July 27, 2012 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Friday, July 27, 2012
 
“What is this power that AA possesses? This curative power? I don’t know what it is. I supposed the doctor might say, ‘This is psychosomatic medine.’ I suppose the psychiatrist might say, ‘This is benevolent interpersonal relations.’ I suppose others would say, ‘This is group psychotherapy.’
To me, it is God.” - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Part II (“They Stopped in Time”), Ch 6 (“Physician, Heal Thyself!”), p 352.

Just for today, I wonder how many more voices of experience I must hear until I simply consider the possibility of a Higher Power if I am still struggling with the concept. And if I continue to listen skeptically to the many voices of those who have recovered in AA by giving their will to a Higher Power in which they did not believe, maybe I can simply trust the AA command to “Keep It Simple” - simply take a leap of faith on nothing but blind faith that something as good can exist if something as potently evil as alcohol can bring me to my knees. But if I still resist those voices of experience, hopefully I can muster the honesty to see that doing things my way hasn’t worked for the most part and maybe something outside myself can do a better job. Today, I seek if nothing else the blind faith to trust the voices of experience or, at least, my own history of not doing such a great job on my own. And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2012

July 27, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Friday, July 27, 2012
 
AA Thought for the Day
To paraphrase the psalm: “We alcoholics declare the power of liquor and drunkenness showeth its handiwork. Day unto day uttereth hangovers and night unto night showeth suffering. The law of AA is perfect, converting the drunk. The testimony of AA is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of AA are right, rejoicing the heart. The program of AA is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the first drink is clean, enduring forever.”

Have I any doubt about the power of liquor?

Meditation for the Day
“Walk humbly with thy Lord.” Walking with God means practicing the presence of God in your daily affairs. It means asking God for strength to face each new day. It means turning to Him often during the day in prayer for yourself and for other people. It means thanking Him at night for the blessings you have received during the day. Nothing can seriously upset you if you are “walking with God.” You can believe that He is beside you in spirit, to help you and to guide you on your way.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may try to walk humbly with God. I pray that I may turn to Him often as to a close friend.

Hazelden Foundation

July 27, 2012 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Friday, July 27, 2012
 
Reflection for the Day
Over and over, I see that those who make the best and steadiest progress in The Program are those who readily accept the help of a Higher Power. Once they can do that, it’s easier for them to get out of their own way. Their problems then seem to resolve themselves in a way that is beyond human understanding.

Do I realize that the effectiveness with which I use the consciousness of God in my daily life depends not on Him, but on me?

Today I Pray
May I know that my recovery and growth depends on my being in touch with my Higher Power, not just once in a while, but always. It means turning to that Power several times a day to ask for strength and knowledge of His will. When I understand that my own life is part of a Higher Plan, I will be less apt to trip and fall, head off in the wrong direction, or just to sit tight and let life pass me by.

Today I Will Remember
To be God-conscious.

Hazelden Foundation

July 27, 2012 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Friday, July 27, 2012
 
Everything you can buy with money will either die, rot, wither, evaporate or decay. There is nothing you can purchase that will surely last as long as you will, unless it be bad health.

Friends can be bought, not with money, but by a liberal expenditure of yourself. A dollar is a poor weapon to fight off real troubles.

God is Good and the truly Good things of this life were put here on earth for our use by Him and not one of them carries a price tag.

Hazelden Foundation

July 27, 2012 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Friday, July 27, 2012

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

We all carry it within us; supreme strength, the fullness of wisdom, unquenchable joy. It is never thwarted and cannot be destroyed. But it is hidden deep, which is what makes life a problem. -- Huston Smith

How does one lose touch with his strength, his wisdom, and his joy? Perhaps it is in the nature of humanity. Our most profound qualities are hidden deep. They never go away, but we cannot always find them. There may be nothing wrong with us when we lose touch. It doesn't have to mean that we are "bad" for getting depressed or for feeling inadequate. Who doesn't have that problem? It is the nature of life that we sometimes feel this way. This program helps us unearth the resources hidden within us.

When we cannot find those reassuring feelings of strength and wisdom and joy, we may think they are gone forever. We even doubt we ever had them or could have them again. But they are still there. They cannot be destroyed. And when we regain contact we know they have been with us all along.

I will have faith that the innermost places in me can never be destroyed.

From the book:

Touchstones by Anonymous

Touchstones ©1986, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.

