The New Year

What will I bring to the New Year?  God will be sure to bring me many opportunities, as long as I am spiritually fit... Therefore I must take the prescribed actions everyday... Steps 10, 11 and 12...

We have lost so many this year to this disease... Will I do my part in 2014?  "Near you alcoholics are dying helplessly like people in a sinking ship" (BB pg 153)  Will I be in the trench or resting on my laurels?  Why has God poured His Grace upon me?  Will I carry this message?  Will you?

As I look forward to the New Year I think the most fitting thing I can do today is to say this prayer, and to repeat it each and everyday, until it becomes part of my innermost being, part of my everyday actions... May I depend on God to make those changes, may I seek His will each and everyday...

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.


O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be comforted as to comfort;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

 

God bless each and everyone of you today and all through the New Year...

Love

The drunk sipping out of his bottle behind the store, the homeless woman on the street corner, the hungry children in a run down apartment parking lot, the addict detoxing in the jail cell, the wife at home, worrying herself to death over her wandering mate, the businessman with all of the material things, dying on the inside because he cannot stop drinking, the inmate in the prison, anguishing over his children, his hopeless children feeling abandoned by their father, the crack head with the burning lips, the junkie with the tore up arms... 

What will I do to bring comfort to these at Christmas, and the rest of the year as well?  Am I so wrapped up in my things, my family, my little plans and designs that I have no time for them? After all God has given me, will I turn and give to another...

Alcoholics and addicts are dying needlessly around us by the thousands while we live our selfish and self-centered lives.  If each of us would only try to help one person, man or woman, parent or child, what a difference could be made...  In some small way, with some bit of kindness, God could change our own little piece of the world.

Helping one another in Love... This is what Christmas and every other day of the year is about...

If we give we will find... If we help we will be helped... If we love we will be loved...  We were created to be dependent on the Creator.  If we ask Him in our morning meditation He will show us what to do... If we ask Him how we can help, He will give us the opportunity to be of service...

This is how we grow, this is how we learn, this is how we demonstrate God's Power. 

Ladies and gentlemen, this is how we roll...

God bless you all,

Acting

Acting my way into a conscious awareness of the presence of my Creator seemed to me at first to be not only hypocritical, but also about the stupidest thing I had ever heard.  But I had no choice.  I was beaten down by alcohol, my options were all gone.  I did not have a plan left.

I had been through the first step.  I knew I had no control, no choice, and no power.  All I had was this old recovered alcoholic telling me to get on my knees and do the 3rd step prayer with him.  I didn't want to, I didn't believe it would work, I sure didn't feel like doing it.

But I did it anyway, it felt like it didn't change a thing, I didn't believe anything was different.  He told me to do it every morning, on my knees.  I thought it was stupid and I told him so.  He told me pray it to the wall, just do it.  I did...

I also took other actions he told me to take, inventories, lists, amends and the like.  Something happened in the midst of doing all those things I didn't want to do.  I became aware that the obsession to drink and use was gone... And I became aware of something else, the conscious presence of my Creator...

By simply taking actions I didn't want to take, my life has been changed completely and forever.  Not because I am special, but because God is...

So if you don't feel joyful and thankful this season, then try acting joyful and thankful and you will be soon enough...

If your fears and worries are crowding peace and serenity out of your life.  Then just act like your God is big enough to handle anything. He is...

All we really need, is to heed spark of that spark of the Divine which is in each and everyone of us, for it to burst into a flame which will keep you warm and fulfilled, in the midst of the wildest storm. More importantly it will spread to the people you seek to help and heal them as well...

This is my hope and prayer for all of you, my friends, in this Christmas season, that you humble yourself before your Creator and acknowledge that without Him you are nothing... That simple act of humility will give Him room to work in your heart and mind and accomplish for you what you cannot do for yourself...

I leave you with the prayer...

"God, I offer myself to the to build with me and 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!"

Peace and Grace...

Attitude

During these short gray cold winter days many of us start to hibernate.  For people of our type this is not always a good thing.... Why go that meeting, its cold and I am tired?  I have a cold and don't feel like talking to this guy...  Its all about my attitude... I was talking to my sponsor yesterday and we were talking about the camaraderie in some of our meetings with it freezing outside and the coffee pot going and everyone joined in one place for one purpose...  Today, I go out amongst my people and share my hope and am always the better for it...

I was taught a new definition of attitude... It is "angle of approach"... How am I approaching my fellows, with a smile or with a sour frown? How am I approaching my Creator, with joy and thankfulness or with self interest and self pity.

This disease doesn't take a day off.  And I can't afford to, and besides it is no fun being wrapped up in my own brain anyway...

I am grateful today. So I need to go and show it.  Slap a smile on and go help God's kids for free and for fun...

Trust

God is everything or He is nothing!  What is my choice today?  If I find myself in fear and trying to control a situation, you can bet I am not trusting God...  If I am in fear over a loved one, my checkbook, my job, anything at all it is because I have predetermined what the outcome needs to be.

In other words I am playing God... Not trusting God, playing God... This is simply a resurgence of the ego... And for me this is deadly... I can run from task to task and deny it.  I can stay constantly on the move "helping others" and ignore it.  But at some point I have to face it...

Step 1  Do I really believe my life is unmanageable by me?

Step 2  Do I believe there is a Power greater than me that will solve my problem?

Step 3  Am I suffering from the delusion that all would be well if only I manage better?  Am I trying to control the situation to insure the outcome I want, or am I trusting God that the outcome will be what I need.

I must take these actions, I must look at my part.  If I don't pretty soon I will have taken back over completely and I will be trying to stay sober on my own power... My experience has shown me, that does not work...

How about yours?

If my fear and expectations are rising my ego is just ahead of both of them... That is a bad place to be...

THE Program

The "we" in the Big Book is the first one hundred recovered alcoholics. My job is not to show new comers what I did... It is to show newcomers what the first one hundred did...

This is a big mistake we make.  "If you want what I have, then do what I did"  We say that with good intentions sometimes.  I have said it myself. When you look at that statement, it sounds pretty arrogant. We need to always take it back to the book. In this way errors don't get multiplied.

The more proper statement is possibly; "If you want to be happy, joyous, and free, if you want to be recovered, then let me show you this program of action in the book.  I followed IT and it happened for me.  I will show you how to follow IT and it will happen to you.

It is like cutting boards for a fence.  If you use each board as a marker for the next, the measurement gets off.  But if you always go back to the ruler then the boards are consistent.  And if you always go back to the book the message is consistent.

