CyberRecovery Page 4

A HEART AFTER GOD...REALLY?

"But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart."
- 1 Samuel 13:14 (NKJV)

Saul's sin effectively ended his reign as Israel's King
and opened up a new one. Now God would go with a man who was less impressive in
the physical sense but who had what Saul didn't-a heart after God.





David was that man, and we can't miss the fact that it was
God who makes the comparison. It wasn't David declaring he had a heart after
God, it was God declaring it-through Samuel. Why is that so important? Because
when we look at David's deeds, we see a lot of things that would seem to
contradict God's declaration.





Sin didn't take a break with David. In fact, we find David
entangled in perhaps the most sinful situation in Israel's history. He commits
adultery with another man's wife and then covers it up by conspiring to have
her husband killed in battle (2 Samuel 11). A heart after God? Really?





Really. Because God understands there's ultimately more to
us than our sinful behavior. He sees past the outward and peers into the inward
part that truly defines who we are. David certainly sinned, but he also
acknowledged and confessed his sin when confronted with it (2 Samuel 12, Psalm
51). He wasn't a perfect man, but at the end of the day He was repentant, and
that's how God ultimately defined him.





So what do we do with this example? Are we emboldened by it
to excuse or encourage sin in our own lives? Or are we humbled that even at our
lowest moments God sees past our sin and knows the true condition of our
hearts? Sin is strong, sin is powerful, and sin is never justified, but praise
God that His perspective and understanding of us is greater.




godspeaks

Learning from Life

There are no 'buts' today. I am what I am, others are what they are, life is what it is. I will not parenthesize my growth with a 'but' or hold back my forward-moving spirit with second-guesses. For today, I am living with things as they are. I am exactly where I am meant to be, learning what I need to learn. All I need do is move through situations with willingness to learn and openness to feel. When feelings are brought up, I can accept them as what is happening within me - no need to resist and analyze them. Transformation will happen in the moving through and the acceptance of them. I trust that my life is unfolding in such a way that what I need to learn will be before me. I am willing to learn.

I see the 'table prepared.'
- Tian Dayton PhD

Yep, just as it says in my topic title. I want to break up from my family.. My siblings are all ACOAs so am I, my mother is no longer a drinker but still smokes cannabis and is physically disabled with Osteoarthritis. Part of me even wonders if she plays on her condition to get the sympathy vote! I know people with the condition who I see at my gym taking care of themselves yet my mother sits in her smoky house moaning about life and her ailments. My youngest sibling does the majority of helping the mother and is very protective of her, controlling and defensive of her even! I can't quite explain it but it's weird and not normal. It's like my mother is using her.

Anyway, I tried to walk away from all of them after standing ground with my mother over my pain and hurt of how she let us down in the past, of course she went into denial, the siblings defended her honour with so much vigour that they wanted to forget me completely. I was hurt but happy about this. However, since my uncles funeral a few months after the breakup we established some kind of contact whereby I would ultimately end up where I am now CONFUSED!!!

Every time I see them I leave feeling confused and guilty, my self confidence is damaged and I feel dirty and guilty. I have no idea why or what they do or say to me to bring out this feeling. I'm so confused by them, a few months ago I was worse than poop, now I am "great" and everyone loves me :s. It's so frustrating cos I know they just want to use me and I allowed them back into my life. I would have preferred now to have stayed at loggerheads with them, then it would be easier to stay away. It's only hope that has been bringing me back. But I know now that it's over. I tried seeing them all one by one and each time I come out of it moody and conflicted. It's affected my relationship and I have been awful with my partner. Thankfully he has been very understanding.

So now I am at the point where I want to cut with them, I feel like I want to say goodbye but I know it will only lead to questions that they will ask and turn on me to say it's all in my head. I know different. I just wish I could point out what it is they do to make me feel the way I do when I am with them but I just can;t see it! It's a blind spot. Not that if I said it to them they would admit it anyway as denial runs deep with them and with me so it seems. i have denied for so long that I need to get away for good but always hoped for more.

