Just a nice blog about recovery and today's news

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

May 6, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

The Serenity Prayer

Step by Step
Wednesday, May 6, 2015

"Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves." - Alcoholics Anonymous, Ch 5, Third Edition, 1976, p 58.

Today, should I feel insecure and tempted to drink or use and fumble repeatedly with slips or relapses, I have to ask if I am one of those who is "constitutionally incapable" of being honest with myself. If I am, then, I need to ask if I have rejected the Program's first four words:"Admitted (I am) powerless ..." And if I have not taken that First Step, the question is simple: do I want to drink more than I don't want to drink. But if I am as honest as I can in trying to get with the Program but still struggle, maybe I am not doing it "One Day at a Time" and thinking in terms of the rest of my life without drinking. The "cure" to that line of thought is simple: today is all any of us has with no guarantee of a tomorrow. I need only to think of the rest of my life as today. And I ask today, if I am struggling, if I am constitutionally capable of honesty - first with myself. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2015

May 6, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

The Serenity Prayer

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
I've noticed that the ones who do the most for AA are not in the habit of boasting about it. The danger of building myself up too much is that, if I do, I'm in danger of having a fall. That pattern of thought goes with drinking. If one side of a boat gets too far up out of the water, it's liable to tip over. Building myself up and drinking go together. One leads to the other. So if I'm going to stay sober, I've got to keep small.

Have I got the right perspective on myself?

Meditation for the Day
The way sometimes seems long and weary. So many people today are weary. The weariness of others must often be shared by me. The weary and the heavy-laden, when they come to me, should be helped to find the rest that I have found. There is only one sure cure for world-weariness, and that is turning to spiritual things. In order to help bring about the turning of the weary world to God, I must dare to suffer, dare to conquer selfishness in myself and dare to be filled with spiritual peace in the face of all the weariness of the world.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may be a help to discouraged people. I pray that I may have the courage to help bring about what the weary world needs but does not know how to get.

Hazelden Foundation

May 6, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

The Serenity Prayer

A Day at a Time
Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Reflection for the Day
So many of us suffer from despair. Yet we don't realize that despair is purely the absence of faith. As long as we're willing to turn to God for help in our difficulties, we cannot despair. When we're troubled and can't see a way out, it's only because we imagine that all solutions depend on us. The Program teaches us to let go of overwhelming problems and let God handle them for us.

When I consciously surrender my will to God's will, do I see faith at work in my life?

Today I Pray
May I be free of despair and depression, those two "down D's" that are the result of feelings of helplessness. May I know that I am never without the help of God, that I am never helpless when He is with me. If I have faith, I need never be "helpless and hopeless."

Today I Will Remember
Despair is the absence of faith.

Hazelden Foundation

May 6, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

The Serenity Prayer

The Eye Opener
Wednesday, May 6, 2015

AA is the outgrowth of a long period of experimentation. It is true that two men conceived the idea, but it was only incorporated into a working plan after pooling the experiences of a hundred more.

The "Big Book" is a collection of ideas and experiences. There is no one in AA who can say, "I, and I alone, conceived the idea in its entirety; I, and I alone, organized it; I, and I alone, control it." No man - with all due appreciation to the founders - developed AA, for AA is a program of growth; it has grown from the day of its inception and is still in the process of growth and development.

We move onward and upward, side by side and hand in hand, helping and sustaining one another. This way we will advance, but when someone begins to control and command, deserters will out-number recruits.

Hazelden Foundation

May 6, 2015 - Wake up to a wonderful Wednesday, folks!

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

May 5, 2015 - Fox News contributor comes out as gay, talks GOP and religious freedom

Buzz Feed News: May 5, 2015 - Fox News contributor comes out as gay, talks GOP and religious liberty – LGBTQ Nation

May 5, 2015 - Supreme Court rejects appeal of New Jersey ban on 'ex-gay' therapy for LGBT minors

Associated Press: May 5, 2015 - U.S. Supreme Court rejects challenge to N.J. ban on gay conversion therapy – LGBTQ Nation

May 5, 2015 - Research suggests children are more damaged mentally by bullying than abuse

The Good Men Project: May 5, 2015 - Is Bullying Worse Than Child Abuse When it Comes to Mental Health? -

May 5, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden

The Serenity Prayer

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

Whatever you can do or dream you can do, begin it.
-- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Newcomer
I signed up to take a course in something I'm kind of interested in. I'm pretty anxious about it. I don't have the skills and experience that the other students have. I don't know if I can keep up with the work and still go to enough meetings. And even if I get through it, I doubt that I can afford to go further.

