Monday, November 2, 2015
Nov. 2, 2015 - Tide of acceptance may be shifting for gay Christians
Nov. 2, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation
Monday, Nov. 2, 2015
Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:
Fearful as reality is, it is less fearful than evasions of reality.
-- Caitlin Thomas
We've become much less fearful of reality since we've come to know the principles of this program. Just about anything could have made us fearful in past years. No doubt practicing our addictions gave us a false courage for a while. But then we could no longer keep the fears away.
How do we keep fear at bay now that we're free of our addictions? Most of us have begun to rely on our Higher Power for courage, understanding, and acceptance. The challenges that we're offered are opportunities from God for our advantage. When we're in God's care these challenges are manageable, and we need no longer fear them.
We can conquer our fears as we take advantage of the help, guidance, and courage that come from God.
I know that God will be there for me through every challenge today.
Fearful as reality is, it is less fearful than evasions of reality.
-- Caitlin Thomas
We've become much less fearful of reality since we've come to know the principles of this program. Just about anything could have made us fearful in past years. No doubt practicing our addictions gave us a false courage for a while. But then we could no longer keep the fears away.
How do we keep fear at bay now that we're free of our addictions? Most of us have begun to rely on our Higher Power for courage, understanding, and acceptance. The challenges that we're offered are opportunities from God for our advantage. When we're in God's care these challenges are manageable, and we need no longer fear them.
We can conquer our fears as we take advantage of the help, guidance, and courage that come from God.
I know that God will be there for me through every challenge today.
You are reading from the book:
In God's Care by Karen Casey. © 1991 by Hazelden Foundation
Nov. 2, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step
Monday, Nov. 2, 2015
" ...(Y)ou are ready to take certain steps.
"At some of these we balked. We thought we could find an easier, softer way. But we could not. With all the earnestness at our command, we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, Ch 5 ("How It Works"), p 58.
Today, I stand on a precipice that appears uncertain and terrifying, at least as much as the certainty and terror of continued drinking. But I must begin recovery: if I don't, the certain terror of an alcoholic disintegration or death are all that await me. And as I set out on this journey, grant me the wisdom to yield to the experience of those who have already been where I am headed, and the humility to seek and do only the will of whatever Higher Power I find. Let me also understand completely and be willing and ready to accept whatever change comes about as I hopefully leave behind those days of drinking and take on whatever changes sobriety brings. Today, if I am setting out on the path toward recovery, let me be know and appreciate how demanding it will be and that I must be "fearless and thorough from the very start." Anything less is a prescription for certain relapse. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2015
Nov. 2, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Monday, Nov. 2, 2015
AA Thought for the Day
I have faith. That thing that makes the world seem right. That thing that makes sense at last. That awareness of the Divine Principle in the universe which holds it all together and gives it unity and purpose and goodness and meaning. Life is no longer ashes in my mouth or bitter to the taste. It is all one glorious whole, because God is holding it together. Faith - that leap into the unknown, the venture into what lies beyond our ken, that which brings untold rewards of peace and serenity.
Have I faith?
Meditation for the Day
Keep yourself like an empty vessel for God to fill. Keep pouring out yourself to help others so that God can keep filling you up with His spirit. The more you give, the more you will have for yourself. God will see that you are kept filled as long as you are giving to others. But if you selfishly try to keep all for yourself, you are soon blocked off from God, your source of supply, and you will become stagnant. To be clear, a lake must have an inflow and an outflow.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may keep pouring out what I receive. I pray that I may keep the stream clear and flowing.
Hazelden Foundation
Nov. 2, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time
Monday, Nov. 2, 2015
Reflection for the Day
The more self-searching we do, the more we realize how often we react negatively because our "pride has been hurt." Pride is at the root of most of my personal problems. When my pride is "hurt," for example, I almost invariably experience resentment and anger - sometimes to the point where I'm unable to talk or think rationally. When I'm in that sort of emotional swamp, I must remind myself that my pride - and nothing but my pride - has been injured. I have to pause and try to cool off until such time as I can evaluate the problem realistically.
When my pride is injured or threatened, will I pray for humility so that I can rise above myself?
Today I Pray
May I know that if my pride is hurt, the rest of me may not be injured at all. May I know that my pride can take a battering and still come back stronger than ever for more. May I know that every time my pride takes a blow, it is liable to get more defensive, nastier, more unreasonable, more feisty. May I learn to keep my upstart pride in another place, where it will not be so easily hurt - or so willing to take credit.
Today I Will Remember
Humility is the only authority over pride.
Hazelden Foundation
Nov. 2, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener
Monday, Nov. 2, 2015
Have you ever visited the General Service Headquarters in New York? Do you have any conception of the vast amount of work that passes through the Foundation every year?
It is highly possible that your Group would not exist today were it not for them. It is likewise probable that if your Group did not exist, you would still be beating your brains out.
The New York Office is functioning beautifully, but they require the support of every Group to do so. Make it your business to see that your Group is doing its share.
Hazelden Foundation
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Nov. 1, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation
Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015
Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:
Always remember that no matter what the problem may be, there is an infinity of solutions.
