|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vol 1 No 2 ──── • ──── HAPPY, JOYOUS and FREE ──── • ──── June 2026
|
|
|
|
IN THE KNOW
|
|
|
|
|
|
Serving: Arizona • Colorado • Iowa • Kansas • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • Oklahoma • South Dakota • Texas • Utah
|
|
|
|
Monthly Step, Tradition, and Concept
|
|
|
|
Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
|
|
|
An OA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the OA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
|
|
|
The World Service Business Conference has entrusted the Board of Trustees with the primary responsibility for the administration of Overeaters Anonymous
|
|
|
|
|
|
Meet Karen C.
Region 3's New Trustee Liaison
|
|
|
|
|
|
Karen’s journey to Overeaters Anonymous began at a moment when her life felt unmanageable. Although she appeared successful on the surface, she describes herself at the time as “a train wreck,” struggling with compulsive overeating and weighed down in body and spirit by an extra 100 pounds. When she walked into her first OA meeting, Karen wondered if she had entered the wrong room. The people in attendance did not look unhappy or ashamed. They laughed easily, spoke honestly, and welcomed her warmly. There, she found hope and a sense of community. “I kept coming back,” she says, “because I wanted what they had: serenity, joy, and an unmistakable zest for life.”
|
Karen quickly found a sponsor and began working the Twelve-Step program. One of the most profound turning points in Karen’s recovery came during her work on Step Three. For months, she had resisted turning her will and life over to a Higher Power, because childhood abuse had shattered her trust both in people and God. She felt that God had let her down by not protecting her as a child. In her mind, this lack of protection meant that there was no loving God or Higher Power. Then her sponsor gently reframed the pain that had shaped her life. “Your Higher Power did not let you down,” her sponsor told her. “It was the grownups in your life who were supposed to protect you who let you down.” Karen describes those words as the key that unlocked the door to healing. As her relationship with her Higher Power developed and deepened, she felt increasingly safe and comfortable in her body. One of the greatest miracles of recovery, she says, is that now that she has a relationship with a loving Higher Power, she feels safer in the world, even without the fat, than she ever felt before she came to OA.
|
Today, Karen speaks about recovery with the quiet gratitude of someone whose life has been transformed from the inside out. Through the Twelve Steps, the OA Tools of Recovery, and a close connection with her Higher Power, she has rebuilt relationships, made meaningful amends, and begun to accept life on life’s terms. She emphasizes that compulsive overeating is a disease, not a moral failing or lack of willpower, and she wishes people outside the Fellowship better understood how much faith and courage it takes to embark on a program of recovery. “I wake up each day eager to be of service to my OA fellows and to guide and support them in their recovery,” she says. “I want others to experience the miracles of recovery that this program offers, including a life grounded in serenity, abstinence, and purpose.”
|
|
A passion for serving others has been the cornerstone of Karen’s life. Over the years, she has embraced a style of servant leadership focused on empathy, compassion, and support for those she serves. Karen applies these same values to her service in OA. She began her service in the Fellowship in Austin, Texas, as the treasurer of her local meeting. She later took on roles at the intergroup, regional, and world service levels. Along the way, she found mentors among OA trustees who encouraged her to share her unique gifts with the Fellowship.
|
Karen brings an extraordinary breadth of life experience to Region 3. Early in her career, she served in the Peace Corps and lived and studied in Russia, Spain, and France. She later earned a PhD in Slavic Languages and Literatures, taught Russian at the University of Texas, and coauthored Russian language textbooks. Over the course of her career, Karen has taken more than 150 students to Russia. Twice during the current war being fought on Ukrainian soil, she traveled to Ukraine on humanitarian missions to care for displaced orphans. Having enjoyed a career in academia, she now works as a French-speaking flight attendant, a role that seems fitting for someone whose life has been marked by curiosity, courage, and connection across cultures. And tucked quietly among her accomplishments is a charming detail that surprises nearly everyone: she has been friends with the author Judy Blume since seventh grade. She spoke about Blume’s impact on her life and healing journey in a Peabody Award-winning documentary entitled “Judy Blume Forever.”
|
Despite such an accomplished résumé, Karen’s greatest joy still comes from simple things: long walks with her Higher Power, handwritten letters, jigsaw puzzles, needlework, and connecting with friends and loved ones. She does not own a television; instead, she treasures the quieter rhythms of life. Those who meet her quickly sense both her intelligence and her warmth, qualities that now accompany her into her new role as Region 3 trustee liaison. For Karen, serving Region 3 is more than a position. It is a homecoming to the region where she began her journey in OA and first experienced the miracles of recovery. As she begins this new chapter of service, Karen hopes to bring light and hope to those in Region 3 and to foster greater unity within the worldwide Fellowship. Welcome, Karen! We are excited to work together with you to share OA’s life-changing message of recovery.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Meet Jen S.
