May 3, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

The Serenity Prayer

Step by Step
Sunday, May 3, 2015
 
Today, security in my sobriety to sustain any disappointments - minor and major - that I encounter in recovery. The best laid plans of mice and men do not always take form even in sobriety, and I must not deceive myself by expecting life to go as I think or expect it should only because I have stopped drinking. Part of the nature of alcoholism and addiction is the ultra-sensitivity to disappointment, sometimes to a disproportionate degree, and the result could be the false belief that I have failed somewhere along the line. Life for the non-addict is not always a bed of roses, but the thorns can cut the recovering addict's psyche deeper. Today, mindful that even the rose bed of sobriety has hidden thorns, I will not be disenchanted if I am stung. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2015

May 3, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

The Serenity Prayer

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Sunday, May 3, 2015
 
AA Thought for the Day
AA teaches us to take it easy. We learn how to relax and to stop worrying about the past or the future, to give up our resentments and hates and tempers, to stop being critical of people and to try to help them instead. That's what "Easy Does It" means. So in the time that's left to me to live, I'm going to try to take it easy, to relax and not to worry, to try to be helpful to others and to trust God.

For what's left of my life, is my motto going to be "Easy Does It?"

Meditation for the Day
I must overcome myself before I can truly forgive other people for injuries done to me. The self in me cannot forgive injuries. The very thought of wrongs means that my self is in the foreground. Since the self cannot forgive, I must overcome my selfishness. I must cease trying to forgive those who fretted and wronged me. It is a mistake for me even to think about these injuries. I must aim at overcoming myself in my daily life and then I will find there is nothing in me that remembers injury because the only thing injured - my selfishness - is gone.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may hold no resentments. I pray that my mind may be washed clean of all past hates and fears.

Hazelden Foundation

May 3, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

The Serenity Prayer

A Day at a Time
Sunday, May 3, 2015
 
Reflection for the Day
"To stand on one leg and prove God's existence is a very different thing," wrote Soren Kierkegaard,"from going down on one's knees and thanking Him." It is my confidence in a Higher Power, working in me, which today releases and activates my ability to make my life a more joyous, satisfying experience. I can't bring this about by relying on myself and my own limited ideas.

Have I begun to thank God every night?

Today I Pray
May I remember constantly that it is my belief in my Higher Power that flips the switch to release the power in me. Whenever I falter in my faith, that power is shut off. I pray for undiminished faith, so that this power - given by God and regenerated by my own belief in it - may always be available to me as the source of my strength.

Today I Will Remember
Faith regenerates God-given power.

Hazelden Foundation

May 3, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

The Serenity Prayer

The Eye Opener
Sunday, May 3, 2015
 
George Washington is often credited with being America's first millionaire, yet few people are aware of this fact. He left a heritage so much richer politically, economically and historically that his own personal wealth is forgotten.

His personal wealth has long since been dissipated, but the opportunities in this country he helped establish will continue as long as men's lives are motivated by the same unselfish devotion to mankind that he exemplified, both in public and private life.

Hazelden Foundation

May 3, 2015 - Rise 'n shine to a beautiful Sunday, folks!

May 2, 2015 - A tradition ends: MDA pulls plug on Jerry Lewis telethon

Reuters: May 2, 2015 - Muscular Dystrophy Association Ends Jerry Lewis Telethon

May 2, 2015 - Jenner sued for wrongful death in fatal Malibu car crash

New York Daily News: May 2, 2015 - Bruce Jenner sued for wrongful death in Malibu car crash - NY Daily News

May 2, 2015 - Group offers Boy Scouts $53,000 'donation' to drop ban on gay adults

Gay Star News: May 2, 2015 - Group offers to donate more than $50,000 to Boy Scouts if group drops ban on gay adults | Gay Star News

May 2, 2015 - With gay marriage off the table, is trans community the new target?

Advocate.com: May 2, 2015 - With Marriage Off the Table, Is Trans Community the New Target? | Advocate.com

May 2, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden

The Serenity Prayer

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

The gifts we receive are meant to be shared

Thanks to the progress I am making in recovery, I like to think I am more loving, more open, more spontaneous, more confident. I believe these gifts have come to me through my Higher Power, the Twelve Steps, and the friends who have helped me grow.

