[bluidkiti]

June 5

Daily Reflections

ENTIRELY READY?

"This is the Step that separates the men from the boys.". . . the
difference between "the boys and the men" is the difference between
striving for a self determined objective and for the perfect objective
which is of God. . . . It is suggested that we ought to become entirely
willing to aim toward perfection. . . . The moment we say, "No,
never!" our minds close against the grace of God. . . . This is the exact
point at which we abandon limited objectives, and move toward God's
will for us.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 63, 68, 69

Am I entirely ready to have God remove these defects of character?
Do I know at long last that I cannot save myself? I have come to
believe that I cannot. If I am unable, if my best intentions go wrong, if
my desires are selfishly motivated and if my knowledge and will are
limited -- then I am ready to embrace God's will for my life.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

We alcoholics are fortunate to be living in a day and age when there is
such a thing as Alcoholics Anonymous. Before A.A. came into being,
there was very little hope for the alcoholic. A.A. is a great rebuilder of
human wreckage. It takes men and women whose personality problem
expresses itself in alcoholism and offers them a program that, if they
are willing to accept it, allows them not only to get sober, but also to
find a much better way of living. Have I found a better way of living?

Meditation For The Day

Very quietly God speaks through your thoughts and feelings. Heed the
Divine voice of your conscience. Listen for this and you will never be
disappointed in the results in your life. Listen for this small, still voice
and your tired nerves will become rested. The Divine voice comes to
you as strength as well as tenderness, as power as well as restfulness.
Your moral strength derives its effectiveness from the power that comes
when you listen patiently for the still, small voice.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may listen for the still, small voice of God. I pray that I
may obey the leading of my conscience.

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As Bill Sees It

Perception of Humility, p. 156

An improved perception of humility starts a revolutionary change in
our outlook. Our eyes begin to open to the immense values which
have come straight out of painful ego-puncturing. Until now, our lives
have been largely devoted to running from pain and problems.
Escape via the bottle was always our solution.

Then, in A.A., we looked and listened. Everywhere we saw failure
and misery transformed by humility into priceless assets.

<< << << >> >> >>

To those who have made progress in A.A., humility amounts to a clear
recognition of what and who we really are, followed by a sincere
attempt to become what we could be.

12 & 12
1. pp. 74-75
2. p. 58

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Walk in Dry Places

Looking at the long term.
Living Today.
Though we’re encouraged to live one day at a time, we must also be aware of the future. We should not knowingly do anything today that creates unneeded risks and penalties further down the road.
We should not, for example, take on unreasonable debt simply to live well today. We should not put off things that will get worse with time. We should not avoid unpleasant decisions that will have to be made sooner or later.
Living one day at a time really means planning to do our best each day. While we cannot predict or control the future, we do have a responsibility to act so that our tomorrows will also be good days for living.
I'll face today with the confidence that all my actions will be good for the long term as well as for today.

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Keep It Simple

Life is only this place, this time, and these people right here and now.---Vincent Collins
Staying in the present can be hard. This busy world pulls our focus from the present. We often wonder if the future will bring good times or bad times.
Life is right before us. Look around. Life is happening---now! The more we live in the moment, the better we feel. Why? Because we can do something about the present. We can't do anything about the future. We have choices in the present, and we can do something with our lives. Addiction ran our lives before. Now with the help of others and our Higher Power, we run our lives again. This give us peace of mind.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, thank-you for giving back my life. Teach me how to run my life. Have me seek others when I need help. It's okay to ask for it.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll list five things I do well. Then I'll list three things I don't do well. I'll think of people who can help me, and I'll call them.

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Each Day a New Beginning

The level of anxiety I feel when an attractive woman enters the room is the cue informing me of my closeness to God at that moment. --Anonymous
Our security lies now and always in our relationship with God. When we are spiritually connected, we don't lack confidence, self-assurance. We don't doubt our value to those around us. Having an active friendship with our God keeps us ever aware that whatever is right for each of us at this time will be given us, that each other person in our life is also on a divinely ordained path going somewhere special to her growth.
It's unfortunate, but true, that many of us had painful experiences with other women earlier in our lives. Maybe we lost a lover or a husband to someone we knew. And it's difficult to believe that what is right for us will come to us, that we need never fear another woman.
The program offers us daily opportunities to take stock of our assets in order to know that we count. And more importantly, it promises security and serenity if each day we invite our higher power to be our companion. We need never fear someone else's presence. Nor need we fear any new situation. With God at our side, all is well. And we'll know it!
I will make God my friend today and enjoy the ease of living.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

BILL'S STORY

Had this power originated in him? Obviously it had not. There had been no more power in him than there was in me at that minute; and this was none at all.
That floored me. It began to look as though religious people were right after all. Here was something at work in a human heart which had done the impossible. My ideas about miracles were drastically revised right then. Never mind the musty past; here sat a miracle directly across the kitchen table. He shouted great tidings.

p. 11

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Five - "Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs."

What are we likely to receive from Step Five? For one thing, we shall get rid of that terrible sense of isolation we've always had. Almost without exception, alcoholics are tortured by loneliness. Even before our drinking got bad and people began to cut us off, nearly all of us suffered the feeling that we didn't quite belong. Either we were shy, and dared not draw near others, or we were apt to be noisy good fellows craving attention and companionship, but never getting it--at least to our way of thinking. There was always that mysterious barrier we could neither surmount nor understand. It was as if we were actors on a stage, suddenly realizing that we did not know a single line of our parts. That's one reason we loved alcohol too well. It did let us act extemporaneously. But even Bacchus boomeranged on us; we were finally struck down and left in terrified loneliness.

p. 57

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People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered; Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; It was never between you and them anyway.
--Mother Teresa

"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the
right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting
moment."
--Dorothy Nevill

God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun
without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the
tears, and light for the way.
--unknown

When you feel down because you didn't get what you want, just sit
tight and be happy, because God is thinking of something better to
give you.
--unknown

Five rules to be happy.
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.
--unknown

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

REASON

"I do not feel obliged to believe
that the same God who has
endowed us with sense, reason
and intellect has intended us to
forego their use."
--Galileo Galilei

An essential part of being human is the ability to think, reflect and
reason. Spirituality is involved in our ideas and perceptions because
that is historically how man has grown and been able to change. As
Descarte said, "Cogito ergo sum - I think therefore I am."

The tragedy is that few people experience the freedom to think and
create because of the stifling addictions that are epidemic in our
society: food, alcohol, drugs, religion, work, money and sex. We are so
afraid of what others might think or say that we never fully
experience our spiritual selves and everybody suffers. It is the "risks"
in life that make man great.

Help me to challenge what I do not believe in order to discover what I
do believe.

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"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Philippians 4:13

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things
as you have. For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor
forsake you. So we may boldly say: The LORD is my helper; I will not
fear. What can man do to me?
Hebrews 13:5-6

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Daily Inspiration

Much stress comes from focusing on things over which you have no control. Lord, may I let go of useless worry and enjoy today.

Regret nothing, not even your failures. Take in the richness of only today because to carry any more will only weigh you down. Lord, You have promised to help me with the burdens of today. I will not look backwards.