Can I share my experience around that? Absolutely!. But the path they must go down for recovery is the path laid out in the Big Book...

What I have is a Gift from God... It is called the Grace...  It is called Sobriety... It is a result of conscious contact with God, as a result of working THE PROGRAM of AA... Not my sponsor's program, not my program, but THE PROGRAM...

My sponsor says it all the time; Everybody wants to take shots, that's not what my sponsor said, that's not what my therapist said, that's not what I did.......  But it is what the BIG BOOK says...  Not much else matters for a REAL alcoholic...

Next, Launch, Vigorous...

I have heard in a lot of meetings that anything worth doing takes time. My experience after working with a lot of people is that usually people that take the steps slowly, never finish them...

Read the Book, it does not say stop and make sure you or your sponsor thinks you are ready. It says "Next we launched out on a course of vigorous action..." 

It tells me after step 5 to spend an HOUR reviewing the first 5 steps and make sure I was thorough... AA is not therapy, the steps are not therapy, the longer I take on them does not mean I am doing them better. 

This is about surrender, removing blockage, and asking God to remove my shortcomings, taking the actions to get my daily reprieve while I am cleaning up my past, and then jumping out there and helping the next person...

If a real alcoholic does not do this quickly they are playing with fire... The ego rebuilds and they think they can stay sober on their own... That is my experience...

First things First

I hear people all of the time talking about learning wisdom, about trying to be more humble, about trying to be grateful, about learning acceptance.

Wisdom, humility, gratitude, and acceptance cannot be learned.  They cannot be worked on. They cannot be sought directly with success.

These things are brought about as a result of having a daily conscious contact with God.  This happens as a result of working and living the 12 steps.

I can try my hardest to be "better".  I can make myself notes, recite endless mantras, read countless books, do positive affirmations till I am blue in the face, but it will all be to no avail until I surrender and take the action of working the 12 steps.

Somewhere in that process God "shows up" and my life is changed forever... All that is required is that I continue to do those things required to maintain that spiritual connection...

Wisdom, humility, gratitude, and acceptance are gifts of God's grace...  I cannot earn them.  I cannot attain them... They are a natural outflowing of God's Spirit within me...

My human attempts to achieve them and control them, only lead to me blocking them by seeking the Fruit of the Spirit, instead of the Spirit itself...

Producing Confusion

I sat in an "AA" meeting today and heard everything but solution.  I heard about therapy, and feelings, and the "power" of our drunkalogs.  I heard about crappy weeks and just not drinking between meetings.  I heard about having to find a meeting to get plugged into God.  I can't do that I need to stay plugged in all the time and sometimes there aren't any meetings at 3:00 am. 

And then it dawned on me.  I have three meetings a week where I can hear nothing but solution, I have a couple of more where there is some hope shared.  Why am I sitting in this meeting anyway.

So I determined for me and just for me.  That I will no longer participate in those meetings, I will no longer contribute to this style of AA.  What I will do is redouble my efforts to be at all of the meetings I can, where the solution is being offered. To contribute my time and energy to those places. To steer the still suffering alcoholics God puts in my path to a place where they can hear the truth...  Not the truth according to me, but the truth in the first 164 pages of the big book...

A solitary voice or two cannot compete with the clamor of "easier softer ways" within the ears of a newcomer.  I must no longer allow the clear message of hope I carry to be watered down day after day by a group of people who can stay sober by just attending a lot of meetings.  Obviously, the vast majority of those people are not afflicted as I am afflicted. 

What I am doing when I am in a meeting like that is producing confusion... I am trying to get people to change their way of thinking.  It isn't going to happen...  Let the middle of the road feelings people have their meeting... I have to cease fighting anything or anyone...  And they always want to attack after you share truth. 

God has given me the opportunity to be a part of a place where a real alcoholic can come and get  the real message of hope... I must do my part in that...

I need to be with my brothers and sisters the real alcoholics who are going to die if they don't find this way of life...  And the ones who are so happy, joyous, and free when they do...

Unmanageability

Most people come into AA and assume they know what the unmanageability is that we talk about in Step 1.  I heard it tonight.  A new guy said he knew he was powerless and that when he sobers up he will be able to manage his life.  This is not my experience.

Everybody thinks the unmanageability has to do with their checkbook, or relationship status or their legal standing.  It has NOTHING to do with the external.  It is that INTERNAL anxiety inside me, that "if only" thing I have going on.  If only I had this or that, THEN every thing would be wonderful.... That feeling of not quite fitting in, that feeling too good or not good enough for something or someone all at the same time.

It is an internal condition, I had it BEFORE I drank and used.  Drinking and using FIXES it, or at least it did early on. 

My life is still unmanageable by me today.  But now I have a solution, a new Employer, a Higher Power that manages my life just fine.

What I learned is that my life was not designed by the Creator to be managed by me.  I could take all the driving courses in the world.  I could get my CDL... I could get tutored by Rusty Wallace...  But I would still be unable to go outside find a giant boulder and drive it down the street.... Why... It wasn't designed to be driven by me...

You may think that sounds crazy... But the big book doesn't say I can manage my life better... It says...my life is UNMANAGEABLE... It wasn't designed to be managed by me.  I was designed to take the actions that God directs me to take.  When I do that the spiritual malady is overcome and everything falls into place...

It is called doing God's will.  I can't even attempt that till I work the steps and get connected to this Power...  And then it is simply a process of getting up, taking the actions required of me each day and showing others how to live happy, joyous, and free... This rockets me daily into that 4th dimension called God's Grace and that is all I ever needed or really wanted... I just didn't know it...

Humility

Humility is not something I am capable of working on or fighting to attain.  Humility is simply REALIZING (when something becomes real to me) that I am nothing apart from God; the knowledge that I am the creation, made to be dependent on the Creator.  Apart from Him I am nothing.  It is REALIZING that my life is still unmanageable by me today.  No matter how hard I try, I cant do it.  It is not my job. It is God's job.

Now here is the real kicker, everyone else is in the same boat.  If that is real to me, then God will manage my life in such a way that being kind to others, putting others before myself will be a natural out flow. 

But then I will forget and the pain will come back and once again I will have to REALIZE that I can't manage my life.

If I set out to be a "better person" and "treat others nicer" it just won't work.  But when I start the day with my God, on my knees, acknowledging my utter inability to run my life.  If I ask for knowledge of His will and the Power to carry it out.  Then He will give me the Power to do the next right thing.  And how I treat other people will not be such an issue.

If I go through my day in complete dependence on Him, the natural result will be a kindlier, gentler, less selfish Jerry.

