May 29, 2018 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Today’s thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

God hasn’t called me to be successful. He’s called me to be faithful.

 — Mother Teresa

A reporter asked Mother Teresa how she could bear to go on working at such a hopeless task day after day and year after year. The people she cared for were so wretchedly poor. Many of them, very sick. How could she continue with such dedication, knowing that all the poverty and sickness would still be there long after she had died? Didn’t she realize she couldn’t win?

Her explanation was simple: Of course she knew the task was immense, but “finishing” wasn’t her purpose. Mother Teresa had turned her life and will over to God, and her work was what she believed to be God’s will for her. Because of this, she was devoted to the task itself, not to the completion of it.

We too can learn to be receptive to a higher purpose. We can direct our energies into causes we believe in, even if we know the job will never be finished. We can visit with friends and family and not try to win a verbal exchange. We can accept the will of our Higher Power and thereby find serenity.

Today, I will let go of the driving need to succeed or to impress others. Instead, I will be receptive to my Higher Power’s will.

You are reading from the book:

Days of Healing, Days of Joy by Earnie Larsen and Carol Larsen Hegarty

Days of Healing, Days of Joy by Earnie Larsen and Carol Larsen Hegarty. © 1987, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation

Feb. 26, 2017 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Life is like a library owned by an author. In it are a few books, which he wrote himself, but most of them were written for him.
 -- Harry Emerson Fosdick

In our minds there are multitudes of stored memories, knowledge, and skills. Some of these are the results of living and learning, but most are information given to us by others. Our family, friends, co-workers, teachers, and children are the greatest sources for our storehouses of information.

Most of our learning comes from others. Teachers give us much in the way of facts. Our family instructs us in morals. Friends show us different personalities and lifestyles. Our children reflect what we've taught them and give us their views of the world.

All the information we have is valuable to our growth and maturity. Every person we meet, each place we visit, and everything we try contributes to our library of knowledge and experience. At times we may borrow from what is on our shelves, but we must keep our shelves stocked with fresh material. Each night we can write a new volume based on the day's experiences.

I have more valuable contributions to make to my library of knowledge and experience.

You are reading from the book:

Night Light by Amy E. Dean

Night Light by Amy E. Dean. © 1986, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation

July 21, 2016 - Gay and bisexual teens, sex, drugs and HIV: The latest numbers

July 21, 2016 - Advocate.com - Gay and Bi Teens, Sex, Drugs, and HIV: The Latest Numbers | Advocate.com

May 22, 2016 - Addiction: A disease of the brain or choice?

May 22, 2016 - GoodMenProject.com - Is Addiction a Brain Disease? -

April 14, 2016 - 'Chemsex,' a misleading documentary about gay sex

April 14, 2016 - TheConversation.com - Chemsex: why is gay sex causing straight panic?

March 24 2016 - Photo essay: Humanizing the heroin epidemic

March 24, 2016 - TheMighty.com - Photo essay: Humanizing the heroin epidemic: a photo essay

March 22, 2016 - The five most addictive substances on earth and what they do to the brain

March 22, 2016 - TheConversation.com - The five most addictive substances on Earth – and what they do to your brain

Feb. 20, 2016 - Photo spread: These faces of addiction might scare you into treatment

Feb. 20, 2016 - Time.com - Photo spread: These Photos Show How Heroin, Cocaine and Oxycodone Change Your Appearance Over Time | TIME

Feb. 9, 2016 - Beware of the Viking - and inebriated lawyers

Feb. 9, 2016 - GoodMenProject.com - Beware of the Viking-or-Victim Worldview -

Feb. 2, 2016 - University program works to combat stigma of addiction recovery

Feb. 2, 2016 - UniversityChronicle.net - Students and faculty battle recovery stigma through on-campus programs - University Chronicle

Feb. 2, 2016 - Addictions: Getting sober, one selfie at a time

Feb. 2, 2016 - KernelMag.DailyDot.com - Getting sober, one selfie at a time

Feb. 1, 2016 - Addictions: Losing a loved one to heroin in the Internet age

Feb. 1, 2016 - KernelMag.DailyDot.com - Losing a loved one to heroin use in the Internet age