July 26, 2012 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Thursday, July 26, 2012
 
” …(T)his program is not for sissies for …it takes a man to make the grade. It is not too difficult nor easy to grasp. I have had many more reasons to drink sicne I have been in AA than I had in all the years of my drinking. I’ve had more problems but, thank God, I have had the teachings of AA with which to face them. …When I hear the more rugged stories of alcoholics who became sicker than I did with this affliction, I humbly thank God for showing me ‘the handwriting on the wall.’” - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Part II (“They Stopped in Time”), Ch 8 (“Rum, Radio and Television”), p 367.

Just for today, this excerpt from the Big Book unleashes a barrage of experience, that the Program is not without work, that working it takes more courage than to keep drinking and that being sober will not shield us from the problems that non-alcoholics face but will arm us with stronger combat ammunition. I will heed the word of the experienced and not set up myself for a slip or relapse if the promises of the Program don’t come to fruition - because I haven’t worked for those promises. Nor will I dismiss the Program that it doesn’t work when I face the problems that everyone else has. Problems will continue to arise; how I handle them will depend on how I use the tools of the Program. For as courageous and bold my decision to stop drinking, I will need even more to graduate from being dry to being sober. Today, I’m ready to give it my all, to “go to any lengths.” And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2012

July 26, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Thursday, July 26, 2012
 
AA Thought for the Day
When we come to the end of our lives on earth, we will take no material thing with us. We will not take one cent in our cold, dead hands. The only things that we may take are the things we have given away. If we have helped others, we may take that with us; if we have given of our time and money for the good of AA, we may take that with us. Looking back over our lives, what are we proud of? Not what we have gained for ourselves, but what few good deeds we have done. Those are the things that really matter in the long run.

What will I take with me when I go?

Meditation for the Day
“Hallowed be Thy Name.” What does that mean to us? Here “name” is used in the sense of “spirit.” The words mean praise to God for His spirit in the world, making us better. We should be especially grateful for God’s spirit, which gives us the strength to overcome all that is base in our lives. His spirit is powerful. It can help us to live a conquering, abundant life. So we praise and thank Him for His spirit in our lives and in the lives of others.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may be grateful for God’s spirit in me. I pra that I may try to live in accordance with it.

Hazelden Foundation

July 26, 2012 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Thursday, July 26, 2012
 
Reflection for the Day
Now that I avail myself of the letters H-O-W suggested by friends in The Program - Honesty, Open-Mindedness, Willingness - I see things differently. In ways that I couldn’t have predicted and surely never expected, I’ve come to see things quite differently from the person I was before coming to The Program. I feel good most days. I seldom feel bad, and never for long. Certainly never as bad as I used to feel all of the time.

Is my worst day now infinitely better than my best day previously?

Today I Pray
May I remember today to say “thank you” to my Higher Power, to my friends in the group and to the whole, vast fellowship of recovering chemically dependent persons for making me know that things do get better. I give thanks, too, for those verbal boosters, the tags and slogans which have so often burst into my brain at exactly the moments when they were needed, redefining my purpose, restoring my patience, reminding me of my God.

Today I Will Remember
How it was.

Hazelden Foundation

July 26, 2012 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Thursday, July 26, 2012
 
Patience is a virtue that few alcoholics have. We want to do everything yesterday. Even after we sober up, we seldom acquire any substantial amount of this virtue. We feel a real need to make up for all our lost years; we fret and fume over delays; we feel the world should synchronize their watches with ours.

Like Phillips Brooks, we are in a hurry, but God isn’t.

Hazelden Foundation

July 26, 2012 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Today’s thought from Hazelden is:

Decisions are like Jello molds. They only turn out firm when the right amount of water is added. — Roy Palm

A big decision is like a mountain built on a million small rocks. When we find ourselves stuck and feeling paralyzed about making a big decision, perhaps it is because we didn’t pay attention to how we stacked the little rocks.

We may develop the habit of being less than honest in our little decisions. Neglecting and avoiding our needs in small decisions may cause us to feel confused when we need to make big choices. Facing small choices honestly gives us a solid base and allows us to freely face the mountains in our lives. When we look at it this way, it’s easy to see how important today’s small decisions are.

Today let me make all of my decisions, big and small, honestly and courageously.

From the book:

Our Best Days by Nancy Hull-Mast

Our Best Days by Nancy Hull-Mast. © 1990 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.

