Remember

This is a good day for me to remember all I have to be grateful for and remember all of those out there still suffering.

Jesus

I don't normally share any religious views on this blog. But Christmas is almost here and I just want to say thank you to God for sending His Son to suffer and die, so that I might have life. Nothing can snatch me out of the hand of God. Nothing else matters...

And thanks to AA for showing me how to get what I always needed; a personal relationship with my Creator. He can do anything...

Some truths about me

I hear people in AA say a lot that they don't know anything. Here are a few things I do know about me;

Sobriety and God must be number one in my life, anything I put ahead of these I will lose.

No matter how long I am sober, this disease is still cunning, baffling, and powerful, it is doing pushups within me somewhere always getting stronger.

If I fail to expand and enlarge my spiritual condition I will fall victim to complacency and that will kill me.

I improve my spiritual condition by working with other alcoholics.

No matter what my circumstance, if I want to be of maximum service to God and the people around me, He will show me a way, modem to modem or face to face I can speak the language of the heart.

The only way I can work with others, is if I have had a spiritual awakening as the result of working the 12 steps and the obsession to drink and use has been removed.

I must do the action things always. Pray, meditate, talk to other alcoholics, take a daily inventory of my resentments and fears, and practice the principles of the 12 steps in all of my affairs.

I must carry a vision of God's Will into all of my activities, humbly saying several times each day, Thy Will not mine be done.

If I do these things I will continue to have a new relationship with my Creator; I will have all of the elements of a way of living which will answer all of my problems.

Grease that sucker!

The following is paraphrased from "Faith that pleases God" by Bob George.

" I was working with a young man one day that said he was disappointed with the world, the people in it, and most off all himself. He felt as if he were at the end of his rope. Bob replied "Grease that sucker" because at the end of your rope is where you will find God.

The world is full of aids to "improve" ourselves; pills, changes of scenery, blaming other people. All these "helps" do is glue us to the rope and keep us dangling in self sufficiency. They keep us from putting our total dependence on God. God's Will is for us to let go and fall into His loving arms. "

This is so true in my life. I always seem to keep reaching for the rope. I need to let go absolutely everyday...

Gratitude list

Gratitude is an action. So my sponsor has said. So if I am making a gratitude list perhaps it should be 2 columns. (Don't all of you AA's just love columns)

Grateful For: Spiritual Connection Action: Show someone else how I got it.

My wife---Do something nice for her (one specific thing today)

My group--- Do some service work (one specific thing today)

Lifestyle--- Help someone else (one specific thing today)

It is easy to talk about gratitude, takes a little effort on my part to truly have it.

During this season it easy for me to get caught up in material things, I don't tend to think about suffering people nearly as much as I think about my own "little plans and designs". Maybe today, I should get off my butt and take some action. What a novel idea...

Oh yeah, spiritual program of Action... I think I heard that somewhere...

Grace and Peace...

Practice

Last night I went to a meeting. It was great. I was on fire when I left there. I pulled up in front of my house and saw that I had visitors. Immediately I got furious inside and went in the house, where I proceeded to be short and not very pleasant to everyone. I woke up this morning and started doing my prayers and it hit me... What caused me to act that way? I didn't even want to do prayers this morning. It is because I still continue to try to have my way, often. And when I don't get it, I react like a spoiled child.

Misplaced dependencies, I am still depending on external things and circumstances for my peace and serenity, a lot. Complete surrender, yet again. This is what it takes for me. Trying to use my will to stay in a state of submission to God's Will. For only in doing His Will do I find that sense of ease and comfort which I long for. Which I drugged and drank for.

Knowing these things in my brain and living them in my life are not always the same thing. What I must do is practice this behavior to be good at it. Hmm... where have I heard that before? Oh, I know; Practice these principles in all of our affairs...

See you later, I have to go practice...

Gratitude

Gratitude is an action. Am I really grateful? How am I doing on service work, on helping others, on fitting myself to be of maximum service to God and the people about me? This is the true measure of my gratitude...

Why

Why was I chosen to recover from this fatal disease? I certainly didn't earn the right. I have no part in the obsession being removed. I got beat down bad enough to give up. It doesn't all make any sense to the human mind. But I guess that is the beauty of a Power greater than me. It doesn't have to. Thank you God for my sobriety and serenity.

In the Zone

Today is a simple day. It wouldn't have seemed simple before. I am in the process of moving into another house. Now that may not seem like much, but after raising 5 kids in the place , it is definitely a change. But it is all going about right. This is so much better than the stressing, yelling, worrying, cursing, misery that was my life before on a regular day, much less a moving day. All I have to do today is what is in front of me to the best of my ability and the rest will work out. What a blessing this way of life is...

Shut Up and Listen

"Shut Up and Listen" was in my guidance this morning. So I am.

Stand and Deliver

Stand and deliver is a big change for me. I used to run and hide in my addictions. When I first got "stand and deliver" in my guidance I was convinced it meant I was supposed to be some great AA speaker. I am coming to realize it means stand where I am and deliver this message to whoever is in front of me. Whats the best way for me to deliver this message? By my actions of course. What I say makes no more difference at this point than what I believe. What makes a difference to the people around me is what I do. Attraction rather than promotion. It is easy for someone like me to say all the good stuff. But how do I do living it? Our behavior will convince them more than our words. (AA Big Book Pg. 83) Today, I will use will power to work on the 12 Steps- to carry a vision of God’s Will into all my activities, this is the proper use of the will. (AA Big Book Pg 85) This will keep me connected, this will make me fit to be of maximum service to God and the people around me, then God will handle the rest.