S EVE SPECIAL**     IMPORTANT LESSONS     LEARNED IN RECOVERY- MORE     OF "THE PROMISES" 4. STRAIGHT TALK FROM THE     DOC: "ONE ADDICT'S NEW     YEAR'S RESOLUTION" by Dr     Steve 5. THOUGHT FOR THE DAY- "THE     VALUE OF TIME" By Bob     Munck 6. HYTHIAM IS OUR NEW     CORPORATE SPONSOR 7. SIGN UP FOR THE FLASH!

1. BEST WISHES FOR A WONDERFUL 2006 FROM RECOVERY RADIO
Recovery Radio Sends its Best Wishes for a GREAT 2006!!

Bob, Dr Steve, and the entire Recovery Radio crew send you our warmest wishes as we move into the New Year!! May the coming year of 2006 be the best year yet for all of our listeners, be they addicts or alcoholics, family members, or just plain old "normies"(we use this term lovingly!!; if you're a "normie", you are LUCKY!!).

We have just completed our 8th month on-air, and are extremely excited about entering the next phase of our roll-out. Watch in February for the debut of our monthly recovery-related newspaper, "California Together". Also, beginning in January, 2006 we will be broadcasting live every Saturday night from the Glendale, CA studios of our Los Angeles station affiliate, 99.5 FM KKLA . You will not notice a difference when you hear the show, but we will have closer production interaction with our media colleagues there. We are very much looking forward to this exciting new adventure for us.

Our sincere thanks to Chuck Everts of Everts Sound Studio of Laguna Hills, who provided the local studio from which we broadcast from Orange County every Saturday night since our first-ever broadcast last April 3rd. Chuck is easing into retirement, and is for sure ending his "evenings and weekends" work. Congrats to you, Chuck, you deserve it! And thanks to you and your life-long buddy and fellow sound engineer, Bill Peters, for the wonderful studio sessions and the great friendships that we developed with each of you during the past year. You are great people!!

Be sure to join us on New Year's Eve, when we will be broadcasting as usual. This week we will once again feature 3 very special people who will share their stories of HOPE and INSPIRATION. Two of them are previous callers to our show; all three have stories that will blow you away...with the message being that Recovery is POSSIBLE...no matter how deep our addictions may take us
 

2.  YEAR END DONATIONS
The Recovery Radio Show is organized as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit public benefit corporation under the IRS tax code.

ACT NOW!!!

Now is the time to plan your year-end giving. Recovery Radio NEEDS YOUR CHARITABLE DONATIONS! One-time tax law ("2005 Katrina Emergency Act") allows donations THIS YEAR ONLY of up to 100% of taxable income TO ANY CHARITY OF YOUR CHOICE.

Please consider RECOVERY RADIO as you think about those organizations and people who TRULY MAKE A DIFFERENCE. We are only able to stay on the air with YOUR SUPPORT; helping alcoholics, addicts, AND THEIR FAMILIES...to find Recovery when no other option is working. We are here for you, 24/7, 52 Weeks per year.

We are not here to make a buck. Our sole Mission at Recovery Radio is to provide education about addiction to our fellow human beings, and to do what we can to allow those still suffering to get into recovery.

If you, or your company, would like to make a tax-deductible donation to the RRS, you may do so with our profound thanks and appreciation by sending your check or money order made out to "Recovery Radio Ministries" to: Recovery Ministries, Inc., 95 Argonaut, Ste. 102, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656. Or, donate online by clicking on the link above, or by going to the "DONATE HERE" button on our website on the HOME page.  Or, you may call our very own Melissa Stewart at 866.334.0471, ext. 108, M-F between the hours of 8A - 5P. Or, e-mail her at sioux@recoveryradioshow.com 
LOT'S OF GREAT OPTIONS TO GIVE GENEROUSLY!!

**Special New Years' Eve Show** "Important Lessons Learned in Recovery: More of 'The Promises' "

The New Year always brings a sense of hope for better things, and a yearning for renewal. It is a time to reflect upon the past and to look into the future, with a presumption that we will learn from our past mistakes. Addiction brings us to places we never expected; to places so deep and dismal that we only WISH there were a way out.

There is!! It’s called RECOVERY! YOU…can have it today….if you only ask for it! And we will help!!

This week we will interview three very special people; all addicts and alcoholics of the most hopeless variety. Two of them were “callers” to our show during this past year. These are ordinary people who reached extraordinarily deep and depressing “bottoms” in their lives. And each who miraculously found Recovery, and a renewed life, free of the shackles of addiction. You will be absolutely floored by these stories!!!

You will meet Robert Tucker, Robert Moore, and Tracy Moore. You will hear startling bits and pieces of lives that were shattered by the ravishes of addiction at its most extreme worst. You will hear amazing testimonies of INSPIRATION and HOPE, where each of these remarkable individuals has found Recovery, and a life of fulfillment and meaning.

