god will topic for 1/16-1/22

[eve3]

ok i can sit here and keep thinking of a topic or post what i was gona post to begin with so here goes....gods will....being raised catholic,and doing church back when i was young,all changed when i met alcholo and drugs,only time i prayed is when i was in trouble or need ed $ to get of e (being dope sick)did things my way for many yrs and ended up doing time! got a 2 1/2 yr sentence for violating probation,was surrendered,and taken into custody....only this time things were a lil different i had accumulated some clean time and i wasnt going back to jail,sick and suffering,and i knew before i hit that court room,i would b taken in custody,instead of doing the usuall running and saying ah f this,i showed up to get locked up!that was gods will for me,u c the seed had been planted how ever,it needed help growing and lots of guidence...i learned how to participate in my life and my recovery,on the recovery unit in the house of correction,a rescue mission,and a learning experience,gods will for me,i feel good now w/6 yrs clean as long as i dont take my will back,i carry the message of hope,and share my esh.....

Self will and ‘running the show’ can be like the monkey who sticks his hand into the trap for food. He grasps the food tightly creating a fist that won’t slide out the trap door. The monkey struggles but won’t release the food and he is trapped. Holding tight to your will and your way can be the fist that traps you.

I Let Go and Let God. What a relief.1/15/8

__________________
if i choose to use today with 10 problems if i wake up in the morning im sure to have 11....im holding on to my seat thanks tammy for letting me participate luv ya evie

[Misselle]

I love the quote, Eve! I am going to have to remember that one!

[sioux]

Coming to believe that a power greater than me was interested in my well being was hard to believe. I hid out from Creator, even sitting on a church pew.

Had I not made the great admission and surrendered to reclaim my sanity, I doubted much would have ever changed for me. The pivotal moment for me was realizing my feelings were not going to kill me; feelings aren't facts.

And I could change my mind. They repetatively asked me to please keep an open mind. I had been a closed minded drunk to myself and the world around me. It's not so black and white when you open your mind to the concept that there is something out there that wants good things for ole Sioux.

If I had written out a list of what I wanted when I sobered up I would have shortchanged myself severely. With my Creator, all things are possible. I stay sober. I ask for guidance and direction. That is so easy!

The hard part is the doing.

[Dan B]

GOD'S WILL I do believe that God gives me free will. With free will I must decide what is right and what is wrong. I believe that God will not help me to destroy myself, I must do that myself and I don't believe God will even condem it I am the one that must comdem destoring myself. I also believe that God loves me and if I need help God,though others or directly, will help me or point me in the right direction. I also believe that God loves me and if I ask for help God will either though others or directly help me. I feel and know that God loves and understand me that is what he has shown me and though Gods grace and will I hope that I can love and understand myself and ohters the way God intended to be!

[eve3]

and i now come to relize gods will is not having me run wild on the streets,homeless,manipulating,lying,cheating,and doing what ever possibly,or not possible to get more drugs!that was eves will,so today i do my best to practice gods will i live a day @ a time and follow the winners the ones that no how to follow,i wake up and ask for gods will help me saty away from a drink,and drug today,please remove defects of character which stand in the way of my recovery today! and i know in time the rest will b removed,its gods will im clean/sober today,and as long as i follow his will im doing ok thanks to all who shared

[admin]

There was a point in my recovery when I would say I had turned my will over to God but deep inside I held onto my will some. I was afraid to let go totally. I eventually relapsed. For me it was only until I surrendered totally to God that I was able to get sober and stay sober.

After some time in recovery, I was trying to decide what God's will was for me. I happen to sit in on a meeting during this time that the topic was about God's will. At the end my sponsor shared and said for her this was God's will:

"Lord, make me a channel of thy peace--that where there is hatred, I may bring love--that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness--that where there is discord, I may bring harmony--that where there is error, I may bring truth--that where there is doubt, I may bring faith--that where there is despair, I may bring hope--that where there are shadows, I may bring light--that where there is sadness, I may bring joy. Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted--to understand, than to be understood--to love, than to be loved. For it is by self-forgetting that one finds. It is by forgiving that one is forgiven. It is by dying that one awakens to Eternal Life. Amen." 12 x 12, p. 99

The light bulb went off for me when I heard her share this.

