A Prayer & Some Thoughts - November

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November 29

A Prayer for Sanity

Lord,
Grant us sanity during these very challenging times.
We live in a time that brings many of us the unexpected and the unexplainable.
Help us think with clarity, and guide us to behave with courage when the opportunity comes to change our difficulties.
Amen

~ Celeste M. Pérez Chadha

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Just a Thought

Alcoholics recover their faith in a Power greater than themselves.

They admit that they're helpless by themselves and they call on that Higher Power for help. They surrender their lives to God, as they understand Him. They put their drink problem in God's hands and leave it there. They recover their faith in a Higher Power that can help them.

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

Have I recovered my faith?

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Just a Contemplation

Understanding

For years I learned things without understanding what the words, or the meaning behind the words, really meant. An example was alcoholism. Then a man said, "My name is Bill, and I am an alcoholic and a recovering human being!" Then it struck me; recovery from alcohol --- was not simply about putting down the glass but about changing and developing a positive lifestyle as a human being.

The same is true with spirituality. It is not about being religious, going to church or accepting dogma. It is about finding God in my life, discovering God in the decisions and actions I take and seeing Him in the world around me. Today I understand spirituality to be the link that unites all peoples and is centered on what is true and real.

~ Author Unknown

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Anger - Personal and Group Enemy

"As the book 'Alcoholics Anonymous' puts it, 'Resentment is the Number One offender.' It is a primary cause of relapses into drinking. How well we of A.A. know that for us 'To drink is eventually to go mad or die.'

Much the same penalty overhangs every A.A. group. Given enough anger, both unity and purpose are lost. Given still more 'righteous' indignation, the group can disintegrate; it can actually die. This is why we avoid controversy. This is why we prescribe no punishments for any misbehavior, no matter how grievous. Indeed, no alcoholic can be deprived of his membership for any reason whatever.

Punishment never heals. Only love can heal.

As Bill Sees It Page 98

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Just a Quote

"It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed." ~ Napoleon Hill

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November 30

Letting Go Prayer

Lord,
Please hear my prayer. I go along each day, trying to run my life my own way. I forget to let go and give you control.

I wonder why things aren't going the way I want them to go. I forget to stop and ask what you want, Lord. Please help me to give you control.

Help me to realize that when you close one door, you open the one you want me to walk through. Help me also to realize that what I desire may not be what is meant for me, or what is best for me. Maybe it will lead me away from what your great plan is for me.

Lord, let me accept each day as a gift. Let me follow the path you choose for me. Help me to be thankful for what you give me and not to worry about my needs. I trust you will take care of all my needs. Remind me that my role is to care for those around me and focus on those who need my help.
Amen

From Mary Fairchild

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Just a Thought

I have hope.

That magic thing that I had lost or misplaced. The future looks dark no more. I do not even look at it, except when necessary to make plans. I try to let the future take care of itself. The future will be made up of todays and todays, stretching out as short as now and as long as eternity. Hope is justified by many right nows, by the rightness of the present. Nothing can happen to me that God does not will for me. I can hope for the best, as long as I have what I have and it is good.

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

Do I have hope?

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Just a Contemplation

Self-Value

Yes, we do have a real life of our own. Those empty feelings, which sense that everyone except us has a life - an important life, a valuable life, a better life - is a remnant from the past. It is also a self-defeating belief that is inaccurate.

Yes, we are real. So is our life. Jump into it, and see. The more you engage with meaningful life, not only does it grow with time, it also provides you with a happy, fulfilling life.

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The Gift

To those of us who have hitherto known only excitement, depression, or anxiety -- in other words, to all of us -- this newfound peace is a priceless gift.

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Page 74

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Just a Quote

“Let go of the past, but keep the lessons it taught you.” ~ Chiara Gizzi