Your Daily Reprieve 12.31.18

Your Daily Reprieve for Monday December 31, 2018

From Jacksonville, FL

“Tonight’s December thirty-first,
Something is about to burst.
The clock is crouching, dark and small,
Like a time bomb in the hall.
Hark, it's midnight, children dear.
Duck! Here comes another year!”
― Ogden Nash

“The whole point to New Years is not just to have a new year. But that we should be new, better and different people. That is why we exercise to RE-NEW our bodies. That is why we write GOALS to get a Renewed sense of our potential. That is why we make RE-SOLUTIONS because we resolve that there are solutions inside of us that we have not tapped into. So don't waste each New Years season. Maximize it! Start fresh using a new perspective for it will enable you to tap into a new season with greater capacity.”
― Stella Payton

"I've seen some of my old drinking buddies over the holidays . . . . I don't know but they just seem to be stuck on stupid." Dave H., As We See It

When we once begin to form good resolutions,

God gives us every opportunity of carrying them out.

~ St. John Chrysostom

Big Book Quote

"Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant
thought of others and how we may help meet their needs."

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 20

Daily Share!

AA Speaker of the Day

BILL C

Take the Journey to a Sober Life

https://bit.ly/2ElHqOK

Wee Willie’s

Sobriety First Media

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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).....83

