TGIF Readings :-P

October 21

Daily Reflections

NOTHING GROWS IN THE DARK

We will want the good that is in us all, even in the worst of us, to flower and to grow.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 10

With the self-discipline and insight gained from practicing Step Ten, I begin to know the
gratifications of sobriety -- not as mere abstinence from alcohol, but as recovery in every
department of my life.
I renew hope, regenerate faith, and regain the dignity of self-respect. I discover the word
"and" in the phrase "and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it."
Reassured that I am no longer always wrong, I learn to accept myself as I am, with a new
sense of the miracles of sobriety and serenity.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Now that we have considered the obligations of real, working members of A.A., let us
examine what the rewards are that have come to us as a result of our new way of living.
First, I understand myself more than I ever did before. I have learned what was the
matter with me and I know now a lot of what makes me tick. I will never be alone again. I
am just one of many who have the illness of alcoholism and one of many who have learned
what to do about it. I am not an odd fish or a square peg in a round hole. I seem to have
found my right place in the world. Am I beginning to understand myself?

Meditation For The Day

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I
will come in to him and will remain with him and him with me." The knocking of God's
spirit, asking to come into your life, is due to no merit of yours, though it is in response to
the longing of your heart. Keep a listening ear, an ear bent to catch the sound of
the gentle knocking at the door of your heart by the spirit of God. Then open the
door of your heart and let God's spirit come in.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may let God's spirit come into my heart. I pray that it may fill me with an
abiding peace.

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As Bill Sees It

Toward Partnership, p. 292

When the distortion of family life through alcohol has been great, a
long period of patient striving may be necessary. After the husband
joins A.A., the wife may become discontented, even highly resentful
that A.A. has done the very thing that all her years of devotion had
failed to do. Her husband may become so wrapped up in A.A. and his
new friends that he is inconsiderately away from home more than
when he drank. Each then blames the other.

But eventually the alcoholic, now fully understanding how much he did
to hurt his wife and children, nearly always takes up his marriage
responsibilities with a willingness to repair what he can and accept
what he can't. He persistently tries all of A.A.'s Twelve Steps in his
home, often with fine results. He firmly but lovingly commences to
behave like a partner instead of like a bad boy.

12 & 12, pp. 118-119

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Keep It Simple

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.---Anonymous
Nobody’s always wrong. Nobody’s all bad. And that includes us.
Sometimes, we really get down on ourselves. When we do Step Four, we sometimes see only our faults. When we make our Step Ten checkup, we see only our mistakes. We can’t afford to do this. We need to see our strengths too. But even our faults have a good side. Are you stubborn? Good---be stubborn, you know how to hang on to feelings. So, hang on to the good feelings instead of the bad ones.
Each of us is good and wise. What’s good about us got twisted by our disease. But now we can get the kinks out. We are sober, and we have a program to help us.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to see the good in myself and others.
Action for the Day: I’ll take another look at my faults today. How can I use them in good ways?

************************************************** Friday, October 21, 2011
You are reading from the book Today's Gift
Great events make me quiet and calm; it is only trifles that irritate my nerves.
  —Queen Victoria

Isn't that always the way? We cope with major events, like births and weddings, fairly well. It is the little things - so inconsequential in the long run - that upset us. If the kids don't pick up their rooms, or dinner is late, or we can't go to the movies because we haven't done our homework, we become irritated and annoyed. Minor things like these upset us much more than they should.

Are they really so important? A messy room is not a terminal illness. A late dinner won't affect our health unless we get so upset about it we make ourselves sick. We'll survive.

If we think back to the last time we were angry or upset, does it seem important now? We probably can't even remember why we reacted that way. How much better life is when we let go of the little irritations.

