today's readings

July 23

Daily Reflections

I ASK GOD TO DECIDE

"I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows." ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 76

Having admitted my powerlessness and made a decision to turn my will and my life over to the care of God, as I understand Him, I don't decide which defects get removed, or the order in which defects get removed, or the time frame in which they get removed. I ask God to decide which defects stand in the way of my usefulness to Him and to others, and then I humbly ask Him to remove them.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

We should remember that all A.A.'s have "clay feet." We should not set any member upon a pedestal and mark her or him out as a perfect A.A. Its not fair to the person to be singled out in this fashion and if the person is wise she or he will not wish it. If the person we single out as an ideal A.A. has a fall, we are in danger of falling, too. Without exception, we are all only one drink away from a drunk, no matter how long we have been in A.A. Nobody is entirely safe. A.A. itself should be our ideal, not any particular member of it. Am I putting my trust in A.A. principles and not in any one member of the group?

Meditation For The Day

The inward peace that comes from trust in God truly passes all understanding. That peace no one can take from you. No person has the power to disturb that inner peace. But you must be careful not to let in the world's worries and distractions. You must try not to give entrance to fears and despondency. You must refuse to open the door to distractions that disturb your inward peace. Make it a point to allow nothing today to disturb your inner peace, your heart-calm.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not allow those about me to spoil my peace of mind. I pray that I may keep a deep inner calm throughout the day.

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As Bill Sees It

The Building Of Character, p. 204

Since most of us are born with an abundance of natural desires, it isn't strange that we often let these far exceed their intended purpose. When they drive us blindly, or we willfully demand that they supply us with more satisfactions or pleasures than are possible or due us, that is the point at which we depart from the degree of perfection that God wishes for us here on earth. That is the measure of our character defects, or, if you wish, of our sins.

If we ask, God will certainly forgive our derelictions. But in no case does he render us white as snow and keep us that way without our cooperation. That is something we are supposed to be willing to work toward ourselves. He asks only that we try as best we know how to make progress in the building of character.

12 & 12, p. 65

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Walk In Dry Places

Sensing Rejection Self-Esteem and Maturity We laugh when a recovering person tells how he "learned to quit just before he got fired." We sometimes can tell when a rejection is coming, and we take steps.... such as quitting.. To avoid further pain and humiliation. In the recovery process, there still may be times when we sense a coming rejection. If it does come, we must remember that rejections is part of living. People receive rejection for all sorts of reasons, including wrong ones. When we do sense any kid of a rejection in the works, our best course is to let it happen, accept it, and put it behind us. If we are living our program, we don't need to feel pain or humiliation, as rejection is simply part of normal human experience. I'll try today to be as accepting as possible in everything I do. If others choose to reject me, I will also accept this without resentment or self-reproach.

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Keep It Simple

Don't talk unless you can improve the silence.---Laurence Couglin "Do I talk to much?" Most of us wonder this sometimes. There are some ways to find out. Asked yourself these questions: "How much do I know about people in my life?" "What do they think and feel?" "Do I listen to them?" "Do I often feel that I say too much?" Then ask a few trusted friends these questions: "Do you think I talk to much?" "How well do you think I listen to you?" Silence help us listen---to ourselves, to others, and to our Higher Power. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me enjoy the silent moments in my day. Action for the Day: Today, I'll think before I speak. what do I really want to say.

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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 came as he worked among his people.

I don't think I actually started to drink pathologically until approximately 1935. About that time I had lost practically all my property except the place we were living in. Things had just gone from bad to worse. It meant that I had to give up a lot of the things that I had been accustomed to, and that wasn't the easiest thing in the world for me. I think that was basically the thing that started me drinking in 1935. I started drinking alone then. I'd go into my home with a bottle, and I remember clearly how I would look around to see if Vi was watching. Something should have told me then that things were haywire. I can remember watching her. There came a time when she spoke to me about it, and I would say that I had a bad cold or that I wasn't feeling well. That went on for maybe two months, and then she got after me again about drinking. At that time the repeal whiskeys were back, and I'd go to the store and buy my whiskey and take it to my office and put it under the desk, first in one place and then in another, and there soon was an accumulation of empty bottles. My brother-in-law was living with us at that time, and I said to Vi, "Maybe the bottles are Brother's. I don't know. Ask him about it. I don't know anything about the bottles." I actually wanted a drink, besides feeling that I had to have a drink. From that point on, it's just the average drinker's story.

pp. 236-237

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Twelve - "Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs."