Do I do that everyday?  Not so much, but I always start the day out in utter dependence on Him and that works so much better than the way I used to live. Progress not perfection...

Apart from Him I am nothing, the Father does the work...

We are AA!!!

Some friends of mine and I are starting a new chapter in our lives today.  Our little group we started is moving into a new home and we are going to be having three meetings a week.  We had our last meeting in our old location tonight and it was so cool.  We had a good attendance and everyone shared their experience and hope about the topic that was presented out of the Big Book.

After the meeting I got to share some experiences out of my past with a brother who is going through some of the same things.  It was a very enlightening experience for me.  Yet again, a chance to see how God can use my experience to benefit others.

I have been struck by something all day.  The real beauty of this Program is that we get to do it from now on.  We are on a spiritual journey together without end...  We are AA... We love you and you are welcome here...

We don't care if you are black, white, red, brown, purple, or green. We don't care if you are straight or gay... It doesn't matter to us if you are rich or poor.  Blessed with an intelligence beyond belief or just simple minded...  We love you...

What we do care about is this... 

When you drink can you control the amount you drink EVERY time? or...

Given sufficient cause can you stop altogether?

If the answer to EITHER one of those questions is NO... Then we have a way out on which we can absolutely agree and join in brotherly and harmonious action!!!

And here is the real kicker... We are having a blast doing it.  We are living above our present circumstances by the Grace of God... We absolutely insist on enjoying life....

Come and join us on the Broad Highway...  Our life ROCKS!!! because our GOD ROCKS!!!

Daily Action

In my office I have a hand written note pinned to the wall. It says "I pray that this will be a life changing experience" 

It was written by a sponsee and given to me right before a meeting, before we started working the Steps. He is dead now. And has been for awhile. 

He obviously believed in something or He wouldn't have prayed. But belief was not enough. He would not take the ACTION required... 

I know another guy that joined us at the same time. He didn't believe in anything, but he took the actions. He has done more to help people in the last year and a half than a lot of people I know. 

The difference wasn't in how we worked the steps. The difference was in the willingness to take ACTION...

That note is a reminder to me to take action everyday...

Power on the move...

I have some dear friends in the program. Their stories are touching my heart today;

One of them, is taking his child to Houston to see if he has a serious medical problem, one of them has just found out he has a 4 year old son and is going to have the opportunity to be part of his life sober. Another has a family member who has relapsed.  Another has business troubles of a serious nature, another has been blessed with a new job opportunity.

What do these guys have in common?  They have God's Power in their life today.  They are actively working the steps.  They are actively sponsoring other people.  They are each grateful for the positions in which they find themselves.

They have turned their thoughts to people they can help.  They are living happy, joyous and free no matter what their present circumstances.

This is the Power we can help people find in our fellowship. This is what it is all about.

It is not about sitting around after a few years of sobriety and pontificating to others, lecturing them on how they should act, walk, and talk. 

It is not about endless debates and wordy arguments.

It is not about opinion and damn sure not about therapy. 

It is about getting connected with the Creator and doing things His way for a change.

So get down off of your soapbox or up off your ass and join us... And if you won't or can't do that please, at least get out of the way... Cause we are on the move, and the Power of God can't be stopped...

What we carry is the clear message of hope as outlined in the first 164 pages of a book called Alcoholics Anonymous...

Peace and Love

Sponsorship

I recently attended a meeting with about 20 people.  The topic came straight from the Big Book.  Everyone got a chance to share.  The shares were full of Hope and Truth.  The newcomers in the room left hearing the simple message of our fellowship

I recently attended another meeting.  The subject came out of a different book and there were lots of war stories and a lot of discussion about feelings and opinions.  The newcomers left with mixed messages and a lot of opinion.

What is the difference between these meetings?  They are both in the same fellowship.  Great people in both of them that really care about others. 

The difference I believe is in sponsorship.  Everyone in the first meeting has a sponsor and the vast majority are sponsoring someone else.  People are actively working this program and connecting with God on a daily basis.  Sponsors are not only accountable to their sponsors but to their sponsees as well...

This means that the Big Book is used by these people as a textbook.  They know the actions to take on a daily basis because they are working and reworking the steps...

Now I ask you when you have the desperation of a drowning man, where do you want to be in the first meeting or the second?

Do you need the clear simple message of Hope as outlined in the first 164 pages.  Or do you need 30 different opinions?

Do you need to hear how some one else got connected to a Power that solved their problem? Or do you need to hear what a crappy day the guy with 20 years had. 

Do you want to recover from this disease or do you want to hide out in AA meetings twice a day for the rest of your life and always be recovering?

Get a sponsor if you don't have one.  Ask them have you had a spiritual experience as a result of working the steps... If they aren't sure then run like hell.

How do we get our fellowship back from the opinionated, self help, therapeutic gurus... One drunk at a time that's how.

We must stand up for something, or we will fall for anything...

Power of Truth

Are you tired of hearing the same old worn out one liners in meetings?  Are you tired of hearing error?  Are you tired of hearing the disease speak through people instead of a Higher power?

Live the Truth.  Let God demonstrate through us what He can do.  We can't always live perfectly but we can live honestly.

Speak the Truth.  Not in anger, not at anybody.  Carry the message of Hope straight from the book.  Day in and day out.  Share Hope. But don't share it very long, a simple to the point share full of Truth rarely lasts longer than 2 or 3 minutes.

Teach the Truth.  How do we bring AA back to the principles that have worked for so many? One drunk at a time that is how.  We have to quit fighting the old guard, the sickest of the sick, and just teach the Clear Message of Hope to the newcomer.

I don't believe that the newcomer is the sickest person in the room.  I believe the dry drunks and the heavy drinkers are the sickest people in the rooms.  The old timers that are real alcoholics are either Living the Truth today or they are dead.  The ones that are hanging around spewing BS are not real alcoholics, not according to my book.  We can't change them, only God can do that. 

I used to get baited into windy arguments with these people.  I try not to do that today.  I try to focus on the Solution, on the newcomers and on my brothers and sisters that are on the firing line with me.

If you disagree feel free, but I am probably not going to argue with you if you do.  If your life has been changed as mine has, then you know what the Power of God can do. If not then I can show you how it worked for me.  A lot of us can...

Peace

Jerry

Our Friend

We lost another dear friend today, in her forties.  She was sober for the last year of her life.  But we do so much damage sometimes, that this disease gets us anyway.  I know what thing about our friend, once she got this deal there was no middle of the road solution for her anymore, she took the actions required to recover.

