A Prayer & Some Thoughts - June

[bluidkiti]

June 16


A Prayer For Common Sense
Lord, give me the common sense to do common sense things.
Give me the wisdom to see things as they are and not as I want them to be or as I hope for them to be.
Show me the way to use what you have given me rather than letting me long for things I do not have or cannot use.
In your ways of working in the world, let the light you have given me be a light for others.
When I want to go about my life and build castles in the sky, show me the needs of those around me who hunger for the most humble abodes.
When I tend to overlook the most common of people, places, and things, show me these people, places, and things are made by you.
Show me the most common people, places, and things are given to me as an opportunity to let your light shine in the world.
When I think I need special people, places, things, and circumstances to do your work, show me they are already within my grasp through you.
Amen

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Just a Thought

When drinking we did not practice any self-discipline.

We alcoholics used so little self control when we were drinking; we were so absolutely selfish, that it does us good to give up something once in a while. Using self-discipline and denying ourselves a few things is good for us. At first, giving up alcohol is a big enough job for all of us, even with God's help. But later on, we can practice self-discipline in other ways to keep a firm grip on our minds so that we don't start any wishful thinking. If we daydream too much, we'll be in danger of slipping.

So ............

Am I practicing enough self-discipline?

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Just a Contemplation

Expectations

Having too high expectations is a set-up for disappointment. Expectations that are high lend themselves to a fantasy life, and reality can never match our fantasies. When we get hooked on fantasies, somehow thinking they are reality, or should be reality, we are vulnerable to the hurt that accompanies the emergence of "the real." Then we feel cheated - bitter: "Why did this have to happen to me?"

Having too high expectations was a familiar feeling before recovery. And it remains familiar to us, even now. Dreams and aspirations aren't wrong. In fact, they beckon us on to better and greater things. But dreams of what we can become through responsible choices are quite different from idle expectations of what will or should be.

I will be open and receptive to reality and its gifts.

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Sunlight

He said, "Why don't you choose your own conception of God?"
That statement hit me hard. It melted the icy intellectual mountain in whose shadow I had lived and shivered many years. I stood in the sunlight at last. It was only a matter of being willing to believe in a Power greater than myself.
Nothing more was required of me to make my beginning.

Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 12

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Just a Quote

“Common sense is the knack of seeing things as they are, and doing things as they ought to be done.” – Josh Billings

[bluidkiti]

June 17


Self-Respect Prayer


Dear Lord,


Thank You for giving me the richest gift of all:
You taught me to respect myself.
I have the ability to say “no” to the toxic people in my life.
I am able to surround myself with only those who share authentic love through word and deed.
I can grow to my full potential.

Amen

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Just a Thought

One thing that keeps me sober is a feeling of loyalty to the other members of the group.

I know I'd be letting them down if I ever took a drink. When I was drinking, I wasn't loyal to anybody. I should have been loyal to my family, but I wasn't. I let them down by my drinking. When I came into A.A., I found a group of people who were not only helping each other to stay sober, but who were loyal to each other by staying sober themselves.

So ............

Am I loyal to my group?

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Just a Contemplation

Rest

When we are tired, we need to stop and give ourselves time to rest. Sometimes we think we can't spare the time. But without rest, all our activity soon becomes a burden and there is no joy in it. Animals know it is necessary to take time to rest. This is part of the rhythm of life: activity and rest, effort and relaxation.

Our bad moods are often our body's way of telling us we need rest. When we were little, we needed naps. Somehow, we forget to allow ourselves this right when we are older. We are wise to remember we never outgrow this need for rest to make the day go better.
When we return to our day refreshed, we have given ourselves and all those around us the gift of ourselves at our best.
I do better when I am rested.

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Source of Strength

I would tell a friend of mine, who was having the same problems, that I prayed to God not to take a drink today and not to get married today. It was a sort of pact. I was very serious about this. I couldn't seem to handle romance and God too well at the same time. And God did start to give me the strength that I had always thought would come from the man in my life.

Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, Pages 102-103

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Just a Quote

"Remember, you have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn't worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens." ~ Louise L. Hay

[bluidkiti]

June 18


Prayer of Thanks

Sometimes life gets me down and I find it hard to see things to be thankful for.
I am also thankful for the strength you give me each day and for all the people around me who make life more meaningful.
Open my eyes to see the gifts you’ve given me in my life.
Amen

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Just a Thought

We can depend on those members of any group who have gone all out for the program.

They come to meetings. They work with other alcoholics. We don't have to worry about them slipping. They're loyal members of the group. I'm trying to be a loyal member of the group. When I'm tempted to take a drink, I tell myself that if I did I'd be letting down the other members who are the best friends I have.

So ............

Am I going to let them down, if I can help it?

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Just a Contemplation

Trust Yourself

When you look around, feel insecure, and wonder who you can trust, know you can trust yourself.

We often stand like little children, holding out our hands, waiting for someone to lead us somewhere, anywhere. We hope that someone can show us what we need to do next. We think, Maybe someone else knows better. But that thought is often the beginning of trouble. If we choose to let others lead us around, we'll soon find out that they don't know what's best for us.

If we abdicate responsibility for our choices,we may become angry, sometimes full of rage at others for running our lives, for telling us what to do. We need to take responsibility. We need to trust ourselves.

Sometimes we do get clues or hints from others. Sometimes we get direction from outside ourselves. But it must resonate with our heart. It must resonate with what we know to be true.

And the direction we take, what we do next, needs to be our choice, because whether we see it or not, it is our choice.

Trust and respond to your own heart. Trust the wisdom and guidance within you.

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Amends

It is important for me to realize that, as an alcoholic, I not only hurt myself, but also those around me. Making amends to my family, and to the families of alcoholics still suffering, will always be important. Understanding the havoc I created and trying to repair the destruction, will be a lifelong endeavor. The example of my sobriety may give others hope, and faith to help themselves.

Daily Reflections Page 173

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Just a Quote

“The world we have created is a product of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” ~ Albert Einstein

[bluidkiti]

June 19


Aging Prayer

Oh, God, awaken within me the gift of these years.
Teach me to trust so I can face my fears.
Teach me to “be” so I can live.
Teach me to receive as in this I also give.

Let me slow down, savor the moment
Then I can hear your whispers spoken.
Help me to embrace this “sage-ing”
And share it with the youthful aging.

Grace me with humility
And lead me to your tranquility.
For in this utter surrender,
I come to accept your grace so tender.

Give me courage to face my unanswered questions.
Guide me to the soul-filled suggestions.
Balance has always been a challenge.
Create it in me as my life re-arranges.

Loosen my grip, set my spirit free
So I can discover who I’m called to be.
It’s not easy to lose independence.
But I want to trust it’s for greater transcendence.

How grateful am I for the gifts I receive?
Deepen my faith so I can always believe.

Aging well has no map.
Just be my source to bridge the gap.
Amen

~ Sister Carole Kimes, Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods

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Just a Thought

The Twelfth Step of A.A., working with others, can be subdivided into five parts.

Five words beginning with the letter C confidence, confession, conviction, con version, and continuance. The first thing in trying to help other alcoholics is to get their confidence. We do this by telling them our own experiences with drinking, so that they see that we know what we're talking about. If we share our experiences frankly, they will know that we are sincerely trying to help them. They will realize that they're not alone and that others have had experiences as bad or worse than theirs. This gives them confidence that they can be helped.

So ............

Do I care enough about other alcoholics to get their confidence?

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Just a Contemplation

Who You Are

Stop criticizing yourself. Stop telling yourself everything you think, feel, want and do is wrong. Or at least not quite right. You’ve been holding back, censoring yourself for too long. Your creativity, your intuition, the voice of your soul is the very voice you’ve been silencing.

For many reasons, we learn to criticize and censor ourselves. We may have grown up with people who stifled our inner voice, our wisdom, our knowledge of truth. Our sense of the truth may have caused them to feel uneasy. So they told us to hush. It met their needs to keep us quiet. So we learned to hush ourselves. It was how we survived.