Sponsor
First, let me congratulate you for the courage and self-esteem it took for you to begin something new in recovery. Recovery is not an end in itself; as we frequently hear in meetings, it's a bridge back to life. Education is a path that beckons many recovering people. Taking just one step, like signing up for a course, furthers you on your journey.

At the same time, you'll want to take care to protect your recovery as you engage in new pursuits. Staying close to the program by going to regular and frequent meetings is still the top priority for anyone who doesn't want to relapse. The work we do to maintain our recovery is what makes everything else possible.

As for your doubts and fears, it's natural for them to come up. Instead of giving them too much attention, you can use this opportunity to calm and center yourself with meditation and to ask in prayer for help and courage in carrying out your Higher Power's will for you.

Today, I take a small step forward on my journey, without judging myself or my rate of progress.

You are reading from the book:

If You Want What We Have by Joan Larkin

May 5, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

The Serenity Prayer

Step by Step
Tuesday, May 5, 2015

" ...our problems were of our own making. Bottles were only a symbol." - Alcoholics Anonymous, Third Edition, 1976, p 103

Today, I accept that I and I alone am responsible for my problems, that I and I alone am responsible for being an alcoholic and that I and I alone can identify and correct the "symbol" on which my addiction is based. If I lost a job, spouse or partner because of drinking and I continued drinking or began to drink to "cope" with resentment or a sense of loss, the problem is my handling of those feelings, not the situations themselves. Anger and resentment, then, are the "symbol" of my defective character, and it is that defect which I must identify in my Fourth and hand over to my Higher Power in the Sixth and Seventh Steps. Something must replace the void when anger and resentment are relinquished, however, and the service edict of the 12th Step - carrying the message to other alcoholics - suffices in turning my attention from myself to others who need and want the message. Today, I accept that I am responsible for my problems and that I and I alone am responsible to their consequences. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2015

May 5, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

The Serenity Prayer

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Tuesday, May 5, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
I had to show off and boast so that people would think I amounted to something when, of course, both they and I knew that I really didn't amount to anything. I didn't fool anybody. Although I've been sober for quite a while, the old habit of building myself up is still with me. I still have a tendency to think too well of myself and to present to be more than I really am.

Am I always in danger of becoming conceited just because I'm sober?

Meditation for the Day
I cannot ascertain the spiritual with my intellect. I can only do it by my own faith and spiritual faculties. I must think of God more with my heart than with my head. I can breathe in God's very spirit in the life around me. I can keep my eyes turned towards the good things in the world. I am shut up in a box of space and time, but I can open a window in that box by faith. I can empty my mind of all the limitations of material things. I can sense the Eternal.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that whatever is good I may have. I pray that I may leave to God the choice of what good will come to me.

Hazelden Foundation

May 5, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

The Serenity Prayer

A Day at a Time
Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Reflection for the Day
I knew I had to have a new beginning, and the beginning had to be here. I couldn't start anywhere else. I had to let go of the past and forget the future. As long as I held on to the past with one hand and grabbed at the future with the other hand, I had nothing with which to grasp today. So I had to begin here, now.

Do I practice the Eleventh Step, praying only for knowledge of God's will for me, and the Power to carry that out?

Today I Pray
May I not worry about verbalizing my wants and needs in my prayers to a Higher Power. May I not fret over the language of my prayers for God needs no language, and communication with Him is beyond speech. May the Eleventh Step guide me in prayers at all times.

Today I Will Remember
God's will be done.

Hazelden Foundation

May 5, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

The Serenity Prayer

The Eye Opener
Tuesday, May 5, 2015

When we emerge from under our tons of troubles, get back on our feet and begin to live like other folks again, we somehow feel that the world has become a better place and that when our troubles vanished, all troubles vanished and there were few, if any, left in the world.

The store of world troubles is as great now as ever - only different people are having them. If you have no troubles of your own, go out and find somebody else's. They are not half so hard to carry, and your heart and soul need the exercise.

Hazelden Foundation