So here I am, I want to walk away, cut ties and stay cut. Then I feel guilty with questions like "It's my mums birthday in a week, I will hurt her if I just cut off my phone and go" "My sisters may come and damage my car out of spite cos I have hurt mother" I feel trapped and I just want to get out!! The only conflict I have is that I don't want to hurt them. I quite literally just want to disappear and move house etc. I don't want to stay feeling tied to caring about them.

Why does this feel so hard and has anyone else had this issue with breaking up? I've been awake all night conflicted. I bet mother was never conflicted about how much she hurt us when she was drinking and we were being beat and sexually abused by her ex's! It's like being afraid to leave someone who you're dating who you fear will hunt you down and stalk/kill you. I know they won't kill me. I just want out!!!!!!! It's always easier said than done!! 30 years and I want to walk away, it's hard to quit 30 years but only guilty about their feelings keeps me. I have absolutely nothing inside for them as people, I do not like any of them as people. I don't hate them either. They just have nothing to give and everything to take and my loyalty is based on nothing!

Argh! :25: I feel sick with all of this!!

Higher Power: Alcoholics Anonymous Basics

By Dick B.
© 2009 Anonymous. All rights reserved

Some of us have spent a lot of time puzzling over the question “What is a Higher Power?”

Sometimes we hear that it is, “Something.” Sometimes, the answer is that it is,“Somebody.” Sometimes the answer is “Anything that keeps me from drinking.” Many have said, “it” is a light bulb, a radiator, a chair, the Big Dipper, a rock, “Her,” a tree, the Big Dipper, Ralph, a rainbow, or “nothing at all.” I have personally read, heard, and recorded all of these strange characterizations. One compilation is in my book, God and Alcoholism. But whatever we hear, such answers have sounded pretty screwy to some of us. And they certainly are.

However, the more the answers, the more the questions because those light bulb and Big Dipper phrases don’t answer questions. They still keep raising the point that if so many are talking about an “higher power,” it must at least have some root, and at some point in time it must have meant something. So, “What is it?”

Historically, the “higher power” phrase comes from New Thought writers like Ralph Waldo Trine, William James, and Emmet Fox. And I have listed the places where you can find the phrase in those and other pre-A.A. writings.

But what is it?

Let me tell you how three old timers approached the answer by defining what a “Higher Power” isn’t:

One old timer – the oldest and who died only recently – was my friend Jim H. from Maryland. He lived to 100 years old and got sober just about the same time that Bill Wilson did. In fact, Jim knew of Rev. Sam Shoemaker and met Bill Wilson at early Oxford Group meetings. In his nineties, Jim became associated with the phrase “back to basics.” Prior to that, he had come to know me, and he endorsed a number of my books. Jim’s answer to the “higher power” nonsense involved s a “takeaway” approach. He said to me and wrote: “If you take God out of the program, you have nothing.” And that powerful observation still holds good for most of us.

Another old timer – the retired archivist at Dr. Bob’s home – is my friend Ray G. Ray takes a large collection of A.A. history materials around the U.S., conducts workshops at conferences, and tells it like it was. Ray’s approach to the nonsense phrase was to “identify” his “highest power.” Ray frequently said: “My higher power isn’t conference approved; but his Father is!”

A third – an old timer from Oregon whose name is Gene – phoned me not long ago to say that he was involved in both A.A. and N.A. and was speaking at a world convention of N.A. He said he was interested in our early A.A. history and my research and wanted to bring his higher power back into the program. He said that Jesus was his higher power, and that he knew the early A.A. program was a Christian program. We got to talking about “singleness of purpose,” about the common features of A.A. and N.A., and about the drift of both away from God. At the end of our conversation, we both agreed that today’s crowds in A.A. and N.A. are really not single anything—not just alcoholics, not just addicts, not just believers, not just unbelievers, but in fact not much of either if they just stayed sick and didn’t get into a fellowship and focus on getting well. Gene said that he no longer introduced himself in speeches by saying “I’m Gene, and I am an alcoholic.” Or, “I’m Gene, and I am an addict.” Today he introduces himself as follows: “I’m Gene, and I am a responsible member of the program.”

