It's in the Pause

It's in the pause that we receive the words we need to hear or the nudge to follow one path or another. It's in the pause that we are assured of the love and the direction that everyone on our path needs too. ~ Casey , Karen. 52 Ways to Live the Course in Miracles: Cultivate a Simpler, Slower, More Love-Filled Life (Kindle Locations 896-898). Red Wheel Weiser. Kindle Edition.

Breathe in. Pause. Breathe out.
Pray. Pause. Go inside and fix breakfast.
Pray as you work in the kitchen,
surrender your day to God
"not my will but yours."
Start your day with the computer
not with games but with Recovery readings
soak in the wisdom to guide your day
pausing after each, absorbing.
Pause often, seeking his guidance,
choosing the best path, the best thoughts
to guide your day. Go through the day
pausing often and at the end of the day,
go through it again, pausing thankfully
for a day well lived.

Copyright : gracel21

Miracle to Miracle

To be alive, to be able to see, to walk, to have houses, music, paintings - it's all a miracle. I have adopted the technique of living life miracle to miracle. ~ Arthur Rubinstein

Miracles suggest rarity
but that's not inevitable.
C. S. Lewis said "Miracles
are a retelling in small letters
of the very same story
which is written across the whole world
in letters too large for some of us to see."
I accept the challenge to live
miracle to miracle. Isn't that
a way to describe Recovery?
How about you? Expect miracles
all day!

As a Little Child

If we are willing to again become as children and cast ourselves on God without reservation, we shall receive His support. It is His Power that frees us from our false dependency on food. ~ L., Elisabeth. Food for Thought: Daily Meditations for Overeaters (Kindle Locations 3035-3036). Hazelden Publishing.

Jesus said “Truly I tell you,
unless you change
and become like little children,
you will never enter
the kingdom of heaven.
Therefore, whoever takes the lowly positionof this child is the greatest
in the kingdom of heaven."
What does it mean?
A little child is guileless...
without guilt, innocent,
lacking pretense.
Children and fools always tell the truth.
A little child is transparent,
has nothing to hide.
A little child is curious,
eager to learn.
A little child trusts,
believes the best of all.
A little child like everyone, loves all.
A little child trusts and says
whatever he thinks.
A little child follows,
knows someone more capable
is in control, and all is good.
Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee...

What's the Matter Here

We feel a man is unthinking when he says that sobriety is enough. He is like the farmer who came up out of his cyclone cellar to find his home ruined. To his wife, he remarked, “Don’t see anything the matter here, Ma. Isn’t it grand the wind stopped blowing’?” ~World Service, Alcoholics Anonymous. The Big Book and A Study Guide of the 12 Steps. Anonymous Publishing. Kindle Edition.

It's more than a diet!
It's more than a healthy body weight.
It's seeing the whole picture
but remembering we're not in charge.
We know there's devastation
but there's a strong Power in charge
and all we need is willingness.
When we do what we can do,
what we're guided toward,
what we're inspired to do,
others will as well.
And after all, the wind quit blowing!
Isn't that grand?

  Copyright : Dustie Meads

Faults Included

My imperfections and failures are as much a blessing from God as my successes and my talents, and I lay them both at His feet. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

How can a failure be a blessing?
Why would you consider anything
both an imperfection
and something to be laid
at the feet of God?
This quote is easy to find
but not usually in context.
He went on, "I think He deliberately
did so. He had to serve the poor,
dumb, ignorant millions.
A perfect man
might have been their despair."Gandhi believed it gave
the masses confidence in themselves,
that they needed a flawed leader
to be willing to follow him.
God, I offer you my imperfections,
my failures as well as my successes
and talents. Please use them...
use me...in any way you choose!

Success

Success is mine today, no matter what the undertaking, when I tap the power of God within me and allow myself to be an open channel for the expression of His good. ~ Anonymous. A Day at a Time: Daily Reflections for Recovering People (Hazelden Meditations) (Kindle Locations 3219-3220). Hazelden Publishing.

