Your Daily Reprieve 07.16.25

 

Your Daily Reprieve for Wednesday July 16, 2025   From Waynesville, NC

“My sponsor told me that if I stayed away from the first drink a day at a time and followed the suggested Twelve Steps, I could lead a sober life. She didn’t promise me health, wealth, happiness, love -- or comfort. All she promised me was sobriety! Thank goodness, she didn’t promise me anything else, because along the AA path I have found sickness, death, unhappiness, and considerable discomfort. But I have also found the greatest joy, love, and happiness of my life.”   “Reality Can Be Uncomfortable,” Millburn, New Jersey, July 1971, Emotional Sobriety II   In the rush of daily living it’s easy to forget all the remarkable people, real or fictional, who have been a part of your life.  But if you just imagine they are near for a moment, you will realize that anyone who ever touched your heart is always with you, patiently waiting to emanate warmth and support whenever you remember to think of them.    -Barbara Sher   One of the ways to develop patience is to contemplate how patient God has been with you.  When you were in times of denial, or self-abuse, or self-absorption, or hatred, God was infinitely patient.  God does not scold or punish you when you are off the sacred path, nor does God desert you.  This is the same kind of patience that you want to develop.    -Wayne Dyer   What the heart knows today, the head will understand tomorrow.    -James Stephens

Big Book Quote   We vigorously commenced this way of living as we cleaned up the past. We have entered the world of the Spirit. Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness.   P84

Daily Share!         AA Speaker of the Day   JASON J Oregon City, OR Steps 1 & 2 Appalachian Roundup 2025   https://bit.ly/4evgfzR

Celebrate Your Anniversary Here SHOW NEWCOMERS HOW IT WORKS!!   JULY 2025 Miracles   7/1 Deborah McB. (Cocoa Beach, FL)…..16 7/1 Steffanie D. (Charleston, SC)…..11 7/1 Ida L. (Stuart, FL)…..17 7/1 Jean L. (Morristown, NJ)…..30 7/1 Matt S. (Glenview, IL)…..7 7/2 Estelle L. (Palm Coast. FL)…..5 7/2 Rosann McD. …..31 7/3 Walter H. (Woodlands, TX)…..51 7/4 Chris D. (Bristol, VT)…..37 7/4 Walter L. (Wells, ME)…..17 7/4 Seamus McG. (Kildare, Ireland)…..36 7/4 Malcolm S. …..40 7/4 Myra W. (Ajijic, MX)…..19 7/4 Terry H. (Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia)…..38 7/4 Dave S. (Gulf Breeze, FL)…..40 7/4 Rob F. (Wading River, NY)…..21 7/6 Adam S. …..1 7/6 Frances G. (Dallas, TX)…..38 7/6 Michael R. (Floral Park/Bethpage, NY)…..35 7/6 Don T. (Pal, Coast, FL)…..30 7/6 Ron L. (Eliot, ME)…..39 7/6 Murdoch G. (Nova Scotia, CA)…..13 7/7/77 Rick S. (Mount Laurel, NJ)…..48 7/7 Jeanne S. (New York)…..2 7/8 Lulu P. (Brandon, MS)…..41 7/9 David S. (Commack, NY)…..10 7/9 Chris V. (Maine)…..6 7/10 Laura A. (Columbus, OH)…..10 7/10 Dean S. (Deerfield Beach, FL)…..2 7/10 Richie S. (New Paltz, NY)…..50 7/10 David S. (Longboat Key, FL)…..22 7/10 Kendall H. (Ponte Vedra Beach, FL)…..7 7/11 Doug G. (Stamford, CT) …..11 7/11 Kay T. (Georgia)…..18 7/11 Joanie T. (NYC)…..42 7/11 Brent B. …..2 7/12 Jan K. (Punta Gorda, FL)…..27 7/13 Liz K. (Nantucket)…..12 7/13 Rick S. (Victor, ID)…..35 7/13 Eleanor M. (Far Hills, NJ)…..13 7/14 Petermac (Australia)…..26 7/14 Bobby G.(Arlington, VA)…..33 7/15 Paul R. Da Nang, Vietnam)…..43 7/15 Erika S, (Yulee, FL)…..19 7/15 Robin G. (Edison, NJ)…..8 7/15 Michelle A. (Wading River, NY)…..21 7/16 Jack S. (Franklin Square, NY)…..30 7/19 Jake M. (Tucson, AZ)…..3 7/19 Murielle I. (Victoria, BC, Canada)…..20 7/21 Deb A. (Corvallis, MT)…..22 7/21 Matt H. (Rochester, IN)…..7 7/22 Sandy S. (UK)…..8 7/22 Alisa (Forest City, NC)…..8 7/22 Chris A. (Punta Gorda, FL)…..13 7/23 Susan S. (Randolph, NJ)…..42 7/23 Jamie G. (WPB, FL)…..8 7/24 Ric R. (Danbury, CT)…..16 7/24 Krista A. (Cornelius, NC)…..19 7/25 Debra S. (Mendham,NJ)…..35 7/27 Don K. (Bedminster, NJ)…..38 7/27 Jimmy G. (Louisville, KY)…..40 7/27 Mark L. (Lamoine, ME)…..33 7/27 Noel C.  (Montgomery, TX)…..42 7/27 Tammy C. (Palm Coast, FL)…..26 7/27 David M. (San Francisco, CA)…..20 7/28 Chris F. (Rockport, ME)…..41 7/28 Cynthia H. …..37 7/29 Kevin T. (Clearwater, FL)…..41 7/29 Linda WS (Oberlin, OH)…..41 7/30 Davis H. (WI Northwoods/C.R. /Austin, TX)…..27 7/30 Donnal T. (Jacksonville, FL)…..7 7/31 Marcia M. (New York, NY)…..38   1735 Total Years of Sobriety       Drop a Buck in the Basket? PayPal paypal.me/TomMurphy Venmo @Tom-Murphy-160

