A Prayer & Some Thoughts - April

[bluidkiti]

April 16


After the Winter, God Sends the Spring

Springtime is a season
Of hope and joy and cheer.
There’s beauty all around us
To see and touch and hear.
So, no matter how downhearted
And discouraged we may be,
New hope is born when we behold
Leaves on a budding tree,
Or when we see a timid flower
Push through the frozen sod
And open wide in glad surprise
Its petaled eyes to God,
For this is just God saying,
“Lift up your eyes to Me,
And the bleakness of your spirit,
Like the budding Springtime tree,
Will lose its wintry darkness
And your heavy heart will sing” –
For God never sends the Winter
Without the joy of Spring.

by Helen Steiner Rice

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Just a Thought

The program of Alcoholics Anonymous involves a continuous striving for improvement.

There can be no long resting period. We must try to work at it all the time. We must continually keep in mind that it is a program not to be measured in years, because we never fully reach our goals nor are we ever cured. Our alcoholism is only kept in abeyance by daily living of the program. It is a timeless program in every sense. We live it day by day, or more precisely, moment by moment - now.

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

Am I always striving for improvement?

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Just a Contemplation

Err is Human

It’s okay to make mistakes. But we shouldn’t live a life of excuses. We shouldn’t slide over our mistakes; we should learn from them.

Excuses keep us apart from ourselves and others. People don’t trust us if we won’t admit and accept our mistakes. Relying on excuses dooms us to repeat the same mistakes. In recovery, we admit and accept our behavior. We do this by continuing to take an inventory of our lives. We do this so we can learn from our mistakes. “Owning” our mistakes helps us grow.

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Meeting Adversity

Our spiritual and emotional growth in A.A. does not depend so deeply upon success as it does upon our failures and setbacks. If you will bear this in mind, I think that your slip will have the effect of kicking you upstairs, instead of down.

We A.A.'s have had no better teacher than Old Man Adversity, except in those cases where we refuse to let him teach us.

As Bill Sees It Page 184

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Just a Quote

"The past is not always an indication of your future. Do not engross yourself in grief and shame over past deeds. Forgive yourself and move on." ~ Aulus Persius Flaccus (Roman writer & poet)

[bluidkiti]

April 17


An Easter Prayer

Lord, today we remember the veil of darkness transforming to the brightest light.
The most dreadful end becomes the most beautiful beginning.
We remember with trembling hearts the depths of despair fading to reveal hope everlasting.
The curse of death defeated by eternal life.
Today we remember with thankfulness your willingness to be pierced for our sins.
We sing with the abounding joy of your miraculous rise, from death’s tomb to resplendent life.
Thank you for the promise of heaven and your generous invitation of eternal life for all.
Amen

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Just a Thought

I know the Fellowship of A.A. doesn’t offer any guarantees, but I also know that in the future I do not have to drink. I want to keep this life of peace, serenity, and tranquility that I have found. Today, I have found again the home I left and the woman I married when she was still so young. We have two more children, and they think their dad is an important man. I have all these wonderful things—people who mean more to me than anything in the world. I shall keep all that, and I won’t have to drink, if I remember one simple thing: to keep my hand in the hand of God.

Dave B., one of the founders of A.A. in Canada in 1944
(from: AA Big Book 4th Edition, "Gratitude In Action,” Page 199)

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The Jelly Bean Poem

Red is for the blood He gave.
Green is for the grass He made.
Yellow is for the sunflowers so bright.
Black is for the dark of night.
White is for the grace He gave.
Orange is for the sun He made.
Purple is for the hours of sorrow.
Pink is for our new tomorrow.
A bag full of jelly beans,
colorful and sweet.
It’s a prayer, a promise,
and a child’s treat.
~ Author Unknown

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Easter Grace Blessing

May the grace of our Lord be with us this day.
May this meal be blessed as we gather to celebrate together.
May your love be shared amongst us as we enjoy the gift of fellowship.
May we remember to give out the grace and forgiveness that you have freely given us,
And may we always give thanks for your love.
Amen

~ Author Unknown

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Just a Quote

“I'm not at all religious but I do love this holiday. As a recovering alcoholic in AA, for me it's a day to celebrate my own "resurrection" from the living death of alcoholism and reflect on how grateful I am to have been delivered from a hopeless, helpless state of mind, body and spirit by my higher power and the fellowship of AA. Thank you, one and all!” ~ Anonymous A.A.