No longer do we need to meet other people’s needs, not that way. We don’t have to be afraid of ourselves or what we will find if we look inside. We don’t need to run from ourselves. We don’t need to hide or hush ourselves. We are creative, loving, purposeful beings.

It’s time to open up to yourself, to your grandest dreams and aspirations, your real inclinations and desires, your wisdom and knowledge about what is true and what is real. Open up to who you are. Listen to yourself. Express yourself. Enjoy who you are, and you will find others enjoying you,too.

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Perspective

Until I could honestly look at myself and see that I was the problem in many situations and react appropriately inside and out; until I could discard my expectations and understand that my serenity was directionally proportional to them, I could not experience serenity and sound sobriety.

Daily Reflections Page 71

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Just a Quote

"I always remember an epitaph which is in the cemetery at Tombstone, Arizona. It says: 'Here lies Jack Williams. He done his damnedest.' I think that is the greatest epitaph a man can have." ~ Harry S. Truman

[bluidkiti]

June 20


Anxiety and Depression Prayer

Dear Lord,
I come to You today to ask for help.
Lord, I need rest. I give You my worry. Take it, Lord.
I accept Your peace, love, and understanding.
Help me to turn to You and not to myself.
Help me to stop doing and start trusting.
Help me to wait on Your answers, because I know that they are good.
Give me wisdom, hope, and peace.
Thank you, Lord, for Your patience and grace.
Amen

~ Lori B.

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Just a Thought

We come into A.A., looking for a way out of drinking.

We really need a lot more than that. We need fellowship. We need to get the things that are troubling us out into the open. We need a new outlet for our energies and we need a new strength beyond ourselves that will help us face life instead of running away from it. In A.A. we find these things that we need.

So ............

Have I found the things that I need?

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Just a Contemplation

Close Relationships

Our mates and close friends present us with another view on what it is to be a human being. In being close we lower our barriers and get a feeling for what life is like from that person's perspective. We develop a feeling of empathy for him or her, and we multiply our life experiences by participating with others.

Through our closeness to someone, we might be confronted by a new awareness of ourselves. We may see something about ourselves we don't like and could never have seen on our own. We may see how similar we are to our friends, or how different, or how common and human our problems are. While each person lives their own life, through empathy we are given another window on the experience of living. Having a friend is a rich experience, which increases our wisdom about life.

I feel grateful that I am not alone.

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Helping Others

When trying to help a fellow alcoholic,
I've given in to an impulse to give advice, and perhaps that's inevitable.
But allowing others the right to be wrong reaps its own benefits.
The best I can do -- and it sounds easier than it is to put into practice -- is to listen, share personal experience, and pray for others.

Daily Reflections Page 364

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Just a Quote

"We could accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible" ~ Jean-Jacques Rousseau

[bluidkiti]

June 21


Prayer When Afraid

In this moment, in the middle of my fear, I ask You to make me strong and courageous. Even if my heart is still pounding. Even if I don’t feel brave at all.

Give me the courage to do what You’ve called me to do, even when every muscle in my body wants to sprint in the opposite direction. Help me to act courageous before I feel courageous.

Fill me with confidence that You have good things planned for me. Fill me with trust. Fill me so full that there’s no room left for fear.
Amen

~ Ben White

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Just a Thought

In A.A. we find fellowship and release and strength.

Having found these things, the real reasons for our drinking are taken away. Then drinking has no more justification in our minds. We no longer need to fight against drinking. Drinking just naturally leaves us. At first, we are sorry that we can't drink, but we get so that we are glad that we don't have to drink.

So ............

Am I glad that I don't have to drink?

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Just a Contemplation

Happiness

We think we know what will make us happy. Seldom do we readily accept that painful moments are often the price tags for peaceful, happy times. Nor do we appreciate that happiness lives within each of us; never is it intrinsic to the events we experience. Because we look for happiness "out there" and expect it gift-wrapped in a particular way, we miss the joy of being fully alive each passing moment. How distorted our sense of happiness was before finding our way to this program! How futile our search!

