Monday, May 4, 2015
May 4, 2015 - Might national marriage equality mean the end of gay culture?
May 4, 2015 - Coming out as gay when you're a conservative
May 4, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden
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| The Serenity Prayer |
Monday, May 4, 2015
Today's thought from Hazelden is:
I hope I shall follow firmness of virtue enough to maintain that I consider the most enviable of all titles - the character of an honest man.
-- George Washington
Happiness in recovery and in society depends on our honesty. We create pain for others, and ourselves, when we are dishonest. True honesty begins within each of us and flows out to touch those around us. If we are to be true to society, and to ourselves, we cannot feel one thing in our hearts and outwardly speak different views.
There is no such thing as too much honesty. When we practice honesty in all our affairs, we discover that the reason for being honest is not because it is expected of us, but because we find that honesty avoids problems and makes our life happier.
When I am honest with myself and others, I am making progress toward greatness of character.
I hope I shall follow firmness of virtue enough to maintain that I consider the most enviable of all titles - the character of an honest man.
-- George Washington
Happiness in recovery and in society depends on our honesty. We create pain for others, and ourselves, when we are dishonest. True honesty begins within each of us and flows out to touch those around us. If we are to be true to society, and to ourselves, we cannot feel one thing in our hearts and outwardly speak different views.
There is no such thing as too much honesty. When we practice honesty in all our affairs, we discover that the reason for being honest is not because it is expected of us, but because we find that honesty avoids problems and makes our life happier.
When I am honest with myself and others, I am making progress toward greatness of character.
You are reading from the book:
Easy Does It © 1999 by Hazelden Foundation
May 4, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step
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| The Serenity Prayer |
Monday, May 4, 2015
"Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him." - Step Three
Today, have I surrendered my will and life to my Higher Power after having "made a decision ..." As the Big Book warns, "Selfishness - self-centeredness! That ...is the root of our troubles." Selfishness, easily identified in our Fourth Step, gives way to humility - the total surrender of self to the will of a Higher Power. The Third Step lays the foundation for the spiritual change that we work toward in subsequent Steps, and that change can be little or nothing if we do not first experience the humility of absolute surrender. And the predictable outcome if we hold onto our playing God with our own lives will be a slip or full relapse. How do I "take" my Third? "... (I)t is better to meet God alone than with one" other person, according to the Big Book because of the intensely personal and private relationship we have with the God of our understanding. Today, I do not take for granted the immense importance of Step Three and ask if I have humbled myself completely to seek my Higher Power's will instead of mine. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2015
May 4, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day
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| The Serenity Prayer |
Monday, May 4, 2015
AA Thought for the Day
When I was drinking, I always tried to build myself up. I used to tell tall stories about myself. I told them so often that I half-believe some of them now, even though I know they aren't true. I used to hang around the low-brow barrooms so I could feel superior to the other customers. The reason I always tried to build myself up was that I knew deep down in my heart that I really didn't amount to anything. It was a kind of defense against my feeling of inferiority.
Do I still build myself up?
Meditation for the Day
God thought about the universe and brought it into being. His thought brought me into being. I must think God's thought after Him. I must often keep my mind occupied with thoughts about God and meditate on the way He wants me to live. I must train my mind constantly in quiet times of communion with God. It is the work of a lifetime to develop to full stature spiritually. This is what I am on earth for. It gives meaning to my life.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may think God's thoughts after Him. I pray that I may live as He wants me to live.
Hazelden Foundation
May 4, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time
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| The Serenity Prayer |
Monday, May 4, 2015
Reflection for the Day
Many people pray as though to overcome the will of a reluctant God, instead of taking hold of the willingness of a loving God. In the late stages of our addiction, the will to resist has fled. Yet when we admit complete defeat and when we become entirely ready to try the principles of The Program, our obsession leaves us and we enter a new dimension - freedom under God as we understand Him.
Is my growth in The Program convincing me that God alone can remove obsessions?
Today I Pray
May I pray not as a complaining child to a stern father, as though "praying" must always mean "pleading," usually in moments of helpless desperation. May I pray, instead, for my own willingness to reach out to Him, since He is ready at all times to reach out to me. May I regard my Higher Power as a willing God.
Today I Will Remember
God is willing.
Hazelden Foundation
May 4, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener
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| The Serenity Prayer |
Monday, May 4, 2015
The reformed drunkard has simply corrected his former drinking abuses. With this single exception, he is the same man with the same defects of character that marked his life in his drinking day.
In contrast, the real AA has experienced a revolutionary moral change. He has put the operation of his life into the care and under the direction of the God of his understanding. Not only has he corrected his drinking abuses, but he has turned his entire life over to the care of Him who is the source of, and indeed is, Good.
Hazelden Foundation
Sunday, May 3, 2015
May 3, 2015 - Social justice, homophobia and the Supreme Court
May 3, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden
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| The Serenity Prayer |
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Today's thought from Hazelden is:
We can practice forgiveness each day
Resentments have a way of creeping back into my psyche even after I have let go of them. I know that holding a grudge is harmful to my emotional health and can threaten my abstinence, but what can I do when I keep feeling anger toward someone?
In the interest of recovery, in my own best interest, I can continue to forgive each day. I may not be able to forgive the person once and for all, but I can do it right now, just for today. With practice, who knows? Perhaps the resentment will disappear.
When I remember that my own track record is far from perfect, I realize I could use some daily forgiveness too, both from others and from myself.
Just for now, I can let go of resentments and forgive. If resentments come back, I can forgive again.
We can practice forgiveness each day
Resentments have a way of creeping back into my psyche even after I have let go of them. I know that holding a grudge is harmful to my emotional health and can threaten my abstinence, but what can I do when I keep feeling anger toward someone?
In the interest of recovery, in my own best interest, I can continue to forgive each day. I may not be able to forgive the person once and for all, but I can do it right now, just for today. With practice, who knows? Perhaps the resentment will disappear.
When I remember that my own track record is far from perfect, I realize I could use some daily forgiveness too, both from others and from myself.
Just for now, I can let go of resentments and forgive. If resentments come back, I can forgive again.
You are reading from the book:
Inner Harvest by Elisabeth L. © 1990 by Hazelden Foundation
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