So this little article is addressed to those who are or want to be “a responsible member of the program.” And want so to identify themselves. And just who is a responsible member?

Let’s take a cue from the three old timers I just quoted.

A responsible member is one who does not seek to, or want to, take God out of the any recovery fellowship or program. It’s neither his privilege nor his right.

A responsible member is one who makes it clear that the Creator, his Maker, his Father, is “conference approved”—certainly not “conference dis-approved.” He knows that most A.A. General Service “Conference-approved” literature refers to the Bible, Bible phrases, God, establishing a relationship with God, and the early A.A. Christian Fellowship. Early on, even A.A.’s “basic text” only referred to an “higher power” and both times in the context of Almighty God.

A responsible member includes anyone who gets well by turning to “the Lord”—as Bill Wilson and Bill Dotson (A.A. Number Three) said they did (Big Book, p. 191). He’s not required to turn to Jesus Christ, as his A.A. forbears were; but he has that privilege and right.

A responsible member is one who would rather focus on what God has done for him once he sought God, than on sparking conflicts over definitions about who is sick from what, about what a “higher power” is, about what “it” is or isn’t, about what the meaning of “is” is, and or about who satisfies the requirements for “membership” and who doesn’t.

Why? I can speak only as to the Alcoholics Anonymous fellowship I joined in 1986. I saw now A.A. Step that referred to some “higher power.” I saw no A.A. Tradition that insisted that God could not be and mean God. I saw no A.A. literature that banned the history that clearly showed early AAs were required to believe in God and to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. In fact, I saw no literature that attempted to tell AAs that their “higher power” was a rock or a chair, was not the Creator, and could mean belief in nothing at all. That’s simply not the A.A. which I joined, and it is not the A.A. in which I have managed to be active to this day and maintain continuous sobriety for almost 24 years.

One of the reasons I enjoyed and still enjoy the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous is that I never tried to substitute any kind of “higher power” for Almighty God. Another is that I never got thrown out when I mentioned God. Or even when I mentioned the Bible. Another is that I used the same terms to describe Almighty God that were used by Dr. Bob, Bill Wilson, and the other pioneers—Creator, Maker, Father, God, Father of lights, Heavenly Father, and Spirit. Another is that I soon gave up thinking I could expect others to stop using the phrase “higher power” to describe their “Something,” or “Somebody,” or “not-god” philosophy. And I am, like Gene, “a responsible member of the program.” At least I think so, and that is what counts for me. My job is to be of maximum service to God and those still suffering from alcoholism. That’s our primary purpose, and it works!

Gloria Deo

Dick B., PO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837; 808 874 4876; dickb@dickb.com; http://www.dickb.com/index.shtml; http://www.dickb-blog.com

:85:

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
^*^*^*^*^
(\ ~~ /)
( \ (AA)/ )
(_ /AA\ _)
/AA\
^*^*^*^*^
Pain

"Though I still find it difficult to accept
today's pain and anxiety with any great degree of serenity
-- as those more advanced in the spiritual life
seem able to do --
I can give thanks for present pain nevertheless.
I find the willingness to do this
by contemplating the lessons learned from past suffering
-- lessons which have led to the blessings I now enjoy.
I can remember how the agonies of alcoholism,
the pain of rebellion and thwarted pride,
have often led me to God's grace, and so to a new freedom."
Bill W., Grapevine, March 1962
c. 1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 266
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Thought to Consider . . .

Joy isn't the absence of pain -- it's the presence of God.


*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A B C = Acceptance, Belief, Change



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*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*


Wrong
From "When A.A. Came of Age":
"After a long interval we heard from the promoter. He wrote, 'You told us that outside enterprises can be fine and very helpful. But you also said that they could not be mixed with A.A. I figured that they could be, and should be. Well, you folks at Headquarters were right and I was wrong.'