The path still isn't easy every Step we take, but we will find happiness in those fleeting moments when we can get outside of ourselves long enough to be fully attentive to the people in our lives. We'll find it because it's been there all the time. It flows between us when we open our hearts to give and to receive compassion. Being truly there for another person is the key, which unlocks the gate holding happiness back.

I will let someone in today and feel the rush of happiness.

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Answer in the Mirror

While drinking, we were certain that our intelligence, backed by will power, could rightly control our inner lives and guarantee us success in the world around us. This brave philosophy, wherein each man played God, sounded good in the speaking, but it still had to meet the acid test: How well did it actually work? One good look in the mirror was answer enough.

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Page 37

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Just a Quote

"Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong." ~ Peter T. Mcintyre

[bluidkiti]

June 22


Prayer to Loving Difficult People

Lord, I have to thank You for looking beyond my faults and for loving me unconditionally.
Forgive me when I fail to love others in the same way.
Give me eyes to see the needs of the difficult people in my life, and show me how to meet those needs.
Amen

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Just a Thought

What draws newcomers to A.A. and gives them hope? They hear the stories of men and women whose experiences tally with their own. The very practical approach to their problems, the absence of intolerance of any kind, the informality, the genuine democracy, the uncanny understanding which these people in A.A. have is irresistible.

So ............

Have I found a real haven in A.A.?

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Just a Contemplation

Disagreements

A good relationship includes some disagreement. Anger and disagreement, when we express them respectfully, are important ways of renewing communication and breaking through the walls that sometimes built up.

In any relationship we care about, there will be differences. When we avoid all confrontations, our relationships go stale because all emotional issues are avoided. Carefulness and over control undermine love because they don't give it room to breathe, but disagreement and anger expressed in honest and respectful ways will help love grow.

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Carrying the Message

We do not keep our program unless we give it away.
Our participation in meetings is a means of sharing with others what AA has given us. We are genuinely interested in newcomers, because they remind us of where we came from and because they give us an opportunity to strengthen our own program by sharing what we have received. Practicing the AA principles in all areas of our life is carrying the message.

Abstinence and the AA program now occupy the central place in our lives. Following the will of our Higher Power means that we carry the message as He directs us. We are willing to be used in whatever way God moves us to give away our program.

~~ Arianna T.
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Just a Quote

“In some ways, we will always be different. In other ways, we will always be the same. There is always room to disagree and blame, just as there is always room to take a new perspective and empathize. Understanding is a choice.” -- Vironika Tugaleva

[bluidkiti]

June 23


Prayer for Self Control

Lord,
I’m asking you to help me think before I speak and to think before I act.
Infuse me with the self discipline I need to walk in your ways, not my own.
Help me Lord to control my thoughts, my words and my actions.
Let me honor the pause, before I choose to respond.
Strengthen me to resist temptation and choose your best for me.
Amen

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Just a Thought

No one is too discredited, nor has sunk too low, to be welcomed cordially into A.A., if he or she means business. Social distinctions, petty rivalries and jealousies are laughed out of countenance. Being wrecked in the same vessel, being restored and united, with hearts and minds attuned to the welfare of others, the things which matter so much to some people no longer signify much to us. In A.A., we have true democracy and true brotherhood.

So ............

Has A.A. taught me to be truly democratic?

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Just a Contemplation

Pain & Change

Pain, repeatedly experienced, indicates a need for self-assessment, an inventory of our behavior. Honest self-appraisal may well call for change, a change in attitude perhaps, a change in specific behavior in some instances, or maybe a change in direction.

Each of us must find our own willingness. Each of us must develop attentiveness to the signs that repeatedly invite changes in our behavior. But most of all, each of us has to travel the road to change, singly. Changes we must find the courage to make will never be exactly like someone else's changes.

Courage to change accompanies faith. My fears are telling me to look within to the spiritual source of strength, ever present but often forgotten.

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That First Drink

After that first drink, we had a single track mind. It was like a railroad train. The first drink started it off and it kept going on the single track until it got to the end of the line, drunkenness.

We knew this would happen when we sat down at a bar to have the first drink, but still we couldn't keep away from liquor. Our will-power was gone. We had become helpless and hopeless before the power of alcohol. It's not the second drink or the tenth drink that does the damage. It's the first drink.