How many people must come into our meetings and not get to hear the solution as outlined in the first 164 pages of the big book.  How many do we send away to suffer and die while we tell our war stories and try to make ourselves out to be the meanest, toughest, drunks on the planet.  How many leave because they think they must not be alcoholic because they didn't drink around the clock 24/7.  How many leave disgusted because they didn't get violent, or drive drunk, or do any of that crap.  Thousands, that's how many.

Absolute arrogance, absolute selfishness, we could share hope, we could show them the solution, we could get them connected to God, but we must tell our story it is so friggin important.

Or just as bad.  "Well today was a pretty crappy day, I kicked my cat, my fan belt broke, some jerk pulled in front of me.  Hey I cheated my taxes, my wife, and my employer, but I didn't drink.  I may tomorrow but not today..."

Or "I came to three meetings today, I have to stay in these meetings, I'm safe here... I am powerless over people, places and things. Those normal people out there will make me drink.  But when it gets to crazy I just come to a meeting and spew all my crap out on the table and it makes me feel better."  Sometimes I can't even stay sober one hour at a time sometimes it is one second at a time"  But I haven't drank for 37 years...

The book says selfishness and self-centeredness is the root of my problem.  It says it's main purpose is to show other alcoholics precisely how we have recovered.  If you "share" in meetings in the above ways then please don't introduce yourself as recovered cause you're not.

And if you have stayed sober for multiple years without working the steps and having a spiritual awakening then please rethink introducing yourself as an alcoholic, cause your not...  Perhaps you can join selfish self-centered asses anonymous (SSCAA), cause you are...

You want to gripe at me and tell me I am not being loving and tolerant, go ahead... I love the new comers enough to tolerate them while they learn the Truth.

AA is deadly serious, please don't take up any more valuable meeting time with your opinions.  If it doesn't match up with the first 164 pages of the big book perhaps you should consider sharing that at a SSCAA meeting...

And to our dear friend your story will live on and the peace and dignity with which you passed will be remembered by us...

Love and Peace...

Jerry

Sense of Urgency...

There has been in our fellowship a misconception for years.  This has to do with the working of the steps.  We have been told you it took you years to get sick, it will take you years to get well.

This is not true.  It is documented over and over in the big book and in our other literature how the first people did this deal.

The man that started our fellowship in Chicago worked the steps with Dr. Bob in an afternoon.  Bill Wilson worked the steps in a matter of days.  This is repeated over and over in our early history.

The main reason people stop doing the steps is because we let them "stew" in their own juices. They turn inward and the ego starts to rebuild. This has been my experience from actually taking people through the steps.

The people that go through the steps quickly and start working with others as soon as possible get sober and stay sober.  The ones that don't, don't.

We have become so arrogant and so self important that we think if we take our time and dot every I, and cross every T, that we can earn a spiritual awakening. 

A spiritual awakening is a gift from God, period.  We don't earn it, we don't get it because we were more thorough than the other guy.  We get it by having the humility to follow the simple directions laid out in the book.

Our program is not about believing the steps will work. It is not about desiring to do the steps. It is about taking the action required of us, to clear out the things that block us from God.

Recovering from this hideous disease is about doing what we don't want to do, when we don't want to do it, and reaping the blessings from it.

What is that blessing?  We get to go out and help God's kids for free and for fun.  We get to be of service to God and the people about us and somehow in the midst of all of that our lives change for the better and forever, as long as we continue to seek and do His will on a daily basis.

So if you hear someone telling you it takes years or even months to be happy, joyous and free, don't do what they did...  Find that guy with a few weeks, months, or years that is happy joyous and free, and do what he did.

My God is not on a timer today.  I don't have to spend years doing penance.  I simply have to seek Him and He will reveal Himself to me, and I will be rocketed into a dimension of existence far better than I have ever known...

Power...

I was recently at a meeting.   I heard an old timer (30 years plus) share about still recovering from this disease.  I listened to him share about being one drink away from his next drunk. He shared about it taking so long to get better, about how miserable he was for the first few years.  He was only trying to help. He was sharing what he had to share.  And I love this guy, but I was struck by the effect this had on the newcomers, their body language and their faces said everything.

Then I heard a guy with just over a year share about being recovered.  I listened to him share about having a spiritual experience two weeks into this deal.  He shared about God changing everything.  He shared about helping others and the joy of working with another drunk.  The new guys were all ears they had hope on their faces.  The guy that was sharing was sharing hope.

Remembering where I came from will not keep me sober guys.  The fear of being one drink away from a drunk will not keep me sober.  Again I am depending on myself to train by diseased brain away from the drink with my diseased brain.  My dependence must come from a Higher Power.  Without Him I am nothing.  With Him I have the Power to recover from this disease and stay recovered. More importantly I have the Power to help others.

I am not powerless over people, places, and things.  I have a connection to the Creator of people places and things. I have His Power at work in my life.  I can do anything that He wants me to do, provided I keep close to Him and seek to do His will.

This program is not about powerlessness.  It is not about being careful not to achieve to much, because that might make me stumble.  It is about using all the gifts that God has given me to help others.  It is about Power and nothing but Power.  Not mine but God's...

Are we all just one drink away from a drunk?  Sure... But that is not what I am focused on today.  I am focused on seeking God's Will and doing God's Will.  He will provide what I need.   It doesn't matter to me if that involves sweeping floors or running a corporation, what matters is that it is God's Will and not mine that is important.

My God is an awesome Power, the Power to help others and to live, love, and laugh. But I can't use that if I am going to stay holed up in an AA meeting and focus on the problem.

I'll stop with this from the big book; "Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live in a new and wonderful world regardless of your present circumstances."

Now that is Power!!!

Who "we" is...

How can we read "rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path" and then talk about everything but the path to the newcomer.  Guys, the "we" the big book is referring too is not you and me.  It is the first one hundred recovered men and women. 

This is what we hear.  My sponsor said sit down and shut up.  My sponsor said 90 meetings in 90 days.  My sponsor said I must take it slow.  Sorry guy's the big book is not referring to you, neither you or your sponsor is a "we".  "Our Path" is referring to the program of action described in the big book.  It is referring to the 12 steps. 

The only thing we have to offer is a path to a spiritual awakening as a result of working the 12 steps.  That is what my sponsor showed me.  My sponsor says "have you prayed about it". My sponsor says "God's got you"  My sponsor wants me to be dependent on God, not on him.

