Sunday, July 31, 2016

July 31, 2016 - At what point does bi-curiosity become bisexuality?

July 31, 2016 - Why always coming out as bisexual is perpetually exhausting

July 31, 2016 - Pride.com - Zachary Zane: Why Coming Out As Bisexual Is Perpetually Exhausting | PRIDE.com

July 31, 2016 - NFL denies Trump's claim it sent letter complaining about debate schedule

July 31, 2016 - Dictionary.com redefines LGBT community as 'intersectional'

July 31, 2016 - More single men becoming fathers through adoption and surrogacy

July 31, 2016 - Shirtless Aussie firefighters holding puppies, just to heat up your Sunday

July 31, 2016 - Just for fun: Vote for Clinton if for no other reason than her nephew

July 31, 2016 - First major post-Democratic convention poll has Clinton surging past Trump

July 31, 2016 - RabareSearch.com - RABA Research – Fast. Fair. Accurate. Affordable.

July 31, 2016 - Federal court rules LGBT people not protected by civil rights laws

July 31, 2016 - Electoral map gives Donald Trump few places to go

July 31, 2016 - Trump in hot seat again for comments about Muslim family of slain U.S. soldier

July 31, 2016 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Sunday, July 31, 2016

July 31, 2016 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

Step by Step
Sunday, July 31, 2016
 
"The old (drinking) pattern reasserted itself, but it was no longer once every six months. The intervals grew shorter. The binges were longer. They were harder to get off. ...
"That type of drinking is not pleasant. It is no longer enjoyable. You no longer get the kicks. It is desperation drinking. I was drinking to keep away the shakes ...I was drinking to try to hold on to a job, to try and hold on to my home, to try to hold on to my wife, to try to hold on to my sanity." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Part III ("They Lost Nearly All"), Ch 8 ("Desperation Drinking"), p 514.

Todayhonesty to accept I have a problem if drinking is my answer to any desperation I feel - be it for a situation I desperately want not to face, or the talk with my spouse, partner or employer, the constantly ringing telephone that I will not answer because someone might be calling about my drinking or some problem it has caused. If drinking is my solution to any problem in my life, let me hear the voices of experience that my solution has become a crisis bigger than the problem I'm avoiding. And if I have not drank for any significant number of 24 Hours, chances are I now cannot remember the problem I drank to avoid. But, in so doing, I and I alone created one of the most critical crises that was far worse than any problem I faced sober. Today, alcohol will not be my solution to any problem that I may encounter. My answer is the Twelve Steps. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2016

July 31, 2016 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Sunday, July 31, 2016
 
AA Thought for the Day
This leaves only one day - today. Anyone can fight the battles of just one day. It is only when you and I add the burden of those two awful eternities, yesterday and tomorrow, that we break down. It is not the experience of today that drives us mad. It is the remorse or bitterness for something which happened yesterday or the dread of what tomorrow may bring. Let us therefore do our best to live but one day at a time.

Am I living one day at a time?

Meditation for the Day
Give God the gift of a thankful heart. Try to see causes of thankfulness in your everyday life. When life seems hard and troubles crowd, then look for some reasons for thankfulness. There is nearly always something you can be thankful for. The offering of thanksgiving is indeed a sweet incense going up to God throughout a busy day. Seek diligently for something to be glad and thankful about. You will acquire in time the habit of blessings. Each new day some new cause for joy and gratitude will spring to your mind and you will thank God sincerely.

Prayer for the Day
I pray for a truly thankful heart. I pray that I may be constantly reminded of causes for sincere gratitude.

Hazelden Foundation

July 31, 2016 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Sunday, July 31, 2016
 
Reflection for the Day
One of the most serious consequences of the me-me-me syndrome is that we lose touch with practically everyone around us - not to mention reality itself. The essence of self-pity is total self-absorption, and it feeds on itself. Rather than ignore such an emotional state - or deny that we're in it - we need to pull out of our self-absorption, stand back, and take a good honest look at ourselves. Once we recognize self-pity for what it is, we can begin to do something about it.

Am I living in the problem rather than the answer?

Today I Pray
I pray that my preoccupation with self, which is wound up tight as a Maypole, may unwind itself and let its streamers fly again for others to catch and hold. May the thin, familiar wail of me-me-me become a chorus of us-us-us, as we in the fellowship pick apart our self-fullness and look at it together.

Today I Will Remember
Change me-me-me to us-us-us.

