Your Daily Reprieve 05.28.20

Your Daily Reprieve for Thursday May  28, 2020 From Waynesville, NC

"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them." ~George Bernard Shaw "Look back and be grateful, look ahead and be hopeful, look around and be helpful." --unknown The first step identifies the problem. The second step identifies the solution. The third step identifies the action. --unknown When I came into AA all I could say was, "I know" and "yeah but..." Then I got a sponsor who said, "You don't know, and there are no buts!" --unknown “If I remove my hate and anger, what is left is love. If I remove my anxiety and fear, peace will result. If I believe in God's promises, the obstacles that I created between God and myself will be lifted. When these defects are removed, then I can start to be an instrument of peace.” ~Grapevine:Chicago, Illinois, February 2009

Big Book Quote "Lack of power, that was our dilemma. We had to find a power by which we could live, and it had to be a Power greater than ourselves. Obviously. But where and how were we to find this Power? Well, that's exactly what this book is about." Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 45

Daily Share! AA Speaker of the Day MARGARET CARLSON Springfield, MA @Hilton Head, SC 1986 https://bit.ly/3fIN65y Wee Willie’s Sobriety First Media AA CD’s Literature and tapes https://www.mediafire.com/sobrietyfirst

Celebrate Your Anniversary Here SHOW NEWCOMERS HOW IT WORKS!! Send your sober date to txm1@comcast.net SOBER DATE YOUR NAME YOUR LOCATION YEARS SOBER 6/10 (mo/day) Bob S Akron, OH 83 It will look like this : 6/10 Bob S. (Akron, OH).....84 MAY  2020 Miracles 5/1 Stacey E. (Dothan, AL)…..14 5/1 Becky W. ()…..11 5/1 Rhonda B. (Texas)…..19 5/1 Bryan E. (NYC, NY)…..6 5/1 Sybil K. (Wiesbaden, Germany)…..2 5/2 Eddie C. (Southampton, UK)…..20 5/2 Steve W. (Cape Cod)…..5 5/2 Marcia U. (Waynesville, NV)…..24 5/4 Regina M. (New York, NY)…..22 5/4 Melanie R. (NYC, NY)…..7 5/4 Jim L. (Waynesville, NC)…..1 5/4 Patrick R. (Happy Valley, MA)…..9 5/5 Ricky M. (Palm Coast, FL)…..6 5/5 Denny M. (Leesburg, FL)…..38 5/5 Susanna W. (Princeton, IN)…..31 5/5 Melissa C. (Hawaii)…..2 5/6 Chloe B. (Parsippany, NJ)…..20 5/7 Anthony A. (Mamaroneck, NY)…..24 5/7 Leo H. (Wales, UK)…..15 5/7 Echo W. (Lake City, CO)…..3 5/8 Elizabeth H. (Brick, NJ)…..10 5/8 Mark C. (Kodak, TN)…..6 5/8 Rossana G. (East Lansing, MI)…..26 5/8 Mickey B. (Southampton, NY)…..32 5/9 Stuart, O. (Springfield, VA)…..8 5/9 Pete D. (NYC, NY)…..9 5/10 Randy Y. (Chattanooga, TN)…..1 5/10 Steven N. (Northport, FL)…..8 5/10 Rick P. (Seabrook, NH)…..13 5/10 John H. (Miami, FL)…..38 5/10 Jim P. (Carmel, CA)…..9 5/11 Sarah D. (New York City)…..1 5/11 Vaugn T. (Gladstone, NJ)…..16 5/12 Beth N. (Orlando, FL)…..23 5/12 Pat P. (Punta Gorda, FL)…..14 5/13 Gary V. (Portage, IN)…..34 5/13 Linda K. (Deerfield, IL)…..34 5/14 Kathy S. (Atkinson, NH)…..31 5/15 Orry M. (Norwalk, CT)…..1 5/15 Tricia (Rye, NY)…..26 5/15 Bill O. (East Hampton, NY)…..16 5/15 Chris W. (Stuart, Fl./Sao Pedro DaAldeia RJ, Brasil).....31 5/16 Donna K. ()…..1 5/17 Deanna P. (Ellsworth, ME)…..4 5/17 Sanjay C. (Astoria, NY)…..2 5/17 David “Livin’ My Dream” H. (Lewisburg, PA)…..30 5/17 Alan T. (University Park, FL)…..27 