Daily Recovery Readings - November

[bluidkiti]

November 21

Daily Reflections

A CLASSIC PRAYER

Lord, make me a channel for 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.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 99

No matter where I am in my spiritual growth, the
St. Francis prayer helps me improve my conscious
contact with the God of my understanding. I think
that one of the great advantages of my faith in
God is that I do not understand Him, or Her, or
It. It may be that my relationship with my Higher
Power is so fruitful that I do not have to understand.
All that I am certain of is that if I work the
Eleventh Step regularly, as best I can, I will
continue to improve my conscious contact, I will
know His will for me, and I will have the power to
carry it out.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

I no longer waste money, but try to put it to good
use. Like all of us, when I was drunk, I threw money
around "like a drunken sailor." It gave me a feeling
of importance--a millionaire for a day. But the
morning after, with an empty wallet and perhaps some
undecipherable checks to boot, was a sad awakening.
One of the hardest things to face is the fact of
wasted money. How could I have been such a fool? How
will I ever make it up? Thoughts like these get you
down. When we are sober, we spend our hard earned
money as it should be spent. Although some of us
could be more generous in our A.A. giving, at least
we do not throw it away. Am I making good use of my
money?

Meditation For The Day

You were meant to be at home and comfortable in the
world. Yet some people live a life of quiet
desperation. This is the opposite of being at home
and at peace with the world. Let your peace of mind
be evident to those around you. Men should see that
you are comfortable, and seeing it, know that it
springs from your trust in a higher power. The dull,
hard way of resignation is not God's way. Faith
takes the sting out of the winds of adversity and
brings peace even in the midst of struggle.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be more comfortable in my way
of living. I pray that I may feel more at home and
at peace with myself.

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As Bill Sees It

Groping Toward God, p. 323

"More than most people, I think, alcoholics want to know who they
are, what this life is about, whether they have a divine origin and an
appointed destiny, and whether there is a system of cosmic justice and
love.

"It is the experience of many of us in the early stages of drinking to
feel that we have had glimpses of the Absolute and a heightened
feeling of identification with the cosmos. While these glimpses and
feelings doubtless have a validity, they are deformed and finally swept
away in the chemical, spiritual, and emotional damage wrought by the
alcohol itself.

"In A.A., and in many religious approaches, alcoholics find a great deal
more of what they merely glimpse and felt while trying to grope their
way toward God in alcohol."

Letter, 1960

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Walk In Dry Places

Alcoholism in the workplace
Employment
Most of the personal stories in AA include troubles in the workplace. This is not surprising, because the disease itself almost guarantees that an active alcoholic is likely to make more mistakes, have higher absenteeism, and get into trouble with bosses and/or fellow employees. Who really wants a practicing alcoholic on the payroll? Who would want such a person as a manager or employer? Who wants to be treated by a doctor who is drunk or badly hung over.
If our alcoholism created problems in the workplace, we have no moral right to blame others who held us accountable for this. Far from blaming others who were critical of us, we owe personal amends for any harm we caused employers or fellow workers.
The good news is that recovery makes it possible for us to perform up to acceptable standards at work and carry out our responsibilities. In sobriety, we can write a new chapter and establish a good work history.
In my work today, I'll keep in mind the wonderful advantages I have as a result of knowing and practicing the AA principles. As a recovering alcoholic, I can be a positive force in an organization.

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Keep It Simple

To love others, we must first learn to love ourselves.---Anonymous
Sometimes we think our life would be fine if that dream person showed up. But loving someone isn’t easy. Our bad habits cause problems. We have to change. Sometimes we aren’t ready to have on especial person. We have to have a group of people---our recovery group---to love and help us get healthy. We must learn to trust, to be honest, to give help, and to love others. The truth is, no one person can make our life wonderful---except us. We hold happiness inside of us. It’s in our spirit. Look no further.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me love myself
Action for the Day: I’ll list five ways I will love myself today.

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Each Day a New Beginning

Continuous effort--not strength or intelligence--is the key to unlocking our potential. --Liane Cordes
Perseverance may well be our greatest asset. As we forge ahead on a project, it loses its power over us. Our confidence and abilities grow in concert with our progress on the project, preparing us to tackle the next one too.
We have something special, uniquely our own to offer in this life. And we also have the potential to offer it successfully. However, we don't always realize our potential. Many of us stifled our development with fears of failure, low self-worth, assumed inadequacies. The past need plague us no longer.
Help is readily available for us to discover our capacities for success. Abilities stand ready to be tapped, goals and projects await our recognition. Any commitment we make to a task that draws our interest will be reinforced by God's commitment to our efforts. We have a partner. Our efforts are always doubled when we make them--truly make them.
I will not back away from a project today. I will persevere and find completion. I'll feel completed.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

We pocket our pride and go to it, illuminating every twist of character, every dark cranny of the past. Once we have taken this step, withholding nothing, we are delighted. We can look the world in the eye. We can be alone at perfect peace and ease. Our fears fall from us. We begin to feel the nearness of our Creator. We may have had certain spiritual beliefs, but now we begin to have a spiritual experience. The feeling that the drink problem has disappeared will often come strongly. We feel we are on the Broad Highway, walking hand in hand with the Spirit of the Universe.

p. 75

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Two - "For our group purpose, there is but one ultimate authority - a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience."

Where does A.A. get its direction? Who runs it? This, too, is a puzzler for every friend and newcomer. When told that our Society has no president having authority to govern it, no treasurer who can compel the payment of any dues, no board of directors who can cast an erring member into outer darkness, when indeed no A.A. can give another a directive and enforce obedience, our friends gasp and exclaim, "This simply can't be. There must be an angle somewhere." These practical folk then read Tradition Two, and learn that the sole authority in A.A. is a loving God as He may express Himself in the group conscience. They dubiously ask an experienced A.A. member if this really works. The member, sane to all appearances, immediately answers, "Yes! It definitely does." The friends mutter that this looks vague, nebulous, pretty naive to them. Then they commence to watch us with speculative eyes, pick up a fragment of A.A. history, and soon have the solid facts.

p. 132

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Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful.
--Annette Funicello

Happiness is an inside job.
--unknown

"People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges."
--Joseph Fort Newton

AA is not something you join, it's a way of life.
--unknown

I trust God's plan for me today.
I know that I am being guided at all times.
I know all I need to know in any given moment.
--Ruth Fishel

Don't stare at the steps of success - step up the stairs.
--American Proverb

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

HEROES

"Self-trust is the essence of
heroism."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

In my recovery I have become my hero. It sounds egotistical but it is part of my
program of self-love. I have many other heroes but today I respect myself. Today I
believe that God is involved in my life; an aspect of divinity exists within me. I trust
me with my life, and I am proud of the daily choices I make for my sobriety.

Spirituality allows me to be my hero today because it is with my respect of self that I
can truly respect others; the awareness of my dignity affords dignity to others; my
personal healing brings healing to others.

Today I am the center of my universe.

Thank You for the awareness of the achievements and successes in my life; today I am
my own winner.

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"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give
glory to your Father who is in Heaven."
Matthew 5:16

"As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."
Psalm 103:12

And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the
beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
2 John 1:6

The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:17-18

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Daily Inspiration

Don't spoil what you already have by using up your time wanting what you don't have. Lord, may I live with gratitude and take back my life because my life is not and never will be in the hands of fate.

When you feel anger, allow yourself no more than 5 minutes because after that, anger is self-indulging and turns quickly to hatred and rage. Lord, You are a forgiving God. Heal my hurts.