"With his letter, the promoter sent us a card, which he had already mailed to every group in the United States. It was folded like a golf score card, and on the outside was printed, 'Group so-and-so, place so-and-so. Rule No. 62.' When the card was unfolded a single pungent sentence met the eye: 'Don't take yourself too damned seriously.'"

2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 104


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*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"We never apologize to anyone for depending upon our Creator. We can
laugh at those who think spirituality the way of weakness.
Paradoxically, it is the way of strength. The verdict of the ages is
that faith means courage. All men of faith have courage. They trust
their God. We never apologize for God. Instead we let Him
demonstrate, through us, what He can do. We ask Him to remove our
fear and direct our attention to what He would have us be. At once,
we commence to outgrow fear."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 68~

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Misc. AA Literature - Quote




Many people wonder how A.A. can function under a seeming anarchy. Other societies have to have law and force and sanction and punishment, administered by authorized people. Happily for us, we found that we need no human authority whatever. We have two authorities which are far more effective. One is benign, the other malign.
There is God, our Father, who very simply says, 'I am waiting for you to do my will.' The other authority is named John Barleycorn, and he says, 'You had better do God's will or I will kill you.'

The A.A. Traditions are neither rules, regulations, nor laws. We obey them willingly because we ought to and because we want to. Perhaps the secret of their power lies in the fact that these life-giving communications spring out of living experience and are rooted in love.

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Member Submitted Quote



We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world. - ( Helen Keller )

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12 x 12 Quote

"Countless times, in as many cities and hamlets, we reenacted the story
of Eddie Rickenbacker and his courageous company when their plane
crashed in the Pacific. Like us, they had suddenly found themselves
saved from death, but still floating upon a perilous sea. How well they
saw that their common welfare came first. None might become selfish of
water or bread. Each needed to consider the others, and in abiding
faith they knew they must find their real strength. And this they did
find, in measure to transcend all the defects of their frail craft,
every test of uncertainty, pain, fear, and despair, and even the death
of one." (Twelve and Twelve, Tradition One, pg. 131)

My husband has just had his 3rd AA birthday. On Thursday night he started drinking again, this is not his first slip, but none have been as bad as this. Last night he fell in the hall, and couldn't get back on his feet, had to crawl into the sitting room and climb onto the sofa. This morning, he has sort of sobered up and has been vomiting. He has also told me he was drinking to block out suicidal thoughts. I don't know how to help him, any suggestions? I am at my wits end.

History of A.A.: No Substitute For Books

AAs’ Early Reading: What Dr. Bob’s Wife Suggested

Dick B.

Early A.A. members and their families gathered each morning at the home of A.A. co-founder Dr. Bob and his wife Anne Smith. Anne was rightly called the “Mother of A.A.” And each day she led the pioneers in a Quiet Time which opened with prayer, study of the Bible, group prayers, seeking of God’s guidance, and frequent discussion of topics in the spiritual journal she kept from 1933-1939. Important were her recommendations for reading. She taught: “Of course the Bible ought to be the main Source Book of all. No day ought to pass without reading it.” She believed all their reading should be guided—“What does God want me to read?” Then she recommended biographies or stories of changed lives such as Harold Begbie’s Twice-Born Men; Samuel M. Shoemaker’s Children of the Second Birth; and A.J. Russell’s For Sinners Only. She also suggested, “All of E. Stanley Jones’ books are very good” and that “One should by all means read at least one book on the life of Christ a year for a while. More would be better.” She specified Rev. James Stalker’s The Life of Jesus Christ and Robert E. Speer’s Studies of the Man Christ Jesus.” For further views of books to be read, see Dick B., Anne Smith’s Journal 1933-1939: A.A.’s Principles of Success, 3rd ed. (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 1998).