[bluidkiti]

April 18


Being a Better Person Prayer

I pray that I can become a much stronger individual and gain wisdom, hope, courage and understanding very soon in order to become a better person.

I pray that I continue to move forward and become a more responsible individual. That I gain the strength to move in a positive direction and that I become the best version of myself. I pray that I soon become more gracious, understanding and patient in all of my ways.
Amen

~ Thea Cooper

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Just a Thought

What am I going to do today for A.A.?

Is there someone I should call up on the telephone or someone I should go to see? Is there a letter I should write? Is there an opportunity somewhere to advance the work of A.A. which I have been putting off or neglecting? If so, will I do it today? Will I be done with procrastination and do what I have to do today? Tomorrow may be too late. How do I know there will be a tomorrow for me? How about getting out of my easy chair and getting going?

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

Do I feel that A.A. depends partly on me today?

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Just a Contemplation

Honest Desire

In the first bloom of sobriety, many recovering people confront drinking companions who also "need" the program. They're often surprised and disillusioned when efforts to help their friends are rejected... sometimes curtly.

We're truly limited to helping those who desire recovery, not those who we think need it. Though intervention methods can be effective, we're still largely helpless to assist those who don't desire recovery.

We regret that we really have no answers for the millions who perish from alcoholism, unaware of their problem. We also can hold out little hope that any future recovery attempts will succeed without the individual alcoholic's cooperation.

Desire..... a personal determination and decision.... is necessary for almost any kind of change. We have the freedom to choose in many areas of our lives, and alcoholics must eventually choose recovery in order to find and maintain it.

Though I'd love to see others recover, I must accept the fact that their personal desire and choice is necessary. I'll remember this if any opportunities arise today to carry the message.

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Emotional Sobriety

If we examine every disturbance we have, great or small, we will find at the root of it some unhealthy dependency and its consequent unhealthy demand. Let us, with God's help, continually surrender these hobbling liabilities.

Then we can be set free to live and love; we may then be able to twelfth-step ourselves, as well as others, into emotional sobriety.

As Bill Sees It Page 288

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Just a Quote

“Ask yourself if what you are spending your thoughts and energy on will matter in a week, a month, or a year.” ~ Robin Sharma

[bluidkiti]

April 19


Prayer For An Alcoholic Family Members

Lord,
It is so hard when someone we love gets caught up in an addiction to alcohol.. and when it is a member of your own family it makes it even more hurtful to accept and more difficult to cope with.


Lord,
Alcoholism is such a disabling condition as it affects every area of life and is like a virus that spreads out of control, infecting everything that it touches – but we know that there is nothing that cannot be helped and healed by You.


So we lift them up to You in prayer and ask that You would convince them of their need to break free from alcohol and the grace to conquer this disabling disease.
Amen

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Just a Thought

Before we decide to quit drinking, most of us have to come up against a blank wall.

We saw that we were exhausted, that we had to quit. But we don't know which way to turn for help. There seems to be no door in that blank wall. A.A. opens the door that leads to sobriety. By encouraging us to honestly admit that we're alcoholics and to realize that we can't take even one drink, and by showing us which way to turn for help, A.A. opens the door in that blank wall.

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

Have I gone through that door to sobriety?

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Just a Contemplation

Growth in Maturity

Our drinking experience should have taught us that we'll continue to repeat old destructive behaviors until we change our attitudes.

In sobriety, we can take this idea a step further and apply it to other areas. If we have trouble with other people, for example, we should ask what we're doing to bring about unpleasant situations. This is not to say that we're responsible for everything that goes wrong, but we are getting a message ourselves if we continuously meet the same problem in different forms. Some people, for example, repeatedly become involved in bad relationships or find themselves working for abusive bosses.

Just as a changed attitude helped us recover from our drinking problem, so can a new attitude keep us from repeating other destructive situations.

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Progress Rather than Perfection

On studying the Twelve Steps, many of us exclaimed, "What an order! I can't go through with it." Do not be discouraged. No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles. We are not saints.

The point is that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines. The principles we have set down are guides to progress. We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection.

Alcoholics Anonymous Page 60

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Just a Quote

"The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism," ~ Norman Vincent Peale

[bluidkiti]

April 20


Prayer to Release Control

Lord,
For too long I have wanted to be in control, tried to be in control and cherished the illusion that I am in control. I release myself and my illusions into Your hands. I surrender my need to feel in control, and embrace the truth that You are in control and that I can control only my inner life and not my outward circumstances—and certainly not other people. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot control, courage to change the few things I can (my thoughts and actions) and wisdom to know the difference.
Amen

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Just a Thought

A new way of living.

When we alcoholics first come into A.A. and we face the fact that we must spend the rest of our life without alcohol, it often seems like an impossibility to us. So A.A. tells us to forget about the future and take it one day at a time. All we really have is now. We have no past time and no future time. As the saying goes: "Yesterday is gone, forget it; tomorrow never comes, don't worry; today is here, get busy." All we have is the present. The past is gone forever and the future never comes. When tomorrow gets here, it will be today.

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

Am I living one day at a time?

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Just a Contemplation

Pain of Change

When we learn something new, we see how it could have made our life better at an earlier time. We regret being stubborn, immature, or impulsive. Now we see our mistakes in a new light and it hurts. This is one of the pains of change. Some people turn away from growth because they refuse to tolerate the pain of honest hindsight.

We need to face these regrets, but not indulge in them. We take a bow to the past and move on to live in the only place we can - the present. We can acknowledge our guilt and remorse and then turn them over to the care of God. We can't change the past, but we can learn from it. Getting stuck in guilt over past deeds only repeats our mistakes by failing to use our learning today.

I need to acknowledge and let go of my grief and regrets so I can attend to life here and now.

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Pain-Killer or Pain-Healer

I believe that when we were active alcoholics we drank mostly to kill pain of one kind or another--physical or emotional or psychic. Of course, everybody has a cracking point, and I suppose you reached yours--hence, the resort once more to the bottle.

If I were you, I wouldn't heap devastating blame on myself for this; on the other hand, the experience should redouble your conviction that alcohol has no permanent value as a pain-killer.

As Bill Sees It Page 291

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Just a Quote

"With a bit of effort, I can smile at someone today, even though I'm frowning inside. We both will be better for it." ~ Karen Casey

[bluidkiti]

April 21


Prayer For Courage

Lord,
I ask You to help me, with my battles over fear and worry. Most of all, I pray for courage.
Create in me a clean heart, God, and help me to have the faith and courage to overcome any fears.
Lord, there is so much uncertainty in life, but I trust that you will guide me and sustain me.
Please give me the courage to be the person, friend and loved one You created me to be.
Amen

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Just a Thought

When we were drinking, we used to be ashamed of the past.

Remorse is terrible mental punishment: ashamed of ourselves for the things we've said and done, afraid to face people because of what they might think of us, afraid of the consequences of what we did when we were drunk. In A.A., we forget about the past. Do I believe that God has forgiven me for everything I've done in the past, no matter how black it was, provided I'm honestly trying to do the right thing today?

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

I have completed Steps 4 and 5?
Do I visit Step 10 on a daily basis?

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Just a Contemplation

Others Turmoil

We do not have to get caught in the middle of other people's issues, problems, or communication. We can let others take responsibility for themselves in their relationships. We can let them work out their issues with each other.

Being a peacemaker does not mean we get in the middle. We are bearers of peace by staying peaceful ourselves and not harboring turmoil. We are peacemakers by not causing the extra chaos created when we get in the middle of other people's affairs and relationships.

I will refuse to accept any invitations to jump in the middle of others' affairs, issues, and relationships. I will trust others to work out their own affairs, including the ideas and feelings they want to communicate to each other.

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A.A. Regeneration

Such is the paradox of A.A. regeneration: strength arising out of complete defeat and weakness, the loss of one's old life as a condition for finding a new one.

A thousand beatings by John Barleycorn did not encourage me to admit defeat. I believed it was my moral obligation to conquer my “enemy-friend.” At my first A.A. meeting I was blessed with a feeling that it was all right to admit defeat to a disease which had nothing to do with my “moral fiber.” I knew instinctively that I was in the presence of a great love when I entered the doors of A.A. With no effort on my part, I became aware that to love myself was good and right, as God had intended. My feelings set me free, where my thoughts had held me in bondage. I am grateful.

A.A. Comes Of Age Page 46

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Just a Quote

"It isn't "me" and "you" anymore; it's "we" and "us." I get drunk. We stay sober! It's a we program." ~ Saying in many A.A. Rooms

[bluidkiti]

April 22


Simple Morning Prayer

God, please enlighten my mind with truth, inflame my heart with love, inspire my will with courage, enrich my life with service.
Pardon what I have been, sanctify what I am, and order what I shall be.
Amen

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Just a Thought

We're all looking for the power to overcome drinking.