Maybe there are as many definitions of spiritual awakening as there are people who have had them. But certainly each genuine one has something in common with all the others. And these things which they have in common are not too hard to understand. When a man or a woman has a spiritual awakening, the most important meaning of it is that he has now become able to do, feel, and believe that which he could not do before on his unaided strength and resources alone. He has been granted a gift which amounts to a new state of consciousness and being. He has been set on a path which tells him he is really going somewhere, that life is not a dead end, not something to be endured or mastered. In a very real sense he has been transformed, because he has laid hold of a source of strength which, in one way or another, he had hitherto denied himself. He finds himself in possession of a degree of honesty, tolerance, unselfishness, peace of mind, and love of which he had thought himself quite incapable. What he has received is a free gift, and yet usually, at least in some small part, he has made himself ready to receive it.

pp. 106-107

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The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get old ones out. --Dee Hock

"One faces the future with one's past." --Pearl S. Buck

This day is not a rehearsal. It is real. What you choose to do with it will have lasting consequences for you and for those around you. It is an awesome responsibility and a tremendous opportunity. Give it the best that you have. --Ralph Marston

As you teach, you learn. --Jewish Proverb

At the beginning of your day, spend a few minutes in silence to commune with God. At the end of your day, do the same. And in the course of your day, join with others. Pray for those in your life and allow them the honor of praying for you. The energy you hold in prayer is real, and over time, will take form. --Mary Manin Morrissey

"Notice the acts of kindness other people do rather than their wrongdoing. This is how the loving presence views you. We are all good, decent, loving souls who occasionally get lost. When you can focus on the good in another and hold that in your mind, you are acting from your higher self. This can help dissipate fear and anger. --Wayne Dyer

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

WEALTH

"The only question with wealth is what you do with it." --John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Prosperity, if it is truly to be appreciated, needs to be shared. Wealth only makes sense when it is put to use for the benefit of the many. To horde treasure is to miss the value of that treasure. Money makes the world go around but it can only produce joy and excitement when it is spent or put to work.

This is also true for those who have a "wealth" of ideas or talents --they need to be expressed, shared and valued by others to be of any real benefit. A writer needs to write, a musician needs to play, a painter demands a canvas -- and the world needs to appreciate.

God is at work in His world and He requires recognition.

Let me find You in the talents that You have shared with me.

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A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones. Proverbs 15:30

"And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9

Then I said, `Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll-- I have come to do your will, O God.'" Hebrews 10:7

"O God, why have you abandoned me? I sit and wait for you and you do not come. I watch everyone who passes, but it is not you. I sit by myself on the side of life and cry to you, but you do not come. I stand and look from the window, but you are nowhere in sight. I need you, O God, but you have left me all alone. I try to talk myself into believing that you're on the way, perhaps tomorrow, or the next day...but you do not appear. How can I walk in this pain all alone? How can I stand knee-deep in suffering without you? Where are you, O God of my life? Where are you when I'm in such danger? Will you let me slip away simply because you didn't get here on time? O God of mercy, do not abandon me. Show me your face at my window and wipe the tears from my life. Please come to me. Please take care of me. I will shout your name from the rooftops! I will dance your praise among the stars. I will tell the world that you would never abandon me." Psalm 15

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Daily Inspiration

You will be happier if you spend less time insisting that everything be your way. Lord, help me remain objective and open to new ideas when they are presented, but at the same time give me the courage to not compromise my beliefs and values.

How easy it is to blame God for circumstances that don't go as we want. Lord, grant me wisdom and understanding to know that You are Love and, as a loving God, You only want the best for me.