Will I ever take that first drink again?

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Just a Quote

“See, alcoholism is exactly like bubble gum. You know when you blow a bubble and it bursts, some of the gum sticks to you chin? What's the only thing that gets the bubble gum off your chin? Bubble gum. You have to take the bubble gum out of your mouth and press it against the gum on your chin and it'll pick it up. Only an alcoholic can treat another alcoholic. Only other alcoholics can get you sober.” -- Augusten Burroughs

[bluidkiti]

June 24


Prayer for Patience

Lord, teach me to be patient - with life, with people,and with myself. I sometimes try to hurry things along too much, and I push for answers before the time is right. Teach me to trust Your sense of timing rather than my own and to surrender my will to Your greater and wiser plan. Help me let life unfold slowly, like the small rosebud whose petals unravel bit by bit, and remind me that in hurrying the bloom along, I destroy the bud and much of the beauty therein.

Instead, let me wait for all to unfold in its own time. Each moment and state of growth contains a loveliness. Teach me to slow down enough to appreciate life and all it holds.
Amen

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Just a Thought

For many of us, our spiritual awakening began when we first heard our Higher Power might be our group. We learned that God may exist in the connections between people in our group just as well as within each individual.

When we ask another member to listen to us, we contribute to the strength of this spirit. When we give someone a ride to a meeting or spread the word about this program to other suffering men and women, we make a contribution and receive its benefits. Even now, if we need a renewal of confidence in God's presence in our lives, we can telephone another member and just talk. We will quickly sense the spirit.

So ............

Am I grateful to feel God's presence in my life and within the people around me?

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Just a Contemplation

Getting Through Hard Times

Hard times, stressful times, are not all there is to life, but they are part of life, growth, and moving forward. What we do with hard times, or hard energy, is our choice.

Hard times can motivate and mold us to bring out our best. We can use these times to move forward and upward to higher levels of living, loving, and growth. The choice is ours.

We do not always require hard energy, or stress, to motivate us to grow and change. We do not have to create stress, seek it, or attract it. But if it's there, we can learn to channel it into growth and use it for achieving what's good in life.

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Compliance Isn’t Acceptance

We are sometimes mystified when people come into the AA program, respond to its message for months or years, and then disappear, seemingly without a trace. Later, we may be shocked to learn that they’re drinking again. One possible explanation is that they were practicing compliance without really accepting the program. The danger of compliance is that it may simply be an outward show of working the program while leaving one’s real thoughts and feelings unchanged. For example, to “bring the body” to meetings in the belief that they heart will follow. This does little good if one’s heart does not follow!

The only solution is to continue the difficult but rewarding search for honesty in all things. When we examine ourselves honestly, we will recognize when we are truly accepting and when we are merely complying.

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Just a Quote

“Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.” -- Mithra Phukan

[bluidkiti]

June 25


Prayer for Emotional Strength

Lord,
I’ve reached my emotional breaking point. I am full of doubt, despair, and anxiety. I’m dissatisfied and don’t know why or where to turn.
I pray to ask you for emotional strength. Please give me trust, joy, and excitement so I can be lifted from this dark place and become the person you created me to be.
Please be with me and give me comfort and fill my heart with your goodness.
Amen

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Just a Thought

Having gotten over drinking, we have only just begun to enjoy the benefits of A.A.

We find new friends, so that we are no longer lonely. We find new relationships with our families, so that we are happy at home. We find release from our troubles and worries through a new way of looking at things. We find an outlet for our energies in helping other people.

So ............

Am I enjoying these benefits of A.A.?

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Just a Contemplation

Simple Tasks

Simple tasks can take us back to the rhythm, the way of life we're seeking.

How often we think we don't want to be bothered with laundry, bills, dishes, the lawn. We have other things to do, more important tasks to accomplish on this journey we're on. But doing ordinary tasks doesn't take us away from the rhythm we're seeking. They don't take us away from life's magic. These tasks are the rhythm. They are the magic.