How can we be an open channel
for the Power within us?
The other option is a closed channel
which looks like a pipe. An open channel
looks like a canal, a culvert, a flume,
or a stream not up to the banks.
Would I choose to be a pipe or a canal?
It seems a pipe determines the quantity,
the maximum volume,
where the source sets the capacity
in a channel. I know me. If I were a pipe
I'd be too limited because I would doubt
the Power chose to be magnanimous,
lavish, unselfish. I might expect
a stingy Power out of low self-esteem,
But that's not the Power I serve.
“Lord, make me a channel of thy peace—
that where there is hatred, I may bring love—
that where there is wrong, I may bring
the spirit of forgiveness—
that where there is discord,
I may bring harmony—
that where there is error,
I may bring truth—
that where there is doubt,
I may bring faith—
that where there is despair,
I may bring hope—
that where there are shadows,
I may bring light—
that where there is sadness,
I may bring joy..."*

*St. Francis of Assisi

  CC BY-SA 3.0

Where's God?

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. ~Hebrews 1:1-2 (NASB)
Actually we were fooling ourselves, for deep down in every man, woman, and child, is the fundamental idea of God. It may be obscured by calamity, by pomp, by worship of other things, but in some form or other it is there. ~ Alcoholics Anonymous, Page 55

God’s out there, up there, everywhere
power beyond power
love beyond love
shouting through thunderstorms
whispering through a cricket’s chirp
speaking to us though we don’t listen
sending his essence, his doppelganger,
his son to show us, help us hear,
get the fundamental truth
to echo the eternal song of love,
of acceptance, of peace,
of hope.
He molds the world — 
he cares for me.

God – calamity, pomp, other things
distract me from truth
around me – in me – of me
the me that is you
and your
word.

Rollins, Barbara with OAStepper.
A Cloud of Witnesses -
Two Big Books and Us.
Eagle Wings Press imprint
of Silver Boomer Books. Kindle Edition.

What Is Sanity?

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. ~ Step 2

What does it mean,
being restored to sanity?
Compos mentosas opposed to not legally
responsible,
non compos mentos...the answer in a courtroom.
Sanity is having reasonable
understanding; a sound mind;
possessing mental faculties
capable of distinguishing
right from wrong...How does that compare
to Step Three's sanity?
How close to non compos mentos
is being all into our addiction?
With Paul we could have said,
 For the good that I would I do not:
but the evil which I would not, that I do.After  we turn our lives and wills
over to God as we understand God,
then we have the ability to think
and behave in a normal
and rational manner;
sound mental health.
Sanity is no longer having
an attitude approaching veneration
for food or another substance or compulsion
and establishing a relation
of veneration for the God of our Understanding.

 Came to believe that a Power greater
than ourselves could restore us to sanity. 

Can I Really Change the World?

   If others' words or deeds aren't kind and loving, they are afraid. And I am not at fault. Plain and simple.
When I know someone is filled with fear, I am filled with an inner willingness to be kind, regardless of what they said or did. ~ Casey , Karen. 52 Ways to Live the Course in Miracles: Cultivate a Simpler, Slower, More Love-Filled Life (Kindle Locations 880-882). Red Wheel Weiser. Kindle Edition.

Fear? When fear comes disguised
as anger, arrogance, accusation,
bitterness, belittling, scorn, taunts,
derision, pomposity, and rage then
identifying it as fear and responding
not from our own fear but from love,
forgiveness, gentleness, care,
compassion and kindness
represents a learned behavior.
But our tranquility,
our emotional embrace leaves us in peace
and may well dilute the other's fear,
changing them and their outlook.
We in Recovery have spent years
trying to change others without success
but in living love we can change not just
a person but the chain reaction
may actually change the world!