5/17 Kimberly K. (Bridgewater, NJ)…..2 5/17 John C. (East Hampton, NY)…..19 5/17 Lisa B/ (Paris, KY/Punt Gorda, FL)…..9 5/18 Jessica H. (Boca Raton, FL)…..2 5/17 Debra O. (Stuart, FL)…..10 5/19 Rachelle S. ()…..27 5/19 Becky T. (Haverstraw, NY)…..13 5/20 Kay W. (Amarillo, TX)…..1 5/20 Capt. Jeff E. (Pensacola, FL)…..8 5/21 Frank S. (NYC)…..2 5/22 Jamie S. (Mamaroneck, NY)…..18 5/23 Leo B. (Cleveland, OH)…..29 5/23 Phyllis C. ()…..27 5/24 Harry K. (Velez, Spain)…..27 5/26 Mark D. (South Berwick, ME)…..17 5/26 Drew P. (Huntersville, NC)…..5 5/26 Jerry S. (NYC, NY)…..38 5/26 Kate W. (Cape Cod)…..5 5/26 Lisa F. (NYC, NY)…..16 5/26 Lee T. (Clinton, CT)…..29 5/26 Monica F. (LA, CA)…..3 5/27 Ryan W. (Nantucket, MA)…..2 5/27 Becki V. (Waynesville, NC)…..8 5/27 Mary Pat (NYC, NY)…..42 5/27 Bobby S. (Whistler, Canada)…..16 5/28 Susan L (Westhampton, NY)…..7 5/28 Phil K. (Port Charlotte, FL)…..45 5/28 Heather M. D. (St Stephen, NB, Canada)…..30 5/29 Harvey P. (Burlington, VT)…..12 5/29 Allen V. (Phoenicia/Astoria. NY)…..12 5/29 Kathleen S. (Bernardsville, NJ)…..19 5/29 B.S. Billy (Portsmouth, RI)…..22 5/29 George B. (Cleveland/Key Largo, FL)…..7 5/30 Bill D. (New York, NY)…..37 5/31 Art D. (Mequon, WI)…..36 5/31 Rhoda M. (East Hampton, NY)…..14 5/31 Irene L. (LaMoine, ME)…..32 5/31 Steve L. ()…..11 1321 Total Years of Sobriety

12&12 Step Eleven - "Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out." Perhaps one of the greatest rewards of meditation and prayer is the sense of belonging that comes to us. We no longer live in a completely hostile world. We are no longer lost and frightened and purposeless. The moment we catch even a glimpse of God's will, the moment we begin to see truth, justice, and love as the real and eternal things in life, we are no longer deeply disturbed by all the seeming evidence to the contrary that surrounds us in purely human affairs. We know that God lovingly watches over us. We know that when we turn to Him, all will be well with us, here and hereafter. p. 105

Twenty-Four Hours A.A. Thought For The Day In A.A. we learn that since we are alcoholics we can be uniquely useful people. That is, we can help other alcoholics when perhaps somebody who has not had our experience with drinking could not help them. That makes us uniquely useful. The A.A.s are a unique group of people because they have taken their own greatest defeat and failure and sickness and used it as a means of helping others. We who have been through the same thing are the ones who can best help other alcoholics. Do I believe that I can be uniquely useful? Meditation For The Day I should try to practice the presence of God. I can feel that He is with me and near me, protecting and strengthening me always. In spite of every difficulty, every trial, every failure, the presence of God suffices. Just to believe that He is near me brings strength and peace. I should try to live as though God were beside me. I cannot see Him because I was not made with the ability to see Him else there were no room for faith. But I can feel His spirit with me. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may try to practice the presence of God. I pray that by doing so I may never feel alone or helpless again.