:idea:

I know the bit about relying on it as an escape and yes, that is a very rewarding aspect of alcohol. It is also a very rewarding aspect of a lot of other things that provide an escape such as running, art, music etc. Music can be VERY mood altering. Why is it that if someone said: I know you love music, so give it up for a month. Don't listen to any. It may not be enjoyable, but I'd take that challenge right now. Yet if someone says "give up alcohol for a month"... I'd say... I'll try for a week.

I'm not sure I grasp what is so potent about this. Anyone able to give me insight?

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
^*^*^*^*^
(\ ~~ /)
( \ (AA)/ )
(_ /AA\ _)
/AA\
^*^*^*^*^
Sanity

"My actions drunk or sober, before AA,
were not those of a sane person.
My desire to be honest with myself made it necessary
for me to realize that my drinking was irrational.
It had to be, or I could not have justified
my erratic behavior as I did.
I've been benefited from a dictionary definition I found
that reads: 'rationalization is giving
a socially acceptable reason for
socially unacceptable behavior,
and socially unacceptable behavior is a form of insanity."
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 550-1
^*^*^*^*^

Thought to Consider . . .

Let the lunatic out of the attic.


*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
K I S S = Keep It Simple, Surrender

A Place for You

"Let not your hearts be troubled." (John 14:1)



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Jesus accepts anyone who believes in Him. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

The good news of salvation is our's in Jesus! Setting our hope on him who promises will make us ready. (see 1John 3:3)

"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." (John 14:1-3) Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, thank you for being our security. Thank you for your encouragement. Teach me to rest in your salvation. Help me to trust in you- to grow in your promise that you will finish the work you have begun in me. Amen.

Today's very great and precious promise

Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (see Phil 3:20)

We have God's Word on it.




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Good News
www.dailygrace.org

Leaving Abuse Behind

Today, I see my life as my life. If I do not take care of it, make plans and dream dreams, who will? I am not second in my own heart - there has to be a place on this Earth where I come first, so that the little child inside me feels loved and held. I will come first with me. In the same way that I will protect my children from harm, I will protect myself. Chaos is a part of a dysfunctional family system. I hardly saw it as unusual - it was just what was, a painful way of life - the only one I knew. I do not need to recreate problem situations in my life today in order to feel stable or as if I have a home. I can live a calm and pleasant life.
- Tian Dayton PhD

Hey all...

I've already got a "Favorite Poetry" thread going and thought an art thread might be fun too. I encourage others to add to it if you care to. Any kind of image of art will do: paintings, CG art, sculpture, flower arrangements, whatever you like.

Enjoy.

First image: He Rests Next To Bread - Timothy Patrick Butler

My book, The Dopeless Hope Fiend chronicles my journey to recovery. It wasn't easy to write. With each page, I relived the insanity, pain and heart break that I spent so many years accumulating. Some days, after sitting at my computer terminal for several hours I remember being mentally exhausted. I felt as if I had just finished running an emotional marathon. It was almost as if I were walking down a metaphoric alley and someone beat the crap out of me with a baseball bat. When the manuscript was complete, I sat back in my chair and took a deep breath before a big sigh of relief. I pondered what I had written, what I had to go through to get to this point in my life an thought how great it felt to be in recovery.

In retrospect, I realize that I had been sober at different times in my life but had never been in recovery. It's relatively easy to attain sobriety. That's all I had to do is stop drinking and drugging. But to recover, not only do I have to stop using, but I have to deal with the underlying reasons that I started using in the first.

Abusing drugs is only a symptom of my disease so I have to deal with the character defects and personality flaws in my life. I have to examine the root causes of my desire to start using in the first place. This life long quest requires work. Who knows, it may even make me a better person. I am a work in progress and it's an inside job. Let me know how you feel about this topic.:85:

WHY ARE YOU DOING THESE THINGS?

A BRIEF (BUT ACCURATE) HISTORY OF NA LITERATURE

AND INCIDENTS IN WORLD SERVICE NOT GENERALLY KNOWN


DATES ARE APPROXIMATE (FROM MEMORY) ACTIONS ARE EXPLICIT


Following WSC '79


Work on "Our Book" begins as a project of the Fellowship.. .by the World Literature Committee (members were members just by being willing to help). This was not the WSC Literature Subcommittee, that we know today but something called the World Literature Committee. Any NA member could be a part-of.