The simple tasks are important not just because they need to be done. The simple tasks are the microcosm of how our lives work. They keep us grounded in reality, they remind us of what's real, they show us how life works. They will lead us into the way of life we're seeking, if we approach them the right way. Do the laundry. Do the dishes. Pay your bills. Rake the leaves. Do these tasks with respect.

Restore and maintain order around you, and you'll feel order in your soul. Create beauty around you, and you'll feel beauty in your soul. The magic will return. The simple tasks will lead you back to it.

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Humility in the Fellowship

We of A.A. sometimes brag of the virtues of our Fellowship. Let us remember that few of these times are actually earned virtues. We were forced into them, to begin with, by the cruel lash of alcoholism. We finally adopted them, not because we wished to but because we had to.

Then, as time confirmed the seeming rightness of our basic principles, we began to conform because it was right to do so. Some of us, notably myself, conformed even then with reluctance.

But at last we came to a point where we stood willing to conform gladly to the principles which experience, under the grace of God, had taught us.

A.A. Comes Of Age Page 224

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Just a Quote

"Often we convince ourselves by rationalizing that all is well when it is not. Our emotional and spiritual health requires that we examine honestly our behavior and our relationships. When they are not right, we need to take action to correct them." ~ Cristina Ferrare

[bluidkiti]

June 26


Prayer To Forgive Others

Lord,
I want to forgive others, but there seems to be a sort of blockage that is causing me to hold fast to my anger and hurt.
Please would You help me to forgive fully, freely and forever so that I may be released from this sharp pain of unforgiveness, which seems to be holding my heart in an icy, iron grip.
Amen


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Just a Thought

In A.A. we find a new strength and peace.

We start to realize that there must be a Power greater than ourselves that is running the universe and that is on our side when we live a good life. So the A.A. program really never ends. We begin by over coming alcohol and go on from there to many new opportunities for happiness and usefulness.


So ............

Am I really enjoying the full benefits of A.A.?

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Just a Contemplation

Difficulties

To be alive means to experience difficulties, conflicts, challenges from many directions. What we do with adverse conditions both determines and is determined by who we are. Resistance, most of us have learned, heightens the adversity. Acceptance of the condition, trusting all the while the lesson it offers us is for our benefit, ensures that we'll "come out on top."

Difficulties are opportunities for advancement, for increased self-awareness, for self-fulfillment. So often we hear and remind one another that we grow through pain. We can face any situation knowing we have the strength of the program to shore us up. Strangely, we need challenges in order to grow; without growth we wither. Happiness is the bounty for facing the momentarily unhappy conditions.

Any difficulty I meet today offers me a chance for even greater happiness; it guarantees my growth.

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First Things First

Using "First Things First," we have found it helpful to concentrate first on sobriety alone, steering clear of any risky emotional entanglements.
Immature or premature liaisons are crippling to recovery.
Only after we have had time to mature somewhat beyond merely not drinking are we equipped to relate maturely to other people.

Living Sober Page 62

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Just a Quote

"There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.' ~ Bryant H. McGill

[bluidkiti]

June 27


Enjoying Life Prayer

Teach us how to enjoy being. Encourage us to be present to the gifts that are ours. May we be more fully aware of what we see, taste, touch, hear, and smell. May this awareness of our senses sharpen our perception of our everyday treasures and lead us to greater joy and gratitude

Grant us the courage to be our true selves. Help us to let go of being overly concerned about what others think of us or of how successful we are. May our inner freedom be strengthened and our delight in life be activated.

Life is meant to be celebrated, enjoyed, delighted in, and embraced in all its mystery. Guide us to our inner child. Draw us to your playground of creation, so that we will live more fully.
Amen.

~ Joyce Rupp

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Just a Thought

The alcoholic is absolutely unable to stop drinking on the basis of self-knowledge.

We must admit we can do nothing about it ourselves. Willpower and self-knowledge will never help in the strange mental blank spots when we are tempted to drink. An alcoholic mentally is in a very sick condition. The last flicker of conviction that we can do the job ourselves must be snuffed out. The spiritual answer and the program of action are the only hope. Only spiritual principles will solve our problems. We are completely helpless apart from Divine help. Our defense against drinking must come from a Higher Power.