Jan. 17, 2016 - Thoughts from the front lines of the heroin epidemic

Jan. 17, 2016 - GoodMenProject.com - Thoughts from the Front Lines of the Heroin Epidemic -

Dec. 20, 2015 - Addiction: Starting, not quitting, is the toughest part of recovery

Dec. 20, 2015 - GoodMenProject.com - Addiction: The Hardest Thing About Recovery -

Dec. 18, 2015 - Addiction recovery programs address lower recovery rates in LGBT community

Dec. 18, 2015 - NYDailyNews.com - Rehabs address lower success rates in gay community - NY Daily News

Dec. 4, 2015 - The dark side of drinking and the holidays

Dec. 4, 2015 - GoodMenProject.com - The Dark Side Of Drinking And The Holidays -

Feb. 1, 2015 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

The Serenity Prayer

Sunday, Feb. 1, 2015

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

To be alive is to be hungry

Our appetite for life is good. It keeps us reaching, growing, enjoying, and yearning to fulfill our potential. When our basic needs are satisfied, our hunger propels us to search for more elaborate gratification.

Here is where we often run into trouble. Instead of progressing through the hierarchy of needs to the spiritual level, we get stuck in an attempt to make quantity - more things, more people, and more activity - substitute for quality. And quantity alone is never enough.

It's good that we're hungry. Our appetite motivates us to feed our body in a healthy way and also to feed our mind, heart, and spirit. Our needs pyramid, and our hunger leads us beyond quantity to the quality experiences that fill our emptiness. We read, we share, we love, we pray, we listen, we accomplish, we dance, and we feast on the fullness of life.

Today, I will direct my appetite to quality experiences.

You are reading from the book:

Inner Harvest by Elisabeth L.

Inner Harvest by Elisabeth L. © 1990 by Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 30, 2014 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

The Serenity Prayer

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014

AA Thought for the Day
"Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as extensive work with other alcoholics. Carry the message to other alcoholics. You can help when no one else can. You can secure their confidence when others fail. Life will take on a new meaning for you. To watch people recover, to see them help others in turn, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow about you, to have a host of friends, this is an experience you must not miss."

Am I always ready and willing to help other alcoholics?

Meditation for the Day
One secret of abundant living is the art of giving. The paradox of life is that the more you give, the more you have. If you lose your life in the service of others, you will save it. You can give abundantly and so live abundantly. You are rich in one respect - you have a spirit that is inexhaustible. Let no mean or selfish thought keep you from sharing this spirit. Of love, of help, of understanding and of sympathy, give and keep giving. Give your personal ease and comfort, your time, your money and most of all, yourself. And you will be living abundantly.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may live to give. I pray that I may learn this secret of abundant living.

Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 28, 2014 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

The Serenity Prayer

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014

AA Thought for the Day
"We must continue to take personal inventory and continue to set right any new mistakes as we go along. We should grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter; it should continue for our lifetime. Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment and fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them. We must not rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do. We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve, contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition."

Am I checking my spiritual condition daily?

Meditation for the Day
Happiness cannot be sought directly; it is a by-product of love and service. Service is a law of our being. With love in your heart, there is always some service to other people. A life of power and joy and satisfaction is built on love and service. Persons who hate or are selfish are going against the law of their own being. They are cutting themselves off from God and other people. Little acts of love and encouragement, of service and help, erase the rough places of life and help to make the path smooth. If we do these things, we cannot help having our share of happiness.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may give my share of love and service. I pray that I may not grow weary in my attempts to do the right thing.

Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 22, 2014 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

The Serenity Prayer

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Friday, Aug. 22, 2014

AA Thought for the Day
"Those who do not recover are people who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault. They seem to be born that way. They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty. Their chances are less than average. There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover, if they have the capacity to be honest."

Am I completely honest with myself and with other people?

Meditation for the Day
You can make use of your mistakes, failures, losses and sufferings. It is not what happens to you so much as what use you make of it. Take your sufferings, difficulties and hardships and make use of them to help some unfortunate soul who is faced with the same troubles. Then something good will come out of your suffering and the world will be a better place because of it. The good you do each day will live on, after the trouble and distress have gone, after the difficulty and the pain have passed away.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I make make good use of my mistakes and failures. I pray that some good may result from my painful experiences.

Hazelden Foundation