Essentially no family in this country is spared from the effects of the disease of Addiction. We all know someone near us who is suffering from this terrible disease. But Recovery from addiction is possible! It is not easy, nor is it quick. These compelling stories will show you that ANYONE can find Recovery….if they are willing to work for it. Recovery….is FREEDOM!!

Join us "LIVE!!" this Saturday night, 6 - 8P Pacific Time 99.5 KKLA Los Angeles, or, in 10 other cities, or, Streaming on the Web. RECOVERY WORKS!!
 

This column, Straight Talk from the Doc, is a medical showcase, where normally I share with you, our listeners and readers, some medical insights that are deep and unique (and clever of course!!) But this time, I will shed my doctor’s robes…and wax philosophic…like my partner Bob!!.

Let’s reflect upon the New Year, and New Year’s Eve!!

For the addict who is still active in his addiction, New Year’s Eve historically has been nothing more than a good reason to get drunk or get loaded.

For those of us in Recovery, it has much greater meaning. As we look toward the coming year, we contemplate our lives, and in particular we think about what we might do to make ourselves- and our lives- even better and more fulfilling.

My own personal thoughts on the eve of the New Year focus on: What can I do to improve MY Recovery?? From here on, I will speak in the "we" rather than the "I", as it is my sincere hope that these simple musings will hit a nerve with those who read this. Especially, I hope that it will hit a nerve with my fellow addicts and alcoholics who are in Recovery, and those who need Recovery but haven't yet surrendered.

First, let us take stock of where we are…and where we have been. If we are new to Recovery, we first of all must be grateful… that something…or somebody….pushed us into our surrender, the first step towards our recovery. Rarely do we attain this insight on our own!! Gratefulness is always in order!!

I am extremely grateful for my Recovery!! Let us ALL be grateful, and about many things!! For me, Dr Steve, I am particularly grateful for all of those who love me [my wife, my family, my friends]. Without them, I would still be mired in my own addiction. If YOU have a loved one or friend who NEEDS recovery but who is still active in his or her addiction- and is still stuck in the quagmire of denial- seriously consider organizing an "Intervention" to nudge that person into Recovery. Once he or she finds Recovery, he/she will likewise be grateful for your loving nudge.

The Promises of AA and NA begin to come to us almost immediately after we surrender fully, and after we have finally accepted the fact that we are addicts. This was EXTREMELY difficult for me. I am, after all, a DOCTOR!! But then again, who DOES want to be an addict?? No one, of course. But for me, “Giving it up” to my Higher Power was an act that also was extremely difficult and challenging, because up until then, I was my own god...or perhaps more correctly, my drug or other addiction was my god.

The good things that happen to us in Recovery are termed "The Promises" by the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. When discussing The Promises, the Big Book does not say "if", it says "when", meaning that if we get into Recovery, they WILL come. The Promises begin to come to us quickly once we have entered Recovery, and they are nothing short of miraculous. In my case, my wife is back, my family is back, and my friends are back. A meaningful new career is in process of being built. Although the road to recovery is a never-ending road, the pathway is nonetheless bright, open, and enticing…leading me onward to help other addicts and alcoholics who are still suffering.

For the New Year, I will continue to go to meetings, work the steps, and call my sponsor. When I complete my current walk through the 12 Steps…I will start over. Recovery never ends!!

Being sober is more than not drinking or using; it is about becoming a better person, free of addictions. One who is healthy medically, emotionally, and spiritually. It is a pursuit that will only end…when we die…sober.

This is Dr Steve, giving it to you straight!!!

Each week on our show, Bob presents his "Thought for the Day", a unique and powerful personal devotion. This is from a man with 15 years of personal sobriety, and with many years of recovery leadership. He has seen and heard it all. He has sponsored hundreds of men during that time. Addiction is a medical disease that is unique in having emotional and spiritual components, as well. This week in the FLASH! we are reprinting Bob's Thought for the Day for this week...a spiritual reflection which challenges and inspires those of us in recovery.

The Value of Time by Bob Munck

The time has arrived for this year of 2005 to end and the for the start of the new year of 2006. How will YOU value YOUR time in the New Year?

To realize the value of a sister: Ask someone who doesn’t have one.

To realize the value of Ten years: Ask a newly divorced couple.

To realize the value of four years: Ask a college graduate.

To realize the value of one year: Ask a student who has failed a final exam.

To realize the value of one month: Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realize the value of one week: Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of one hour: Ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.

To realize the value of one minute: Ask a person who has missed the plane.

To realize the value of one second: Ask a person who has survived an accident.

To realize the value of one millisecond: Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics.

To realize the value of a friend: Ask someone who has lost a friend.

I pray for all of you that God will Bless, Grace, Heal and have Mercy on you, your family, your work, your Recovery and your connection to God- for now and forever!

In His Faith, Bob Munck

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That's it for this week....Join us this Saturday Night, won't you?????.....6-8 Pacific Time...on-air, or on the web.

Yours very truly, and in sobriety,
Dr Steve, Bob, and the Recovery Radio Crew