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12-30-2008, 04:59 PM
Wisdom for Today
Admitting to God that indeed I had done much wrong in my life was no easy task. I had to get past this concept that God was a punishing God. I had learned this concept growing up. I could not get all those Bible stories out of my head where people were punished for the wrongs they had done. I was fearful that I also would be punished. Then the recovering pastor I was to do my Fifth Step with spoke up. I guess he could see the fear in my eyes. He suggested that we begin with a prayer. I figured fire and brimstone would likely follow. But I was wrong.
The prayer that was spoken was a Third Step prayer. It reminded me that I had made a decision to turn over my will and my life to the "care" of my Higher Power. “Turn it over to His care” – these words rang loudly in my ears as the pastor continued to pray. I am not sure that I heard anything else that he said. All I remember was a period of silence that followed the prayer. I looked up from the floor, took a deep breath and began to speak. Amazingly the words flowed from my mouth as I began to recount my past and what I had learned about myself in completing my Fourth Step. Do I trust that God will show me His care when I need it most?
Meditations for the Heart
In the presence of my Higher Power I can find safety, and I can find security. I used to turn to alcohol and drugs to cover up my insecurity. I never felt comfortable even in my own skin. It seemed as though I was always anxious. Yet in recovery I have discovered a new place to feel secure. I often times imagine myself walking down a path with God at my side. I believe that this is what the journey in recovery is all about. What is even more exciting is that God not only walks beside me, but also behind me and in front of me. He watches over me each step of the way. Have I found a safe place in the presence of God?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,
I place my life in Your care. I know that You will walk with me on this journey called recovery. Give me courage to always walk with You. Let me seek out Your will for me this day, and grant me the power and strength I need to follow Your will. Let me know true security in and with You.
Amen.
-----
December 31
Being Of Service
"Working with others is only the beginning of service work."
Basic Text, pg 56
We're in recovery now. Through living the program, we've attained some stability in our lives. Our faith in a Higher Power has grown. Our individual spiritual awakening is progressing comfortably. So now what? Do we simply sit still and enjoy? Of course not. We find a way to be of service.
We tend to think of service only in terms of committee service or holding a position at some level, but service goes far beyond this understanding. In fact, we can find opportunities to be of service in nearly every area of our lives. Our jobs are a form of service to our communities, no matter what our occupation. The work we do in our homes serves our families. Perhaps we do volunteer work in our communities.
What a difference our service efforts make! If we doubt this, we can just imagine what the world would be like if no one bothered to be of service to others. Our work serves humanity. The message we carry goes beyond the rooms of recovery, affecting everything we do.
Just for today: I will look for opportunities to be of service in everything I do.
-----
You are reading from the book Food for Thought.
No Exceptions
Abstinence is the most important thing in my life without exception. Since I am a compulsive overeater, any exception would mean that I might lose control. If I do not control my disease, it controls me. Therefore, there are no exceptions to the rule that abstinence is the most important thing in my life.
In order to follow this rule, I need to depend on a Power greater than myself. Alone, I am not strong enough to maintain abstinence at all times and in all places, but through the grace of God and the support of the OA fellowship, I can do it.
With abstinence, the rest of my life falls into place. I have an incurable illness, but one which can be controlled day by day through following the OA program, working the Twelve Steps, and staying in contact with my Higher Power. There are good days and bad days. but there is always abstinence. I am grateful to be an abstaining, recovering, compulsive overeater.
May I remember each day there are no exceptions to abstinence.
-----
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Finish each day and be done with it. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well. --Ralph Waldo Emerson
Two of the most useless phrases in the English language are "what if" and "if only." We waste so much time and energy thinking about what we might have done and wishing we had acted or reacted differently. We imagine how things might have turned out "if only . . ."
All of us make mistakes. To go back and wonder and wish about our yesterdays prevents us from living fully today. Each day is a fresh chance; a new beginning. We can only squeeze what we can out of the moment and let the drops fall where they may. Some will evaporate and some will form rainbows.
Can I forget about yesterday and start a fresh new day?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Dawns another year,
Open it aright;
Thou shalt have no fear
In its fading light.
--Joseph Krauskopf
New Year's Eve is a good time to reflect upon the closing year and set our direction for the year ahead. This day reminds us that every day of the year is lived just one at a time. Looking back, we can see a year's change in ourselves. We see the progress we have made as men on our journey. Perhaps we see how much stronger we are emotionally. Maybe we see relationships that have developed because of our growing ability to love. Certainly all of us have some things we regret and some changes we mourn. They too have their place today.
