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bluidkiti · 11-26-2014, 04:51 AM

November 27

Daily Reflections

THE PERILS OF THE LIMELIGHT

In the beginning, the press could not understand our
refusal of all personal publicity. They were genuinely
baffled by our insistence upon anonymity. Then they got
the point. Here was something rare in the world -- a
society which said it wished to publicize its principles
and its work, but not its individual members. The press
was delighted with this attitude. Ever since, these
friends have reported A.A. with an enthusiasm which the
most ardent members would find hard to match.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 182

It is essential for my personal survival and that of the
Fellowship that I not use A.A. to put myself in the
limelight. Anonymity is a way for me to work on my humility.
Since pride is one of my most dangerous shortcomings, practicing
humility is one of the best ways to overcome it. The Fellowship of A.A.
gains worldwide recognition by its various methods of publicizing its
principles and its work, not by its individual members advertising
themselves. The attraction created by my changing attitudes and my
altruism contributes much more to the welfare of A.A. than
self-promotion.

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

The way of A.A. is the way of sobriety, fellowship, service
and faith. Let us take up each one of these things and see if
our feet are truly on the way. The first and greatest to us
is sobriety. The others are built on sobriety as a foundation.
We could not have the others if we did not have sobriety. We
all come to A.A. to get sober, and we stay to help others get
sober. We are looking for sobriety first, last and all the
time. We cannot build any kind of decent life unless we stay
sober. Am I on the A.A. way?

Meditation For The Day

To truly desire to do God's will, therein lies happiness for
a human being. We start out wanting our own way. We want our
wills to be satisfied. We take and we do not give. Gradually
we find that we are not happy when we are selfish, so we begin
to make allowances for other peoples' wills. But this again
does not give us full happiness, and we begin to see that the
only way to be truly happy is to try to do God's will. In these
times of meditation, we seek to get guidance so that we can
find God's will for us.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may subordinate my will to the will of God.
I pray that I may be guided today to find His will for me.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

Do It Our Way?, p. 329

In praying, our immediate temptation will be to ask for specific
solutions to specific problems, and for the ability to help other people
as we have already thought they should be helped. In that case, we
are asking God to do it our way. Therefore, we ought to consider
each request carefully to see what its real merit is.

Even so, when making specific requests, it will be well to add to each
one of them this qualification: ". . . if it be Thy will."

12 & 12, p. 102

************************************************** *********

Walk In Dry Places

Nobody "OD's" on AA.
Balance
Do people really need daily AA meetings, perhaps even two or three a day? Frequent meeting attendance is usually considered beneficial in AA, but non-members may frown on the practice, especially if a person is neglecting other responsibilities in the meantime.
One thing to remember is that nobody can really "OD" on AA. The worst that can happen from attending so many meetings would be eventual boredom from too much of the same thing. But no harm can come form too much of what is essentially a good practice.
If a person is attending lots of meetings, this schedule may eventually be cut back to allow time for other activities. It's better, especially in early recovery, to attend too many meetings than too few. We also have to let each person decide how many meetings are required at any stage in his or her recovery.
I know that everyone needs a balanced life, but that cannot happen without secure recovery. Meetings are may best way of staying active in the fellowship.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

Keep It Simple
Life is not lost by dying; life is lost by minute, day by day, in all the thousands, small, uncaring ways.--- Stephen V. Benet
Our Twelve Step program promises us a new way of life. But most of us won’t just wake up one day with a new attitude. We only gain this new way of life if we get involved.
The Twelve Step are tools to build a new life. The more we use a tool, the easier it is to use. The same goes for the Twelve Steps, just as carpenters depend on their tools. If we only wait for the new way of life, it’ll never come. The quicker we get involved, the quicker we’ll get fixed.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me get involved. Help me build a new way of life.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll look for ways to use the Twelve Steps. If I have a problem, I’ll first stop and think of how the Twelve Steps can help me solve it.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

Limited expectations yield only limited results. --Susan Laurson Willig
Schoolchildren perform according to the expectations their teachers have of them. Likewise, what we women achieve depends greatly on what we believe about ourselves, and too many of us have too little belief in ourselves. Perhaps we grew up in a negative household or had a non-supportive marriage. But we contributed, too, in our negative self-assessment. The good news is that it no longer needs to control us.
We can boost our own performance by lifting our own expectations, even in the absence of support from others. It may not be easy, but each of us is capable of changing a negative self-image to a positive one. It takes commitment to the program, a serious relationship with our higher power, and the development of positive, healthy relationships with others.
It's true, we can't control other people in our lives. And we can't absolutely control the outcome of any particular situation. But we can control our own attitudes. Interestingly, when we've begun tagging ourselves competent and capable, instead of inadequate, we find that other people and other situations become more to our liking, too.
I will be fair with myself. I can do what I need to do wherever I am today. Only I can hold myself down.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

BILL'S STORY

Renewing my resolve, I tried again. Some time passed, and confidence began to be replaced by cocksureness. I could laugh at the gin mills. Now I had what it takes! One day I walked into a cafe to telephone. In no time I was beating on the bar asking myself how it happened. As the whisky rose to my head I told myself I would manage better next time, but I might as well get good and drunk then. And I did.

pp. 5-6

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

Our Southern Friend

Pioneer A.A., minister's son, and southern farmer, he asked, "Who am I to say there is no God?"

I call the boot-legger and fill up my charred keg. But I do not wait for the charred keg to work. I get drunk. My wife is extremely unhappy. Her father comes to sit with me. He never says an unkind word. He is a real friend but I do not appreciate him.

p. 212

************************************************** *********

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."

Let's here take note of our improved outlook upon the problems of personal importance, power, ambition, and leadership. These were reefs upon which many of us came to shipwreck during our drinking careers.

p. 122

************************************************** *********

"Each day is a new life. Seize it. Live it."
--David Guy Powers

No man or woman of the humblest sort can really be strong, gentle and good, without
the world being better for it, without somebody being helped and comforted by the
very existence of that goodness.
--Alan Alda

"What appears to be your biggest problem in life may disguise your greatest
opportunity."
--Brian Tracy

Money is not required to buy one necessity of the soul.
--Henry David Thoreau

"Take your problems to God, then take God to your problems."
--unknown

"Nothing changes if nothing changes."
--unknown

"Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching?"
--unknown

***********************************************

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

PREVARICATION

"Whenever science makes a
discovery, the devil grabs it
while the angels are debating
the best way to use it."
-- Alan Valentine

Sometimes we can spend so long deciding what to do that we miss an opportunity. We
can prevaricate to the point of impotence. Nowhere is this more true than in the
science of relationships. We see somebody that we like and we go home thinking
about what we could have said or done. We create happenings in our mind that
never happened in fact. We miss the spiritual opportunity of risk.

For years I used to be like this. I always thought that I was not good enough, not
important, less than other people: the syndrome of low self-esteem.

Today it is getting better. Part of my spiritual growth is reaching out to other people.
Today I make a point of saying "hello". Today I will ask for a telephone number,
invite people to dinner, risk a relationship.

Let me not debate myself into sickness and isolation.

************************************************** *********

Set me free from my prison that I may praise your Name. Then the righteous will
gather around me, because of Your goodness to me.
Psalm 142:7

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering
produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does
not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit,
whom he has given us.
Romans 3:3-5

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that
no one should boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9

Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the
LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
Isaiah 30:18

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

To be truly successful, put your heart and soul into even the smallest of your tasks. Lord, help me live my life in different ways and by different means, but always with enthusiasm and commitment.

We are the only ones who can change how we think or how we act. Lord, help me make positive decisions so that life doesn't just happen to me.

11-26-2014, 04:51 AM	#27
bluidkiti Administrator Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 70,518	November 27 Daily Reflections THE PERILS OF THE LIMELIGHT In the beginning, the press could not understand our refusal of all personal publicity. They were genuinely baffled by our insistence upon anonymity. Then they got the point. Here was something rare in the world -- a society which said it wished to publicize its principles and its work, but not its individual members. The press was delighted with this attitude. Ever since, these friends have reported A.A. with an enthusiasm which the most ardent members would find hard to match. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 182 It is essential for my personal survival and that of the Fellowship that I not use A.A. to put myself in the limelight. Anonymity is a way for me to work on my humility. Since pride is one of my most dangerous shortcomings, practicing humility is one of the best ways to overcome it. The Fellowship of A.A. gains worldwide recognition by its various methods of publicizing its principles and its work, not by its individual members advertising themselves. The attraction created by my changing attitudes and my altruism contributes much more to the welfare of A.A. than self-promotion. ************************************************ ***** Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day The way of A.A. is the way of sobriety, fellowship, service and faith. Let us take up each one of these things and see if our feet are truly on the way. The first and greatest to us is sobriety. The others are built on sobriety as a foundation. We could not have the others if we did not have sobriety. We all come to A.A. to get sober, and we stay to help others get sober. We are looking for sobriety first, last and all the time. We cannot build any kind of decent life unless we stay sober. Am I on the A.A. way? Meditation For The Day To truly desire to do God's will, therein lies happiness for a human being. We start out wanting our own way. We want our wills to be satisfied. We take and we do not give. Gradually we find that we are not happy when we are selfish, so we begin to make allowances for other peoples' wills. But this again does not give us full happiness, and we begin to see that the only way to be truly happy is to try to do God's will. In these times of meditation, we seek to get guidance so that we can find God's will for us. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may subordinate my will to the will of God. I pray that I may be guided today to find His will for me. ********************************************** ***** As Bill Sees It Do It Our Way?, p. 329 In praying, our immediate temptation will be to ask for specific solutions to specific problems, and for the ability to help other people as we have already thought they should be helped. In that case, we are asking God to do it our way. Therefore, we ought to consider each request carefully to see what its real merit is. Even so, when making specific requests, it will be well to add to each one of them this qualification: ". . . if it be Thy will." 12 & 12, p. 102 ********************************************** ***** Walk In Dry Places Nobody "OD's" on AA. Balance Do people really need daily AA meetings, perhaps even two or three a day? Frequent meeting attendance is usually considered beneficial in AA, but non-members may frown on the practice, especially if a person is neglecting other responsibilities in the meantime. One thing to remember is that nobody can really "OD" on AA. The worst that can happen from attending so many meetings would be eventual boredom from too much of the same thing. But no harm can come form too much of what is essentially a good practice. If a person is attending lots of meetings, this schedule may eventually be cut back to allow time for other activities. It's better, especially in early recovery, to attend too many meetings than too few. We also have to let each person decide how many meetings are required at any stage in his or her recovery. I know that everyone needs a balanced life, but that cannot happen without secure recovery. Meetings are may best way of staying active in the fellowship. ********************************************** ***** Keep It Simple Keep It Simple Life is not lost by dying; life is lost by minute, day by day, in all the thousands, small, uncaring ways.--- Stephen V. Benet Our Twelve Step program promises us a new way of life. But most of us won’t just wake up one day with a new attitude. We only gain this new way of life if we get involved. The Twelve Step are tools to build a new life. The more we use a tool, the easier it is to use. The same goes for the Twelve Steps, just as carpenters depend on their tools. If we only wait for the new way of life, it’ll never come. The quicker we get involved, the quicker we’ll get fixed. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me get involved. Help me build a new way of life. Action for the Day: Today, I’ll look for ways to use the Twelve Steps. If I have a problem, I’ll first stop and think of how the Twelve Steps can help me solve it. ********************************************** ***** Each Day a New Beginning Limited expectations yield only limited results. --Susan Laurson Willig Schoolchildren perform according to the expectations their teachers have of them. Likewise, what we women achieve depends greatly on what we believe about ourselves, and too many of us have too little belief in ourselves. Perhaps we grew up in a negative household or had a non-supportive marriage. But we contributed, too, in our negative self-assessment. The good news is that it no longer needs to control us. We can boost our own performance by lifting our own expectations, even in the absence of support from others. It may not be easy, but each of us is capable of changing a negative self-image to a positive one. It takes commitment to the program, a serious relationship with our higher power, and the development of positive, healthy relationships with others. It's true, we can't control other people in our lives. And we can't absolutely control the outcome of any particular situation. But we can control our own attitudes. Interestingly, when we've begun tagging ourselves competent and capable, instead of inadequate, we find that other people and other situations become more to our liking, too. I will be fair with myself. I can do what I need to do wherever I am today. Only I can hold myself down. ********************************************** ***** Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition BILL'S STORY Renewing my resolve, I tried again. Some time passed, and confidence began to be replaced by cocksureness. I could laugh at the gin mills. Now I had what it takes! One day I walked into a cafe to telephone. In no time I was beating on the bar asking myself how it happened. As the whisky rose to my head I told myself I would manage better next time, but I might as well get good and drunk then. And I did. pp. 5-6 ********************************************** ***** Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories Our Southern Friend Pioneer A.A., minister's son, and southern farmer, he asked, "Who am I to say there is no God?" I call the boot-legger and fill up my charred keg. But I do not wait for the charred keg to work. I get drunk. My wife is extremely unhappy. Her father comes to sit with me. He never says an unkind word. He is a real friend but I do not appreciate him. p. 212 ********************************************** ***** 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." Let's here take note of our improved outlook upon the problems of personal importance, power, ambition, and leadership. These were reefs upon which many of us came to shipwreck during our drinking careers. p. 122 ********************************************** ***** "Each day is a new life. Seize it. Live it." --David Guy Powers No man or woman of the humblest sort can really be strong, gentle and good, without the world being better for it, without somebody being helped and comforted by the very existence of that goodness. --Alan Alda "What appears to be your biggest problem in life may disguise your greatest opportunity." --Brian Tracy Money is not required to buy one necessity of the soul. --Henry David Thoreau "Take your problems to God, then take God to your problems." --unknown "Nothing changes if nothing changes." --unknown "Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching?" --unknown ******************************************* Father Leo's Daily Meditation PREVARICATION "Whenever science makes a discovery, the devil grabs it while the angels are debating the best way to use it." -- Alan Valentine Sometimes we can spend so long deciding what to do that we miss an opportunity. We can prevaricate to the point of impotence. Nowhere is this more true than in the science of relationships. We see somebody that we like and we go home thinking about what we could have said or done. We create happenings in our mind that never happened in fact. We miss the spiritual opportunity of risk. For years I used to be like this. I always thought that I was not good enough, not important, less than other people: the syndrome of low self-esteem. Today it is getting better. Part of my spiritual growth is reaching out to other people. Today I make a point of saying "hello". Today I will ask for a telephone number, invite people to dinner, risk a relationship. Let me not debate myself into sickness and isolation. ********************************************** ***** Set me free from my prison that I may praise your Name. Then the righteous will gather around me, because of Your goodness to me. Psalm 142:7 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 3:3-5 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! Isaiah 30:18 ********************************************** ******* Daily Inspiration To be truly successful, put your heart and soul into even the smallest of your tasks. Lord, help me live my life in different ways and by different means, but always with enthusiasm and commitment. We are the only ones who can change how we think or how we act. Lord, help me make positive decisions so that life doesn't just happen to me. __________________ "No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving.