today's readings

August 24

Daily Reflections

A RIDDLE THAT WORKS

It may be possible to find explanations of spiritual experiences such as ours, but I have often tried to explain my own and have succeeded only in giving the story of it. I know the feeling it gave me and the results it has brought, but I realize I may never fully understand its deeper why and how. AS BILL SEES IT, p. 313

I had a profound spiritual experience during an open A.A. meeting, which led me to blurt out. "I'm an alcoholic!" I have not had a drink since that day. I can tell you the words I heard just prior to my admission, and how those words affected me, but as to why it happened, I do not know. I believe a power greater than myself chose me to recover, yet I do not know why. I try not to worry or wonder about what I do not yet know; instead, I trust that if I continue to work the Steps, practice the A.A. principles in my life, and share my story, I will be guided lovingly toward a deep and mature spirituality in which more will be revealed to me. For the time being, it is a gift for me to trust God, work the Steps and help others.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

"When we saw our faults, we listed them. We placed them before us in black and white. We admitted our wrongs honestly and we were willing to set these matters straight. We reviewed our fears thoroughly. We asked God to remove our fears and we commenced to outgrow fear. Many of us needed an overhauling in regard to sex. We came to believe that sex powers were God-given and therefore good, if used properly. Sex is never to be used lightly or selfishly, nor is it to be despised or loathed. If sex is troublesome, we throw ourselves the harder into helping others, and so take our minds off ourselves." Am I facing my sex problems in the proper way?

Meditation For The Day

Cling to the belief that all things are possible with God. If this belief is truly accepted, it is the ladder upon which a human soul can climb from the lowest pit of despair to the sublime heights of peace of mind. It is possible for God to change your way of living. When you see the change in another person through the grace of God, you cannot doubt that all things are possible in the lives of people through the strength that comes from faith in Him who rules us all.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may live expectantly. I pray that I may believe deeply that all things are possible with God.

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As Bill Sees It

Looking for Lost Faith, p. 235

Any number of A.A.'s can say, "We were diverted from our childhood faith. As material success began to come, we felt we were winning at the game of life. This was exhilarating, and it made us happy.

"Why should we be bothered with theological abstractions and religious duties, or with the state of our souls, here or hereafter? The will to win should carry us through.

"But then alcohol began to have its way with us. Finally, when all our score cards read 'zero,' and we saw that one more strike would put us out of the game forever, we had to look for our lost faith. It was in A.A. that we rediscovered it."

12 & 12, pp. 28-29

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Walk In Dry Places

Is Life Unfair? Justice The glib remark "Life is Unfair" is sometimes used to dismiss any concern about trouble or seeming injustice. This usually implies that all such matters are part of God's plan..... that somehow God couldn't create life without making it unfair. But nobody really knows whether life is unfair or not, since what we see is only a small part of it. We should know, however, that we can practice fairness ourselves. We will live better if we forget how unfair life can be and make the best of the opportunities we have. Some of us could even argue that life treated us unfairly by giving us a susceptibility to alcoholism. In the long run, this turned out to be an opportunity to live the Twelve Step program. Some of us even consider this to be outworking of divine justice that has proved to be eminently fair. As one AA member put it, It was a case of one of the worst things becoming one of the best that ever happened to me ! I'll not let any seeming unfairness or injustice keep me from doing my best today. My real belief is that there is an eternal justice underlying all things.

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Keep It Simple

To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance. Oscar Wilde There’s a big difference between being self-centered and having self love. We’re self-centered when we think we don’t need people. We might think, “I’m more important than others.” Being self-centered ends up hurting us. It makes us lonely. It keeps us from our Higher Power. Addiction is about being self-centered. Recovery and the Twelve Steps are about self-love. If we love ourselves, we say, “We’re all equal and in need of each other.” Self-love includes having good relationships. It includes trusting that they we’ll do what is best, with the help of our Higher Power. We must believe in ourselves to trust others. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me love myself as You love me. Help me take good care of myself. Action for the Day: Today, I’ll list three things I like about myself. I’ll talk with a friend and share these things. I’ll ask my friend what he or she likes about me.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

The Man Who Mastered Fear

He spent eighteen years in running away, and then found he didn't have to run. So he started A.A. in Detroit.

The rest of my time was devoted to A.A. spadework. I wanted "ripe" prospects, and I didn't feel that I would get very far chasing individual drunks in and out of bars. So I spent much of my time calling on the people who I felt would logically come in contact with alcoholic caes---doctors, ministers, lawyers, and the personnel men in industry. I also talked A.A. to every friend who would listen, at lunch, at dinner, on street corners. A doctor tipped me off to my first prospect. I landed him and shipped him by train to Akron, with a pint of whiskey in his pocket to keep him from wanting to get off the train in Toledo! Nothing has ever to this day equaled to the thrill of that first case.

pp. 252-253

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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."

But as time passed we found that with the help of A.A.'s Twelve Steps we could lose those fears, no matter what our material prospects were. We could cheerfully perform humble labor without worrying about tomorrow. If our circumstances happened to be good, we no longer dreaded a change for the worse, for we had learned that these troubles could be turned into great values. It did not matter too much what our material condition was, but it did matter what our spiritual condition was. Money gradually became our servant and not our master. It became a means of exchanging love and service with those about us. When, with God's help, we calmly accepted our lot, then we found we could live at peace with ourselves and show others who still suffered the same fears that they could get over them, too. We found that freedom from fear was more important than freedom from want.

pp. 121-122

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"My father gave me these hints on speech-making: Be sincere . . . be brief . . . be seated." --James Roosevelt

"Watch your manner of speech if you wish to develop a peaceful state of mind. Start each day by affirming peaceful, contented and happy attitudes and your days will tend to be pleasant and successful." --Norman Vincent Peale

You cannot always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside. --Wayne Dyer

Not what we gain, but what we give measures the worth of the life we live. --Cited in BITS & PIECES

"Yesterday's home run doesn't win today's ball game." --Unknown

"Some people think that hanging in there shows great strength when the truth is 'letting go' is the real test of character." --Unknown

It is not God's will that makes me miserable. It is my resistance to God's will that makes me miserable. --unknown

Dear God, Please keep your arm around my shoulder, but keep your hand over my mouth! --unknown

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

LIMITATIONS

"Why would we kill off a good watchdog just because he could not fly?" -- Frank Mar

God has created this world with variety and we all have different gifts. Some people make music, others write stories and many are practical at home or in industry. We need to understand what gifts and skills we have and develop them.

It is both fruitless and negative to spend our time complaining that we are not like other people --- or are without their talents. Such an attitude stops us from discovering our own creative talents. We are so busy comparing ourselves with others that we miss our own uniqueness.

Today I enjoy discovering more about me and the abundant gifts that God has freely given to me. What about you?

I pray that I may be truly grateful for what I have.

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In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: `It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Acts 20:35

I will thank you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High. Psalm 9:1-2

When you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you. Matthew 6:6

For as he thinks within himself, so he is. Proverbs 23:7

"Teach me, and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong." Job 6:24

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Daily Inspiration

Frequently remind yourself of that which is important in your life. Lord, help me to treasure my family and friends, recognize how valuable they are and tell them often how happy that I am because they are in my life.

There is light behind every shadow. Lord, You are the light of the world. May I never forget to turn to You when my life fills with shadows.