So ............

Have I accepted the spiritual answer and the program of action?

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Just a Contemplation

Rescuing Ourselves

No one likes a martyr.
How do we feel around martyrs? Guilty, angry, trapped, negative, and anxious to get away.
Somehow, many of us have developed the belief that depriving ourselves, not taking care of ourselves, being a victim, and suffering needlessly will get us what we want.

It is our job to notice our abilities, our strengths, and take care of ourselves by developing and acting on them.

It is our job to notice our pain and weariness and appropriately take care of ourselves.
It is our job to notice our deprivation, too, and begin to take steps to give ourselves abundance. It begins inside of us, by changing what we believe we deserve, by giving up our deprivation and treating ourselves the way we deserve to be treated.

Life is hard, but we don't have to make it more difficult by neglecting ourselves. There is no glory in suffering, only suffering. Our pain will not stop when a rescuer comes, but when we take responsibility for ourselves and stop our own pain.

I will be my own rescuer. I will stop waiting for someone else to work through my issues and solve my problems for me.

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Damage Repairs

Now we go out to our fellows and repair the damage done in the past.
We attempt to sweep away the debris which has accumulated out of our effort to live on self-will and run the show ourselves. If we haven't the will to do this, we ask until it comes.
Remember it was agreed at the beginning we would go to any lengths for victory over alcohol.

Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 76

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Just a Quote

"To believe in sensible ideas is easy, but to implement them involves sacrifice." ~ Dorothy H.

[bluidkiti]

June 28

Happiness Prayer

Dear Lord,
I pray that you bless me with true happiness and peace in life.
Lead me away from hate and anger toward love.
From a restless mind and anxiety, give me peace.
Lead me from fear of death to eternal life.
Amen

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Just a Thought


I have gotten over my procrastination.

I was always putting things off till tomorrow and as a result that never got done. "There is always another day" was my motto instead of "Do it now." Under the influence of alcohol, I had grandiose plans. When I was sober I was too busy getting over my drunk to start anything. "Some day I'll do that" -- but I never did it. In A.A. I have learned it's better to make a mistake once in a while than to never do anything at all. We learn by trial and error. But we must act now and not put it off until tomorrow.

So ............

Have I learned to do it now?

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Just a Contemplation

Growth

We should be thankful we can never reach complete serenity. If we could, we would never have the need to improve ourselves. We would stop growing, because there would be no reason to learn any more than we already know, and we would become bored. Even the things, which seem so serene in nature usually contain a struggle within. A lake, with a swan gliding slowly across it, seems a perfect picture of serenity. But, unseen below the surface, fish, turtles, and frogs struggle each day for survival.

The important thing is to accept the struggles as a part of the beauty of life, not as blemishes on it.

What struggles shall help me grow better today?

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Prayer

As the alcoholic goes along with his process of prayer, he begins to add up the results.
If he persists, he will almost surely find more serenity, more tolerance, less fear, and less anger. He will acquire a quiet courage, the kind that doesn't strain him. He can look at so-called failure and success for what they really are. Problems and calamity will begin to mean instruction, rather than destruction.
He will feel freer and saner. . . Wonderful and unaccountable things will start to happen.
Twisted relations with family and on the outside will unaccountably improve.

Bill W., June 1958
The Language of the Heart Page 241

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Just a Quote

"Life is always moving, changing, shifting into its next shape. The movement is natural. It is how we evolve. Let the shift happen. Take responsibility for yourself each step of the way." ~ Earnie Larsen

[bluidkiti]

June 29


Prayer for Happiness in Life

Let me awaken each morning with hope for everything that the world has to offer.
Help me so that I can discover peace, prosperity, and happiness in life.
Guide me to find joy in each day and appreciate the beauty of your creation.
Teach me how to touch each soul I meet and be thankful for every person in my life.
Teach me how to see a happy life in all of its infinite varieties.
Help me to find happiness in every moment as I go through each day.
Amen

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Just a Thought

We're in A.A. for two main reasons: to keep sober ourselves and to help others to find sobriety.