12&12   Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves." But it is from our twisted relations with family, friends, and society at large that many of us have suffered the most. We have been especially stupid and stubborn about them. The primary fact that we fail to recognize is our total inability to form a true partnership with another human being. Our egomania digs two disastrous pitfalls. Either we insist upon dominating the people we know, or we depend upon them far too much. If we lean too heavily on people, they will sooner or later fail us, for they are human, too, and cannot possibly meet our incessant demands. In this way our insecurity grows and festers. When we habitually try to manipulate others to our own willful desires, they revolt, and resist us heavily. Then we develop hurt feelings, a sense of persecution, and a desire to retaliate. As we redouble our efforts at control, and continue to fail, our suffering becomes acute and constant. We have not once sought to be one in a family, to be a friend among friends, to be a worker among workers, to be a useful member of society. Always we tried to struggle to the top of the heap, or to hide underneath it. This self-centered behavior blocked a partnership relation with any one of those about us. Of true brotherhood we had small comprehension. p. 53

Twenty-Four Hours   A.A. Thought For The Day We can believe that God is in His heaven and that He has a purpose for our lives, which will eventually work out as long as we try to live the way we believe He wants us to live. It has been said that we should "wear the world like a loose garment." That means nothing should seriously upset us because we have a deep, abiding faith that God will always take care of us. To us that means not to be too upset by the surface wrongness of things, but to feel deeply secure in the fundamental goodness and purpose in the universe. Do I feel deeply secure? Meditation For The Day Like the shadow of a great rock in a desert land, God is your refuge from the ills of life. The old hymn says: "Rock of ages cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee." God can be your shelter from the storm. God's power can protect you from every temptation and defeat. Try to feel His divine power--call on it--accept it--and use it. Armed with that power, you can face anything. Each day, seek safety in God's secret place, in communion with Him. You cannot be wholly touched or seriously harmed there. God can be your refuge. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may find a haven in the thought of God. I pray that I may abide in that Strong Tower, strongly guarded.

Daily Thought ^*^*^*^*^ (\    ~~    /) (   \(AA)/   ) (_ /AA\ _) / AA \ ^*^*^*^*^ Control "Most of us have been unwilling to admit we were real alcoholics. No person likes to think he is bodily and mentally different from his fellows. Therefore, it is not surprising that our drinking careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove we could drink like other people. The idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. The persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death." Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 30   Thought to Consider . . . When a person tries to control their drinking they have already lost control. *~*AACRONYMS*~* S T E P S Solutions To Every Problem in Sobriety

Daily Reflection   A MEASURE OF HUMILITY" In every case, pain had been the price of admission into a new life. But this admission price had purchased more than we expected It brought a measure of humility, which we soon discovered to be a healer of pain. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 75   It was painful to give up trying to control my life, even though success eluded me, and when life got too rough, I drank to escape. Accepting life on life's terms will be mastered through the humility I experience when I turn my will and my life over to the care of God, as I understand Him. With my life in God's care, fear, uncertainty, and anger are no longer my response to those portions of life that I would rather not have happen to me. The pain of living through these times will be healed by the knowledge that I have received the spiritual strength to survive.

Pot Luck    "We may be powerless, but we’re not helpless."     Accepting that I was powerless over people, places, and things was a concept I rebelled against on almost every level in the beginning. Before recovery, I was driven by the belief that not only could I control others (especially those I loved and cared for), but it was my duty to do so. Despite the fact that it rarely worked, I stubbornly persisted, frustrating myself and irritating and alienating those I was trying to control—err, I mean, help. When I entered another Twelve Step program for this, I was told that the reason I had been unable to influence, help, or control another was because I was in fact powerless over other people, places, and things. If that’s true, then there is absolutely no hope for this situation! I thought. Accepting this was contrary to everything I believed, and it meant complete defeat. What was I to do? By working this wonderful and much needed program, I soon learned that surrendering to this powerlessness was actually the gateway to a new freedom. Once the untenable burden of controlling or fixing others was lifted, I was suddenly free to invest my energy where I did have some power and influence—over my own life. And that is when I realized I was no longer helpless to fix my situation and my life. Today, I understand and truly appreciate that I may be powerless, but I’m not helpless to make things better.

**NEW** "AA Recovery Interviews" Podcast https://aarecoveryinterviews.com   Blog http://todaysreprieve.blogspot.com/     Wee Willie’s Sobriety First Media AA CD’s Literature and tapes https://www.mediafire.com/sobrietyfirst     AA Membership Survey 2022 Alcoholics Anonymous 2022 Membership Survey | Alcoholics Anonymous     Committee Consideration from the 73rd General Service Conference In response to a Committee Consideration from the 73rd General Service Conference regarding any possible future changes to literature written by A.A.’s founders,  that committee agreed it would be beneficial to gather shared experience from the Fellowship regarding this topic. Questionaire   How Should We Treat A.A. Founders' Writings?  https://bit.ly/3uhEPBK       DR. PAUL O. There is More to Quitting Drinking Than Quitting Drinking (Audio Book) Introduction http://bit.ly/1IlFBbp Part I http://bit.ly/1MPV5Za Part II http://bit.ly/1Ksd9eA Part III http://bit.ly/1GQCGGE Part IV http://bit.ly/1Ip0hn8 AA CDs Literature and tapes https://www.mediafire.com/sobrietyfirst       ZOOM MEETINGS   Loose Garment Group https://us02web.zoom.us/j/238977518 Saturday & Sunday….Pot Luck…0900 ID: 238 977 518 PW: 004 394       ARCHIVES     AA World Service Board Meeting Highlights October 2023  https://bit.ly/3GlcOvE       A New Pair of Glasses in PDF (download) is available at: https://bit.ly/4bUr0Js     Bill Schaberg Writing The Big Book Video Readings https://www.youtube.com/@billschaberg8911/videos   BIG BOOK for DUMMIES https://bigbookfordummies.com/       *Angel Force USA www.AngelForceUSA.com   Angel Force USA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. OUR MISSION STOP SUISILENCE The avoidance of discussion about suicide Our goal is to raise awareness of the military suicide epidemic.       RICHMOND WALKER & THE TWENTY-FOUR HOUR BOOK Glenn C. (South Bend, Indiana) Talk given at the 8th Annual National A.A. Archives Workshop, Fort Lauderdale, Florida Sept. 27, 2003 https://www.prestongroup.org/aa_docs/24_hours_a_day.txt       MEDITATIONS http://www.11thstepmeditation.org/   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       MOOJI GUIDED Meditation http://bit.ly/2Ogwe9v     **Podcasts** https://boiledowlaa.org/ https://www.aagrapevine.org/podcast     12 Step Meditations  www.stepmeditation.com   These are 12 meditations, each about 12 minutes long and the content (other than the meditation instructions) are straight from the text of the big book and 12 & 12 (created by Matt H.)     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/   Miscellaneous Sources Living Life Fully http://www.livinglifefully.com/     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/   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/     Prayables http://prayables.org/     Daily Thought http://groups.google.com/group/TransitionsDaily   Speaker Recordings Stories of Recovery - A 12-Step Collection https://storiesofrecovery.org/index.html