The Dallas Metroplex Intergroup Chair
|
|
|
|
|
When Jen first came to Overeaters Anonymous, she says she had “nothing to lose.” After trying everything else to manage her struggles with food, she attended her first OA meeting and immediately felt at home. What began as a last attempt soon became a source of healing, connection, and personal transformation. One of the earliest breakthroughs in her recovery came when she realized that the Higher Power she had known all her life could become deeply personal and accessible to her in a new way. That realization opened the door to a more meaningful spiritual connection and continues to shape her recovery today.
|
Service has become an important part of Jen’s journey, both personally and as the Dallas Metroplex Intergroup Chair. She speaks warmly about the generosity and talents of others in the Fellowship and says service has greatly expanded her recovery network. After chairing one of her first intergroup meetings, she was deeply touched when someone told her it had been one of the smoothest and kindest meetings they had attended in quite some time. That spirit of kindness and welcome is something she hopes to continue bringing to her leadership. Drawing on her own life experiences, Jen says she has learned that people carry many different struggles and deserve patience, compassion, and understanding. “I can be firm and kind in leadership,” she explains.
|
Jen is passionate about helping others understand that addiction has nothing to do with intelligence or worth. “We are good, kind people,” she says of those who struggle with food and body image. “We deserve love, understanding, and compassion just like everyone else.” In fact, one detail that often surprises people is that Jen is a member of Mensa, something that quietly reinforces her belief that compulsive eating affects people from every background and walk of life. Recovery for her today includes beginning each morning with conscious contact with her Higher Power, planning meals, writing, and continually turning her will back over to that spiritual guidance throughout the day.
|
Outside OA, Jen finds joy in reading and snuggling with her puppies, simple comforts that help keep her grounded. As she continues serving as Intergroup Chair, she hopes others will discover that service is not something we do alone, but together. She wants members to feel empowered to step forward, get involved, and recognize that there is always support available. And for anyone afraid to reach out for help, Jen offers a message filled with hope: “You will find more love, grace, and peace than you ever imagined, and you deserve it all.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
That is the Freedom of Choice
|
|
|
|
|
When I was created, I was given the power of free will. I have the power to choose to take an action or not take an action.
|
I am a compulsive overeater, and I am powerless over my food addiction.
|
However, I have the choice to take recovery actions or not take recovery actions. But there are consequences of either choice.
|
If I choose not to take the actions of recovery that I know keep me healthy, it won’t be long before I won’t have the power to make any choices about recovery.
|
The consequence of not taking recovery action is eventually sliding back into active ADDICTION and when I am in the cycle of active ADDICTION I no longer have the power to make choices about taking recovery actions. They seem useless or even worse, ridiculous.
|
Taking recovery actions, that is using the tools to work the steps to stay in conscious contact with Power, is what I must do daily to keep the Power to make sane recovery decisions. Whichever action I take either moves me toward LIGHT or DARKNESS.
|
|
Thankfully today I choose LIGHT!
|
|
What Does This Mean to Me?
|
Read and write your reflections on this article. Discuss them with your sponsor, group, and/or trusted fellow(s). What are recovery actions? What are actions that lead to relapse? What can I do today to help myself?
|
|
|
|
|
Region 3 Events
|
|
|
|
|
|
OA First Ten Days Meetings
|
|
WHO? Beginners, abstinence strugglers, returnees, program boosters, everyone
|
WHAT? Tools, food plans, action plans, cross talk/discussions, questions answered, and a new lease on life
|
|
WHEN? 10 consecutive days starting on first day of each month; each session is about 60 minutes. In all odd months it is held at 6 pm Central time; in all even …
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Region 3 12th Step Within Committee will host the next
|
Quarterly Relapse Prevention Workshop on
|
|
Members will share experience, strength, and hope on recovery tools, relapse prevention, and staying connected in the OA fellowship. Come and hear a speaker share their …
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Zoom Security Training Session
|
|
Keep Your Virtual Meetings Secure!
Are constant disruptions interfering with your virtual meetings? It’s time to take charge and create a secure, seamless experience for everyone.
Join our monthly Zoom Security Training Session to learn the keys to safeguarding your meetings.
|
|
📅 Held every 3rd Saturday of each month🕒 Time: 3:30 PM Central Time
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sunlight of the Spirit R3 Assembly & Tri-County OA Retreat
|
|
Step into a weekend of connection, renewal, and a little bit of magic under the Texas sky. The Sunlight of the Spirit R3 Assembly & Tri-County OA Retreat invites you to Glen Rose this November for heartfelt fellowship, inspiring speakers, and moments of quiet reflection that just might change everything. Whether you’re coming for the full experience or just a day, you’ll …
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You are receiving this email because you are connected with OA Region 3 as a board member, intergroup representative, or service contact. If you prefer not to receive these emails, you may unsubscribe at any time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