-- Marion Weinstein
A girl named Iris was tormented by the boys at school. Whenever she walked by they would make rude noises. Sometimes, when no one was looking, they would block her way and not let her go home. She was too inexperienced at taking care of herself to realize that believing she couldn't do anything made it true. Feeling helpless kept her from thinking about what she might do.
One day she got so scared that she told her best friend what was happening. Together they began to think of all sorts of things she could do. Knowing she could do something took away the helpless feeling, and the boys noticed and stopped teasing her. It wasn't fun for them anymore.
We often feel helpless in situations that seem too much for us to handle. In fact, help is always available - through friends and family, and through God, who helps us see how we can help ourselves. All we have to do is stop being distracted by that helpless feeling and ask for what we need.
Can I see the many solutions to my problems today?
Always remember that no matter what the problem may be, there is an infinity of solutions.
-- Marion Weinstein
A girl named Iris was tormented by the boys at school. Whenever she walked by they would make rude noises. Sometimes, when no one was looking, they would block her way and not let her go home. She was too inexperienced at taking care of herself to realize that believing she couldn't do anything made it true. Feeling helpless kept her from thinking about what she might do.
One day she got so scared that she told her best friend what was happening. Together they began to think of all sorts of things she could do. Knowing she could do something took away the helpless feeling, and the boys noticed and stopped teasing her. It wasn't fun for them anymore.
We often feel helpless in situations that seem too much for us to handle. In fact, help is always available - through friends and family, and through God, who helps us see how we can help ourselves. All we have to do is stop being distracted by that helpless feeling and ask for what we need.
Can I see the many solutions to my problems today?
You are reading from the book:
Today's Gift © 1985, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation
Nov. 1, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step
Step by Step
Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015
Today, remembering that I worked the Steps as hard as I could when I surrendered in Step One, I know I will have to rework them again if I choose to slip or relapse. Some of the Steps required to gain and maintain sobriety also require some of the most brute honesty possible, and seeing myself as I truly was is an experience I don't want to repeat. Thus, the solution to avoid having to see myself again as I was is simple: don't slip, don't relapse. Sometimes easier said than done, but the 12 Steps give us the control not to bow to that which we cannot control - alcohol. It is a fact that the sober alcoholic has another drunk inside but may not have another recovery. Even if I have another recovery, I don't want to go through the grueling experience of seeing myself as I might again become during a slip or relapse. And my insurance against having to go through that is the Program. Today, I'll use it. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2015
Today, remembering that I worked the Steps as hard as I could when I surrendered in Step One, I know I will have to rework them again if I choose to slip or relapse. Some of the Steps required to gain and maintain sobriety also require some of the most brute honesty possible, and seeing myself as I truly was is an experience I don't want to repeat. Thus, the solution to avoid having to see myself again as I was is simple: don't slip, don't relapse. Sometimes easier said than done, but the 12 Steps give us the control not to bow to that which we cannot control - alcohol. It is a fact that the sober alcoholic has another drunk inside but may not have another recovery. Even if I have another recovery, I don't want to go through the grueling experience of seeing myself as I might again become during a slip or relapse. And my insurance against having to go through that is the Program. Today, I'll use it. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2015
Nov. 1, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015
AA Thought for the Day
I have hope. That magic thing that I had lost or misplaced. The future looks dark no more. I do not even look at it, except when necessary to make plans. I try to let the future take care of itself. The future will be made up of todays and todays, stretching out as short as now and as long as eternity. Hope is justified by many right nows, by the rightness of the present. Nothing can happen to me that God does not will for me. I can hope for the best, as long as I have what I have and it is good.
Have I hope?
Meditation for the Day
Faith is the messenger that bears your prayers to God. Prayer can be like incense, rising ever higher and higher. The prayer of faith is the prayer of trust that feels the presence of God which it rises to meet. It can be sure of some response from God. We can say a prayer of thanks to God every day for His grace, which has kept us on the right way and allowed us to start living the good life. So we should pray to God with faith and trust and gratitude.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may feel sure of some response to my prayers. I pray that I may be content with whatever form that response takes.
Hazelden Foundation
Nov. 1, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time
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| The Serenity Prayer |
Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015
Reflection for the Day
Those whom I most respect in The Program - and, in turn, those from whom I've learned the most - seem convinced that pride is, as one person put it, the "root-sin." In moral theology, pride is the first of the seven deadly sins. It is also considered the most serious, standing apart from the rest by virtue of its unique quality. Pride gets right into our spiritual victories. It insinuates itself into all our successes and accomplishments, even when we attribute them to God.
Do I struggle against pride by working the Tenth Step regularly, facing myself freshly and making things right where they've gone wrong?
Today I Pray
May I be on guard constantly against the sneakiness of pride, which can creep into every achievement, every triumph, every reciprocated affection. May I know that whenever things are going well for me, my pride will be on the spot, ready to take credit. May I watch for it.
Today I Will Remember
Put pride in its place.
Hazelden Foundation
Nov. 1, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener
Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015
If life is only a preparation for something yet to come, as many believe, then the manner of our living will determine the success or failure in this preparation. It would naturally follow, therefore, that a man could not live a devil and die a saint.
We do not feel that we are qualified to evaluate the worth of deathbed repentance, but this we do feel - if you live right, deathbed repentance would hardly seem necessary.
Hazelden Foundation
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