I hear people share that they have to remember how bad it was. My book says I can't "bring into my mind with sufficient force the suffering and humiliation of even a week or a month ago".  I need to remember what it was like so I can identify with the next newcomer, but I am not under the illusion that my previous misery will keep an alcoholic of my type sober for 5 minutes.

Lack of Power was my dilemma, I have Power from the one who has all Power today.  Apart from Him I am nothing. Connected to Him I have the Power to do His will and enjoy this life...

Why shouldn't I laugh, I have recovered and been given the Power to help others...

Ask

 I know some guys that are going through a rough patch right now.  Unsure about decisions to make in their professional career or in personal relationships.  My suggestion to them is the same.  Ask God in your morning meditation what you can do for the man who is still sick. 

This sounds lame.  But my experience is when I do that answers come, maybe not at once.  But the phone will ring during the day or someone will call me I will get the opportunity to help some one.
And then the funniest thing happens, when I get done helping someone else my problems either are greatly diminished or I perceive them to be. Peace comes over me and I am able to get through the next "crisis".

I am sorry if you don't believe this, but if you don't it is probably because you haven't tried it.  Contempt prior to investigation? 

If I stay in the problem trying to figure it out then I just make it bigger and bigger.  My job is to help others.  God's job is to take care of me...

Meetings

You will all be happy to know I have changed my stance.  Meeting makers do make it!!!  Yep you heard me.  For four years now I have had a meeting with God every morning and almost every evening, with several scattered throughout my day.  The morning meetings take place on my knees.  A lot of the others take place in my truck, sometimes I speak and a lot of the time I listen.

Sometimes I come away from those meetings feeling like God and I are on the same page.  Sometimes I come away feeling like God doesn't even know who I am.  But how I feel about the meeting doesn't seem to matter much, because most of the time I am happy, joyous and free. And even when I am not happy that doesn't seem to matter because God goes ahead and demonstrates what He can do in spite of me anyway.

How I feel, and what my crazy old brain tells me, on any given day isn't nearly as important as what I do. Having these meetings is one of the things I do today.  Helping others is another, carrying out my God given purpose is another.

So you will all be happy to hear, Meeting makers make it!!!  I would also suggest about 900 meetings in 90 days!!!

I promise you, if you will make all these meetings, then when you get to an AA meeting, you will share hope and truth with the newcomers.  You will cross the line from a taker to a giver.  You will go on a rocket ride into a 4th dimension.  And after that you will never "feel" the need to waste our valuable AA meeting time with the details of your day or your worn out war story.  And if you do feel the need you won't do it because it will be against your principles...

Love y'all,

Jerry

The Message still works...

I was reading in the Foreword to the Second Edition the other day... Don't ask me why, I just hadn't read it in awhile and some stuff leaped off the page at me. "Sixteen years have elapsed between our first printing of this book and the presentation of our second edition.  In that brief space, Alcoholics Anonymous has mushroomed into nearly 6,000 groups whose membership is far above 150,000 recovered alcoholics".

I immediately checked and in foreword to the 3rd edition it no longer mentions recovered alcoholics and starts to mention the diversity of the fellowship, more of the same in the 4th edition.

Now I am all about diversity, I love diversity, but it has very little to do with alcoholism.  The stories in the back of the book changed as well.  We started to celebrate the differences in the members and their different experiences.  I was taught what brings us together is a common problem and what keeps us joined is a common solution.

I hear it in meetings all the time, I will always be recovering, meeting makers make it, tell us about your problems...

I tell my guys, I am sorry you are experiencing the problems you are going through.  But if you work these steps and get connected to God, He will solve all your problems, and you will recover from this disease...

I get the feeling some people think that it is arrogant or prideful to identify your self as a recovered alcoholic.  They are missing the point.  I am recovered and I didn't do it.  God did it.  And as long as I take the actions that are the maintenance of my spiritual condition, He will continue to do it...

But it is not my opinion, it is what the book says...  The only thing we have to offer the newcomer is Hope...  I can't fix their marriage, or their legal problems, or any of the other outside issues... But what I can do is show them how I got connected to this Power that can fix all that stuff...

Guess what else that Foreword to the Second Edition said.... It said that the New York stock broker realized that in order to save himself he must carry his message to another alcoholic...

Sounds a little different than just showing up at another meeting to tell my war story one more time, or gripe about my day...

The last thing I have to say is this.  That same section of the book describes a 75% recovery rate... How is the watered down message being carried in so many groups today working? 

The real message of AA has not stopped working it is changing lives...  The problem is so many of our members either don't know the message or refuse to carry it...

See you in the trenches... I love you all...

Old Ideas

I just returned from a business trip in Villahermosa Mexico.  I had some wrong ideas about the place.  But I have been in the program long enough to know I should at least try to attempt to have an open mind.  I was in a little fear and was kind of dreading it, but I went anyway.

What happened was I met some wonderful people who I am sure will be my friends for along time.  I was amazed at the culture, at the happiness of these people, but most of all at the humility and the kindness shown to me.

I left there with a sense of how powerful God really is and how He works miracles in each and everyone of our lives, if only we allow Him to. "The Realm of the Spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive; never exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek.  It is open we believe to all men."

Yet again I am amazed at the Power of my Creator when I open my mind and depend on Him.

Tomorrow, I have been blessed with this precious way of life for 4 years.  I take no credit for that.  All I did was take the only choice available when alcohol had beat me down to the point of no return.  I did a few simple things and my life has been changed forever.  Not by me, but by you guys showing me how to get connected to God.

Now I simply try to help other folks get the same connection.  I traveled through Mexico City on my trip and it was pointed out to me there are 22 million people that live there.  My mind instantly went to; that means there are 2.2 million alcoholics.

What can I do about that? I can carry this message of hope to the next person that wants it.  They in turn will carry it.  Will it help the folks in Mexico?  I have no idea, that is none of my business.  But it is God's will for me to do and I will continue to do it as long as there is breath in my body.

I live my life one day at a time, but the deal I made in the 3rd step was that I decided to turn my will and my life over to the care of God. It's there and it will stay there.  Never say never they say... But the same they told me not to get my sobriety date tattooed on my arm, they told me not to sponsor anyone till I was sober at least 6 months, they told me just come to meetings, and they tell me I will never be recovered.

Thank God showed me how to let go of all of the old ideas, even theirs.

I love my God today, along with His children, and I love you guys, all of you even the theys...
 

Approaches

"When, therefore, we were approached by those in whom the problem had been solved" the Big Book says on page 25.

That tells me if the problem has been solved within me, if I have recovered, I am to approach the newcomer and let them know there is a solution.  That is how I share hope.