When we alcoholics come into A.A., our first question is: "How do I get the strength to quit?" At first it seems to us that we will never get the necessary strength. We see older members who have found the power we are looking for, but we don't know the process by which they got it. This necessary strength comes in many ways.

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

Have I found all the strength I need?

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Just a Contemplation

Being a Victim

It's okay to have a good day. Really. It's okay to be doing okay and to feel like our life is manageable and on track. Many of us have learned, as part of our survival behaviors, that the way to get the attention and approval we want is to be victims. If life is awful, too difficult, unmanageable, too hard, unfair, then others will accept, like, and approve of us, we think.

We may have learned this from living and associating with people who also learned to survive by being a victim. We are not victims. We do not need to be victimized. We do not need to be helpless and out of control to get the attention and love we desire. In fact, the kind of love we are seeking cannot be obtained that way

We learn that we can stand on our own two feet, even though it sometimes feels good to lean a little. We learn that the people we are leaning on are not holding us up. They are standing next to us. We all have bad days -- days when things are not going the way we'd like, days when we have feelings of sadness and fear. But we can deal with our bad days and darker feelings in ways that reflect self-responsibility rather than victimization.

It's okay to have a good day too. We might not have as much to talk about, but we'll have more to enjoy.

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Realization

The number of times that you win or lose is not important. The only thing that matters is the number of times that you try. For several years I had tried to get someone else to solve my problem for me, but I had not realized I was doing so until that moment of insight. ... That you try. I was exhilarated. Now I knew that I was an alcoholic and that I had the only qualification for membership in A.A., a desire to stop drinking .

Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, Page 50

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Just a Quote

“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it.” ~ Brene Brown

[bluidkiti]

April 24


Strength and Wisdom Prayer

Lord,
There are things happening around me right now that I do not understand.
Some of these things make me feel weak, helpless and afraid.
I ask you for strength and for wisdom that I would be able to endure the situation and
be able to handle it in a way that would fulfill your will.
Amen

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Just a Thought

I have learned how to be honest.

What a relief!
No more ducking or dodging. No more tall tales. No more pretending to be what I am not. My cards are on the table, for all the world to see. "I am what I am." I have had an unsavory past. I am sorry, yes. But it cannot be changed now. All that is yesterday and is done. But now my life is an open book. Come and look at it, if you want to. I'm trying to do the best I can. I will fail often, but I won't make excuses. I will face things as they are and not run away.

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

Am I really honest?

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Just a Contemplation

Harming Others

Even while drinking, few of us abused others physically or committed crimes. Yet we did harm others, even when we thought we were hurting only ourselves.

One way we harmed others.... and this applies to many alcoholic family relationships.. was by with-holding the love and support they needed. If we had a nasty disposition at times, this poisoned the atmosphere and made others uncomfortable and afraid.

Maybe we harmed others by not being productive at work. Our absenteeism, for example, may have put our boss in a bad light with superiors or caused the firm to lose a client.

Perhaps the worst harm was in being completely indifferent to what we were doing to others. Any willingness to admit wrong, then, can be a major step toward recovery and self-improvement.

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Fear

Fear has caused suffering when I could have had more faith. There are times when fear suddenly tears me apart, just when I'm experiencing feelings of joy, happiness and a lightness of heart. Faith -- and a feeling of self-worth toward a Higher Power -- helps me endure tragedy and ecstasy. When I choose to give all my fears over to my Higher Power, I will be free.

Daily Reflections Page 181

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Just a Quote

“Today I Will Remember Self-esteem OR self-satisfaction?” ~ Anonymous Author

[bluidkiti]

April 24


Purpose on Life Prayer

Lord,
I believe there is so much that I can do with my Life and right now I find myself in a state of questioning.
I know that with Your assistance, absolutely anything is possible.
Help me to maintain a positive attitude and increase my confidence so that I can clearly feel You and hear You when You speak to my heart, knowing that You are working through me to fulfill Your Purpose.
Amen

-- Dr. Loretta Standley

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Just a Thought

Today, I am not so envious of other people, nor am I so jealous of other people's possessions and talents.

