Skip to main content

Growing in God and Sobriety....

Romans 8:31
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Psalm 46:1-3
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
Luke 1:37
For with God nothing shall be impossible.
1 John 4:4
Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.


My Prayer for the Day
"Heavenly Father, Thank You for reminding me that "my will" and "my way" and "my time"-doesn't work! Thank you for showing me through the Steps of AA and by working with others, that all my pain, chaos and drama was self inflicted by the choices I made. That my insistence and impatience created friction and conflict with You, Your will and my fellows. Thank You Father for ALL that You have removed, replaced and revealed to me that is allowing me to stop the insanity of looping these patterns that do not work; and that have kept me from reaching my full potential. Father. I humbly surrender to You and to Your will...Please mold me into the women that You would have be be! In Jesus name-Amen"


Today’s action
  • Today if I find myself impatience with the world, with others or with myself, I will surrender or pray for Him to remove the obsession of having things "my way"
  • Today I will remember that it is not the JOB of others to assure me, validate me or meet my expectations. That putting that kind of pressure on people annoys them and pushes them away. That I want to be an asset to them not a job for them
  • Today I will practice patience, tolerance and acceptance of others, my living situation, my finances and the world around me
  • Today I will respect God's time by not insistence on mine and allow God's will to align with what He has instore for me!


SERENITY PRAYER

(long version)

God, grant me the Serenity
to accept the things
I cannot change Courage to change the
things I can, and the
Wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardship as the
pathway to peace.
Taking, as He did, this
sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it.
Trusting that He will make
all things right if I
surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy
in this life, and supremely
happy with Him forever in
the next.
Amen


Podcast of he Day
Pat R. Continues his Step Series...talks about how the turmoil of constant upheaval in his childhood manifested in adulthood through defects
Listen to more AA Podcast http://podbay.fm/show/438992195

12 x 12 on Tradition 9
“A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may
create service boards or committees directly
responsible to those they serve.”

"Special service boards and committees. The General Service Conference, the board of trustees, and group committees cannot issue directives to A.A. members or groups. A.A.'s can't be dictated to—individually or collectively. Absence of coercion works because unless each A.A. follows suggested Steps to recovery, he signs his own death warrant. Same condition applies to the group. Suffering and love are A.A.'s disciplinarians. Difference between spirit of authority and spirit of service. Aim of our services is to bring sobriety within reach of all who want it. 

Hil's blah
Yeah, digging these traditions...really glad I started studying them finally...lol! Didn't have time this morning to go deeply into this one, will later today, but from what I gather so far it reminds of what I heard and say about spiritual consent. If AA made you do the Steps instead of suggesting it, we of course in all our stubbornness would resist all together. Most of us wait until we are bleeding out, suffering beyond measure to open up of ears to hear and become teachable. AA doesn't have to discipline, we say "ok, lets get to work!!" We do it from a place of love rather than authority...Alcoholics hate authority but do respond to love-tough love sometimes! But genuine love...and because we are so damn intuitive we can tell the difference!!



Big Book There is a Solution-Continued....
"You may already have asked yourself why it is that all of us became so very ill from drinking. Doubtless you are curious to discover how and why, in the face of expert opinion to the contrary, we have recovered from a hopeless condition of mind and body. If you are an alcoholic who wants to get over it, you may already be asking—“What do I have to do?’’

It is the purpose of this book to answer such questions specifically. We shall tell you what we have done. Before going into a detailed discussion, it may be well to summarize some points as we see them.

How many times people have said to us: “I can take it or leave it alone. Why can’t he?’’ “Why don’t you drink like a gentleman or quit?’’ “That fellow can’t handle his liquor.’’ “Why don’t you try beer and wine?’’ “Lay off the hard stuff.’’ “His will power must be weak.’’ “He could stop if he wanted to.’’ “She’s such a sweet girl, I should think he’d stop for her sake.’’ “The doctor told him that if he ever drank again it would kill him, but there he is all lit up again.’’ Now these are commonplace observations on drinkers which we hear all the time. Back of them is a world of ignorance and misunderstanding. We see that these expressions refer to people whose reactions are very different from ours."

Hil's blah-
I thought all those things of myself too...what the hell is wrong with me!?! When my mom died I honored her by switching from vodka to wine. Now I will get my life together and drink responsible...not stop of course, drink like normal people, make her proud of me in death instead of in her life?? Our minds rationalize the irrational...lol. All I ended up doing was gain weight because I had to drink my wine to get the results I got with the vodka! In order to lose weight I started drinking gin....ummm...ok!! 



As Bill See’s it
Principles Before Expediency
Most of us thought good character was desirable. Obviously,
good character was something one needed to get on with the
business of being self-satisfied. With a proper display of
honesty and morality, we'd stand a better chance of getting
what we really wanted. But whenever we had to choose
between character and comfort, character-building was lost
in the dust of our chase after what we thought was
happiness.
Seldom did we look at character-building as something
desirable initself. We never thought of making honesty,
tolerance, and true love of man and God the daily basis of
living.
<< << << >> >> >>
How to translate a right mental conviction into a right 
emotional result, and so into easy, happy, and good living, is
the problem of life itself.
1. TWELVE AND TWELVE, PP. 71-72
2. GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1958

1 Corinthians 13
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and may not have charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Does not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. *