International speaker and television personality, Cheri Peters, is the creator of the “Celebrating Life In Recovery” program. Available worldwide, a new recovery group starts meetings here in Grand Coulee next month.

In 1994, Peters founded True Step Ministries (www.truestep.org), a non-profit organization that provides support for recovery from every kind of dysfunction, abuse or addiction. Peters speaks to audiences around the world in prisons, rehab centers, schools, churches and on the streets. She presents a disruptive, hope-filled message about a God who is crazy about you, who longs to heal you, and who delights in your recovery. She ought to know. Peters was born to 14- and 16-year-old addicts. Abused and unwanted from infancy, she began using drugs at age 11. Her first high was the first time in her life she didn’t feel like killing herself. At 13, she was pregnant and living on the streets of Los Angeles. For the next 10 years, she was involved in some incredibly twisted things.

Still, they were less damaging than her home had been because she no longer expected to be loved. She found if she could just take enough drugs, she could survive anything.

At 23, Peters hit rock bottom. Living in a drug house, strung out on heroin, she was trying to kill herself when God showed up. He gave her a glimpse of the way he sees her: a beautiful and innocent child. She told God, “I’ve never been innocent.” And he told her, “I’ve never seen you any other way.” Her life changed forever. She got clean, attained her GED and began working in the health field before entering full-time ministry.

As Peters stepped into normal life, she was surprised to find how many “normal” people had serious issues. Anxiety, anger, abuse, depression, divorce, eating disorders, self-mutilation, sex addiction, suicide. Everywhere she looked, lives were a mess. She says, “It was this realization that gave me the idea for the Celebrating Life in Recovery program. People need help to escape the mess and experience a life worth celebrating!” The program has been developed by a team of people who each have their own story of dysfunction and who have experienced the healing power of God.

Celebrating Life in Recovery takes a biblical approach to restoring people to sanity.

Participants are part of a supportive group who open up to each other and to God, allowing His Spirit to lead them into healing. Powerful real-life stories are used from the popular television series, “Celebrating Life in Recovery,” hosted by Peters on Three Angels Broadcasting Network (www.3abn.org). Sessions are led by people already in recovery, sharing their own journey to healing. In that supportive environment members learn to surrender to God and let Him guide them through the process of physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual recovery.

The Grand Coulee group will begin meeting on November 3 at 4:30 p.m. Contact Jimmy at 509-631-1072 or jimmypadgett26@gmail.com to reserve your spot or get more details.