admin
12-30-2007, 03:20 PM
Daily Reflections
Daily Resolutions
The idea of "twenty-four-hour" living applies primarily to the
emotional life of the individual. Emotionally speaking, we must not
live in yesterday, nor in tomorrow.
As Bill Sees It, p. 284
A New year: 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours, 525,600
minutes--a time to consider directions, goals, and actions. I must
make some plans to live a normal life, but also I must live emotionally
within a twenty-four hour frame, for if I do, I don't have to make
New Year's resolutions! I can make every day a New Year's day! I
can decide, "Today I will do this . . . Today I will do that." Each day
I can measure my life by trying to a little better, by deciding to follow
God's will and making an effort to put the principles of our A.A.
program into action.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
I shall be loyal in my attendance, generous in my giving, kind in my criticism, creative
in my suggestions, loving in my attitudes. I shall give A.A. my interest, my
enthusiasm, my devotion, and most of all, myself. The Lord's Prayer has become part
of my A.A. thoughts for each day: "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy
name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this
day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass
against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Have I given myself?
Meditation For The Day
As we look back over the year just gone, it has been a good year to the extent that
we have put good thoughts, good words, and good deeds into it. None of what we have
thought, said, or done need be wasted. Both the good and the bad experiences can be
profited by. In a sense, the past is not entirely gone. The result of it, for good or
evil, is with us at the present moment. We can only learn by experience and none of our
experience is completely wasted. We can humbly thank God for the good things of the
year that has gone.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may carry good things into the year ahead. I pray that I may carry on
with faith, with prayer, and with hope.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Ourselves as Individuals, p.281
There is only one sure test of all spiritual experiences: "By their
fruits, ye shall know them."
This is why I think we should question no one's
transformation--whether it be sudden or gradual. Nor should we
demand anyone's special type for ourselves, because experience
suggests that we are apt to receive whatever may be the most useful
for our own needs.
**********************************
Human beings are never quite alike, so each of us, when making
an inventory, will need to determine what his individual character
defects are. Having found the shoes that fit, he ought to step into
them and walk with new confidence that he is at last on the right
track.
1. Grapevine, July 1963
2. Twelve and Twelve, p.48
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Has it been a Year of Growth?
Growth
As any year draws to a close, we should reflect on how we have grown in sobriety. We should also identify changes during the year that enabled us to overcome bad habits and to move closer to better patterns of living.
Though we never are guaranteed favorable outcomes, we should always remember that sobriety is its own reward. We want a full life of course, but it must begin with a decision to seek and to maintain sobriety at all costs.
We find that with sobriety, lots of other problems seem to solve themselves. Even if they don't we have the tools to move forward and to achieve goals that always eluded us while we were drinking. Every year in sobriety is a year of growth.
I'll be conscious today of recent improvements I've made in my life and all my affairs. With sobriety, these improvements will go on for a lifetime.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
May you live all the days of your life'--Jonathan Swift.
Tonight, at midnight, a New Year will begin. None of us know what the New Year will hold. But we can trust ourselves to hold on to the spirit of recovery as we go through the year. As a New Year is about to begin, we can rejoice in our new way of life. We can give our will and our life to our HP. By doing these things, we'll be ready for the New Year.
PRAYER: Higher Power, I pray that I'll start the New Year safe in Your loving arms. I pray that I'll keep working my program.
ACTION: Tonight, at midnight, I'll say the Serenity Prayer. I will think of all the others who have read this meditation book and who will join me in this prayer. We are a recovering community.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
ON THE MOVE - Working the A.A. program showed this alcoholic how to get from geographics to gratitude.
Like everyone else I have good days and bad days. Unlike my attitude while I was still drinking, however, I rarely dread what is going to happen to me today. I have even had the chance to see my father come into A.A. We have been to numerous A.A. conventions together and have shared more with each other in the past few years than we ever had before. I think we are both at peace with our pasts and comfortable with the present.
p. 493
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Three - "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him."