Use Me, God

And God never said to any of the angels,
“Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
until I humble your enemies,
making them a footstool under your feet.”
Therefore, angels are only servants – spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation. ~ Hebrews 1:13-14 (NLT)
Being possessed of a spiritual experience, the alcoholic…may bring new hope and new courage to many a priest, minister, or rabbi, who gives his all to minister to our troubled world. ~ Alcoholics Anonymous, Pages 131-132

Warts, scars, pocks and all
I’m here to help
if there’s a use,
for such as me.
Others younger, stronger,
more agile, more congenial,
make more sense,
but if you can use
these assets, this old tired body,
to minister, to serve, to carry the message,
okay. I’m ready,
just point me in the right direction
and tell me your will,
give me power to carry it out.

God, I offer myself to Thee –
to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt.
Relieve me of the bondage of self,
that I may better do Thy will.
Take away my difficulties, that victory over them
may bear witness to those I would help
of Thy Power,
Thy Love,
and Thy Way of life.
May I do Thy will always!*

Rollins, Barbara with OAStepper.
A Cloud of Witnesses -
Two Big Books and Us.
Eagle Wings Press imprint
of Silver Boomer Books. Kindle Edition.

*Alcoholics Anonymous, page 63

Faith Takes Practice

The Disciples asked for lessons
with the perfect exemplar among them.
"Now I lay me down to sleep"
with for-a-child scary words
won't create a lifetime of knowledge.
So, how do we grow faith?
Billy Graham's answer was
the fruits of the Spirit:
love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness,
and self-control.
We can ask for them,
notice them in others
and in ourselves,
and come to incorporate them.
Kenneth Copeland's answer is
hearing the Word,
believing the Word,
taking the Word, and
acting on the Word.
One way is to start small.
Ask for guidance in something routine,
then when we are in a bind
asking is easier, understanding
we've received an answer
is more natural. Finally
faith becomes our first choice.
Read material likely to lead your thinking
toward faith, talk to people of faith
and look for answers you need
in conversations
with people of faith.
Above all, "Keep on asking,
and you will receive what you ask for.
Keep on seeking, and you will find.
Keep on knocking,
and the door will be opened to you."*

• Matthew 7:7

The Gift of Humility

Humility is a gift as surely as is our recovery from compulsive eating and the other miracles of healing we experience as we work the Twelve Steps. ~ Overeaters Anonymous. The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous, Second Edition. Overeaters Anonymous, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Humility. Freedom from pride or arrogance...
 the quality or state of being humble.
The source of the word meant humble, grounded,
from the earth, from Latin for ground.
The humble (having humility)
are poor in spirit and inherit the Earth.
Humiliate. To reduce (someone) to a lower position
in one's own eyes or others' eyes
to make (someone) ashamed
or embarrassed. To mortify.
Humiliate came from Latin for
"to bring low."
Humiliation has no place in our lives,
and we know better than to accept it
as we know better than to impose it.
Humility is a gift, a miracle of healing
that enables us to allow God as we understand God
to remove our worn-out solutions
to make us useful to God and our cohorts.

Living the Program

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. ~ Aristotle

Working the program is a good start
but by no means is it a good lifestyle.
We begin by acting as if, by trying to live
according to the Steps as we understand them,
by listening, by learning. After a while
we finally grasp the concept of Step Three
and that last line in the 12 and 12
becomes real not just in our minds
but in our life: Once we compulsive eaters
truly take the Third Step,
we cannot fail to recover.And, having fully surrendered
to a Power greater than we are,
then, is not an act, but a habit.
We are living Recovery!

3. Made a decision to turn our will
and our lives over to the care of God
 as we understood Him.

People of Faith

When many hundreds of people are able to say that the consciousness of the Presence of God is today the most important fact of their lives, they present a powerful reason why one should have faith. ~ A.A. World Services Inc. Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition. A.A. World Services, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

The Big Book also says, "All men of faith have courage."
While we're free to define our own higher power,
and to some extent our relationship with the power,
it seems our surrender in Step Three and later steps
requires a confidence in that Power...
confidence commonly known as faith.
Are not all Recovery folks people of faith?
We are like trapeze artists depending
on the knowledge and skill of another
to catch us when, powerless, we surrender...
let go and trust the Power to have us.
And it works!