When I was drinking, I was secretly full of jealousy and envy of those people who could drink normally, who had the love and respect of their families, who lived a normal life and were accepted as equals by their friends. I pretended to myself that I was as good as they were, but I knew it wasn't so. Now I don't have to be envious any more. I try not to want what I don't deserve. I'm content with what I have earned by my efforts to live the right way. More power to those who have what I have not. At least, I'm trying.

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

Have I got rid of the poison of envy?

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Just a Contemplation

Awareness

When we first become aware of a problem, a situation, or a feeling, we may react with anxiety or fear. Awareness is the first step toward positive change and growth. It's the first step toward solving the problem, or getting the need met, the first step toward the future.

Awareness is how life, our God, gets our attention and prepares us for change. The process of becoming changed begins with awareness. Awareness, acceptance, and change - that's the cycle. We can accept the temporary discomfort from awareness because that's how we're moved to a better place.

I will try to display gratitude, peace, and dignity when life gets my attention. I will remember that it's okay to accept the temporary discomfort from awareness because I can trust that it's my God moving me forward.

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Resentments

It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to futility and unhappiness. To the precise extent we permit these, do we squander the hours that might have been worth while. But with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely grave. We found that it is fatal.

Alcoholics Anonymous Page 66

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Just a Quote

“The path to our destination is not always a straight one. We go down the wrong road, we get lost, we turn back. Maybe it doesn’t matter which road we embark on. Maybe what matters is that we embark.” -- Barbara Hall

[bluidkiti]

April 25


A Gratitude Prayer

Lord,
We thank thee for food and remember the hungry.
We thank thee for health and remember the sick.
We thank thee for friends and remember the friendless.
We thank thee for freedom and remember the enslaved.
May these remembrances stir us to service,
that thy gifts to us may be used for others.
Amen

~ Abigail van Buren

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Just a Thought

I have learned to live one day at a time.

I have finally realized the great fact that all I have is now. This sweeps away all vain regret and it makes my thoughts of the future free of fear. Now is mine. I can do what I want with it. I own it, for better or worse. What I do now, in this present moment, is what makes up my life. My whole life is only a succession of nows. I will take this moment, which has been given to me by the grace of God, and I will do something with it. What I do with each now, will make me or break me.

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

Am I living in the now?

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Just a Contemplation

Powerlessness

While alcoholics have much in common, the personal stories heard at AA open meetings show that we took different routes to alcoholism. Some became out-of-control drinkers almost from the beginning. Others lost control slowly after years of seemingly moderate drinking.

These differences are underscored by the fact that we also differ in physical and emotional traits. Some alcoholics, for example, were so emotionally disturbed that they became problem drinkers from the very start. Some appeared to "have it all together," yet became alcoholics after retirement or some other change in life patterns.

Whatever the route taken, we share in common our individual powerlessness at the time we knocked on AA's door. And the solution for each of us was the same: sobriety in AA. The risk in listening to such different personal accounts is that some of us twist these differences into "proof" that we are not alcoholics. The reward of such sharing , however, is learning that we do have a common problem and that there is a solution that fits everyone, in spite of our differences.
I'll remember today that I came to AA because I was powerless over alcohol. That has not changed.

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Happy & Useful

Every day, I feel a little bit more useful, more happy, and more free. Life, including some ups and downs, is a lot of fun. I am part of AA which is a way of life. If I had not become an active alcoholic and joined AA, I might never have found my own identity or become a part of anything.

Alcoholics Anonymous Page 417, 3rd Edition

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Just a Quote

“There is a magnet in your heart that will attract true friends. That magnet is unselfishness, thinking of others first.” ~ Paramahansa Yogananda

[bluidkiti]

April 26


Change Life Prayer

Lord,
I look up to you in this time of change. Allow me to have the courage to change my life for the better. Allow all my burdens to be risen up to you as I know that You will see me through. Forgive those who have done evil and allow me to do the same. Teach me to love with an open heart and open spirit. Take time for me today to help with all the trials you have set out for me and allow me the strength and energy to follow you. Give me the blessing to keep my family together, and bless those who are away, may they be strong and know how much love is out there. Bless me with love, strength, wisdom, health, courage, forgiveness, and a willingness to learn.
Amen

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Just a Thought

Alcohol is poison to the alcoholic.

Poison is not too strong a word, because alcoholism leads eventually to the death of the alcoholic. It may be a quick death or a slow death. When we go by package stores and see various kinds of liquor all dressed up in fancy packages to make it look attractive, we should always make it a point to say to ourselves so we'll never forget it: "That stuff's all poison to me." And it is. Alcohol poisoned our lives for a long time.

