New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 9/13/2018

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery! --Anne Frank Someone once said happiness is like a butterfly: if we chase it, we'll never find it. But if we sit quietly, it will come and land on us. Faith and courage are the same. All we have to do is sit quietly and ask for these gifts from God. In time, and with patience, they will be ours, and so will the happiness we can then pass on to others. Anne Frank wrote the above words facing a concentration camp and certain death. If she could find happiness and faith and courage within herself under those circumstances, then certainly we can too. These gifts are ours, already within us, if we but look for them. You are reading from the book: Today's Gift by Anonymous Today's Gift © 1985, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirations Read a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org.   Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-855-873-1297               Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org?  Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address.   Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, 1525 Pleasant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.    

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! [aarecoveryreadings] AA Thoughts For Today - 9/15

  Bluidkiti's Recovery Forums Recovery Links Daily Recovery Readings NA Just For Today Daily Spiritual Meditations Weekly Spiritual Readings Daily Prayers AA Thought for the Day September 15 Fellowship To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up about you, to have a host of friends

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! [aarecoveryreadings] Daily Readings - September 21

  Daily Recovery Readings Bluidkiti's Recovery Forums Daily Recovery Readings and Meditations Recovery Links More Recovery Readings NA Just For Today Daily Spiritual Meditations Daily Prayers Disclaimer Click here to make a Donation God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; and Wisdom to know the difference. Thy will, not mine, be done. September 21 Daily Reflections THE LAST PROMISE We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84 The last Promise in the Big Book came true for me on the very first day of sobriety. God kept me sober that day, and on every other day I allowed Him to operate in my life. He gives me the strength, courage and guidance to meet my responsibilities in life so that I am then able to reach out and help others stay sober and grow. He manifests within me, making me a channel of His word, thought and deed. He works with my inner self, while I produce in the outer world, for He will not do for me what I can do for myself. I must be willing to do His work, so that He can function through me successfully. *********************************************************** Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day Let us continue with Steps Four, Five, Six, Seven and Ten. In taking personal inventory of ourselves, we have to face facts as they really are. We have to stop running away. We must face reality. We must see ourselves as we really are. We must admit our faults openly and try to correct them. We must try to see where we have been dishonest, impure, selfish, and unloving. We do not do this once and forget it. We do it every day of our lives, as long as we live. We are never done with checking up on ourselves. Am I taking a daily inventory of myself? Meditation For The Day In improving our personal lives, we have Unseen help. We were not made so that we could see God. That would be too easy for us and there would be no merit in obeying Him. It takes an act of faith, a venture of belief, to realize the Unseen Power. Yet, we have much evidence of God's existence in the strength that many people have received from the act of faith, the venture of belief. We are in a box of space and time and we can see neither our souls nor God. God and the human spirit are both outside the limitations of space and time. Yet our Unseen help is effective here and now. That has been proved in thousands of changed lives. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may make the great venture of belief. I pray that my vision may not be blocked by intellectual pride. *********************************************************** As Bill Sees It Fear And Faith, p.263 The achievement of freedom from fear is a lifetime undertaking, one that can never be wholly completed. When under heavy attack, acute illness, or in other conditions of serious insecurity, we shall all react to this emotion--well or badly, as the case may be. Only the self-deceived will claim perfect freedom from fear. ******************************** We finally saw that faith in some kind of God was a part of our make-up. Sometimes we had to search persistently, but He was there. He was as much a fact as we were. We found the Great Reality deep down within us. 1. Grapevine, January 1962 2. Alcoholics Anonymous, p.55 *********************************************************** Walk In Dry Places The Good that I do____ Action Why do we hold back when we’re offered the opportunity to help others or to do something unusually kind?  Why is it that many people are reluctant to give of themselves unless rewarded with recognition or praise? We may hold back because we do not understand that any good action always brings its own reward. Despite Shakespeare’s timeless saying, the good we do is not “interred with our bones”… it does survive, now and in the future. We’ve learned in Twelve Step programs that it’s not really satisfying to work only for recognition and praise.  There also has to be a confident feeling that our efforts are contributing to a large good with a worthwhile purpose.  That’s what makes AA so special to people who are completely devoted to it… we know that anything done for AA makes the world a better place. We should also know that those who can help others are fortunate, well-favored people.  Others may want to help, but lack the tools.  We have the tools to give the help that changes live

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! [aarecoveryreadings] AA Thoughts For Today - 9/13

  Bluidkiti's Recovery Forums Recovery Links Daily Recovery Readings NA Just For Today Daily Spiritual Meditations Weekly Spiritual Readings Daily Prayers AA Thought for the Day September 13 A New Perspective As long as we placed self-reliance first, a genuine reliance upon a Higher Power was out of the question. . . For us, the process of gaining a new perspective was unbelievably painful. It was only by repeated humiliations that we were forced to learn something about humility. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 72 Thought to Ponder . . . My perspective will change my perception. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . A A = Always Alive ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Trouble "There was a time when we ignored trouble, hoping it would go away. Or, in fear and in depression, we ran from it, but found it was still with us. Often, full of unreason, bitterness, and blame, we fought back. These mistaken attitudes, powered by alcohol, guaranteed our destruction, unless they were altered. Then came AA. Here we learned that trouble was really a fact of life for everybody

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! [aarecoveryreadings] Daily Readings - September 19

  Daily Recovery Readings Bluidkiti's Recovery Forums Daily Recovery Readings and Meditations Recovery Links More Recovery Readings NA Just For Today Daily Spiritual Meditations Daily Prayers Disclaimer Click here to make a Donation God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; and Wisdom to know the difference. Thy will, not mine, be done. September 19 Daily Reflections ACCEPTANCE We admitted we couldn't lick alcohol with our own remaining resources, and so we accepted the further fact that dependence upon a Higher Power (if only our A.A. group) could do this hitherto impossible job. The moment we were able to accept these facts fully, our release from the alcohol compulsion had begun. AS BILL SEES IT, p. 109 Freedom came to me only with my acceptance that I could turn my will and my life over to the care of my Higher Power, whom I call God. Serenity seeped into the chaos of my life when I accepted that what I was going through was life, and that God would help me through my difficulties- -and much more, as well. Since then He has helped me through all of my difficulties! When I accept situations as they are, not as I wish them to be, then I can begin to grow and have serenity and peace of mind. ************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ** Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day Let us continue with Steps Two, Three, and Eleven. We must turn to a Higher Power for help, because we are helpless ourselves. When we put our drink problem in God's hands and leave it there, we have made the most important decision of our lives. From then on, we trust God for the strength to keep sober. This takes us off the center of the universe and allows us to transfer our problems to a Power outside ourselves. By prayer and meditation, we seek to improve our conscious contract with God. We try to live each day the way we believe God wants us to live.  Am I trusting God for the strength to stay sober? Meditation For The Day "These things have I spoken unto you, that your joy may be full." Even a partial realization of the spiritual life brings much joy. You feel at home in the world when you are in touch with the Divine Spirit of the universe. Spiritual experience brings a definite satisfaction. Search for the real meaning of life by following spiritual laws. God wants you to have spiritual success and He intends that you have it. If you live your life as much as possible according to spiritual laws, you can expect your share of joy and peace, satisfaction and success. Prayer For The Day I pray that I will find happiness in doing the right thing. I pray that I will find satisfaction in obeying spiritual laws. ************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ** As Bill Sees It "Fearless and Searching", p.261 My self-analysis has frequently been faulty. Sometimes I've failed to share my defects with the right people; at other times, I've confessed their defects, rather than my own; and still other times, my confession of defects has been more in the nature of loud complaints about my circumstances and my problems. ************ ********* ********* ** When A.A. suggests a fearless moral inventory, it must seem to every newcomer that more is being asked of him than he can do. Every time he tries to look within himself, Pride says, "You need not pass this way," and Fear says, "You dare not look!" But pride and fear of this sort turn out to be bogymen, nothing else. Once we have a complete willingness to take inventory, and exert ourselves to do the job thoroughly, a wonderful light falls upon this foggy scene. As we persist, a brand-new kind of confidence is born, and the sense of relief at finally facing ourselves is indescribable. 1. Grapevine, June 1958 2. 12 & 12, pp.49-50 ************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ** Walk In Dry Places   Keep the common problem in view Maintaining It there's been one major change in AA, one old-timer observed, it's probably in group discussions.  The focus today is far more on overcoming personal problems than in staying away form the first drink. "The early AA members were continuously concerned about the dangers of drinking," he said.  "Members today are more concerned about their feelings and personal issues, such as relationships. " This change has probably been an improvement, but it carries the risk that members will forget why they needed the program in the first place.  For alcoholics, it is dangerous to let the problem with alcohol slide out of view.  It is important to keep in mind at all times the life-or-death nature of our drinking problem.  Even if we are not totally successful in dealing with our feelings or establishing harmonious relationships, it's always necessary to stay sober. Disaster is in that first drink, and let's keep that constantly in view. No matter how long I've been sober, I'll remind myself several times this day that I'm an alcoholic.  I'll also remember that it's only sobriety that enables me to deal with my other problems. ************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ** Keep It Simple   When we look back, we realize that the things which came to us when we put ourselves in God’s hands were better than anything we could have planned

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! [aarecoveryreadings] Daily Readings - September 20

  Daily Recovery Readings Bluidkiti's Recovery Forums Daily Recovery Readings and Meditations Recovery Links More Recovery Readings NA Just For Today Daily Spiritual Meditations Daily Prayers Disclaimer Click here to make a Donation God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; and Wisdom to know the difference. Thy will, not mine, be done. September 20 Daily Reflections H.P. AS GUIDE See to it that your relationship with Him is right, and great events will come to pass for you and countless others. This is the Great Fact for us. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 164 Having a right relationship with God seemed to be an impossible order. My chaotic past had left me filled with guilt and remorse and I wondered how this "God business" could work. A.A. told me that I must turn my will and my life life over to the care of God, as I understand Him. With nowhere else to turn, I went down on my knees and cried, "God, I can't do this. Please help me!" It was when I admitted my powerlessness that a glimmer of light began to touch my soul, and then a willingness emerged to let God control my life. With Him as my guide, great events began to happen, and I found the beginning of sobriety. *********************************************************** Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day Step Four is, "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves." Step Five is, " Admitted to God to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs." Step Six is, "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character." Step Seven is, "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." Step Ten is, "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it." In taking a personal inventory, we have to be absolutely honest with ourselves and with other people. Have I taken an honest inventory of myself? Meditation For The Day God is good. You can often tell whether or not a thing is of God. If it is of God, it must be good. Honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love are all good, unselfish helpfulness is good, and these things all lead to the abundant life. Leave in God's hands the present and the future, knowing only that He is good. The hand that veils the future is the hand of God. He can bring order out of chaos, good out of evil, and peace out of turmoil. We can believe that everything really good comes from God and that He shares His goodness with us. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may reach out for the good. I pray that I may try to choose the best in life. *********************************************************** As Bill Sees It Individual Responsibilities, p.262 Let us emphasize that our reluctance to fight one another, or anybody else, is not counted as some special virtue which entitles us A.A.'s to feel superior to other people. Nor does this reluctance mean that the members of A.A. are going to back away from their individual responsibilities as citizens. Here they should feel free to act as they see the right upon the public issues of our times. But when it comes to A.A. as a whole, that's quite a different matter. As a group we do not enter into public controversy, because we are sure that our Society will perish if we do. 12 & 12, p.177 *********************************************************** Walk In Dry Places   All we need to know. Maintaining Seen from today's perspective, the early AA members had rather narrow attitudes toward the study of alcoholism.  They became restless and fidgety if member started discussing psychological aspects of the problem or gave other indications that they were trying to learn more about the disease. While we don't need to hold such narrow attitudes today, we should at least concede that we don't need complex information to stay sober.  All we have to know is that we have a very compulsive problem that can be arrested by eliminating the first drink. Even today, nobody fully knows why the first drink is so deadly for people like us. Our experience and the experience of others tells us that it is. That knowledge alone can be an important building block in finding and maintaining sobriety. While being open-minded to new information, I'll remember today that a fairly simple idea.... that I'm an alcoholic and can't live with alcohol....  Is the main thing I need to know. *********************************************************** Keep It Simple   The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! [aarecoveryreadings] AA Thoughts For Today - 9/14

  Bluidkiti's Recovery Forums Recovery Links Daily Recovery Readings NA Just For Today Daily Spiritual Meditations Weekly Spiritual Readings Daily Prayers AA Thought for the Day September 14 Willingness We found that as soon as we were able to lay aside prejudice and express even a willingness to believe in a power greater than ourselves, we commenced to get results, even though it was impossible for any of us to define or comprehend that Power, which is God. ~ Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 46 Thought to Ponder . . . Minds are like parachutes ... they won't work unless they're open. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . W H O = Willingness, Honesty, Open-mindedness. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Comfort "When I am feeling depressed, I repeat to myself statements such as these: 'Pain is the touchstone of progress.' . . . 'Fear no evil.' . . . 'This, too, will pass.' . . . 'This experience can be turned to benefit.' These fragments of prayer bring far more than comfort. They keep me on the track of right acceptance; they break up my compulsive themes of guilt, depression, rebellion, and pride; and sometimes they endow me with the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." Bill W., AAGrapevine, March 1962 c. 1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 110 Thought to Consider . . . God enters us through our wounds. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* H E L P =  Hope, Encouragement, Love, Patience. *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Upkeep >From "Having Fun Yet": "When my own house is in order, I find the different parts of my life are more manageable. Stripped from the guilt and remorse that cloaked my drinking years, I am free to assume my proper role in the universe, but this condition requires maintenance. I should stop and ask myself, Am I having fun yet? If I find answering that question difficult or painful, perhaps I'm taking myself too seriously and finding it difficult to admit that I've strayed from my practice of working the program to keep my house in order." 1990 AAWS, Inc.; Daily Reflections, pg. 31 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "The way our 'worthy' alcoholics have sometimes tried to judge the 'less worthy' is, as we look back on it, rather comical. Imagine, if you can, one alcoholic judging another!" AA Co-Founder, Bill W., August 1946 "Who Is a Member of Alcoholics Anonymous?" The Language of the Heart *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "When we became alcoholics, crushed by a self-imposed crisis we could not postpone or evade, we had to fearlessly face the proposition that either God is everything or else He is nothing. God either is or He isn't." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 53~ If a mere code of morals or a better philosophy of life were sufficient to overcome alcoholism, many of us would have recovered long ago. But we found that such codes and philosophies did not save us, no matter how much we tried. We could wish to be moral, we could wish to be philosophically comforted, in fact, we could will these things with all our might, but the needed power wasnt there. Our human resources, as marshalled by the will, were not sufficient, they failed utterly. ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 44~ 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 Learning daily to spot, admit, and correct these flaws is the essence of character-building and good living. -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 95 Misc. AA Literature - Quote The unique ability of each A.A. to identify himself with, and bring recovery to, the newcomer in no way depends upon his learning, his eloquence, or any special individual skills. The only thing that matters is that he is an alcoholic who has found a key to sobriety. In my first conversation with Dr. Bob, I bore down heavily on the medical hopelessness of his case, freely using Dr. Silkworth's words describing the alcoholic's dilemma, the 'obsession plus allergy' theme. Though Bob was a doctor, this was news to him, bad news. And the fact that I was an alcoholic and knew what I was talking about from personal experience made the blow a shattering one. You see, our talk was a completely mutual thing. I had quit preaching. I knew that I needed this alcoholic as much as he needed me. Prayer for the Day:  Dear God, Having had a spiritual experience, I must now remember that "faith without works is dead." And PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics. So, God, please help me to carry this message to other alcoholics! Provide me with the guidance and wisdom to talk with another alcoholic because I can help when no one else can. Help me secure his confidence and remember he is ill. Click here to make a Donation This is not spam. You are receiving this because you joined this list. Click here to receive Daily Recovery Readings in email. Click here to receive AA Thoughts For Today in email. Click here to receive Daily Prayers in email. Click here to receive Weekly Spiritual Meditations in email. **Click here to receive all 4 in email. ***If at anytime you wish to unsubscribe then send an email to bluidkiti@bluidkiti.com with unsubscribe in the subject line.  Please note what you are unsubscribing from. 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