It's a well-known fact that helping others is a big part of keeping yourself sober. It's also been proven that it's very hard to keep sober all by yourself. A lot of people have tried it and failed. They come to a few A.A. meetings and then stay sober alone for a few months, but usually they eventually get drunk.

So ............

Do I know that I can't stay sober successfully alone?

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Just a Contemplation

Frustrations of Life

There are many gifts around us which we overlook when we're busy dealing with our anxieties and obligations. We talk about burning out from our high-intensity lifestyles. We act as though nothing would get done if we didn't do it ourselves. We get so engrossed in fighting with the frustrations of life that we fail to see the good things coming our way that took no effort on our part.

As we look around us at this very moment, what good things do we find? Has a friend given a warm hello? Is the sun shining? The rain falling? Has the traffic flowed smoothly? We have no claim on these generous events, and we can't say God smiles on us when we have them or He frowns when we don't. We can say there are always generous forces coming our way, which comfort and heal us. We only need to take time to enjoy them.

I will take some quiet moments to notice the good things coming my way. I will be grateful for them.

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Anonymity

"And finally, we of Alcoholics Anonymous believe that the principle of anonymity has an immense spiritual significance. It reminds us that we are to place principles before personalities; that we are actually to practice a genuine humility. This to the end that our great blessings may never spoil us; that we shall forever live in thankful contemplation of Him who presides over us all."
Tradition Twelve - the Long Form

Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, Pages 567-568

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Just a Quote

"One of the greatest sources of insecurity and frustration is our tendency to try and change things that we don't have any control of." ~ Ryan Help

[bluidkiti]

June 30


Prayer for Accepting God's Will

Lord, teach me to be patient - with life, with people, and with myself. I sometimes try to hurry things along too much, and I push for answers before the time is right. Teach me to trust Your sense of timing rather than my own and to surrender my will to Your greater and wiser plan. Help me let life unfold slowly, like the small rosebud whose petals unravel bit by bit, and remind me that in hurrying the bloom along, I destroy the bud and much of the beauty therein.

Instead, let me wait for all to unfold in its own time. Each moment and state of growth contains a loveliness. Teach me to slow down enough to appreciate life and all it holds.
Amen

~Matthew R.

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Just a Thought

Fellowship is a big part of staying sober.

We never go to an A.A. meeting without taking something out of it. Sometimes we don't feel like going to a meeting and we think of excuses for not going. But we usually end up going anyway. And we always get some lift out of every meeting. Meetings are part of keeping sober. And we get more out of a meeting if we try to contribute something to it.

So ............

Am I contributing my share at meetings?

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Just a Contemplation

Resentments

When we hang on to resentments, we poison ourselves. As alcoholics, we cannot afford resentment, since it exacerbates our disease. If we do not get rid of our anger and bitterness, we will suffer more than anyone. Seeking revenge will harm ourselves in the long run.

Many of us have carried around old grudges, which caused us to reach for a drink when we thought about them. We don't need the alcohol and we don't need the grudges, either. When we give away the resentments, we are that much lighter in body and in spirit. Now that we have found A.A., we have a way to get rid of the animosity and indignation, which has been poisoning our system.

Taking inventory and making amends is an essential part of burying resentments. We need to first be consciously aware of them before we can give them away. These steps usually need to be taken again and again as negative material threatens our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

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Results of Prayer

As the doubter tries the process of prayer, he should begin to add up the results. If he persists, he will most surely find more serenity, more tolerance, less fear, and less anger. He will acquire a quiet courage, the kind that isn't tension-ridden. He can look at "failure" and "success" for what these really are. Problems and calamity will begin to mean his instruction, instead of his destruction. He will feel freer and saner.

The idea that he may have been hypnotizing himself by autosuggestion will become laughable. His sense of purpose and of direction will increase. His anxieties will commence to fade. His physical health will be likely to improve. Wonderful and unaccountable things will start to happen. Twisted relations in his family and on the outside will improve surprisingly.

As Bill Sees It Page 321

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Just a Quote

“The basic purpose of prayer is not to bend God's will to mine, but to mold my will into His.” ~ Timothy Keller