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

Do I know that since I'm an alcoholic, that all alcohol is poison to me?

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Just a Contemplation

Freedom

We were not free. We were prisoners of our illness. What our illness wanted, we give it,our dignity, our self-respect, even our families. Our prison walls were made of denial, false pride, and self-will run riot. Now we know that brick walls don’t have to stop us. We don’t have to bang our heads on them.

Slowly, we’re learning about freedom. We’re learning that freedom. We’re learning that freedom comes from within. It comes when we think clearly and make our own choices. It comes when we follow a better way of life. It comes when we take care of ourselves. It comes when we take responsibility. The key to freedom is in loving our Higher Power.

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Progress

On studying the Twelve Steps, many of us exclaimed, "What an order! I can't go through with it." Do not be discouraged. No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles. We are not saints.

The point is that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines. The principles we have set down are guides to progress. We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection.

Alcoholics Anonymous Page 60

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Just a Quote

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” ~ Henry Ford

[bluidkiti]

April 27


Worry Prayer

God,
Help me to live one day at a time.
Help me to not worry about tomorrow but instead focus on what you’re doing in my life right now.
I want to trust in your promise to take care of every one of my needs — financial, relational, physical, social, spiritual, and emotional.
Help me to trust you more and worry less.
Amen

~ Roger G.

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Just a Thought

Strength comes also from working with other alcoholics.

When you are trying to help a new prospect with the program, you are building up your own strength at the same time. You see the other person in the condition you might be in yourself and it makes your resolve to stay sober stronger than ever. Often, you help yourself more than the other person, but if you do succeed in helping the prospect to get sober, you are stronger from the experience of having helped another person.

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

Am I receiving strength from working with others?

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Just a Contemplation

Trust in Today

For many of us, to look forward to today with secure anticipation, to trust in what the future holds can be a challenge!
We can still remember, all too vividly perhaps, the darker periods in our lives, periods that seemed to hold no promise; a time when we dreaded the future, fearing it would only compound those awful times.

The fear and the dread are not gone completely. They hover about us, on occasion. They no longer need to darken all of a day, however. We can recognize their presence as parts of our whole, not all of it. How free we are, today! Our choices are many.

I can step toward today with assurance, reaching out to others along the way, trusting that my accumulated steps add stability to my future.

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Now

Now is the time, the only time there is.
And if we are not kind to ourselves right now, we certainly cannot rightfully expect respect or consideration from others. We have found we can enjoy, sober, every good thing we enjoyed while drinking -- and many, many more. It takes a little practice, but the rewards more than make up for the effort. . . Unless we cherish our own recovery, we cannot survive to become unselfish, ethical, and socially responsible people.

Living Sober Page 42

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Just a Quote

“Be gentle with yourself, learn to love yourself, to forgive yourself, for only as we have the right attitude toward ourselves can we have the right attitude toward others.” ~ Wilfred Peterson

[bluidkiti]

April 28


Natural Beauty Prayer

Lord,
I know that every day may not be good, but there is good in every day.
Make this one the best day yet.
Let my eyes be open to the natural beauty in the commonplace things I see.
May my heart feel love for everyone I meet.
Encourage my heart to embrace each and every person I see with a genuine smile.
Show me the way to living well.
Thank You for the guidance and grace You have in store for me today.
Amen

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Just a Thought

Drinking cuts you off from God.

No matter how you were brought up, no matter what your religion is, no matter if you say you believe in God, nevertheless you build up a wall between you and God by your drinking. You know you're not living the way God wants you to. As a result, you have that terrible remorse. When you come into A.A., you begin to get right with other people and with God. A sober life is a happy life, because by giving up drinking we've got rid of our loneliness and remorse.

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

Do I have real fellowship with other people and with God?

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Just a Contemplation

The Chill

Our program and the Steps have warmed us from the inside out. Just as a bonfire warms those who stand around it, the Steps take away the chill we have felt for so long.

At Times, we’ll be tempted to move away from the Steps. At times, we’ll get tired of looking at our behavior and attitudes. We are by nature, controlling people. We’ll want to “prove our point” about something when our program tells us to let it go. We need to stay close to the Steps and the warmth they hold. Remember the chill of our disease.

