Daily Recovery Readings - January

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January 21

Daily Reflections

SERVING MY BROTHER

The member talks to the newcomer not in a spirit of power but in a
spirit of humility and weakness.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS COMES OF AGE p. 279

As the days pass in A.A., I ask God to guide my thoughts and the words
that I speak. In this labor of continuous participation in the Fellowship,
I have numerous opportunities to speak. So I frequently ask God to
help me watch over my thoughts and my words, that they may be the
true and proper reflections of our program; to focus my aspirations
once again to seek His guidance; to help me be truly kind and loving,
helpful and healing, yet always filled with humility, and free from any
trace of arrogance.

Today I may very well have to deal with disagreeable attitudes or
utterances -- the typical stock-in-trade attitude of the still-suffering
alcoholic. If this should happen, I will take a moment to center myself
in God, so that I will be able to respond from a perspective of
composure, strength and sensibility.

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As Bill Sees It

Citizens Again, p. 21

"Each of us in turn--that is, the member who gets the most out of the
program--spends a very large amount of time on Twelfth Step work in
the early years. That was my case, and perhaps I should not have
stayed sober with less work.

"However, sooner or later most of us are presented with other
obligations--to family, friends, and country. As you will remember, the
Twelfth Step also refers to 'practicing these principles in all our
affairs.' Therefore, I think your choice of whether to take a particular
Twelfth Step job is to be found in your own conscience. No one else
can tell you for certain what you ought to do at a particular time.

I just know that you are expected, at some point, to do more than
carry the message of A.A. to other alcoholics. In A.A. we aim not only
for sobriety--we try again to become citizens of the world that we
rejected, and of the world that once rejected us. This is the ultimate
demonstration toward which Twelfth Step work is the first but not the
final step."

Letter, 1959

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Chapter 7 - WORKING WITH OTHERS

We seldom allow an alcoholic to live in our homes for long at a time. It is not good for him, and it sometimes creates serious complications in a family.

p. 97

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."

Despite these misgivings, we had to recognize the fact that A.A. had to function. Meeting places cost something. To save whole areas from turmoil, small offices had to be set up, telephones installed, and a few full-time secretaries hired. Over many protests, these things were accomplished. We saw that if they weren't, the man coming in the door couldn't get a break. These simple services would require small sums of money which we could and would pay ourselves. At last the pendulum stopped swinging and pointed straight at Tradition Seven as it reads today.

pp. 161-162

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When you make a mistake, make amends immediately. It's easier to eat crow while it's still warm. --Sherrie R.

God claims by grace those who have no claim to grace.

"In any moment of decision, The best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing." --President Theodore Roosevelt

"Forgiveness ought to be like a canceled note - torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one." --Henry Ward Beecher

Someone once said that it's bad to suppress laughter; it goes back down and spreads to your hips! So, keep laughing, everyone! --unknown

The best way to get the last word is to apologize.

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

TOLERANCE

"The price of freedom of
religion or of speech or of the
press is that we must put up
with, and even pay for, a good
deal of rubbish."
-- Justice Robert Jackson

I need to be tolerant in my sobriety. I need to allow others to say what
they feel and live according to their standards.

I was intolerant towards people who were different from myself. Much
of what I criticized yesterday, I accept today; some things I still reject.

To love a person should not require "sameness"; equally, I can accept
a person without agreeing with what they say or how they behave.
Disagreements and conflicts lead to growth; change requires a variety
of forces.

Not everything I say to do is "pure" --- and that has become the key to
the acceptance of others. My history teaches me that I benefit from the
variety of opinions that are represented in mankind.

Lord, You have created many ways to Truth, may I appreciate them
through the experiences of others.

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"Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock." Matthew 7:24

"Beloved, we are God's children now." 1 John 3:2

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field God's building.
1 Corinthians 3:7-9

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Daily Inspiration

When your burdens seem heavier than usual, know that your blessings are more than usual. Lord, I call on You for the strength, the wisdom and the confidence that I will need today.

God values us so much that He gave us all that He has; His Son Jesus. Show that you value Him, too, by putting Him first in all aspects of your life. Lord, when I put You first in my life, order and peace follow.

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Each Day a New Beginning (Women)
Food for Thought
Language of Letting Go
Today's Gift
Touchstones (Men)
Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Walk In Dry Places