Copyrighr: Michael Heywood - Ireland

Pass It On

Whatever you have received from God, you must give to others. If you’ve been loved, you must love. And if you’ve been loved without having deserved that love, then you must love those who don’t deserve your love. If you’ve been given joy, your life must bring joy to others. If you’ve been saved, then you must save others. And if you’ve been blessed, then your life must bring blessing into the lives of others. ~ Cahn, Jonathan. The Book of Mysteries (p. 357). Charisma House. Kindle Edition.

Are you blessed?
Have you received more
than your fair share in life?
Has life blessed you?
What's your response
to blessings? Is it enough?
What should you do now?
What will you do now?
Pass it on!

Love Needed Here

I needed love before I even knew what it was. Now that I understand something about it, I need it even more. By loving myself, I not only take care of my own needs, but I lay a foundation for loving others. By loving others, I learn to treat myself well. ~ Family Groups, Al-Anon. Courage to Change—One Day at a Time in Al‑Anon II. Al-Anon Family Groups. Kindle Edition.

Love is the answer...
such a simple answer...
such a profound answer.
Love is the answer
to every bit of pain throughout the world.
Love is the way to heal hatred,
jealousy, depression, resentment,
and the source of it all...fear.
Love is the response I will give
to violence, to bitterness, to life.
As I give love I receive it back
and if we all live love we will love life
and all mankind.

The Number One Offender

Resentment is the “number one” offender. It destroys more alcoholics than anything else. From it stem all forms of spiritual disease; for we have been not only mentally and physically ill, we have been spiritually sick. ~ World Service, Alcoholics Anonymous. The Big Book and A Study Guide of the 12 Steps. Anonymous Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Resentment. The number one offender.
Bitter indignation at having been treated unfairly...
or at least believing it true. The word comes from
the Latin for feeling again. When we do a Fourth Step
we often find we really weren't treated unfairly,
that we started the ball rolling but shifted responsibility
for the hurt we felt. The Resentment bug is epidemic
in the lives of addicts like us. But there is hope...
there is a remedy for the illness of resentment.
For a spiritual malady, the solution is a spiritual aid,
a Power able to resolve what we could not!
Thank God!

He's In Charge

He also says to the Son, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands.  They will perish, but you remain forever. They will wear out like old clothing.  You will fold them up like a cloak and discard them like old clothing. But you are always the same; you will live forever.” ~ Hebrews 1:10-12 (NLT) 

Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us – sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them. ~Alcoholics Anonymous, Page 84

Always.
Before anything,
after everything,
always.
We have no yesterday,
we have no tomorrow,
we have only right now.
But we have always.
We have no laurels
to rest on,
no accomplishments to tout.
We have no manifest destiny.
We have today,
to act in faith
or act as if,
to do the next right thing
with the promise of always.

God, let me fold up my pride,
my ambition, my fears,
my longing for the easy way out
like old clothing
and work for always.

The Lifeline

The life-line, the line of rescue, is the line from the soul to God. On one end of the life-line is our faith and on the other end is God’s power. ~ Anonymous. Twenty Four Hours A Day: Meditations (p. 24). Hazelden Publishing. Kindle Edition.

The problem with a life preserver
is that so often it keeps you afloat
but you're on your own to get to safety.
They're making remote control
automated devices today
but for me I'd prefer a strong pull
toward safety. We can rely on a lifeline
if the Power pulling us to safety
is God's love. Isn't that exactly what we have
in the rooms of Recovery?

