May 6, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Thursday, May 6, 2021

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Make yourself a blessing to someone. Your kind smile or pat on the back just might pull someone back from the edge. — Carmelia Elliott

Someone will be helped today by our kindness. Compassionate attention assures others that they do matter, and every one of us needs that reassurance occasionally. The program has given us the vehicle for giving and seeking the help we need — it’s sponsorship.

Not all of the people we encounter share our program, however. Sponsorship as we know it isn’t a reality in their lives. Offering words of encouragement to them, or a willing ear, can be unexpected gifts. They will be deeply appreciated.

The real gift, though, is to ourselves. Helping someone in need benefits the helper even more. Our own closeness to God and thus assurance about our own being is strengthened each time we do God’s work—each time we do what our hearts direct.

We are healed in our healing of others. God speaks to us through our words to others. Our own well-being is enhanced each time we put someone else’s well-being first.

We’re all on a trip, following different road maps, but to the same destination. I will be ready to lend a helping hand to a troubled traveler today. It will breathe new life into my own trip.

Hazelden Foundation

May 6, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step
Thursday, May 6, 2021

"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, if I feel insecure and tempted to drink, I have to ask if I am one of those who is "constitutionally incapable" of being honest with myself. If I am, I need to ask if I have rejected the Program's first four words: "Admitted (I am) powerless ..."  And if I have not taken Step One, the choice is simple: if I want to drink more than I don't want to drink. But if I am honest 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 tomorrow. I need only to think of the rest of my life as today. And, today, I ask if I am constitutionally capable of honesty - first with myself. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2021

May 6, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Thursday, May 6, 2021

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, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time
Thursday, May 6, 2021

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, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener
Thursday, May 6, 2021

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, 2021 - Good morning with a thumbs-up for Thursday 'cause Friday is in sight

 

Good morning to this marvelous Thursday with a commitment to make it awesome but productive and worthwhile ...have a truly terrific day, and don't waste time on anything and anyone who think they have the control to screw it up

May 5, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Wednesday, May 5, 2021

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

We are born helpless. As soon as we are fully conscious we discover loneliness. We need others physically, emotionally, intellectually; we need them if we are to know anything, even ourselves. — C. S. Lewis

People today are taught at an early age to be self-sufficient. Independence is considered a strength, and dependence a weakness. As a result, we come to believe that we can make it on our own. And we can, but at what cost? Many of us fill our loneliness with chemical substances. Humans are social creatures; we need each other for physical and emotional support, and for a healthy exchange of ideas.

Even more, we need each other for spiritual development. God loves us equally and often speaks to us through one another. We truly learn about our spiritual nature in the loving acts we exchange.

I am never lonely when showing someone that I care.

Hazelden Foundation

May 5, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step
Wednesday, May 5, 2021

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

Today, 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 those defects 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 conduct and that I and I alone am responsible to their consequences. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2021

May 5, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Wednesday, May 5, 2021

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, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time
Wednesday, May 5, 2021

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, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener
Wednesday, May 5, 2021

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

May 5, 2021 - Good morning and this fabulous Wednesday is a guaranteed winner 'cause we're halfway to the weekend

 

Good morning and let's jump into this magnificent Wednesday with confidence that we can handle whatever it can serve up ...have a truly great and productive but safe day -- and don't waste precious time on anything and anyone out to mess it up

May 4, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Tuesday, May 4, 2021

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Values

By accepting God’s help we learn to think clearly, to play fairly, and to give generously. — Bill P. & Fred H.

Our values change in recovery as we become less and less selfish. The value screen through which we see life is changed. We no longer ask what everyone can do for us; we ask what we can do for them. We no longer seek out situations that only comfort us; we discover ways to comfort. We find that we feel better about ourselves when we help others. We learn from our program that what we have been searching for our whole lives is wrapped up in service to others.

The valuable relationship is the one that creates a closer contact with our Higher Power, so we seek out situations and people that bring us into closer contact. The values we show in the work of recovery look different from the ones we once held. Every day brings a new chance to become a conductor of life.

My values no longer change with every passing fancy. My life is beginning to mean something and to count for things that are good.

Hazelden Foundation

May 4, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step
Tuesday, May 4, 2021

"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 a Higher Power after having "made a decision ...?" We are warned, "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 change can be little or nothing if we do not first experience 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., 2021

May 4, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Tuesday, May 4, 2021

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