Rough year for me

Hello everyone! I am new to CC. I was hoping to find some people I could talk to that could help me out. I am struggling with alcohol. My husband and I spend way to much money going out and sometimes leads to drugs. I know its not the right thing to do,but I keep getting drawn into it. I only have a couple friends that do not drink much so its hard to hang out with anyone. My husband and I nearly split up this year because he is not a leader for me and provides the things I do not want to do. I feel like I am letting God down, my family(if they knew) and myself. I do not want to be around either of those things, but its not like I can leave him. And on top of all that my sister was babysitting and the 2 year old (Bryan) fell off the bunk bed and had a severe head injury. He is ok as far as we know now, but she is getting charged with child endangerment and bodily injury. They are trying to say she shook the child. My sister is a Christian lady, and would never do such a thing. So my family has been paying all kinds of money to keep her out of jail for 8 months now. And Bryan's mom is going around in our church spreading horrible lies about my sister and even put an add in the paper about the incident. It has all been a total nightmare. We are praying that God will lead us to the people that will show everyone the truth...

Hi Needinglove,
I'm sorry to hear about your situation. I pray that your sister's situation can be dealt by people who are honest and fair. Sometimes it pays to take a step back and evaluate the church that you are going to. Maybe this is a sign that it is time to move on - pray that God would lead you to a different church with a pastor and a congregation you can trust.
Communicate with your husband in love. Is your husband saved? Ask him where he sees himself in 10 years. Ask yourself the same question. Do you and/or your husband see the alcohol and drug problem as part of your lives in 10 years? as getting worse? Is God controlling your life, or is alcohol/drugs/life circumstances? Either you continue your own way, or you choose to go God's way. Finding your own answers to these questions may provide you with insight.

And with God, we know that he loved the world - and us - so much that he sacrificed his Son for us. Christ suffered for/paid for our sins on the cross, and was resurrected: John 3:16: 16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." We believe, we are saved, and Christ takes all the ugliness of sin away - and all sin is ugly - and we are all sinners. Romans 11:32: 32For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all." When we have believed, that means we are saved and have eternal life. After salvation, the next step is to confess your sins to God. 1st John 1:9: 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." I have recently learned it's a good idea to confess my sins using "I" instead of glossing over my sins in my prayer- in other words, praying that "*I* gossiped," "*I* was angry at so and so for such and such" instead of just saying, "please forgive the gossip and anger." Saying "I" holds me more accountable for my sin and I've found I am much more likely now to stop before I get angry, or whatever I'm tempted to do, and to ask God for help. Then I can overcome the temptation. Sometimes though you might not know what to ask for in prayer. I know I don't sometimes. Such as, how does a person go about getting away from physical and/or psychological addictions? That's not an easy process and may not have easy answers, but you need to ask God for help. Read your Bible - the Gospels, Romans, and Ephesians are good books to read. Here are a couple of other passages that I cling to for comfort...
James 4:8: "Come near to God and he will come near to you."
Psalm 100:3: "Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture."
Psalm 142:1-3: "I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble. When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way."
Blessings!!!
Faith