First World Literature Conference; World lit. held first conference, wrote first literature handbook.


Following WSC '80 Work on Basic Text continues... WLC-2 decides to frame chapters from little White Book...


Memphis Feb.'81- WLC-3 THE CONCEPT: POWERLESS OVER THE DISEASE - IDENTITY-very simply AN ADDICT...AND. ..THE 1ST DRAFT OF OUR Basic Text - THE GREY BOOK ...are developed by World Literature Committee

Memphis Mar."81- Grey Book distributed to every known NA Group (free) for review and input.


Santa Monica April '81


WLC-4 Fellowship responds with lots of input. Edit by committee, factoring-in all input begins. WLC membership swells into the hundreds - no NA member is ever denied membership. Book is becoming outgrowth of fellowship.


WSC '81


Obvious battle between WSO & WSB. 1st real WSC - most of the fellowship is represented.


Warren June '81, Miami Sept. '81


Basic Text finalized by committee despite irresponsible, political new chairperson who eventually resigns. Strong, directly- responsible, open committee survives to serve in spite of inadequate trusted servant.


Memphis Nov.'81


WLC elects its own new chairperson, distributes Approval Form of Basic Text to the Fellowship. Every known NA group receives a copy. Policy committee (WSC) enlists help of World Lit members to help draft a new service manual reflective of current fellowship practices- including reformation of WSO, Inc.


WSC '82


Book is approved by the fellowship through the WSC. WSO instructed to produce hardcover by September. Price of book established at $8.00 until office "gets on its feet," then will be lowered - perhaps to $4.50 or less...


Mid-winter '82/'83


No book published by WSO. Most of fellowship copies approval form for use by members till hardcover is out.


WSC '83


"1st Edition" is altered from form approved by fellowship.

Justification used was that some few members feel changes are appropriate. Fellowship demands book returned to approved state by a reformed WSO, Inc.-->2nd Edition


Motion passed WSC by 2/3 of voting participants that RSR'S ONLY VOTE AT WSC. CHAIRPERSON CALLED MOTION DEFEATED BECAUSE NOT 2/3 OF TOTAL REGISTERED VOTING PARTICIPANTS.


WSB MAKES EMOTIONAL APPEAL BASED ON (PROBABLY SOLICITED OR FRAUDULENT) LETTER FROM GROUP IN NEVADA TO 'POLL' FELLOWSHIP DURING A 90 DAY-PERIOD REGARDING CHANGES TO THE CONCEPTS OF 4TH, AND 9TH TRADITIONS REPRESENTED BY DELETIONS IN 1ST EDITION. FELLOWSHIP REPORTEDLY RESPONDS IN AFFIRMATIVE, THOUGH DOCUMENTATION NOT AVAILIBLE TILL 1991. --->3rd Edition


"Original 13" pamphlets approved.


'83-'84


Fellowship Report, originated as open fellowship-wide communication, becomes increasingly (and unnecessarily) detailed and exclusive in tone. WSO, Inc. initiates "Newsline," presenting Office's views to every NA group world-wide, free.


Price of Basic Text is still $8.00 (printing cost reported to be $1.45).


WSC '84


NA WAY magazine taken from the fellowship and given to WSO, Inc.


World convention incorporated as a profit making venture administered by WSO, Inc.


WSC Finance committee disbanded.


World service communication persuades fellowship to accept concept of "vote of confidence" for RSR's.



WSC '84 con't....


WSC committee membership begins to close, eventually becomes small controllable groups of like-thinking members.


WSC '85

-Little White Book revisions passed... Lit. sub-com. will factor into basic text --->3rd Edition Revised


Motion passed to allow WLC to do "minor editing of Basic Text for tense, verb agreement, etc." Office hires professional editor to do lit committee's work resulting in many changed concepts -->4th edition.