Therefore, we who are alcoholics can consider ourselves fortunate indeed. Each of us has had his own near-fatal encounter with the juggernaut of self-will, and has suffered enough under its weight to be willing to look for something better. So it is by circumstance rather than by any virtue that we have been driven to A.A., have admitted defeat, have acquired the rudiments of faith, and now want to make a decision to turn our will and our lives over to a Higher Power.
pp. 37-38
************************************************** *********
"Wherever you go, whomever you meet, look for an opportunity to help, to inspire, to
lend support."
--Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Most people search high and wide for the keys to success. If they only knew, the key to
their dreams lies within.
--George Washington Carver
Look for the Good.
--unknown
The traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous help me play well with others,
when what I really want to do is take my toys and go home!
--unknown
"You can't build a reputation on what you're going to do."
--Henry Ford
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
CHANGE
"It is not necessary to get away
from human nature but to alter
its inner attitude of heart and
mind."
-- J. F. Newton
An understanding of sobriety and serenity that has proved helpful to me is that we
are not only changing but involved in change. We determine the results of the
change.
I can change for good or bad. I can stay sober or drink. I can be cheerful and creative
or negative and destructive. My attitude determines the results of my changing life.
Spirituality has been given, but it also needs to be nurtured. I need to surround myself
with loving and honest people if I am to allow my spirituality to grow in my life. My
continued willingness is essential to my sobriety and serenity.
Thank You for making me with a mind and heart that together create the action.
************************************************** *********
I believe that I am now a child of God .
1 John 3:1-3
I believe that I was saved by the grace of God through faith, that it was a gift and not
the result of any works on my part.
Ephesians 2:8
I choose to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
Ephesians 6:10
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
To have courage, think courageous, act courageous, and pray to God for courage. Lord, You are full of love for all who come to You.
Abundance is God's to give, so shut out all limited thoughts. Lord, my faith in You and my faith in the talents and abilities You have given me makes me able to achieve my goals.
Daily Resolutions
The idea of "twenty-four-hour" living applies primarily to the
emotional life of the individual. Emotionally speaking, we must not
live in yesterday, nor in tomorrow.
As Bill Sees It, p. 284
A New year: 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours, 525,600
minutes--a time to consider directions, goals, and actions. I must
make some plans to live a normal life, but also I must live emotionally
within a twenty-four hour frame, for if I do, I don't have to make
New Year's resolutions! I can make every day a New Year's day! I
can decide, "Today I will do this . . . Today I will do that." Each day
I can measure my life by trying to a little better, by deciding to follow
God's will and making an effort to put the principles of our A.A.
program into action.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
I shall be loyal in my attendance, generous in my giving, kind in my criticism, creative
in my suggestions, loving in my attitudes. I shall give A.A. my interest, my
enthusiasm, my devotion, and most of all, myself. The Lord's Prayer has become part
of my A.A. thoughts for each day: "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy
name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this
day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass
against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Have I given myself?
Meditation For The Day
As we look back over the year just gone, it has been a good year to the extent that
we have put good thoughts, good words, and good deeds into it. None of what we have
thought, said, or done need be wasted. Both the good and the bad experiences can be
profited by. In a sense, the past is not entirely gone. The result of it, for good or
evil, is with us at the present moment. We can only learn by experience and none of our
experience is completely wasted. We can humbly thank God for the good things of the
year that has gone.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may carry good things into the year ahead. I pray that I may carry on
with faith, with prayer, and with hope.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Ourselves as Individuals, p.281
There is only one sure test of all spiritual experiences: "By their
fruits, ye shall know them."
This is why I think we should question no one's
transformation--whether it be sudden or gradual. Nor should we
demand anyone's special type for ourselves, because experience
suggests that we are apt to receive whatever may be the most useful
for our own needs.