Ebby approached Bill, Bill approached Dr. Bob, they both approached Bill D.  This is another area in which the "fellowship" has moved away from the "program".

We hear it in AA all the time, "we don't want to scare off the newcomer".  "I have never approached a newcomer and offered to sponsor them"  Really?  Why?  Is that because I have heard that and decided it is a good idea.  What does the literature say?

Page 89 You can easily find some by asking a few doctors, ministers, priests or hospitals...

Page 90  His attention should be drawn to you as someone who has recovered...

Page 157 We are giving you a treatment for alcoholism...

It even tells us in the book this isn't always easy.  What if you are thinking to yourself "I am jittery and alone I cant do that" then read on page 163 it says what to do in that circumstance as well.

The bottom line for me is this.  I can't stand around the outside of an AA meeting chewing the fat with my buddies while a newcomer goes away without hearing about the hope.  I don't walk up to people and say I am going be your sponsor.  I walk up and try to find out where they are at.  What's going on with them.

If they are an alcoholic the conversation will take its course and I will simply ask them " do you want me to show you how to do this deal"  If they do then we get started if not I don't pressure.  But I have to share hope with them. That is why God saved me from this horrible plight.

I can't leave the most important decision of their life up to them when they don't even know what to ask.  I make it clear to these guys that they are not bound to me.  I am simply trying to show them how to get connected to a Power that will change their lives forever.  If they find someone else to do that then rock on.  Its not about having a bunch of sponsees, so I can brag.  It's about offering hope to as many people as I can on this earth before I'm not here any longer.

If you are having problems with this and want to talk about it call me.

Jerry

432-631-4283

Middle of the Road

If you are as seriously alcoholic as we were, we believe there is no middle of the road solution...

That isn't what I say, that is what the big book says.  Yet we don't speak the truth for fear of being controversial.  Bill Wilson didn't want the book to controversial to the public.  You can bet if someone had walked into those early meetings spouting out the garbage that is said around a lot of the tables today, there would have been some controversy.

Bill Wilson and the first 100, also wrote in the big book in several locations that we must carry this message.  That our real purpose is to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God and the people about us.  That we must find God now.  That God is everything or He is nothing. That we are to ask the newcomer if he is ready to quit for good and is willing to go to any length. That we should be introduced to him as people who have recovered.

I have actually heard in a meeting that we have the AA traditions but we have our Texas traditions too.  What a bunch of BS.  You want to bring that kind of crap into an AA meeting.  Just keep coming back, it will get better.  No, it won't.  Work the steps and it will get better, get connected to the Creator, it will get better, help a drunk it will get a lot better.

Sit on our butt and ignore the newcomer and then when they die next week, we say they just didn't want it bad enough.  Maybe we just didn't want to be bothered to tell them the truth.  Maybe it was going to be too controversial.  Maybe we were scared of hurting their feelings.  and then maybe we were just wrapped up in the selfishness that is this disease talking about our damn Texas traditions with our old buddies and we just let them walk away and die...

Maybe we are so busy trying to win our little ego wars and prove who is right that we don't have time to take the new guy by the hand and lead them through the steps.  It's a lot easier to stand in the crowd with our cohorts and slam the new guys that are trying to work this deal than it is to get in the trench. 

You know what I have noticed, the middle of the road guys, really seem to enjoy pontification.  They are always trying to convince everyone else that they are right. Taking shots whenever the little new guys are reaching out to other people. Oh, you shouldn't listen to him he has only been sober for a few weeks.

I'm done with that don't come walking up to me after the meeting trying to explain to me that the new comers just need to be quiet and listen for the first 3 months, that we will always be recovering that each of us works his program his way.  I am done with debating this crap. 

I'll be the one with the new guy in the back room explaining that he can get connected to a Power who will change his life forever. That this is a program of action.  That he can recover from this crap and be given the Power to help others!!!

Is that to radical for you? Then perhaps you should find another fellowship cause this is AA buddy. And it don't change just because you haven't taken a drink for a few years...`

God's Plan.

I never understand God's plan.  And that is okay, because after attempting to stay in God's will for a while, I have come to realize that things always work out for the best.  I don't always remember that while I am in the midst of the storm, and sometimes I let that storm carry me into self will.  But thanks to God I usually don't stay there as long as I used to.

Faith is not something I attained by trying.  God showed me what faith was by consistently working out my problems, sometimes in spite of me.  First I had to start taking the right actions regardless of what my mind told me.  Then and only then could I perceive God's perfect grace.

Any thing good in my life or in the life of the people around me is a result of submitting to God's will.  Everything else is a result of human will.

I can't know God's will ahead of time it comes to me in that instant before I act.  I better be connected to Him before that instant happens. 

And I can't see God's plan until it unfolds.  After the fact...  Trusting God isn't so hard.  A dear friend always says "if you can't trust God then just act like a fellow might act if he trusted God".  That has worked for me.

It's about living on principles instead of feelings.  It isn't always easy but it works!!!

Lying doesn't work, stealing doesn't work, anger doesn't work, selfishness doesn't work...

God let me be an actor and play the role you assign.  I don't want to be the Director anymore, cause it just doesn't work...

Guides to Progress

I had another one of those aha moments the other day.  You know when the stuff you have been hearing over and over and over for a few years suddenly leaps off the page at you.  On page 60 it says: "The point is, that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines.  The principles we have set down are guides to progress...."  This is stated immediately after the steps were "set down" on the previous page.  If we are willing to grow spiritually then we have to be guided by the steps.  If I am to continue to grow spiritually then I have to continue to do the steps.  I have to practice these principles (steps) in all of my affairs. 

I knew that was the case before but I had missed how very clearly that is written on page 60 and I have heard it thousands of times.

It doesn't say the meetings we attend are guides to progress. It doesn't say telling my war story is a guide to progress. It doesn't say the years I stay dry are guides to progress. It says I have to practice these steps.  That includes 10 and 11, and the biggie 12. 

I cannot spiritually progress in this way of life if I am not praying meditating and working with others.  If I am not carrying the clear message of hope to the suffering and dying alcoholic.

I heard a speaker this weekend quote Dr. Bob, someone asked him what was different about AA right before he died and he allegedly said: "We got a lot more talking, a lot less action, and a lot nicer furniture."  Now I don't know if he said that or not.  But I damn sure know it is true...

The Trench

I heard a speaker tonight that shared the clear message of Hope in a unique way.  She got through to people that I could never touch.  It is becoming so apparent to me that God has a unique way to use everyone of us.  Are we "fitting ourselves to be of maximum service to God and the people around us" or are we still "victims of the delusion that we can wrest satisfaction and happiness out of this world if only we manage well?"