As we begin the coming year, let us review our relationship with each of the Steps. We may perceive aspects of our program that call for more attention. One or two particular Steps may speak to our needs at this time or may have been overlooked in this past year. On this last day of the year, we can again turn our lives and will over to the care of a loving God.
I look to the New Year with a renewed commitment to the Steps.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
In the process of growing to spiritual maturity, we all go through many adolescent stages. --Miki L. Bowen
Progress, not perfection, is our goal in this recovery program. And many days we'll be haunted by the feeling that we've regressed. We will display old behavior. We will feel unable to change, to go on, to make gains once again. But these periods will pass, and soon progress will be evident again.
We must be wary of our need for perfection. It's this need that makes normal progress seem not good enough. And yet, that's all we're capable of--and all we'll ever need to be capable of. The program, its Steps and the promises offered, provide the tools we have lacked, yet need to use in order to accept ourselves wholly and imperfectly.
Daily attention to our spiritual side will foster the spiritual and emotional health we long for. Prayer and meditation, combined with honest inventory-taking, can show us the personal progress needed, the personal progress made. However, we will falter on occasion. We will neglect our program some days. But it won't ever be beyond our reach. And each day is a new beginning.
Today is before me, and I can make progress. I will begin with a quiet prayer and a moment of meditation.
You are reading from the book The Language Of Letting Go.
Affirming the Good
Fun becomes fun, love becomes love, life becomes worth living. And we become grateful. --Beyond Codependency
Wait, and expect good things - for yourself and your loved ones.
When you wonder what is coming, tell yourself the best is coming, the very best life and love have to offer, the best God and His universe have to send. Then open your hands to receive it. Claim it, and it is yours.
See the best in your mind; envision what it will look like, what it will feel like. Focus, until you can see it clearly. Let your whole being, body and soul, enter into and hold onto the image for a moment.
Then, let it go. Come back into today, the present moment. Do not obsess. Do not become fearful. Become excited. Live today fully, expressing gratitude for all you have been, all you are, and all you will become.
Wait, and expect good things.
Today, when I think abut the year ahead, I will focus on the good that is coming.
Today I have all the willingness... all the energy and all the guidance to continue to choose the path of peace and love and joy. --Ruth Fishel
God help me to stay sober and clean today!
Admitting to God that indeed I had done much wrong in my life was no easy task. I had to get past this concept that God was a punishing God. I had learned this concept growing up. I could not get all those Bible stories out of my head where people were punished for the wrongs they had done. I was fearful that I also would be punished. Then the recovering pastor I was to do my Fifth Step with spoke up. I guess he could see the fear in my eyes. He suggested that we begin with a prayer. I figured fire and brimstone would likely follow. But I was wrong.
The prayer that was spoken was a Third Step prayer. It reminded me that I had made a decision to turn over my will and my life to the "care" of my Higher Power. “Turn it over to His care” – these words rang loudly in my ears as the pastor continued to pray. I am not sure that I heard anything else that he said. All I remember was a period of silence that followed the prayer. I looked up from the floor, took a deep breath and began to speak. Amazingly the words flowed from my mouth as I began to recount my past and what I had learned about myself in completing my Fourth Step. Do I trust that God will show me His care when I need it most?
Meditations for the Heart
In the presence of my Higher Power I can find safety, and I can find security. I used to turn to alcohol and drugs to cover up my insecurity. I never felt comfortable even in my own skin. It seemed as though I was always anxious. Yet in recovery I have discovered a new place to feel secure. I often times imagine myself walking down a path with God at my side. I believe that this is what the journey in recovery is all about. What is even more exciting is that God not only walks beside me, but also behind me and in front of me. He watches over me each step of the way. Have I found a safe place in the presence of God?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,
I place my life in Your care. I know that You will walk with me on this journey called recovery. Give me courage to always walk with You. Let me seek out Your will for me this day, and grant me the power and strength I need to follow Your will. Let me know true security in and with You.
Amen.
-----
December 31
Being Of Service
"Working with others is only the beginning of service work."
Basic Text, pg 56
We're in recovery now. Through living the program, we've attained some stability in our lives. Our faith in a Higher Power has grown. Our individual spiritual awakening is progressing comfortably. So now what? Do we simply sit still and enjoy? Of course not. We find a way to be of service.
We tend to think of service only in terms of committee service or holding a position at some level, but service goes far beyond this understanding. In fact, we can find opportunities to be of service in nearly every area of our lives. Our jobs are a form of service to our communities, no matter what our occupation. The work we do in our homes serves our families. Perhaps we do volunteer work in our communities.