When self-will is running riot, hit the brakes, time out, talk to God. Reconnect with God to refresh, renew and restore yourself with Him. --Tammy B. 5-2-01

[clean42day]

A.A. Thought for the Day
"We cannot get along without prayer and meditation. On awakening, let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead. We consider our plans for the day. Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking. Our thoughts lives will be placed on a much higher plane when we start the day with prayer and meditation. We conclude this period of meditation with a prayer that we will be shown through the day what our next step is to be. The basis of all our prayers is: Thy will be done in me and through me today." Am I sincere in my desire to do God's will today?
Meditation for the Day
Breathe in the inspiration of goodness and truth. It is the spirit of honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love. It is readily available if we are willing to accept it wholeheartedly. God has given us two things -- God's spirit and the power of choice -- to accept or not, as we will. We have the gift of free will. When we choose the path of selfishness and greed and pride, we are refusing to accept God's spirit. When we choose the path of love and service, we accept God's spirit and it flows into us and makes all things new.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may choose the right way. I pray that I may try to follow it to the end.

I don't always know with certainty what Gods will is - but I can usually eventually discern what it isn't - and I try to align my will with what I think he would have me do. The difference is: Today I don't have to learn in retrospect as much - I try to think things through "before" I take an action, make a choice, or follow a dicision through that will have an affect on myself and others for years to come. Something done in love and service is always the highest choice.

Something I learned here from one of you (can't remember who said it) "if you can do someone some good - than at least try not to do them any more harm"......that would include myself I think - and so when I try to decide what God's will is? and how to carry that out? - I try to remember that little bit of wisdom and keep things simple, and I ask myself: is this choice, action, or decision I am about to make going to bring about my highest good and benefit others? I usually find my answer somewhere in my heart.



light and love

Gail

[anniemac]

In general, I would say that my belief is that God's will for me is to be of maximum service to God and to others, and to always come from a place of love. I like the thought that God's will for us is basically the same as the St. Francis prayer.

On a smaller scale, though, in day to day life, it can get murky for me. I hear folks say "if it benefits everyone, then it's God's will." Well, when I was contemplating divorce, it seemed like a lose-lose proposition. I couldn't imagine that God's will for me was to be so unhappy with an active drinker; yet I couldn't see that God's will for me was to walk away from a long marriage. I guess what God's will for me was, what transpired: that I started the divorce, and then my husband agreed to counseling, and now we are rebuilding the marriage. I suppose the lesson there is, if I can't see which choice is God's will, then maybe there's a 3rd option I'm overlooking.

Dr. Paul said, on a speaker tape, that God's will is evident in the outcome. It doesn't matter what we do or don't do; the outcome of our actions will reflect God's will. That fits with my experience with the marriage/divorce. After much agonizing, I did decide to start the divorce, and yet, look how it ended up -- despite my decision and my actions, we are married today. Another woman I know, divorced her husband 3 years ago, in early sobriety. She and her ex-husband are now dating, and shopping for a house for the two of them. So, despite all of their actions, God's will comes through in the end.

[david monteith]

Hi guys
my name is David and i am an alcoholic
thank you for this weekly topic/meeting
this has been a goog meeting for me,the topic being Gods will,i did not want to take part.It is so simple and yet so difficult for me to do this every day of my recovery.
Going through the shares and from my own experience,Gods will is Gods will,whatever my personal outcome,even if that means lying drunk in the gutter.I believe that the tiny part of God which exists in me resides in my conscience.My ego is in constant conflict with my awakening conscience.I know what is right and wrong today,my conscience tells me,but I have an alcoholic ego which has the potential to destroy me.
The 12 steps of aa have so far led me to my conscience and the outcome so far is Gods will. there is no other outcome possible for any human being but Gods will.
Once again, thank you all for this meeting
David

[Montauktammy]

I can let things get out of hand in my head as far as what would my Higher Power have of me. I try to the best of my ability to do the next right thing, and not the next wrong thing. Well I know it is right for me to take care of my recovery, because I can be of no service at all if I don't have any recovery . My true belief is that my Higher Power's will for me is to love others and to be kind and of service to others. Do on to others as you would have done to you.