July 30, 2015 - Au revoir, Luke Spencer: How 'General Hospital' will miss thee

Washington Post: July 30, 2015 - Lonnae O’Neal: Farewell, Luke Spencer. Confessions of a soap addict. - The Washington Post

July 30, 2015 - Uncle's death moves gay runner to call for LGBT group within NCAA

Outsports: July 30, 2015 - Uncle's death motivates gay college athlete to create change - Outsports

July 30, 2015 - Minister in video gone viral not a gay rights champion after all

Advocate: July 30, 2015 - Minister From Viral Video Is Not a Gay Rights Champion After All | Advocate.com

July 30, 2015 - A Tennessee minister's apparently declaration of war on the LGBT front

Advocate: July 30, 2015 - Minister to LGBT People: Thanks for Making Me More Antigay | Advocate.com

July 30, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden

The Serenity Prayer
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Today's thought from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

What would it be like if you lived each day, each breath, as a work of art in progress? Imagine that you are a masterpiece unfolding, every second of every day, a work of art taking form with every breath.
 -- Thomas Crum


So many of us avoid living in the present moment. We worry about the future.

Daydreaming and pondering are necessary in moderation, but we try to stay in the present moment for most of the day. To do this, we return to the most basic element - our breath. We concentrate on taking deep breaths. Barring a respiratory disorder, breathing is simple. When we return to the simplicity of breathing, we automatically simplify our life by focusing only on what's happening to one part of our body in one moment in time.

Today, when I have trouble living in the present, I will concentrate on my breathing.
You are reading from the book:
Letting Go of Debt © 2000 by Hazelden Foundation

July 30, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

The Serenity Prayer
Step by Step
Thursday, July 30, 2015
  
Today, I realize that the character defects identified in my Fourth Step probably existed before my drinking days and that alcohol simply developed them to their destructive zenith. My Sixth and Seventh Steps of first admitting to God and then asking that He remove my defects assume paramount honesty in my recovery because I am likely to be challenged to release defects that have had a lifetime to take root - more so than those that those that were born of my drinking days. And if my defects are lifelong, simply stopping to drink will not give me the recovery and quality of sobriety for which I strive. Today, I am an alcoholic, and abstaining from drinking is not enough. I consider myself a part of the AA program; today, as I talk the talk, I will walk the walk. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2015

July 30, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Thursday, July 30, 2015
 
AA Thought for the Day
The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow, with its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise, and perhaps its poor performance. Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control. Tomorrow's sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds, but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is as yet unborn.

Do I still worry too much about tomorrow?

Meditation for the Day
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith is not seeing, but believing. Down through the ages, there have always been those who obeyed the heavenly vision, not seeing but believing in God. And their faith was rewarded. So shall it be to you. Good things will happen to you. You cannot see God, but you can see the results of faith in human lives, changing them from defeat to victory. God's grace is available to all who have faith - not seeing, but believing. With faith, life can be victorious and happy.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may have faith enough to believe without seeing. I pray that I may be content with the results of my faith.

Hazelden Foundation

July 30, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

The Serenity Prayer
A Day at a Time
Thursday, July 30, 2015
 
Reflection for the Day
When we first come to The Program, the most common variety of self-pity begins: "Poor me! Why can't I (fill in your own addiction) like everybody else? Why me?" Such bemoaning, if allowed to persist, is a surefire invitation for a long walk off a short pier - right back to the mess we were in before we came to The Program. When we stick around The Program for a while, we discover that it's not just "me" at all; we become involved with people, from all walks of life, who are in exactly the same boat.

Am I losing interest in my comfortably familiar "pity pot?"

Today I Pray
When self-pity has me droopy and inert, may I look up, look around and perk up. Self-pity, God wills, vanishes in the light of other people's shared troubles. May I always wish for friends honest enough to confront me if they see me digging my way back down into my old pity pit.

Today I Will Remember
Turn self-involvement into involvement.

Hazelden Foundation

July 30, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

The Serenity Prayer
The Eye Opener
Thursday, July 30, 2015
 
No pleasures of our drinking days even compensated for those horrible nights of wakeful tossing. The interminable pacing the floor; those night sweats; the endless hours when we couldn't sleep and at the same time dreaded falling asleep. The hours that seemed to stretch into eternity as we lay in bed with remorse as a bedfellow. Then the Hell of the goof-balls that made our nights better and our days worse.

The physical pain we might have endured for many more years, but the anguish of the heart and soul was unendurable.

Hazelden Foundation

July 30, 2015 - Good morning & welcome to what's going to be a Terrific Thursday, folks!


Oct. 12, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

  Step by Step Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024 ” …(T)he best thing of all for me is to remember that my serenity is inversely proportional to my exp...