What irritation can I let go of today?
From Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for families *********

Each Day a New Beginning

The strength of the drive determines the force required to suppress it. --Mary Jane Sherfey
We are all struggling to succeed. And each day of our lives we'll be confronted with major or minor adversities that might well interfere with our success. Adversities don't have to hinder us, however. They can strengthen us, if we incorporate them as opportunities for growth.
For many of us, the ability to handle adversity is a fairly recent phenomenon. And not always can we do it securely and with ease. But we are coming to believe that a power greater than ourselves is at hand and will guarantee us all the strength we'll ever need. Knowing that action is always possible, that passive acceptance of any condition need never be necessary are unconditional gifts of living the Twelve Step program.
Our path forward is as certain as our commitment to it, our belief in the strength of the program, and our faith that all is well even when times are troubled. No one ever promised that our new way of life would be always easy. But we have been promised that we'll arrive at our proper destination if we do the footwork and let God do the navigating.
Success is at hand. I will apply what I'm learning, and I'll meet it.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

THE PERPETUAL QUEST - This lawyer tried psychiatrists. biofeedback, relaxation exercises, and a host of other techniques to control her drinking. She finally found a solution, uniquely tailored, in the Twelve Steps.

Came the day when I realized that I couldn't keep dragging myself off to work in the morning and spending half the energy of every day concealing the fact that I was barely a functioning drunk. I would go home to drink until I passed out, come to in the middle of the night terrified, listen to the radio, and get worldwide telephonitis, finally dozing off at dawn, just in time to be awakened by the alarm and start the process all over again. I gave up on relationships of any significance, saw my friends less, and stopped committing myself to most social occasions because I could never count on being sober. More and more, I just worked and went home to drink--and the drinking was starting to outstrip the working.

p. 392
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Three - "The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking."

"We were resolved to admit nobody to A.A. but that hypothetical class of people we termed `pure alcoholics.' Except for their guzzling, and the unfortunate results thereof, they could have no other complications. So beggars, tramps, asylum inmates, prisoners, queers, plain crackpots, and fallen women were definitely out. Yes sir, we'd cater only to pure and respectable alcoholics! Any others would surely destroy us. Besides, if we took in those odd ones, what would decent people say about us? We built a fine-mesh fence right around A.A.
"Maybe this sounds comical now. Maybe you think we oldtimers were pretty intolerant. But I can tell you there was nothing funny about the situation then. We were grim because we felt our lives and homes were threatened, and that was no laughing matter. Intolerant, you say? Well, we were frightened. Naturally, we began to act like most everybody does when afraid. After all, isn't fear the true basis of intolerance? Yes, we were intolerant."

p. 140

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S T E P S = Solutions To Every Problem in Sobriety.

C H A N G E = Choosing Honesty Allows New Growth Every day.

Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that
action.
--Mother Teresa

Joy increases as you give it, and diminishes as you try to keep it for yourself. In giving it,
you will accumulate a deposit of joy greater than you ever believed possible.
--Norman Vincent Peale, Positive Thinking Every Day

God is singing and Creation is the melody.
--David Palmer

Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.
--unknown

I didn't learn humility with my head. I learned humility with my heart.
--unknown

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

CONSCIENCE

"In matters of conscience, the
law of the majority has no
place."
-- Mohandas Gandhi

How I used to hate myself. So many times I caught myself pleasing the crowd, agreeing
with people I did not understand or respect, laughing at jokes and opinions I loathed. How
I used to hate myself!

Today I have a healthy respect for what the majority may feel but I also trust and follow
my conscience. I know that to be in the minority is not necessarily to be in the wrong. My
recovery insists that I listen to my conscience, that inner self that is based on a program
of honesty, that spiritual cornerstone of my life that I have come to trust.

Now I can say to people, "I do not agree." Today I give myself permission to disagree
with family, friends and colleagues.

May I never follow the crowd because of the numbers: God is one.

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The LORD himself watches over you! The LORD stands beside you as your protective
shade. The sun will not hurt you by day, nor the moon at night. The LORD keeps you
from all evil and preserves your life. The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and
go, both now and forever.
Psalm 121:5-8

Let me hear of your unfailing love to me in the morning, for I am trusting you. Show me
where to walk, for I have come to you in prayer. Save me from my enemies, LORD; I run
to you to hide me. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious
Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.
Psalm 143:8-10

"Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down."
Proverbs 26:20

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Daily Inspiration

There are far more solutions than problems and knowing this is very empowering. Lord, in the encounters of my daily life, may I choose to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

No gift is so precious as love. Gratefully trust God and give Him your love. Lord, I give You my heart.
O