December 2018 Anniversaries

12/1 Beth S. (Madison, NH/Albuquerque, NM).....23

12/2 Jose A. (NYC).....7

12/2 Wendy M. (Scottsdale, AZ).....29

12/3 Debra A. (Tampa, FL).....36

12/4 Lisa B. (San Leandro, CA).....23

12/4 Ellen A. (New York, NY).....13

12/5 Matt G. (Colts Neck, NJ).....10

12/5 Sophie G. (Larchmont, NY).....6

12/5 Dave F. (Flower Mound, TX).....36

12/5 Libby M. (Whistler, BC Canada).....6

12/6 Dave B. (Venice, FL).....27

12/6 Jamie D. (Nantucket).....2

12/7 Georgia O. (Stuart, FL).....40

12/7 Craig S. (Rumson, NJ).....28

12/7 Stephen S. (Chang Mai, Thailand).....29

12/8 Ed B. (Lawrenceville, NJ).....17

12/8 Sally B. (Charleston, SC).....3

12/8 Lynne L. (Portland, OR).....45

12/9 Chip H. (Barrington, NH).....35

12/9 Mary M. (Watertown, MA).....24

12/10 Paul K. (Nantucket, MA/Anguilla).....12

12/10 Lowell MacG. (Portland, OR).....29

12/10 Kathy R. (Basking Ridge, NJ).....8

12/10 Wendell M. (Bothell, WA).....5

12/12 Mitch B. (Evanston, IL).....32

12/12 Jason B. (Morristown, NJ).....1

12/13 Tom O’ (Milwaukee, WI).....12

12/13 David M. (Yoxall, UK).....34

12/13 Trent H. (Amarillo, TX).....15

12/14 Bob P. (Cullman, AL).....28

12/14 Linda M. (Salem, NH).....6

12/15 Steve S. (Garnerville, NY).....35

12/15 Bill M. (Caguas, PR/Goodyear, AZ).....33

12/15 John M. (Paros, Greece).....16

12/16 Joan B. (New City, NY).....2

12/16 Heather V. (Nantucket, MA).....1

12/16 Jim J. (New York City, NY).....45

12/16 Mike S. Raleigh, NC).....2

12/16 Scott I. (Seattle, WA).....10

12/17 Joe K. (North Port, FL).....32

12/17 Barbara H. (Hartsdale, NY).....15

12/18 Ciro G. (Phoenix, AZ).....12

12/18 Chris V. (Gulf Breeze, FL).....11

12/18 John K. (Stuart, FL).....6

12/18 Tadao K. (Ft Collins, CO).....2

12/19 Brian K. (Ossipee, NH).....7

12/19 Donna H. (Memphis, TN).....1

12/19 Katleen S. (Haverhill, MA).....38

12/20 Caroline M. (Novato, CA).....34

12/21 Bridget C. (Albany , NY).....16

12/21 Oakie O. (Astor, FL).....39

12/21 Carole N. (Dorset, UK).....31

12/21 Deb S. (North Hampton, NH).....28

12/21 Scott M. (Mooresville, NC).....7

12/21 Moira N. (New Rochelle, NY).....7

12/22 Dick McD. (NYC, NY).....41

12/23 Jim McN. (Maggie Valley, NC).....33

12/23 Carole H. (Amarillo, TX).....12

12/23 Meredith, D. (Miami, FL).....19

12/23 Pete G. (Larchmont. NY).....38

12/23 Cathy B. (Princeton, NJ).....14

12/23 Georgie S. (Nantucket, MA).....11

12/23 Lee H. (San Francisco, CA).....28

12/24 Niki D. (Lake Worth, FL).....2

12/24 Parker (Austin, TX).....3

12/24 Louise M. (Oak Lawn, IL).....10

12/25 Daragh M. (China).....1

12/25 Elaine B. (Florida).....1

12/25 Kate H. (Nantucket, MA).....2

12/25 Bill C. (Greenwich, CT).....5

12/25 Eric F. (Chapel Hill, NC).....6

12/25 Lyd B. (Scottsdale, AZ).....15

12/26 Mark L. (Brooklyn, NY).....2

12/26 Chick R. (Oak Forest, IL).....21

12/26 Rob M. (Sarasota, FL).....3

12/26 Harry C. (Queens, NY).....18

12/27 Jennine W. (Jupiter, FL).....1

12/27 Tom B. (NYC, NY).....15

12/27 Trish H. (UK).....2

12/27 Roberta T. (Landing, NJ).....35

12/28 Natalie D. (Jamaica).....5

12/28 Colm M. (Galway, Ireland).....3

12/28 Chris A. (Basking Ridge, NJ).....1

12/28 Johanna T. (Cobleskill, NY).....18

12/30 Rufus W. (Coppell, TX).....45

12/31 Larry S. (Marietta, GA).....31

12/31 Lisa Mc (Sonoma County, CA).....18

12/31 Tabatha J. (Denver, NC).....7

12/31 Kevin C. (Whitinsville, MA).....17

12/31 Jake R. (Murphy, NC).....43

12/31 Claudia F. (Nantucket, MA).....2

12/31 Aussie Ian M. (Homeless, Australia).....24

12/31 Galia P. (Jerusalem, Israel).....11

1589 Total Years of Sobriety

12&12

Step Five - "Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs."

Perhaps, though, your relation to him is such that you would care to reveal only a part of your story. If this is the situation, by all means do so, for you ought to make a beginning as soon as you can. It may turn out, however, that you'll choose someone else for the more difficult and deeper revelations. This individual may be entirely outside of A.A.--for example, your clergyman or your doctor. For some of us, a complete stranger may prove the best bet.

p. 61

Twenty-Four Hours

A.A. Thought For The Day

I shall be loyal in my attendance, generous in my giving, kind in my criticism, creative
in my suggestions, loving in my attitudes. I shall give A.A. my interest, my
enthusiasm, my devotion, and most of all, myself. The Lord's Prayer has become part
of my A.A. thoughts for each day: "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy
name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this
day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass
against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Have I given myself?

Meditation For The Day

As we look back over the year just gone, it has been a good year to the extent that
we have put good thoughts, good words, and good deeds into it. None of what we have
thought, said, or done need be wasted. Both the good and the bad experiences can be
profited by. In a sense, the past is not entirely gone. The result of it, for good or
evil, is with us at the present moment. We can only learn by experience and none of our
experience is completely wasted. We can humbly thank God for the good things of the
year that has gone.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may carry good things into the year ahead. I pray that I may carry on
with faith, with prayer, and with hope.

Daily Thought

^*^*^*^*^
(\ ~~ /)
( \(AA)/ )
(_ /AA\ _)
/AA\
^*^*^*^*^
Cordial Welcome

But life among Alcoholics Anonymous is more than attending gatherings and visiting hospitals. Cleaning up old scrapes, helping to settle family differences, explaining the disinherited son to his irate parents, lending money and securing jobs for each other, when justified - these are everyday occurrences. No one is too discredited or has sunk too low to be welcomed cordially - if he means business.
c. 2001 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 161

Thought to Consider . . .