Self Will Is not Self-Esteem

In speaking of the angels he says,
“He makes his angels spirits,
his servants flames of fire.”
But about the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever,
a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God,
has set you above your companions 
by anointing you with the oil of joy.” ~Hebrews 1:7-9 (NIV)\\ 

For the next few years fortune threw money and applause my way. I had arrived. ~ Alcoholics Anonymous, Page 3 

…we…chose to believe that our human intelligence was the last word, the alpha and the omega, the beginning and end of all. Rather vain of us, wasn’t it? ~Alcoholics Anonymous, Page 49

Praise me.
Tell me I’m good,
affirm my moth-eaten self-esteem
so I can believe my lies,
endure my doubts.
Praise me more than others
for what you say of them
I hear negating me.
I must feel special
for inside me I know I’m nothing
a façade, a farce.
Tell me I’m good,
preserve the gossamer lies.

Free me from giving praise
expecting reciprocity,
from seeking center stage.
Remind me I’m your brag – or sag –
that all praise I might generate is yours.

Rollins, Barbara with OAStepper.
A Cloud of Witnesses -
Two Big Books and Us.
Eagle Wings Press imprint
of Silver Boomer Books. Kindle Edition.

Do Bot Be Discouraged

Do not be discouraged. No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles. We are not saints. The point is, that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines. The principles we have set down are guides to progress. We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection. ~ World Service, Alcoholics Anonymous. The Big Book and A Study Guide of the 12 Steps. Anonymous Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Be not dismayed whatever betide
God will take care of you...*Recognize your greatness
but you can also understand
the smallness of your greatness
and see how much further you may
be able to move in Recovery
and in your understanding
of the Greatness of the Power within you.
You cannot become right now
the perfect Twelve Stepper
but if you desire this way of life,
this inherent peace and serenity
you will move closer and closer
to the goal each day you commit
to the path you have found.

*C. D. Martin

The Big Picture

...over the long run, continuance, consistency, and perseverance overcome everything else. And the small upward steps, taken every day, will end up lifting you to the heights. God has called you not only to love, but to keep loving; not only to believe, but to press on in believing; and not only to do right, but to persevere in doing it. ~ Cahn, Jonathan. The Book of Mysteries (p. 350). Charisma House. Kindle Edition.

One day at a time, one step at a time,
keep going one decision at a time
made by including your Higher Power
and following as you're led.
Basic instructions are simple:
always choose the loving option,
always know Who is in charge
and trust the guidance,
and choose to take actions
as directed through the Steps.
the Traditions, the Literature
and the Tools, and persevere
in doing it all!

Either Everything or Not

When we became alcoholics, crushed by a self-imposed crises  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. What was our choice to be?  ~ World Service, Alcoholics Anonymous. The Big Book and A Study Guide of the 12 Steps. Anonymous Publishing. Kindle Edition.

What is the most important thing or being in your life?
For most of us in Recovery it was once the substance
or the behavior that got us here. It was that
to which we turned to face the world. That
was our Higher Power, our de facto god.
Is your god a person, you, your spouse.
your child? Is it your reputation? Your job?
Even your church? What would you cling to,
cherish, crave most? If it's not your Higher Power...
then it's your higher power.
Either God is everything
or else He is nothing.

God either is or He isn’t.
What is your choice to be?

Who God Is

For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father”?  Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”?  And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” ~ Hebrews 1:5-6 (NIV)

Our ideas did not work. But the God idea did. ~ Alcoholics Anonymous, Page 52

God’s not an artichoke heart,
worth getting to but buried, hidden, 
isolated. God is the lifeblood, 
boundless, pervasive.
God’s not in the universe; 
the universe is in God. If God’s 
your co-pilot, you’re in the wrong seat.
Don’t go to God with a list of things 
to fix, his marching orders. 
Report for duty ready to hear him give 
your orders for today.
You can’t keep the hair on your head 
from falling out; he can hold worlds and 
stay their course. If you don’t like the 
god you met in church or synagogue or at 
the mosque, toss him out. God’s out
there, everywhere, anywhere, not in the 
air but the air itself. Toss out your 
inadequate god and meet the real thing
but most of all understand that you’re 
not god.

WOW. God, what an honor to be
a grain of sand on your beach.

 Rollins, Barbara with OAStepper.
A Cloud of Witnesses -
Two Big Books and Us
(Kindle Locations 84-108).
Eagle Wings Press imprint of
Silver Boomer Books. Kindle Edition. 