We need you, all of you... God has a unique destiny for all of us... Let's begin today... Let's take the actions to become spiritually fit to be of maximum service, the mental and physical will follow.  The only way for me to be happy in this world is to fulfill my God given purpose...

Changing the world is not my job it is God's job.  But I can take the actions to allow God to change me, and then I can show someone else how I did that...

My problem has always been that I want the whole thing planned out, and more importantly laid out for my approval.  That is not my experience.  My experience is that if I take the actions to stay connected to God then I will know what to do in any given situation, at the moment I need to do it.  The next right thing is scary sometimes, it doesn't come natural a lot of the time and yet it is still the next right thing.

And the one thing I know without a shadow of doubt is that I never walk through it alone. I walk through it wrapped in the Grace of God.  Shielded from harm by the Creator Himself...

My sponsor says it all the time "are we going to sit on the sidelines or are we going to take our rightful place in the trench?"

Being happy, joyous, and free comes from doing God's will nothing less...  It isn't always fun, it is often quite scary, and sometimes quite tedious, but it is where the rocket ride starts guys.

Do you want to experience life? Do you want to understand peace? Do you want to feel your heart soar?


Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows.  Give freely of what you find and join us.  We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit as you
trudge the Road of Happy Destiny!!!

Jerry

Gratitude

I heard someone speak tonight at our group and as she told her story I was overwhelmed by a sense of gratitude of all of the people before me who kept this fellowship together. It made me think of the spiritual advisors I have had along the way.  It made me think of my first sponsor who has passed, it made me think of my current sponsor and the lineage all the way back to Dr. Bob, Bill Wilson, Ebby Thatcher, Rowland Hazzard.

I am so honored and humble just to get to be a part of the most awesome fellowship that has ever existed.  We all do what we can do and God uses all of us to change peoples lives forever.  For once and for all. 

I get to experience life, real life.  I get to experience God's Grace.  Today I got to be on the other side of the amends process with someone I dearly love.

If Bill Wilson, Dr. Bob and the first one hundred had not allowed themselves to be used by God, if they had not taken the action and done the next right thing, where would we be?

My sponsor has told me that gratitude is an action.  I must take action daily, I must fit myself to be of maximum service to God and the people around me, I do that by practicing these principles in all of my affairs if I do less where will this fellowship be 78 years from now.  I will take action because that is what I am supposed to do.  It does not matter how I feel, what I think, or what I believe.  It matters what I do.

Thank you people in our fellowship.  Thank you for listening to God, yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Jerry

Spiritual Growth

Once again I have been brought through another one of life's trials by God himself. This time I didn't even try to get through it by myself, I knew I couldn't. It reminds me of a Dr. Seuss line my wife quotes from time to time "this mess is so great and so big and so tall, there is no way to clean it, no way at all". But thankfully both she and I have found out what to do when we come up against one of those messes. The answer is to give it to God.

Now that isn't always the easiest thing to do. Sometimes it is just a few seconds at a time until I have to pray again "Thy will not mine be done. I am no longer running the show." But as the song says "every storm runs out of rain". And sooner or later if I stay in the moment and just stay connected to God, things get better. They don't always work out the way I want them to, but they do work out.

Usually after one of these times I look backwards and realize I have grown spiritually. For me spiritual growth is not about attaining knowledge, it is about experiencing God's grace in the midst of chaos. That becomes a spiritual experience, and experience grows my faith. It has nothing to do with what I have learned. It has everything to do with what God has given me.

It really is quite simple, but it is not easy. Thank God, that I was given a hard head. Because of my experiences in the past I now cling to the actions of the program like a dog to a bone when things get crazy. Why because I know it works... And that persistence is rewarded eventually with the peace that passes all understanding.

I don't know how it works, but I do know that it does work, every time. That is my experience...

Thanks God...

Jerry

My First Sponsor...

It is hard to believe he has been gone 3 years... He always told me the truth... These are just a few of his thoughts...

Thank you Jerry Hammond...

It doesn’t matter what you believe when you get here it matters what you do.

Quit playing God

You don’t have to understand God, just knowing it ain’t you will be fine for now.

Think Think Think is not for me

Help others

Hitting people in the mouth is not really how we do things in AA

How do you know what they need, you don’t even know what you need

Its not all about me

The solution isn’t for people who need it or want it; it’s for people that do the work.

Maybe we’ll give old so and so a good letting alone

Quit playing the big shot

You don’t know anything, if you think you know something then you are in real trouble.

Once you come into AA you never have to be alone again unless you talk too long in a meeting

Maybe you should just be a member of AA

Go light the heaters and make coffee

Terminal uniqueness will kill your ass

Newcomers need first aid let’s get them through the steps so they can get a little relief

You are not the spiritual leader of the western hemisphere!!!

Sitting down in an AA meeting equals about 2 fingers of vodka Aaaahhhh!!

Try reading only the black parts of the book

It doesn’t say that

About 98% of us die from this shit

Always make new friends in AA

Suit up, show up, and maybe even shutup

Always keep your word.  Do what you say you will do always

The guys in an AA meeting that aren’t alcoholics are killing the newcomers

Always shake hands with the new guy

Resentments are being pissed off cause you didn’t get what you wanted;  fears are being afraid you won’t get what you want

This is a program about getting pissed off and getting over it.

It’s about forgiving and being forgiven

Always pray before a meeting; Keep my ass sitting in this chair no matter what

A man who sponsors himself has an idiot for a sponsor

You are not special

Try to see how you are like other alcoholics not different from them

Let me think was I with hostage number 1 or hostage number 2 when that happened

If I spend 50% of my time staying out of your business and half my time minding my own I have a pretty good day.

Invite God into your day…  God I invite you into my day.

True Power

I became willing to believe in something bigger than me because alcohol just beat me into submission.  I surrendered to the fact I had run my entire life into the toilette.

I took some action that I didn't want to take and the results have been amazing.

God has awakened my spirit enough to allow me to have these spiritual experiences.  God makes that possible.  Apart from Him I am nothing.  Apart from Him I am a hopeless alcoholic, who can't stop drinking.  Apart from Him I am selfish and self-centered to the core.  Apart from Him I never make the right decision.  Apart from Him I am lost.

I used to think I was big shot.  I used to think I was special.  That if everyone would just do as I thought things would be great.  Today I realize that I couldn't even run my own life much less someone elses.