Daily Thought ^*^*^*^*^ (\    ~~    /) (    \(AA)/     ) (_ /AA\ _) /AA\ ^*^*^*^*^ Maturity "Many oldsters who have put our A.A. 'booze cure' to severe but successful tests still find they often lack emotional sobriety. To attain this, we must develop a real maturity and balance (which is to say humility) in our relations with ourselves, with our fellows, and with God." Bill W., Box 1980: The AA Grapevine, January 1958 As Bill Sees It, p. 244 Thought to Consider . . . "We must find a spiritual basis of life - or else." Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 44 *~*AACRONYMS*~* F A I T H Fear Ain't In This House

Daily Reflection EQUAL RIGHTS At one time or another most A.A. groups go on rulemaking benders. . . . After a time fear and intolerance subside, [and we realize] We do not wish to deny anyone his chance to recover from alcoholism. We wish to be just as inclusive as we can, never exclusive. "A.A. TRADITION: HOW IT DEVELOPED," pp. 10, 11, 12 A.A. offered me complete freedom and accepted me into the Fellowship for myself. Membership did not depend upon conformity, financial success or education and I am so grateful for that. I often ask myself if I extend the same equality to others or if I deny them the freedom to be different. Today I try to replace my fear and intolerance with faith, patience, love and acceptance. I can bring these strengths to my A.A. group, my home and my office. I make an effort to bring my positive attitude everywhere that I go. I have neither the right, nor the responsibility, to judge others. Depending on my attitude I can view newcomers to A.A., family members and friends as menaces or as teachers. When I think of some of my past judgments, it is clear how my self-righteousness caused me spiritual harm.

Pot Luck   The Quantum Leap           Yesterday I went to a new meeting and the secretary was a fellow I hadn't seen for six months or so.  His lead sounded good. It sounded like he was pulling his life together. He was doing something that I hadn't heard from him before — using program slogans and program phrases —and that to me, indicated he was learning from others. It indicated he had become willing to learn from others. That he was climbing up the ladder of Fellowship success.                I've seen this happen often over my years in the program: the quantum leap that people make when they get it.  When they start becoming one of us. And the way that they do it is the way the program tells us to do it: they insert the key of willingness, and the door opens to a pathway that works.           This is the crucial point, the point at which the proud and arrogant stick up their noses and turn away. I  know,  because I was one of those people for my first thirty-two years. I could stick up my nose and turn away faster than a speedball can whiz past a batter.  I could be by you before you ever knew who I was, or where I’d come from, and all you would feel from my passage was the chill of the empty arrogant air.                Then,  one day, I needed help. One day I could not do it on my own. Again. The first time I needed help, the first time I could not do it on my own, was when I could not control my drinking. So I came to the program and found that help existed. That letting go of my insistence on my own way could bring positive results.                Then I pretty much forgot all of that, even while I kept coming to meetings. I started taking back control, and knowing everything, and taking other people’s inventories, blaming everybody else, from the pediatrician who delivered me, to the director of the inpatient program that saved me.           I was miserable. Here I was, free of booze and free of drugs and I was stomping around in my mind like a bratty tennis player protesting a call. The game wasn't going my way. I wasn't winning. Or so it seemed.                It seemed that way because I was making judgments based on my past experience (you know: that wonderful time, when I just about killed myself with booze and drugs and stupidity). I was not willing to suspend judgments, as the program advised me to do. I was not being willing just  to go along                No. I was standing on some lofty perch alone, knowing everything, rather than being down on the ground,  among others, learning just a few things, one day at a time, things like humility, gratitude, and trust.           Pain made me do it. Pain made me hold out my hands again. Pain made me say out loud, “I need help”. I said this to my sponsor and I said this to my home group and they smiled and nodded and told me how they been through the same pain themselves. And how they’d survived. By hanging on and turning it over and being willing to learn and change.                So I did it and it worked and I’m happy..                Not all the time. I can still make myself miserable by doing all the dumb things I did when I was first in the program.  And I do, but not so often. I'm learning. I'm changing. I am, finally, completely, with absolutely conviction, utterly unwilling to undo the quantum leap I made when I finally said I cannot do it on my own.           Stephen Beal, Editor, Stepping Stones to Recovery for Men