WSC '86


Fellowship tells world services "no more professional writers." However, WSC takes it upon themselves without fellowship direction to re-edit Basic Text as committee of the whole -->5th edition [allowing no fellowship review/input and ignoring established fellowship Approval process]


************ ********* ********

THESE ARE SOME OF THE REASONS WHY MANY OF US MAINTAIN THAT THE 2ND EDITION WITH THE REVISED LITTLE WHITE BOOK SECTION ARE THE LAST AND ONLY "FELLOWSHIP APPROVED" BASIC TEXT

When I came to NA I had enough of living life on my addiction's terms. I could not continue doing the things I was doing and I knew it. I was so relieved to find a place that said all they cared about was what I wanted to do about my problem. They then told me their experience with recovery. That experience provided me with hope.


Hope that I to could find a way to live free from the life of addiction and build a life filled with some truth and reality, a life where I could be proud of the man who stared back at me in the mirror. There was enough hope at my first NA meeting that I surrendered to trying a new way to live. My life depended on that choice that night. I went after recovery with all the willingness I could muster. After a couple of meetings I wanted all this program had to offer and was willing to do what it took to get it. Most of all I wanted that all elusive integrity in my life. I sought out sponsors who worked the steps and seemed to be working and applying recovery to their life. Some were and some weren't. If they weren't I moved on. I dealt with confusion and anger at different points of my recovery and still do over the selfishness and selfcenteredness of some people but I have found the only solution to that anger is to ask myself how I can carry a NA messageof hope.


I want to thank my predecessors for their attention to simplicity and truth.The one purpose we have is to carry the message to the still suffering addict. We make that an honest message by working and applying our program. The whole thing. Our predecessors taught us through experience the things that would work without conflicts of spiritual principles.


So to make this short and sweet, Thank you for your time and commitment to the spiritual integrity of OUR Fellowship. Thank you for doing that part of the work for us.


My prayer is that I will be able to carry a NA message of hope filled with the spiritual integrity of OUR literature.


Help me to remember what is an outside issue to NA recovery. Help me to see my way through the confusing issues that come up in my recovery so I can help the newcomer through theirs. Help me do selfless service the way my predecessors did.


In loving service, an addict

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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(\ ~~ /)
( \ (AA)/ )
(_ /AA\ _)
/AA\
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Spiritual Life
^*^*^*^*^
"The spiritual life is not a theory.
We have to live it.
Unless one's family expresses a desire to live upon
spiritual principles
we think we ought not to urge them.
We should not talk incessantly to them about spiritual matters.
They will change in time.
Our behavior will convince them more than our words.
We must remember that ten or twenty years
of drunkenness would make a skeptic out of anyone."

Reprinted from Alcoholics Anonymous, Page 83, with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

Thought to Consider . . .

Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching?

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
P A C E =Positive Attitudes Change Everything

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*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*

Unconditional
From: "Getting our of the "if trap"
But then, after a sober while, for some of us there comes a time when - plop! - a new discovery slaps us in the face. That same old eiffy thinking habit of our tippling days has, without our seeing it, attached itself to not drinking. Unconsciously, we have placed conditions on our sobriety. We have begun to think sobriety is just fine - if everything goes well, or if nothing goes askew.

In effect, we are ignoring the biochemical, unchangeable nature of our ailment. Alcoholism respects no ifs. It does not go away, not for a week, for a day, or even for an hour, leaving us nonalcoholic and able to drink again on some special occasion or for some extraordinary reason - not even if it is a once-in-a-lifetime celebration, or if a big sorrow hits us, or if it rains in Spain or the stars fall on Alabama. Alcoholism is for us unconditional, with no dispensations available at any price.

1998, AAWS, Inc., Living Sober, page 63

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*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity
from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 89~

"We have seen the truth demonstrated again and again: 'Once an
alcoholic, always an alcoholic.' Commencing to drink after a period
of sobriety, we are in a short time as bad as ever."