If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears.

*~*AACRONYMS*~*

H E A R T
Healing, Enjoying, And Recovering, Together

Daily Reflection

DAILY RESOLUTIONS

The idea of "twenty-four-hour living" applies primarily to

the emotional life of the individual. Emotionally speaking,

we must not live in yesterday, nor in tomorrow.

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 284

A New Year: 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours,

525,600 minutes—a time to consider directions, goals, and

actions. I must make some plans to live a normal life, but

also I must live emotionally within a twenty-four-hour

frame, for if I do, I don't have to make New Year's

resolutions! I can make every day a New Year's day! I can

decide, "Today I will do this . . . Today I will do that."

Each day I can measure my life by trying to do a little

better, by deciding to follow God's will and by making an

effort to put the principles of our A.A. program into action.

Pot Luck

"This life was never meant to just be endured." —Unknown

New Year’s Eve will soon be upon us and that usually means an annual invitation to imbibe unthinkable amounts of alcohol. Not for me. Like many others on Monday night, I’ll be relaxing or enjoying the festivities sans champagne, wine or any other mood-altering beverage — clear of mind and free in spirit.

I'm an alcoholic. I have been in recovery for many years now, but I've learned to say that I am an alcoholic in recovery because, like many mental health disorders, addiction is a chronic disease. There is no cure, only sustained work to maintain a new approach to the world. As they say in a certain 12-step program, "once a pickle, never a cucumber again."

As someone who drank heavily for many years and proceeded through decades of this painful and often fatal progression, I know firsthand about the disease of alcoholism and most importantly, I have learned how to recover from it. That is, I'm well versed in the work to find a daily reprieve from the obsession.

Alcohol was once a comfort, a way to soothe me, a balm for my many fears and unrelenting anxiety. In the end, I had no dignity, no honesty, no courage, no ability to love or even function, and no self-respect. Over time, it allowed me to delude myself and avoid the ugly consequences of my actions, blinded to a dismal new reality. It ultimately delivered me to a depth of hopelessness, darkness, despair and loneliness unlike anything I could imagine. Lost and unable to stop drinking, I wanted to die. Only with help from others did I eventually find a way out of the torment to discover a new freedom and a life filled with a sense of purpose and happiness — far from the horrific place where addiction led me.

About 90,000 people in the US die every year from alcoholism and nearly the same number die from addiction to opioids. Many are still struggling and while it is incomprehensible in this day and age, there is little in the way of adequate information that could support recovery. More resources and better public education would help those who are depressed and confused, unable to fully understand what is happening to them. Instead, addicts suffer in silence — alone with their secrets — often unaware that there are options and many others recovering successfully and living joyful lives. Better education would also bring hope to those families who are trying to help their loved ones who are in the fatal grip of alcoholism or drug addiction. It could also change how we view those who are in the throes of this deadly disease, enabling a kinder, more gentle outlook.

By the time someone desperately needs help, they have likely pushed away family and friends. But no one should have to sit in isolation, tortured by self-hatred, shame, and guilt. Contrary to some beliefs, substance abuse is not corrected through condemnation or admonishment. Like any illness, what is needed is acceptance and love, and the right treatment. Addiction is neither a weakness of will power nor a moral failing. It is a physiological disease, a scientifically proven disorder of the brain. While it may appear hopeless, there are treatments that work very effectively. All that is required is the desire to get better and the courage to take that important first step to care for one's self — to say in essence, "I matter." (Alcoholics make self-loathing their special talent.)

If you or anyone you know is struggling, there is a solution. I strongly encourage a local 12-step recovery program and I am always willing to share more about that experience. These steps are proven to be successful at helping us find our way out of the darkness and toward a bridge back to a healthy, constructive, and useful life.

Please feel free to share this post. Through disclosing my own story, I hope that I might be able to help someone else. If you are in pain, reach out. Open up and talk to someone. Ask for help. I thought my life was over and had given up all hope, so I'm living proof. If I can find long-term sobriety, anyone can do it.

—Dwayne Flinchum

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