Speaker Recordings Wee Willie’s Sobriety First Media AA CD’s Literature and tapes https://www.mediafire.com/sobrietyfirst ***** The Lights are On http://xa-speakers.org/ Recovery Speakers http://recoveryspeakers.com/

COVID-19 LINKS List of Virtual Meetings & Speaker Archives https://www.thetokenshop.com/Online_AA_Meetings On Line Meetings Directory http://aa-intergroup.org/directory.php?utm_source=AVLtoday&utm_campaign=e6058ed738-03.23.2020+AVL&utm_mediu Sybil https://alcoholics-anonymous.eu/online-meetings/ Elizabeth Globalspeakersgroup.sxl.cn Hugh http://aa-intergroup.org/directory.php China AA Loners http://chinaaaloners.com/online-meetings/ ARCHIVES *NEW* GUIDED MEDITATION http://bit.ly/2Ogwe9v http://www.bigbookfordummies.com/ An On-Line Study Resource Daily Meditations Group Home http://groups.google.com/group/Your_Daily_Reprieve?hl=en Daily Meditations Archive http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/7AMmeeting/ Blog http://todaysreprieve.blogspot.com/

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AA Membership Survey (2014) http://www.aa.org/pdf/products/p-48_membershipsurvey.pdf 2015 http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/Members/2015-Membership-Survey/Survey-Results-Page-2

Meditation Resources http://www.peterrussell.com/TV/3Min.php ***** Loving Kindness Meditations With Music http://www.excelatlife.com/mp3/direct_download.php?file=lovingkindnessmusic.mp3 Voice only http://www.excelatlife.com/mp3/direct_download.php?file=lovingkindness.mp3 ***** Free Guided Meditations http://marc.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=22

Resources Great Minds Quotes https://twitter.com/GreatestQuotes BIG BOOK SEARCH ENGINE: http://www.whytehou se.com/big_ book_search/ Twenty Four Hours a Day Since 1954, Twenty-Four Hours a Day has become a stable force in the recovery of many alcoholics throughout the world. With over nine million copies in print (the original text has been revised), this "little black book" offers daily thoughts, meditations, and prayers for living a clean and sober life. A spiritual resource with practical applications to fit our daily lives. Copyright 1975 Hazeleden Foundation Tammy’s recovery links http://www.bluidkiti.com/forums/ NEW! Twisted Thinking Making Sense Out of Nonsense: Change Happens by Changing Your Perception by Georgia Hughes amazon.com/author/georgiahughes AA Photo Archives http://www.rewritables.net/cybriety/aa_photos.htm Heard at A Meeting https://twitter.com/heardinameeting Breast Cancer Site Take a minute and click to provide free mammograms https://thebreastcancersite.greatergood.com/clickToGive/bcs/home MEN FIGHTING CANCER TOGETHER America’s largest volunteer men’s cancer support group and advocacy national nonprofit organization. http://malecare.org/ Big Book Quotes http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/BigBookQuotes/ The Universe https://www.facebook.com/scherie.dee Prayables http://prayables.org/ As We See It (AWSI) http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AsWeSeeIt/ Keep It Simple Hazelden Meditations Daily Thought http://groups.google.com/group/TransitionsDaily Speaker Recordings http://storiesofrecovery.org/Workshops.htm {Under Reconstruction} Wisdom of the Room http://www.theWisdomoftheRooms.com

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