today's readings

July 19

Daily Reflections

FALSE PRIDE, p.209

Many of us who had thought ourselves religious awoke to the limitations of this attitude. Refusing to place God first, we had deprived ourselves of His help. 12 & 12, p. 75

Many false notions operate in false pride. The need for direction to live a decent life is satisfied by the hope experienced in the A.A. Fellowship. Those who have walked the way for years--a day at a time--say that a God centered life has limitless possibilities for personal growth. This being so, much hope is transmitted by the elder A.A.s.

I thank my Higher Power for letting me know that He works through other people, and I thank Him for our trusted servants in the Fellowship who aid new members to reject their false ideals and to adopt those which lead to a life of compassion and trust. The elders in A.A. challenge the newcomers to "Come To"--so that they can "Come to Believe." I ask my Higher Power to help my unbelief.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Gossip about or criticism of personalities has no place in an A.A. clubroom. Every man in A.A. is a brother and every woman is a sister, as long as he or she is a member of A.A. We ought not to gossip about the relationships of any man or woman in the group. And if we say about another member, "I think she or he is taking a few drinks on the side," it's the worst thing we could do to that person. If a woman or a man is not living up to A.A. principles or has a slip, it's up to her or him to stand up in a meeting and say so. If they don't do that, they are only hurting themselves. Do I talk about other members behind their backs?

Meditation for the Day

To God, a miracle of change in a person's life is only a natural happening. But it is a natural happening operated by spiritual forces. There is no miracle in personalities too marvelous to be an everyday happening. But miracles happen only to those who are fully guided and strengthened by God. Marvelous changes in people's nature happen so simply, and yet they are free from all other agencies than the grace of God. But these miracles have been prepared for by days and months of longing for something better. They are always accompanied by a real desire to conquer self and to surrender one's life to God.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may expect miracles in the lives of people. I pray that I may be used to help people change.

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As Bill Sees It

Source of Strength, p. 200

When World War II broke out, our A.A. dependence on a Higher Power had its first major test. A.A.'s entered the services and were scattered all over the world.

Would they be able to take discipline, stand up under fire, and endure the monotony and misery of war? Would the kind of dependence they had learned in A.A. carry them through?

Well, it did. They had even fewer alcoholic lapses or emotional binges than A.A.'s safe at home did. They were just as capable of endurance and valor as any other soldiers. Whether in Alaska or on the Salerno beachhead, their dependence upon a Higher Power worked.

Far from being a weakness, this dependence was their chief source of strength.

12 & 12, pp. 38-39

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Walk In Dry Places

Hurrying up to wait? Practicing Serenity. We often urge ourselves to hurry up when there's no good reason for it. At such times, all we really do is create needless tension and anxiety. The slogan "EASY DOES IT" is our answer to such calls to hurry. The slogan suggests that we simply moveinto therhythms oflife and "go with the flow." It's not hurrying but steady effort that finally brings achievement. We've had entirely too much hurry and impatience. What we really need is confident, persistent effort in the right direction. We should be especially reminded of hits when we see anxious, impatient people speeding through traffic only to be forced to wait at traffic lights, risking life and limb to save a few seconds. A good seady pace is what we need, and it will win the game. I"ll be active today, but not overactive. I'll look for rhythm and efficiency in everything I do.

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Keep It Simple

We grow small trying to be great. We dreamed of being great. Trying to be great is about control. We've caused a lot of trouble trying to control things. We've been afraid to just let things happen, We're not very trusting. Many of us have good reasons not to trust. Whateverthereasons,wehad put our trust in getting drunk or high. We thought that was one thing we could control. What really happened? We got sick. Recovery is based on trust. We must learn to trust that it's best for us to give up control. It will seem strangeat first.But letting go and trusting can become a way of life. The Steps, our groups, our sponsor, and our Higher Power---here, we find love and caring. We can trust them. Prayer for the Day: I pray that day by day, I'll put more trust in my program and in my Higher Power. Action for the Day: I'll list five reasons why I can trust my Twelve Step program.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Jim's Story

This physician, one of the earliest members of A.A.'s first black group, tells of how freedom cameas he worked among his people.

I don't think I suffered too much as far as the racial situation was concerned because I was born into it and knew nothing other than that. A man wasn't actually mistreated, though if he was, he could only resent it. He could do nothing about it. On the other hand, I got quite a different picture farther south. Economin conditions had a great deal to do with it, because I've often heard my father say that his mother would take one of the old-time flour sacks and cut a hole through the bottom and two corners of it and there you'd have a gown. Of course, when Father finally came to Virginia to work his was through school, he resented the southern "cracker," as he often called them, so much that he didn't even go back to his mother's funeral. Hesaid heneverwanted to set foot in the Deep South again, and he didn't. pp. 234-235

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Eleven - "Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out."

All this should be very encouraging news for those who recoil from prayer because they don't believe in it, or because they feel themselves cut off from God's help and direction. All of us, without exception, pass through times when we can pray only with the greatest exertion of will. Occasionally we go even further than this. We are seized with a rebellion so sickening that we simply won't pray. When these things happen we should not think too ill of ourselves. We should simply resume prayer as soon as we can, doing what we know to be good for us.

p. 105

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All things are difficult before they are easy. --Italian Proverb

"If you are afraid of your future, you don't have a present." --James Petersen

How joyful to look upon the Awakened and to keep company with the wise. Follow then the shining ones, the wise, the awakened, the loving, for they know how to work and forbear. But if you cannot find friend or master to go with you, travel on alone ~ like a king who has given away his kingdom, like an elephant in the forest. --Buddha, from the Dhammapada (Sayings of the Buddha)

When you get in a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn. --Harriet Beecher Stowe

It is never too late to start doing what is right! --Growing Deep In The Christian Life, p.380

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

YOUTH

"We are none of us infallible --not even the youngest of us." --W. H. Thompson

When I was a young man I did not want to listen to older people because I felt that they did not understand me. With hindsight I see that I did not want to hear what they were saying about my lifestyle.

Today now that I am a "mature man" with a few years of sobriety, I must avoid having the same attitude towards the young, not listening to them because I think they are "too young" or do not understand! I must not repeat, in reverse, yesterday's mistakes!

None of us are infallible. We are not God. We can learn from each other if we have the patience to listen. Sometimes we need to seek the meaning behind the words.

God, teach me to listen with the ear of understanding and patience.

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"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:26

"Sunshine is sweet; it is good to see the light of day. People ought to enjoy every day of their lives, no matter how long they live…" Ecclesiastes 11:7-8

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Joel 2:32

Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:35

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Daily Inspiration

Never look back with regret because life is never perfect, but it offers us the perfect moment to start anew which is right now. Lord, help me to live with enthusiasm and recognize that each new day is an adventure.

Live as a responsible adult, but approach God as a child, full of faith and trust. You cannot help but perfect one by the other. Lord, You are my Father. Who else will so lovingly listen to me and care for my desires?