What a difference our service efforts make! If we doubt this, we can just imagine what the world would be like if no one bothered to be of service to others. Our work serves humanity. The message we carry goes beyond the rooms of recovery, affecting everything we do.
Just for today: I will look for opportunities to be of service in everything I do.
-----
You are reading from the book Food for Thought.
No Exceptions
Abstinence is the most important thing in my life without exception. Since I am a compulsive overeater, any exception would mean that I might lose control. If I do not control my disease, it controls me. Therefore, there are no exceptions to the rule that abstinence is the most important thing in my life.
In order to follow this rule, I need to depend on a Power greater than myself. Alone, I am not strong enough to maintain abstinence at all times and in all places, but through the grace of God and the support of the OA fellowship, I can do it.
With abstinence, the rest of my life falls into place. I have an incurable illness, but one which can be controlled day by day through following the OA program, working the Twelve Steps, and staying in contact with my Higher Power. There are good days and bad days. but there is always abstinence. I am grateful to be an abstaining, recovering, compulsive overeater.
May I remember each day there are no exceptions to abstinence.
-----
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Finish each day and be done with it. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well. --Ralph Waldo Emerson
Two of the most useless phrases in the English language are "what if" and "if only." We waste so much time and energy thinking about what we might have done and wishing we had acted or reacted differently. We imagine how things might have turned out "if only . . ."
All of us make mistakes. To go back and wonder and wish about our yesterdays prevents us from living fully today. Each day is a fresh chance; a new beginning. We can only squeeze what we can out of the moment and let the drops fall where they may. Some will evaporate and some will form rainbows.
Can I forget about yesterday and start a fresh new day?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Dawns another year,
Open it aright;
Thou shalt have no fear
In its fading light.
--Joseph Krauskopf
New Year's Eve is a good time to reflect upon the closing year and set our direction for the year ahead. This day reminds us that every day of the year is lived just one at a time. Looking back, we can see a year's change in ourselves. We see the progress we have made as men on our journey. Perhaps we see how much stronger we are emotionally. Maybe we see relationships that have developed because of our growing ability to love. Certainly all of us have some things we regret and some changes we mourn. They too have their place today.
As we begin the coming year, let us review our relationship with each of the Steps. We may perceive aspects of our program that call for more attention. One or two particular Steps may speak to our needs at this time or may have been overlooked in this past year. On this last day of the year, we can again turn our lives and will over to the care of a loving God.
I look to the New Year with a renewed commitment to the Steps.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
In the process of growing to spiritual maturity, we all go through many adolescent stages. --Miki L. Bowen
Progress, not perfection, is our goal in this recovery program. And many days we'll be haunted by the feeling that we've regressed. We will display old behavior. We will feel unable to change, to go on, to make gains once again. But these periods will pass, and soon progress will be evident again.
We must be wary of our need for perfection. It's this need that makes normal progress seem not good enough. And yet, that's all we're capable of--and all we'll ever need to be capable of. The program, its Steps and the promises offered, provide the tools we have lacked, yet need to use in order to accept ourselves wholly and imperfectly.
Daily attention to our spiritual side will foster the spiritual and emotional health we long for. Prayer and meditation, combined with honest inventory-taking, can show us the personal progress needed, the personal progress made. However, we will falter on occasion. We will neglect our program some days. But it won't ever be beyond our reach. And each day is a new beginning.
Today is before me, and I can make progress. I will begin with a quiet prayer and a moment of meditation.
You are reading from the book The Language Of Letting Go.
Affirming the Good
Fun becomes fun, love becomes love, life becomes worth living. And we become grateful. --Beyond Codependency
Wait, and expect good things - for yourself and your loved ones.
When you wonder what is coming, tell yourself the best is coming, the very best life and love have to offer, the best God and His universe have to send. Then open your hands to receive it. Claim it, and it is yours.
See the best in your mind; envision what it will look like, what it will feel like. Focus, until you can see it clearly. Let your whole being, body and soul, enter into and hold onto the image for a moment.
Then, let it go. Come back into today, the present moment. Do not obsess. Do not become fearful. Become excited. Live today fully, expressing gratitude for all you have been, all you are, and all you will become.
Wait, and expect good things.
Today, when I think abut the year ahead, I will focus on the good that is coming.
Today I have all the willingness... all the energy and all the guidance to continue to choose the path of peace and love and joy. --Ruth Fishel
God help me to stay sober and clean today!