**********************************
Human beings are never quite alike, so each of us, when making
an inventory, will need to determine what his individual character
defects are. Having found the shoes that fit, he ought to step into
them and walk with new confidence that he is at last on the right
track.
1. Grapevine, July 1963
2. Twelve and Twelve, p.48
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Has it been a Year of Growth?
Growth
As any year draws to a close, we should reflect on how we have grown in sobriety. We should also identify changes during the year that enabled us to overcome bad habits and to move closer to better patterns of living.
Though we never are guaranteed favorable outcomes, we should always remember that sobriety is its own reward. We want a full life of course, but it must begin with a decision to seek and to maintain sobriety at all costs.
We find that with sobriety, lots of other problems seem to solve themselves. Even if they don't we have the tools to move forward and to achieve goals that always eluded us while we were drinking. Every year in sobriety is a year of growth.
I'll be conscious today of recent improvements I've made in my life and all my affairs. With sobriety, these improvements will go on for a lifetime.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
May you live all the days of your life'--Jonathan Swift.
Tonight, at midnight, a New Year will begin. None of us know what the New Year will hold. But we can trust ourselves to hold on to the spirit of recovery as we go through the year. As a New Year is about to begin, we can rejoice in our new way of life. We can give our will and our life to our HP. By doing these things, we'll be ready for the New Year.
PRAYER: Higher Power, I pray that I'll start the New Year safe in Your loving arms. I pray that I'll keep working my program.
ACTION: Tonight, at midnight, I'll say the Serenity Prayer. I will think of all the others who have read this meditation book and who will join me in this prayer. We are a recovering community.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
ON THE MOVE - Working the A.A. program showed this alcoholic how to get from geographics to gratitude.
Like everyone else I have good days and bad days. Unlike my attitude while I was still drinking, however, I rarely dread what is going to happen to me today. I have even had the chance to see my father come into A.A. We have been to numerous A.A. conventions together and have shared more with each other in the past few years than we ever had before. I think we are both at peace with our pasts and comfortable with the present.
p. 493
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Three - "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him."
Therefore, we who are alcoholics can consider ourselves fortunate indeed. Each of us has had his own near-fatal encounter with the juggernaut of self-will, and has suffered enough under its weight to be willing to look for something better. So it is by circumstance rather than by any virtue that we have been driven to A.A., have admitted defeat, have acquired the rudiments of faith, and now want to make a decision to turn our will and our lives over to a Higher Power.
pp. 37-38
************************************************** *********
"Wherever you go, whomever you meet, look for an opportunity to help, to inspire, to
lend support."
--Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Most people search high and wide for the keys to success. If they only knew, the key to
their dreams lies within.
--George Washington Carver
Look for the Good.
--unknown
The traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous help me play well with others,
when what I really want to do is take my toys and go home!
--unknown
"You can't build a reputation on what you're going to do."
--Henry Ford
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
CHANGE
"It is not necessary to get away
from human nature but to alter
its inner attitude of heart and
mind."
-- J. F. Newton
An understanding of sobriety and serenity that has proved helpful to me is that we
are not only changing but involved in change. We determine the results of the
change.
I can change for good or bad. I can stay sober or drink. I can be cheerful and creative
or negative and destructive. My attitude determines the results of my changing life.
Spirituality has been given, but it also needs to be nurtured. I need to surround myself
with loving and honest people if I am to allow my spirituality to grow in my life. My
continued willingness is essential to my sobriety and serenity.
Thank You for making me with a mind and heart that together create the action.
************************************************** *********
I believe that I am now a child of God .
1 John 3:1-3
I believe that I was saved by the grace of God through faith, that it was a gift and not
the result of any works on my part.
Ephesians 2:8
I choose to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
Ephesians 6:10
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
To have courage, think courageous, act courageous, and pray to God for courage. Lord, You are full of love for all who come to You.
Abundance is God's to give, so shut out all limited thoughts. Lord, my faith in You and my faith in the talents and abilities You have given me makes me able to achieve my goals.