Hazelden Foundation

July 31, 2016 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Sunday, July 31, 2016
 
In our drinking days, we were ready to take a poke at anyone who suggested we couldn't handle our "likker." It was a very sore spot with us, as we all kidded ourselves into believing that our over-indulgence was a well-guarded secret when, actually, we knew it was not.

Upon our entrance in AA, we soon made a public confession of our alcoholism and, to our surprise, we lost some of the sense of stigma and we could learn to laugh at our affliction and at ourselves. Our sense of guilt was lessened by our acknowledgment of its existence.

Hazelden Foundation

July 31, 2016 - To have a great day, there's ONE thing to do first


Saturday, July 30, 2016

July 30, 2016 - Mental health and stigma: Why are men reluctant to ask for help?

July 30, 2016 - Courts rule GOP voter suppression laws in Wisconsin, North Carolina unconstitutional

July 30, 2016 - Editorial: Could Donald Trump actually be clinically deranged?

July 30, 2016 - NYDailyNews.com - Editorial: Donald Trump, American psycho - NY Daily News

July 30, 2016 - Editorial: A legal victory for voting minorities in North Carolina

July 30, 2016 - Another legal blow to GOP as court nixes North Carolina voter ID law

July 30, 2016 - GOP national security leaders issue open letter against Trump

July 30, 2016 - WarontheRocks.com - Open Letter on Trump from GOP National Security Leaders

July 30, 2016 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Saturday, July 30, 2016

July 30, 2016 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

Step by Step
Saturday, July 30, 2016
  
Today, I realize the character defects identified in my Fourth Step probably existed before my drinking days and that alcohol simply developed them to their destructive zenith. My Sixth and Seventh steps of first admitting to God and then asking that He remove my defects assume paramount honesty in my recovery because I am likely to be challenged to release defects that have had a lifetime to take root - more so than those that those that were born of my drinking days. And if my defects are lifelong, simply not drinking will not give me the recovery and quality of sobriety for which I strive. Today, I am an alcoholic, and abstaining from drinking is not enough. I consider myself a part of AA and, today, as I talk the talk, I will walk the walk. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2016

July 30, 2016 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Saturday, July 30, 2016
 
AA Thought for the Day
The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow, with its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise, and perhaps its poor performance. Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control. Tomorrow's sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds, but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is as yet unborn.

Do I still worry too much about tomorrow?

Meditation for the Day
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith is not seeing, but believing. Down through the ages, there have always been those who obeyed the heavenly vision, not seeing but believing in God. And their faith was rewarded. So shall it be to you. Good things will happen to you. You cannot see God, but you can see the results of faith in human lives, changing them from defeat to victory. God's grace is available to all who have faith - not seeing, but believing. With faith, life can be victorious and happy.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may have faith enough to believe without seeing. I pray that I may be content with the results of my faith.

Hazelden Foundation

July 30, 2016 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Saturday, July 30, 2016
 
Reflection for the Day
When we first come to The Program, the most common variety of self-pity begins:"Poor me! Why can't I (fill in your own addiction) like everybody else? Why me?" Such bemoaning, if allowed to persist, is a surefire invitation for a long walk off a short pier - right back to the mess we were in before we came to The Program. When we stick around The Program for a while, we discover that it's not just "me" at all; we become involved with people, from all walks of life, who are in exactly the same boat.

Am I losing interest in my comfortably familiar "pity pot?"

Today I Pray
When self-pity has me droopy and inert, may I look up, look around and perk up. Self-pity, God wills, vanishes in the light of other people's shared troubles. May I always wish for friends honest enough to confront me if they see me digging my way back down into my old pity pit.

Today I Will Remember
Turn self-involvement into involvement.

Hazelden Foundation

July 30, 2016 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Saturday, July 30, 2016
 
No pleasures of our drinking days even compensated for those horrible nights of wakeful tossing. The interminable pacing the floor; those night sweats; the endless hours when we couldn't sleep and at the same time dreaded falling asleep. The hours that seemed to stretch into eternity as we lay in bed with remorse as a bedfellow. Then the Hell of the goof-balls that made our nights better and our days worse.

The physical pain we might have endured for many more years, but the anguish of the heart and soul was unendurable.

Hazelden Foundation

July 30, 2016 - Rise 'n shine for a beautiful Saturday and weekend, folks


Friday, July 29, 2016

July 29, 2016 - If you think you might have a problem with alcohol, you probably do

July 29, 2016 - Seattle predicted to be next to outlaw gay conversion therapy

July 29, 2016 - Editorial: Democrats find their voice on gun control

July 29, 2016 - NYTimes.com - Editorial: Democrats Find Their Voice on Gun Control - The New York Times

July 29, 2016 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Friday, July 29, 2016

July 29, 2016 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

Step by Step
Friday, July 29, 2016
 
"I never knew which came first, the thinking or the drinking. If I could only stop thinking, I wouldn't drink. If I could only stop drinking, maybe I wouldn't think. But they were all mixed up together, and I was all mixed up inside. And yet I had to have that drink. You know the deteriorating effects, the disintegrating effects of chronic wine-drinking. I cared nothing about my personal appearance. I didn't care what I looked like. I didn't care what I did. To me, taking a bath was just being in a place with a bottle where I could drink in privacy. I had to have it with me at night, in case I woke up and needed that drink." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Part II ("They Stopped in Time"), Ch 4 ("The Housewife Who Drank at Home"), p 337.

Today, I don't care which came first, the delusional and irrational thinking or the drinking, because it doesn't matter. Whether some deluded thinking led me to alcohol or if excess drinking fueled a thinking problem is moot because, now, the two are intertwined. My thinking now cannot be that I can start drinking responsibly if I get my thinking in a logical sync. Nor can I believe that I can drink responsibly. Neither is possible. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Does it matter? The chicken's polluted. Today, I don't care where my drinking thinking or thinking drinking came from. I need both corrected, and I'm where I need to be to get both. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2016

July 29, 2016 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Friday, July 29, 2016
 
AA Thought for the Day
There are two days in every week about which we should not worry, two days which should be kept from fear and apprehension. One of these days is yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed. We cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone beyond recall.

Do I still worry about what happened yesterday?

Meditation for the Day
"God will not suffer you to be tempted above what you are able, but with the temptation He will also find a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." If you have enough faith and trust in God, He will give you all the strength you need to face every temptation and to overcome it. Nothing will prove too hard for you to bear. You can face any situation. "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." You can overcome any temptation with God's help. So fear nothing.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may face every situation without fear. I pray that nothing will prove too hard for me to bear.

Hazelden Foundation

July 29, 2016 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Friday, July 29, 2016
 
Reflection for the Day
The feeling of self-pity, which we've all suffered at one time or another, is one of the ugliest emotions we can experience. We don't even relish the thought of admitting to others that we're awash in self-pity. We hate being told that it shows; we quickly argue that we're feeling another emotion instead; we go so far as to "cleverly" hide from ourselves the fact that we're going through a siege of "poor-me-ism." By the same token, in a split-second, we can easily find several dozen "valid" reasons for feeling sorry for ourselves.

Do I sometimes enjoy rubbing salt into my own wounds?

Today I Pray
May I recognize the emotions I am feeling for what they are. If I am unable to point them out to myself, may I count on others who know what it's like to be a feelings-sufferer. May I stay in touch with my feelings by staying in touch with my Higher Power and with the others in my group.

Today I Will Remember
Stay in touch.

Hazelden Foundation

July 29, 2016 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Friday, July 29, 2016
 
Humility has been the hardest of all the virtues to acquire for many of us. Few of us know what it actually is. Many have it and think they don't; many don't have it and think they do. Many admit they don't understand the word and forget it, leaving to the world to judge whether they have it or not.

The best way to acquire Humility is to constantly remind yourself how much lower than a snake's belly you would be but for the Grace of God. You made a horrible mess of running your life and failed completely, but that Grace could and did make you what you are today.

Hazelden Foundation

July 29, 2016 - Good morning to the long overdue Happy Dance Friday, folks


Thursday, July 28, 2016

July 28, 2016 - Trump and Putin: The GOP nominee may be a threat to national security

July 28, 2016 - Heath Ledger's father: Son's death was 'totally' actor's fault

July 28, 2016 - Pastor, husband, father, addict, man

July 28, 2016 - GoodMenProject.com - Pastor. Husband. Father. Addict. Man. -

July 28, 2016 - Why Trump fails - and Clinton passes - the commander-in-chief test

July 28, 2016 - Editorial: What the hell was Trump thinking this time?

July 28, 2016 - NYTimes.com - Editorial: What Was Mr. Trump Thinking? - The New York Times

July 28, 2016 - John Hinckley, Ronald Reagan's would-be assassin, to be released

July 28, 2016 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Thursday, July 26, 2016