July 28, 2013 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Today’s thought from Hazelden is:

Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
– Step Eleven of AA and Al-Anon

“… praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out” means that we ask on a daily basis to be shown the plan for that day. We also ask our Source for the power we need to carry that through. We will get a yes to both requests.

We do not ask other people to show their will for us. We ask God. Then we trust that we’ll be empowered to carry God’s will through.

God never, never asks us to do anything that He would not equip us to do. He never asks us to do anything we can’t do. If we are to do it, we will be empowered. That’s the easy part of this program. We never have to do more than we can, or anything we can’t. If we want to worry and fuss we can, but we don’t need to. That is our choice.

When I don’t know what to do next, God does. Working this Step, one day at a time, will take us to places we could never have traveled on our own.

Today, I will focus on asking God to show me what He wants me to do. I will ask God for the power to do that; then I will go ahead and get the job done. God, help me let go of my fears about living life one day at a time. Help me trust that when life is lived simply and in trust, a beautiful mosaic called “my life” will be woven. I am being divinely led, guided, and cared for.

From the book:

The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie

The Language of Letting Go © 1990 by Hazelden Foundation

July 27, 2013 - Step by Step

Step by Step
Saturday, July 27, 2013

“What is this power that AA possesses? This curative power? I don’t know what it is. I suppose the doctor might say, ‘This is psychosomatic medicine.’ 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.

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 nothing but blind faith that something as good can exist if something as 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. Step by step. - Chris M., 2013

July 27, 2013 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Saturday, July 27, 2013

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, 2013 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Saturday, July 27, 2013

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 depend 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, 2013 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Saturday, July 27, 2013

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, 2013 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Today’s thought from Hazelden is:

Time spent attempting to change others affords little time for personal change.
– Georgette Vickstrom

We must be willing to change or we wouldn’t be reading these words right now. However, being willing to change is often easier than doing it. One of the biggest changes most of us need to make is learning to let others be who they are, regardless of who we want them to be. Most of us think our lives would be far smoother and more productive if only other people lived up to our standards. How wrong we are!

If we could change others as we wish, we would live far less enlightened lives. In fact, we discover opportunities for personal development in our interactions with the men and women who frustrate us so. The irony is that we wish they’d change, but if they did, we wouldn’t experience the growth we deserve.

I will enhance my growth today by letting others be who they are and working on myself.

From the book:

A Woman’s Spirit by Karen Casey

A Woman’s Spirit by Karen Casey. © 1994 by Hazelden Foundation

July 26, 2013 - Step by Step

Step by Step
Friday, July 26, 2013

” …(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 since 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.

Today, this excerpt 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 myself up 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 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. Step by step. - Chris M., 2013

July 26, 2013 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Friday, July 26, 2013

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 pray that I may try to live in accordance with it.

Hazelden Foundation

July 26, 2013 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Friday, July 26, 2013

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, 2013 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Friday, July 26, 2013

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, 2013 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Friday, July 26, 2013

Today’s thought from Hazelden is:

It does make a difference what you call things.
– Kate Douglas Wiggin

Most of us think of dandelions as weeds. We buy special tools and poisons when they crop up and complain about them as surely as we welcome the spring that brings them.

Yet is there anything more lovely than a sea of yellow dandelions by the side of the road in June? Or as remarkable in transformation as the filaments of the mature dandelion blowing on the wind?

Sometimes we let someone else define for us what are weeds and what are flowers. We don’t have to. Much of the beauty of the world is that we ourselves decide what is beautiful according to our own feelings. How lucky we are that, when we choose to, we can open our eyes and see!

Can I see the beauty in those around me right now?

From the book:

Today’s Gift by Anonymous

Today’s Gift © 1985, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation

July 25, 2013 - Step by Step

Step by Step
Thursday, July 25, 2013

Today, I give self-pity the boot off my dance card. Just as alcohol drove me to 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 alcoholic, self-pity ranks behind resentments as the quickest and surest way to a slip or relapse. But I have to ask why 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 driver’s license suspension, drank my way into a sea of debt, got a divorce or two or separation, have family who 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. Step by step. - Chris M., 2013

July 25, 2013 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Thursday, July 25, 2013

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, 2013 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Thursday, July 25, 2013

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 stamped 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, 2013 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Thursday, July 25, 2013

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 well 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