I have always been blessed and was just too arrogant and prideful to acknowledge it.  Everything I have, all my talents, all my "stuff" doesn't belong to me at all.  It belongs to God.  And that is okay today.

I can still fall into the trap of thinking I know best, that I can figure it all out.  But by staying connected to this Power which I don't understand, I soon realize that I really know nothing other than what He gives me.  As I grow in understanding and effectiveness, through closer contact with God,  there is a sixth sense being developed within me. A big part of that sense is knowing that I need to stay connected more and more just to do the things I have been given to do.

I love the line in the book that says "The central fact of our lives today is the absolute certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lives in a way which is indeed miraculous."

If you think this program is about just not drinking one stupid day at a time.  I am truly sorry for you.  This is not about not drinking, this is about living in a new and wonderful world no matter what your present circumstances.

Learning

I got to spend some time at a place that is very dear to my heart this week.  The place where my journey in this way of life started.  I went there in a new capacity this time, as a family member.  I went feeling like I knew what was best, in other words my ego was hanging out just a bit.

But as I began to submit myself to the process and to open my ears and my mind, I was shown several things that I didn't know.  God was able to remind me one more time of where the Power of this deal really lies. God was was able to open my heart and pour some good stuff in.

I left there with a new sense of understanding for the people that don't have this disease personally, yet are affected by it everyday.  I left there humbled and thankful.

Those of you who know me are aware that I sometimes suffer from the delusion that I am the "spiritual leader of the western hemisphere" (at least that's what my first sponsor used to say)  :)
If you see me acting that way please hold me accountable...

Bottom line is this:  When I humbled myself to the process, took the action, did the work even though I didn't want to, God showed up, stepped in and put me in a position to help a few more people and shower me with blessings just like He always does.

Much thanks to my wife and my old case manager for showing me the truth, as they have always been able to do...

Guarantees

I have heard in quite a few meetings that there are no guarantees in AA. That is quite true for the fellowship.  But that is not true for the spiritual program of action that is AA.  What is a guarantee? It is simply a promise and the book is full of them, both good and bad.

If I do the actions that are laid out in the book (the first 9 steps) precisely as directed then I am guaranteed a spiritual experience and the obsession to drink will be removed from me by God.  If I continue to take the actions of steps 10, 11, and 12 everyday then I am guaranteed a daily reprieve from that obsession. Period...

If I am telling the newcomer that this works for some and doesn't work for others then, I am sending the wrong message.  The Power of God is not given to some people by chance and withheld from others.  The program of AA is 100% effective if done as directed.  Everytime, regardless of age, sex, race, sexual orientation, or any of the other myriad ways we seperate ourselves from others.

It does not matter if I came by way of a court slip, angry family, treatment center.  It does not matter how I got here.  Rich or poor. This disease strikes across all lines, and my God gives access to His power to everyone as well.

My daily reprieve does not depend on whether I have been sober 30 days or 30 years.  It does not depend on my memories of past debacles or my fear of future failings.  It depends on the maintenance of my spritual condition and nothing else.

This is the greatest guarantee of all, no matter who you are or what you have done, if you are an alcoholic and you do this work, you will recover from this disease. This is the clear message of Hope, this is all we have to offer.

The approach!!!

I hear in our meetings a lot today people talking about how inappropriate it is to approach a newcomer and offer to sponsor him, that we should wait until he reaches out for help.  What a load of bull.  I think that might be code for "we don't really want to be bothered"

A lot of the people I sponsor today, I have approached.  You see them in every meeting, never smiling, looking uncomfortable, can't sit still, miserable, running out after a meeting trying to get the hell out of there before they have to talk to someone.

Are we to busy getting a cup of coffee to notice?  Are we too busy telling the guy beside us after the meeting about our crappy day?  Or are we just scared?  Or worse yet do we just not care? Are we still caught up in the selfishness and self centeredness which is the root of our problem? Or better yet have we read their mind and decided because they need a court slip signed that they are not ready?  Absolute arrogance...

The guys in my sponsorship lineage will flat chase down a newcomer to strike up a conversation. That's just how we roll in Texas, we ain't shy...

"But the ex problem drinker who is properly armed with the facts about himself, can generally win the entire confidence of another alcoholic in a few hours. Until such an understanding is reached little or nothing can be accomplished"

I don't run up and say "hey I gonna sponsor you whether you like it or not".  We just visit and then I ask them "have you worked the steps?  I can show you how if you want me to."  Its really pretty simple and to make all you middle of the roaders out there, happy; it isn't even that intrusive.   Alcohol, now that's intrusive...

Why do we expect them to know what they need to do, they need to be shown.  They don't even know if they are a real diagnosed alcoholic or not until we qualify them.  If your scared about this then read on it is real easy.

Are you qualified? 

Have you had a spiritual awakening as the result of the steps?

Do you have a sponsor?

If you answered yes to both of these, then you are ready.

Are they qualified.

Can they control how much they drink every time they drink?

Given sufficient reason can they quit for good?

If they answer either one of these with a no then they are qualified.

Now take them through the work!!!  Start at the Title page and go from there.

If you get stuck talk to your sponsor, it will be good for him!!!

Here is what I get out of this.

Absolute joy!!!

"Our real purpose is to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God and the people around us"

Real purpose = Real joy!!!

My Job

My God IS today...  And that is good enough...  Do I understand God?  Nope...  But I don't need to, in fact I wasn't even supposed to.  I realize that there is no way my human mind,`as miraculous as it is, could ever come close to conceiving or defining God.

The Creation was never supposed to understand the Creator, just depend on Him.  The arrogance of us humans to try to define God, to put God in a box, and then to judge one another because our definitions don't match.

God just IS, everything I see, touch, hear, smell or taste was created by God and through God. As in fact, I was.  A part of God lies deep within all of us, in every fiber of our beings at a cellular level...

My job is to realize that apart from God I am nothing...

My job is to make a decision to turn over my will and my life to Something bigger than me.

My job is to take the actions to remove the resentments, fear, guilt, shame and remorse that block me off from conscious contact with the God that is within me and within you...

My job is to ask God to remove from me the things that stand in the way of my usefulness to Him and the people around me...

My job is to set right the mistakes of my past by making amends to the people I have harmed...

My job is to continue to take actions that help me grow in understanding and effectiveness...

My job is to let God demonstrate through me what He can do...

My job is to trust that connection that is developing within me...

My job is to take my Awakened Spirit into life, to allow God to speak to and love people in a way that I am incapable of...

No longer do I find it necessary to define God's job or yours.  As you can see I have a pretty busy job of my own to look after...