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 33



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Misc. AA Literature - Quote




Vision is, I think, the ability to make good estimates, both for the immediate and for the more distant future. Some might feel this sort of striving to be heresy against 'One day at a time.' But that valuable principle really refers to our mental and emotional lives and means chiefly that we are not foolishly to repine over the past nor wishfully to daydream about the future.
As individuals and as a fellowship, we shall surely suffer if we cast the whole job of planning for tomorrow onto a fatuous idea of providence. God's real providence has endowed us human beings with a considerable capability for foresight, and He evidently expects us to use it. Of course, we shall often miscalculate the future in whole or in part, but that is better than to refuse to think at all.

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Member Submitted Quote



On CHANGE: 'After you've done a thing the same way for two years, look it over carefully. After five years, look at it with suspicion. And after ten years, throw it away and start all over.' - ( Alfred Edward Perlman )

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12 x 12 Quote

"As we have seen, self-searching is the means by which we bring new
vision, action, and grace to bear upon the dark and negative side of
our natures. It is a step in the development of that kind of humility
that makes it possible for us to receive God's help. Yet it is only a
step. We will want to go further." (Twelve and Twelve, Step Eleven, pg.
98)

The Mahayanas tell the story of a sage
who once stood on a riverbank
looking across at the opposite shore.
Although the far side
was but dimly visible
through the river mists,
he could see that it was
unspeakably beautiful.
The hills were green
and the trees were all in blossom.

So he said to himself,
"I want to go there."
There was a raft tied
at the river's edge.
He untied the raft
and began to paddle
toward the distant shore.

The journey was long as hazardous,
for the currents in midstream were swift.
The raging rapids tossed and turned the raft,
and he had to work with all his strength
to maintain his balance.
From the center of the river
both shores were lost from view,
and there were times when he was not sure
which way he was drifting.
But he continued paddling
and in due time
he reached the far shore.

He got out of the raft and said,
"Ah, at last I am here.
It was a perilous journey,
but now I have reached nirvana."
He looked about him.
The hills were green
and the trees were all in blossom.

Then he turned and looked back.
He could not see the opposite shore
whence he came.
Nor was there any river to be seen.
And there was no raft.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO Yukonm,:136::155::155::155::155:

I've recently started attending this group called Step By Step in Brooklyn, NY. They meet weekly for something that's a cross between a 12 step meeting and an interfaith "worship" service. It's open to people with any addiction at all (right now it's mostly alcoholics and food addicts, with a few sex and relationship addicts and some other assorted addictions). There's a reading from Christian or Buddhist literature and a parallel reading from 12 step literature, then a "sermon" on the connections between them. It is not done from any particular faith perspective - there's no dogma, the texts are looked at as simply being the "shares" of ancient people about their understanding of the Divine and what it is to live spiritually.
I'm very curious to hear what others think about it, so here's a link to the website, where you can listen to past services. The downside is that you don't get to hear everyone share afterward - that part's not recorded in case people wouldn't be comfortable with that.
http://sites.google.com/site/stepbystepgreenpoint/
I love it, because it leaves out all of the stuff I hated about religion, but I know some people cringe at even the hint, so I can't wait to hear other's opinions!
By the way, I've posted this to a couple different places, because I'm not sure which forum is most appropriate - not trying to spam!
Thanks,
Twelve

By the Power of God is a book endorsed by the late Ozzie Lepper, Manager of Wilson House

It explains how Bill Wilson endorsed the formation of all sorts of A.A. activities—retreats, Bible Study groups, and the like. He wrote Rev. John C. Ford, S.J. and Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr. so stating. This book should bring heart to those who want to pursue A.A. and their own religious convictions among groups of like-minded believers. Consider donating $15.60 on my website www.dickb.com and enabling us to send a copy free to someone who will use it effectively to establish and conduct a group that really wants to rely on the power of God for recovery.

http://openlibrary.org/b/OL58292M/By_the_power_of_God



God Bless, Dick B.
:eek: