A Prayer & Some Thoughts - March

[bluidkiti]

March 29


Open My Eyes Prayer
Lord,
Sometimes life gets me down and I find it hard to see things to be thankful for.
Open my eyes to see the gifts you’ve given me in my life.

Thank you, Lord, for all your blessings to me and my family; for the strength you give me each day and for all the people around me who make life more meaningful.
Amen

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Just a Thought

There are no leaders in A.A., except as they volunteer to accept responsibility.

The work of carrying on A.A.--leading group meetings, serving on committees, speaking before other groups, doing twelfth-step work, spreading A.A. among the alcoholics of the community--all these things are done on a volunteer basis. If I don't volunteer to do something concrete for A.A., the movement is that much less effective. I must do my fair share to carry the load. A.A. depends on all its members to keep it alive and to keep it growing.

So ............

Am I doing my share for A.A.?

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Just a Contemplation

Following

If we follow the Twelve Steps, we’ll leave failure behind. We may have tried and tried to be sober, good people, but failed if we were doing it our way. Now is the time to stop listening to ourselves and start listening to pros, those who have gone before us.

When we follow their lead, exciting changes happen. First we stay sober. We regain self-respect. We meet people we respect and become friends. Our families start to trust us again. And why? Because we gave up doing it our way and listened. We listened to the “experts.”

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Tolerance in Practice

We found that the principles of tolerance and love had to be emphasized in actual practice. We can never say (or insinuate) to anyone that he must agree to our formula or be excommunicated. The atheist may stand up in an A.A. meeting still denying the Deity, yet reporting how vastly he has been changed in attitude and outlook. Much experience tells us he will presently change his mind about God, but nobody tells him he must do so.

In order to carry the principles of inclusiveness and tolerance still further, we make no religious requirement of anyone. All people having an alcoholic problem who wish to get rid of it and so make a happy adjustment with the circumstances of their lives, become A.A. members by simply associating with us. Nothing but sincerity is needed. But we do not demand even this.

In such an atmosphere the orthodox, the unorthodox, and the believer mix happily and usefully together. An opportunity for spiritual growth is open to all.

As Bill Sees It Page 158

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Just a few Quotes


"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strength." ~ Corrieten Boom


"There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy." ~Ralph H. Blum

[bluidkiti]

March 30

Selfishness Prayer

Lord,
Please forgive me. I am still such a selfish person. I don’t know why I struggle so much with this. Every day my flesh is confronted with a decision and I want so badly, and oftentimes do, justify my reasoning for what I choose to do. I do what benefits me. If it is inconvenient or outside of my desire, I don’t want to do it. The worst part is when my family are the ones asking and I deny them. Please help me not to be so selfish. If my family or friends need help with anything, please help me to do it with a joyful heart. Change me, Lord. Remove my selfish ways. Give me a heart and mind that is focused on serving others.
Amen

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Just a Thought

Today, I have real friends, where I had none before.

My drinking companions could hardly be called my real friends, though when drunk we seemed to have the closest kind of friendship. My idea of friendship has changed. Friends are no longer people whom I can use for my own pleasure or profit. Friends are now people who understand me and I them, whom I can help and who can help me to live a better life. I have learned not to hold back and wait for friends to come to me, but to go half way and to be met halfway, openly and freely.

So ............

Does friendship have new meaning for me?

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Just a Contemplation

Love & Service

Service is how we give love away. It’s the “self” of self-help. Service is not a duty; a gift that’s been given to us. We help ourselves by helping others. It’s how we make sure the program will be here tomorrow. We “carry the message.” It’s just one way we see how important we are to others. The world needs us. The world needs our love.

Love is something if you give it away, you end up having more. ~ Malvina Reynolds

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Surrender

We surrender to win. On the face of it, surrendering certainly does not seem like winning. But it is in AA. Only after we have come to the end of our rope, hit a stone wall in some aspect of our lives beyond which we can go no further; only when we hit "bottom" in despair and surrender, can we accomplish sobriety which we could never accomplish before. We must, and we do, surrender in order to win."

Alcoholics Anonymous, 2nd Edition, Page 341

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Just a Quote

"Selfishness - self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles." ~ Alcoholics Anonymous. Page 62

[bluidkiti]

March 31


Let Go Of My Fears And Worries

Lord,
I pray that You would help me to simply let go of all the fears and worries, problems and doubts, guilt and disappointments that seem to be filling my heart and mind so often, during the course of a day.

Fill my hurting soul with love and peace I pray. Fill the emptiness and pain that is tearing my life asunder. Lord, You know what is in my heart and why I am going through this time of fear and worry. Help me Lord, to hand them over to You.
Amen

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Just a Thought

Since I've been in A.A., have I made a start toward becoming more honest?

Do I no longer have to lie to my loved ones? Do I try to have meals on time, and do I try to earn what I make at work? Am I trying to be honest? Have I faced myself as I really am and have I admitted to myself that I'm no good by myself, but have to rely on God to help me do the right thing?

So ............

Am I beginning to find out what it means to be alive and to face the world honestly and without fear?

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Just a Contemplation

Traders

There is an old saying that there are just two kinds of people in the world: givers and takers. Those of us who are givers delight in it. We have a buck to lend when someone is broke, a kind word when they're down, a helping hand when they need it. But sometimes we givers are uncomfortable when we're on the receiving end. We brush off thanks and gifts and help, even when they're needed or deserved.

Those of us who are takers, on the other hand, know how to receive graciously what others have to give; we know how to ask for what we need. Often, however, we don't know how to give. We may be afraid our gifts will be wrong or rejected or laughed at.

We can all strive to become traders, people who have learned how to both give and receive. We each have the capacity to give what we have freely and to ask, gratefully, for what we don't have. That is the greatest gift of all.

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More Than

But life among Alcoholics Anonymous is more than attending gatherings and visiting hospitals. Cleaning up old scrapes, helping to settle family differences, explaining the disinherited son to his irate parents, lending money and securing jobs for each other, when justified these are everyday occurrences. No one is too discredited or has sunk too low to be welcomed cordially if he means business.

Alcoholics Anonymous Page 161

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Just a Quote

“We must be willing to let go of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” ~ Joseph Campbell