Feb. 24, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

Step by Step

Monday, Feb. 24, 2020

Today, apply the Program more widely and remember it is developed not solely to guide us to sobriety but to detect and correct the character flaws that enabled our drinking. Being dry is all we can expect if the only action we take is to quit drinking. Abstinence by itself won't earn us the sobriety and peace if we do not uncover, admit and either give up or correct the dysfunctional dynamics of our spiritual and emotional characters. Being dry is a major step forward from our drinking days, but dry without serenity puts us at significant risk of relapse if we turn a blind eye to the defective parts of our character. And because simply being dry puts us on the edge of a relapse waiting to happen, a recovery program helps us to deal with the defects in mental, spiritual and emotional characters. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2020

Feb. 24, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Monday, Feb. 24, 2020

AA Thought for the Day

When we came to our first AA meeting, we looked up at the wall at the end of the room and saw the sign: "But for the Grace of God." We knew right then and there that we would have to call on the Grace of God in order to get sober and get over our soul-sickness. We heard speakers tell how they had come to depend on a Power greater than themselves. That made sense to us and we made up our minds to try it.

Am I depending on the Grace of God to help me stay sober?

Meditation for the Day

Share your love, your joy, your happiness, your time, your food, your money gladly with all. Give out all the love you can with a glad, free heart and hand. Do all you can for others and back will come countless stores of blessings. Sharing draws others to you. Take all who come as sent by God and give them a royal welcome. You may never see the results of your sharing. Today they may not need you, but tomorrow may bring results from the sharing you did today.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may make each visitor desire to return. I pray that I may never make anyone feel repulsed or unwanted.

Hazelden Foundation

Feb. 24, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time

Monday, Feb. 24, 2020

Reflection for the Day

I can banish fear by realizing the truth. Am I afraid to be alone? This fear can be banished by the realization that I am never alone, that God is always with me wherever I am and whatever I do. Am I afraid that I won't have enough money to meet my needs? This fear can be banished by the realization that God is my inexhaustible, unfailing resource, now and always. Today I have the power to change fear into faith.

Can I say with confidence, "I will trust, and will not be afraid ...?"

Today I Pray

That I may fear no evil, for God is with me. That I may learn to turn to my Higher Power when I am afraid. I pray diligently that my faith in God and trust in what He has in store for me is strong enough to banish the fears that undermine my courage.

Today I Will Remember

Turn fear into faith.

Hazelden Foundation

Feb. 24, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener

Monday, Feb. 24, 2020

We alcoholics know that one drink is too much and a barrel isn't enough. That first drink starts the compulsion to drink.

Suppressing desires can become a habit just as their satisfaction does. Each time we Say "NO," we weaken the old habit and strengthen the new.

The efforts to satisfy our desires led us to the excesses that brought about our alcoholism. So let us follow the advise of John Stuart Mill and "learn to seek our happiness by limiting our desires, rather than attempting to satisfy them."

Hazelden Foundation

Feb. 24, 2020 - Good morning and don't be daunted by another Monday and whole new week ahead

Feb. 23, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Journal writing is a voyage to the interior. — Christina Baldwin

Many men use daily notes in a private journal as a method of meditation. It is a means to learn about themselves as they reflect with pen in hand and put uncensored thoughts down on paper. It can take many forms. Some days, a person might just make a list. It might be a prayer list: all the people he loves and all the people he is concerned about. It might be a list of the day’s tasks, with notations on the spirit with which to approach them. Some guys draw pictures in their journals and say it helps them quiet their minds and deepen their understanding of a situation. Some simply record the events of the day and then reflect on how they feel about them and what they mean.

Every man in spiritual development needs a daily pattern of meditation and reflection. It should be a gentle means to respect himself, be honest with himself, and hold himself responsible for his life.

Today, I will make notes on paper and use my notes to interact with my thoughts.

Hazelden Foundation

Feb. 23, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

Step by Step
Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020

Today, if life sneaks in unexpected tasks or frustration that delay my plans, I will not cave to anger or a sense of failure at not carrying out my plans to completion. Even if my patience or expectations of myself or others are stretched to the max, I will not whine with self-pity or anything negative because, if I have gotten through the last 24 Hours sober, I have literally nothing to complain about and absolutely everything for which to be grateful and humble. I have no excuse to morph frustration or anger into self-imposed isolation because isolation is the breeding ground for loneliness - and loneliness can be lethal in recovery. But should I feel lonely, I will reach out to someone who can lend an empathetic - not sympathetic - ear or, in the spirit the 12th Step, jump into some form of service to someone in need and want. An old saying is that the non-addict who has a flat tire calls Triple A, but the recovering alcoholic with a flat calls Suicide Prevention. Today, I will use the Steps to keep events and things in their proper perspective and, if I find I have a flat tire, I'll call roadside assistance. Suicide Prevention has other people in greater need. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2020

Feb. 23, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020

AA Thought for the Day
Besides our jobs, our families, our friends and our sobriety, we have something else which many of us found through AA. That's faith in a Power greater than ourselves, to which we can turn for help: faith in that Divine Principle in the universe which we call God and which is on our side as long as we do the right thing. There have been many days in the past when, if we had taken an inventory, we'd have found ourselves very much in the red, without sobriety and, therefore, without jobs, families, friends or faith in God. We now have these things because we're sober.

Do I make one resolution every day of my life - to stay sober?

Meditation for the Day
Love the busy life. It is a joy-filled life. Take your fill of joy in the Spring. Live outdoors whenever possible. Sun and air are nature's great healing forces. That inward joy changes poisoned blood into a pure, healthy, life-giving flow. But never forget that the real healing of the spirit comes from within, from the close, loving contact of your spirit with God's spirit. Keep in close communion with God's spirit day by day.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may learn to live the abundant life. I pray that I may enjoy a close contact with God this day and be glad in it.

Hazelden Foundation

Feb. 23, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time

Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020

Reflection for the Day

The Twelve Steps teach us that as faith grows, so does security. The terrifying fear of nothingness begins to subside. As we work The Program, we find that the basic antidote for fear is a spiritual awakening. We lose the fear of making decisions, for we realize that if our choice proves wrong, we can learn from the experience. And should our decision be the right one, we can thank God for giving us the courage and the grace that caused us so to act.

Am I grateful for the courage and grace I receive from my Higher Power?

Today I Pray

I ask that I be given the power to act, knowing that I have at least a half-chance to make the right decision and that I can learn from a wrong one. For so long, decision-making seemed beyond my capabilities. Now, I can find joy in being able to make choices. Thank you, God, for courage.

Today I Will Remember

Freedom is choosing.

Hazelden Foundation

Feb. 23, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener

Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020

Criticism is often the sincerest form of flattery. We are all subject to it at times if we do anything at all. When criticism does arise, and before you build up a first-rate resentment, think first - who is it that criticizes? What is the motive behind it? Is it constructive or just plain antagonistic? Is it prompted by jealousy or ignorance? Would you do the same thing again if you had it to do over? What does your conscience say about it?

No great man escaped having enemies; all the old masters had critics; all political and social reforms had their adversaries and the early disciples of all new religions were persecuted, stoned and crucified.

If you are criticized, you may possibly be right. But, if you are ignored, you know you are wrong.

Hazelden Foundation

Feb. 23, 2020 - Good morning and let's make it a worthwhile Sunday since Monday is just a day away

Feb. 22, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Inspirations never go in for long engagements; they demand immediate marriage to action. — Brendan Francis

God speaks to us in many ways at many times. If we are spiritually alert, we will know it when it happens. A stray thought occurs; we overhear a bit of conversation; a passage in something we are reading suddenly stands out—and we know we have connected. A feeling of assurance and peace comes over us.

The trouble is that we might acknowledge this contact only briefly, and then it slips away. The time to act passes. The favor we could have done; the advice or support we could have offered; the help we could have given or received—all are missed opportunities.

When God speaks, we must do more than listen.

Today I will act when inspired.

Hazelden Foundation

Feb. 22, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

Step by Step

Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020

Today, indecision is NO decision and no decision is stagnation - in growth, progress, sobriety, moving forward, moving on. If some issue has immobilized me with uncertainty or fear of the outcome, the uncertainty of no resolution will likely progress to a breaking point. And, for me, the breaking point could be my sobriety. Today, enough is enough. I will decide, and I will call on the Program and Higher Power on how best to resolve the thing that has hung over my head far too long. And in coming to a decision, God grant me the wisdom that the outcome may be what I need and not necessarily what I want. Today, no decision will yield to decision, and what has kept me stagnant loses its control. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2020

Feb. 22, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020

AA Thought for the Day

Now we can take an inventory of the good things that have come to us through AA. To begin with, we're sober today. That's the greatest asset on any alcoholic's books. Sobriety to us is like good will in business. Everything else depends on that. Most of us have jobs which we owe to our sobriety. We know we couldn't hold these jobs if we were drinking, so our jobs depend on our sobriety. Most of us have wives or husbands and children, which we either had lost or might have lost, if we hadn't stopped drinking. We have friends in AA, real friends who are always ready to help us.

Do I realize that my job, my family and my real friends are dependent upon my sobriety?

Meditation for the Day

I must trust God to the best of my ability. This lesson has to be learned. My doubts and fears continually drive me back into the wilderness. Doubts lead me astray, because I am not trusting God. I must trust God's love. It will never fail me, but I must learn not to fail it by my doubts and fears. We all have much to learn in turning out fear by faith. All our doubts arrest God's work through us. I must not doubt. I must believe in God and continually work at strengthening my faith.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may live the way God wants me to live. I pray that I may get into that stream of goodness in the world.

Hazelden Foundation

Feb. 22, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time

Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020

Reflection for the Day

When I came to The Program, I found people who knew exactly what I meant when I spoke finally of my fears. They had been where I had been; they understood. I've since learned that many of my fears have to do with projection. It's normal, for example, to have a tiny "back-burner" fear that the person I love will leave me. But when the fear takes precedence over my present and very real relationship with the person I'm afraid of losing, then I'm in trouble. My responsibility to myself includes this: I must not fear things which do not exist.

Am I changing from a fearful person into a fearless person?

Today I Pray

I ask God's help in waving away my fears - those figments, fantasies, monstrous thoughts, projections of disaster which have no bearing on the present. May I narrow the focus of my imagination and concentrate on the here-and-now, for I tend to see the future through a magnifying glass.

Today I Will Remember

Projected fears, like shadows, are larger than life.

Hazelden Foundation