Let Them Be

Allowing others to be who they want to be is simply a seldom-tried activity. Making the decision to step away from the lives of others seems unnatural to most of us. Aren’t they here, by our side, because of the good we can do for them? ~ Casey , Karen. 52 Ways to Live the Course in Miracles: Cultivate a Simpler, Slower, More Love-Filled Life (Kindle Locations 641-643). Red Wheel Weiser. Kindle Edition.

I can tell you how to run your life…
not that I’ve done so well on mine,
but yours I can handle…
not that all the years I tried to dictate
I managed to give appropriate advice
despite earnest trying, but still…
But I laid down that role
and the soothsaying when I admitted
total failure in managing mine
and that I could choose no better for you
than I had in handling mine.
I’d be glad to tell you what works for me
for I believe the Twelve Steps
answer all our needs, but you decide
and I’ll help if you wish…
but I won’t decide your course
but I’ll love you and back you
in the life you choose for you.

God Is Real

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. ~ Hebrews 1:1-2

Actually we were fooling ourselves, for deep down in every man, woman, and child, is the fundamental idea of God. It may be obscured by calamity, by pomp, by worship of other things, but in some form or other it is there. ~ Alcoholics Anonymous, Page 55

God’s out there, up there, everywhere 
power beyond power 
love beyond love 
shouting through thunderstorms 
whispering through a cricket’s chirp 
speaking to us though we don’t listen 
sending his essence, 
his doppelgänger, 
his son 
to show us, help us hear,
get the fundamental truth 
to echo the eternal song of love, 
of acceptance, 
of peace, 
of hope. 
He molds the world —  
he cares for me.

God – calamity, pomp, other things 
distract me from truth 
around me – in me – of me 
the me that is you 
and your word.

Rollins, Barbara B. with OAStepper.
A Cloud of Witnesses –
Two Big Books and Us .
Eagle Wings Press imprint
of Silver Boomer Books. Kindle Edition.

The Butterfly Effect

I believe, too, in the butterfly effect. The coupling of love with the butterfly effect means that every time I greet another person with kindness, my action ripples forward, positively impacting the universe of seven billion people. ~ Casey , Karen. 52 Ways to Live the Course in Miracles: Cultivate a Simpler, Slower, More Love-Filled Life (Kindle Locations 614-616). Red Wheel Weiser. Kindle Edition.

A butterfly flits from flower to flower,
picking up pollen, depositing it,
no obvious plan, just part of the beauty,
spreading the beauty, prolonging it,
making possible the next spring’s glory.
Our role is the butterfly’s role,
spreading love like pollen, sharing ours,
causing a loving response with our smile, 
our kind words, our caring, our understanding.
We pick up the love we receive in response
and spread that to the harried clerk,
the driver in the next car, the son or daughter,
husband or wife we share time with,
and our butterfly effect carries on,
touching people who spread it from us,
wiping out anger, fear, distrust
by spreading love to all we meet,
knowing that love is massive enough
to cure the conflict, remove distrust,
to impact the universe, transforming it,
for seven billion people, one at a time. 

Keep Getting Up and Win

Get up and get on with it. No matter how great your fall, get up and keep going. And if you fall again, get up again. And if you keep falling, keep getting up again. And if you keep falling and getting up again, you’ll end up crossing the finish line, and you’ll win the race. ~ Cahn, Jonathan. The Book of Mysteries (p. 344). Charisma House. Kindle Edition.

Fall, get up, pick yourself up, 
go on with your plan,
toward your destination.
There is a destination,
and if you get up each time you fall,
you will reach the goal you started to.
If you reach the finish line
you will relish the accomplishment.
You are not in the action to impress
those beside the path or even to best
those running around you.
The goal is the finish line
and you and the Power who stays with you
are the ones whose joy and love
that make crossing the finish line
fulfillment of your efforts.
Keep getting up, don’t give up,
and claim your victory
over all that matters most.