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Down To Earth

Those of us who have spent much time in the world of spiritual make-believe have eventually seen the childishness of it. This dream world has been replaced by a great sense of purpose, accompanied by a growing consciousness of the power of God in our lives.

We have come to believe He would like us to keep our heads in the clouds with Him, but that our feet ought to be firmly planted on earth. That is where our work must be done. These are the realities for us. We have found nothing incompatible between a powerful spiritual experience and a life of sane and happy usefulness.

Alcoholics Anonymous Page 130

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Just a Quote

“Inner peace can be reached only when we practice forgiveness. Forgiveness is letting go of the past, and is therefore the means for correcting our misperceptions.” ~ Gerald G. Jampolsky

[bluidkiti]

April 29


Prayer of Uncertainness

Lord,
Please be a place of refuge and a constant presence of love and support for all those experiencing fear, anxiety, and loneliness. Please care for the physical needs of those who are struggling to provide for their families. Bring peace and healing to those who have lost loved ones or are dealing with life-threatening illnesses.

Please help us come to you for hope and guidance during times of uncertainty. We ask for your peace in place of our anxiety.
Amen

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Just a Thought

The way of A.A. is the way of sobriety, fellowship, service, and faith.

Let us take up each one of these things and see if our feet are truly on the way. The first and greatest to us is sobriety. The others are built on sobriety as a foundation. We could not have the others if we did not have sobriety. We all come to A.A. to get sober, and we stay to help others get sober. We are looking for sobriety first, last, and all the time. We cannot build any decent kind of a life unless we stay sober.

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

Am I on the A.A. way?

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Just a Contemplation

Rights

In recovery, we regain our right to have choices, our right to have honest relationships. Do we claim these rights, or do we let them go by?

Sometimes, standing up for our rights will mean going against the crowd. It will mean turning down that drink when everyone else has one. It will mean telling your honest opinion when it's different from what others think. Being sober will mean, at times being different. Lots of times, we find being different hard. We want to fit in. This is normal.

But we don't stand alone. We have friends who will stand with us during hard times. We have a Higher Power who will guide and comfort us. We are people with rights. Let's work hard so nothing takes away our rights.

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Uniqueness

I just did not believe that AA would work for me as a black drunk. I genuinely believed I was different until much later, when I had what I now know to be my first spiritual awakening: that I was an alcoholic and I didn't have to drink! I also learned that alcoholism, as an equal opportunity illness, does not discriminate -- is not restricted to race, creed, or geography. At last I was released from the bondage of my uniqueness.

Alcoholics Anonymous Page 450

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Just a Quote

"So many times, when we are being of service to others, we find the answer or solution to our own problems." ~ Madisyn Taylor

[bluidkiti]

April 30


Morning Prayer

Lord,
When evil darkens our world, give us light.
When despair numbs our souls, give us hope.
When we stumble and fall, lift us up.
When doubts assail us, give us faith.
When nothing seems sure, give us trust.
When ideals fade, give us vision.
When we lose our way, be our guide!
That we may find serenity in Your presence and purpose in doing Your will.

~ John D. Rayner

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Just a Thought

Before I met A.A., I was very dishonest.

I lied to my spouse constantly about where I had been and what I'd been doing. I took time off from my work and pretended I'd been sick or gave some other dishonest excuse. I was dishonest with myself, as well as with other people. I would never face myself as I really was or admit when I was wrong. I pretended to myself that I was as good as the next person, although I suspected I wasn't.

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

Am I now really honest?

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Just a Contemplation

Self-Pity

It requires very little effort - and no imagination - to start feeling sorry for ourselves. Often, it is easy to feel sorry for ourselves in our families. Instead of being inspired by the sports talents of an older brother, the popularity of a lovely sister, or the fame of a parent or relative, we often take the easier attitude: "I'm denied all that he or she has."

If we work hard at developing our own abilities so that we can excel, we will find ourselves proud of, and applauding, what others do. If a personal problem brings us self-pity, we must remind ourselves that all people have problems. We can cope as well as the best of people if we learn from them and think positively.

Who among those close to me can I be proud of today?

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Meditation

Aided by such instruction and example as we can find, it is essentially an individual adventure, something which each one of us works out in his own way.
But its object is always the same: to improve our conscious contact with God, with His grace, wisdom, and love. And let's always remember that meditation is in reality intensely practical. One of the first fruits is emotional balance.

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Pages 101-102

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Just a Quote

”When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.” ~ Catherine Ponder