If I am to keep the gifts, I must share them. They are mine as long as I give them away. To do that I need to realize we're all working toward a similar goal: that of developing our potential and becoming who we are meant to be. We help each other toward this goal by sharing our experience, strength, and hope.

Close, warm, loving contacts with my family and friends are what feed my heart and spirit and fill the inner emptiness. When I am willing to share the gifts I have received, I always have enough, because what I give comes back to me.

I will take advantage of today's opportunities for caring and sharing, remembering that my recovery depends not on what I have but on what I give.

You are reading from the book:

Inner Harvest by Elisabeth L.

Inner Harvest by Elisabeth L. © 1990 by Hazelden Foundation

May 2, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

The Serenity Prayer

Step by Step
Saturday, May 2, 2015
 
Today, if I have made sincere amends to those I wronged "except when to do so would hurt" anyone, I must progress beyond regret, shame and anger to what may be my single strongest and most meaningful amend: committing myself to sobriety and recovery. For all I might have said or done as an alcoholic and now sober, I cannot become the proverbial doormat and let anyone or anything to continue hammering me for the mistakes I have tried to correct, especially by those who cannot or will not accept my apologies. I can allow a margin of regret that I may not be forgiven by all I have hurt, but I cannot afford to be kicked down repeatedly. Today, if I have been rebuffed or cannot make amends because doing so might lead to more damage, I can find reconciliation in being sober. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2015

May 2, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Saturday, May 2, 2015
 
AA Thought for the Day 
In AA, we often hear the slogan, "Easy Does It." Alcoholics also do everything to excess. They drink too much. They worry too much. They have too many resentments. They hurt themselves physically and mentally by too much of everything. So when they come into AA, they have to learn to take it easy. None of us knows how much longer we have to live. It's probable that we wouldn't have lived very long if we had continued to drink the way we used to. By stopping drinking, we have increased our chances of living for a while longer.

Have I learned to take it easy? 
 
Meditation for the Day 
You must be, before you can do. To accomplish much, be much. In all cases, the doing must be the expression of the being. It is foolish to think that we can accomplish much in personal relationships without first preparing ourselves by being honest, pure, unselfish and loving. We must choose the good and keep choosing it before we are ready to be used by God to accomplish anything worthwhile. We will not be given the opportunities until we are ready for them. Quiet times of communion with the Higher Power are good preparation for creative action.

Prayer for the Day 
I pray that I may constantly prepare myself for better things to come. I pray that I may only have opportunities when I am ready for them. 
 
Hazelden Foundation

May 2, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

The Serenity Prayer

A Day at a Time
Saturday, May 2, 2015
 
Reflection for the Day
When I was drinking, I was certain that my intelligence, backed by willpower, could properly control my inner life and guarantee me success in the world around me. This brave and grandiose philosophy, by which I played God, sounded good in the saying, but it still had to meet the acid test: how well did it actually work? One good look in the mirror was answer enough.

Have I begun to ask God each day for strength?

Today I Pray
May I stop counting on my old standbys, my "superior intelligence" and my "willpower," to control my life. I used to think, with those two fabulous attributes, that I was all-powerful. May I not forget, as my self-image is restored, that only through surrender to a Higher Power will I be given the power that can make me whole.

Today I Will Remember
Check for "head-tripping."

Hazelden Foundation

May 2, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

The Serenity Prayer

The Eye Opener
Saturday, May 2, 2015
 
The United Nations and the old League of Nations both recognized the fact that man's conquest of time and space has brought the nations of the earth into such close and intimate relationship that national problems are now world problems and must be dealt with accordingly.

Their lack of success, up to the present time, stems from their inability to recognize the common Fatherhood of God and the inherent brotherhood of man. They attempt to settle world affairs without consulting the Power that made both the world and the men in it.

God put no problems in the world; they are all man-made and far too often, we fear, they bear the stamp "Made in the USA."

Hazelden Foundation

May 2, 2015 - Rise 'n shine to Saturday & the weekend, folks!