July 25, 2012 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
 
Just for today, I begin giving self-pity the boot off my dance card. Just as alcohol drove me to the point of being sick and tired of being sick and tired, so it goes with self-pity. The reason for self-pity can never be justified: for the alcholic, self-pity ranks behind resentments as the quickest and surest way to a slip or relapse. But, I have to ask, why do I harbor pity for myself or even recognize it as self-pity? Is it because I endured so many travails during and after my drinking days? Or maybe I lost a job or two, got a lifetime drivers license suspension, drank my way into a sea of debt, got a divorce or two or seperation, have family that still wants nothing to do with me. Or maybe there’s a more “acceptable” reason like death taking too much from me. And what is the function of self-pity? Maybe my ego still requires me to be the center of attention, or maybe I have a victim complex, or maybe I’m looking for justification to start drinking again - or to keep drinking. Or maybe I simply don’t know how to deal with whatever psychic pain that still hurts. Whatever its reason or purpose, self-pity serves only to impose isolation and keep me from feeling and living something better. Today, just as it did for drinking, the same goes for self-pity: enough’s enough! And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2012

July 25, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
 
AA Thought for the Day
We are living on borrowed time. We are living today because of AA and the grace of God. And what there is left of our lives we owe to AA and to God. We should make the best use we can of our borrowed time and in some small measure pay back for that part of our lives which we wasted before we came into AA. Our lives from now on are not our own. We hold them in trust for God and AA. And we must do all we can to forward the great movement that has given us a new lease on life.

Am I holding my life in trust for AA?

Meditation for the Day
You should hold your life in trust for God. Think deeply on what that means. Is anything too much to expect from such a life? Do you begin to see how dedicated a life on trust for God can be? In such a life, miracles can happen. If you are faithful, you can believe that God has many good things in store for you. God can be Lord of your life, controller of your days, of your present and your future. Try to act as God guides and leave all results to Him. Do not hold back, but go all out for God and the better life. Make good your trust.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may hold my life in trust for God. I pray that I may no longer consider my life as all my own.

Hazelden Foundation

July 25, 2012 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
 
Reflection for the Day
The slogans of The Program are seemingly clear and simple. Yet they may still have different meanings for different people, according to their own experience and reaction to the words and ideas. Take, for example, the slogan, “Let Go and Let God.” For some people, it may suggest that all we have to do is sidestep the challenges that confront us and, somehow, God will do all the work. We must remember that God gives us free will, intelligence and good sense - it is clearly His intention that we use these gifts. If I’m receptive, God will make His will known to me step by step, but I must carry it out.

Do I sometimes act as if surrender to God’s will is a passport to inertia?

Today I Pray
May my “passport” be stampled with “action.” May my travels be motivated by challenges I can readily recognize as things to do, not things to watch. I pray that I may make the most of my gifts from God, of talents that I am aware of and some I have yet to discover. May I not “let go” and give up but keep on learning, growing, doing, serving, praying, carrying out the will of God as I understand it.

Today I Will Remember
God meant me to make the most of myself.

Hazelden Foundation

July 25, 2012 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
 
Poverty will often force a man into sobriety because of the lack of funds with which to purchase more to drink. Prosperity, on the other hand, gives us the money, the leisure and inclination to celebrate that prosperity.

Far too frequently the new man climbs out of the gutter, gets a job and becomes re-established with his family and does will until a payday puts cash in his pocket again.

That bank roll which you think you want may be the very thing you least want.

Hazelden Foundation

July 25, 2012 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

In analysis, as I have known it, you are confronted by your qualities and cannot disown them, though you may try to. -- Florida Scott Maxwell

We aren't all in formal analysis, but the Twelve Step program does introduce us to the personal inventory. In this exercise of introspection, we come to know ourselves. We often don't like who we see, but until we have acknowledged it, we are unable to change the specifics of our behavior.

Blaming other people and the "unlucky" circumstances of our lives for all our troubles is deeply rooted in who we are. But coming to believe that accepting full responsibility for ourselves will empower us, even when we are guilty of wrongdoing, is a major step forward.

Looking squarely at ourselves and owning all of who we are may not make us proud, but it does make us honest and humble. We have to be both, first, if we ever hope to forge the qualities that will make us proud.

Today I will reveal qualities that I like very much. If some that I don't like surface, I won't deny them; I will correct them.

From the book:

A Woman's Spirit by Karen Casey

A Woman's Spirit by Karen Casey. © 1994 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.