A Prayer & Some Thoughts - April

[bluidkiti]

April 7


A Prayer to Slow Down

Slow me down, Lord. Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind.
Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time.
Give me amid the confusion of the day, the calmness of the everlasting hills.
Break the tension of my nerves and muscles with the soothing
music of the singing streams that live in memory.
Help me to know the magical, restoring power of sleep.
Teach me the art of taking minute vacations.. of slowing down to
look at a flower, chat with a friend, and read a few lines from a good book.
Remind me each day of the fable of the hare and the tortoise, that I
may know that life is not always to the swift.
That there is more to life than increasing its speed.
Let me look upward into the branches of the towering Oak and
know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well.
Slow me down Lord, and inspire me to send my roots deep into
the soil of life’s enduring values that I may grow towards the stars of my greater destiny.

~ Author Unknown

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just a Thought

In A.A. we must surrender, give up, and admit that we're helpless.

We surrender our lives to God and ask Him for help. When He knows that we're ready, He gives us by His grace the free gift of sobriety. And we can't take any credit for having stopped drinking, because we didn't do it by our own willpower. There's no place for pride or boasting. We can only be grateful to God for doing for us what we could never do for ourselves.

So ............

Do I believe that God has made me a free gift of the strength to stay sober?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just a Contemplation

Power

In my sobriety I still need to deal with fear. A fear of people, a fear of not being good enough, a fear of saying the wrong thing, a fear of not looking "good enough" --- fear still haunts me in sobriety.

However, my recovery also tells me that I am a child of God. I am a beautiful and powerful human being because God not only made me, but has shared something of His precious divinity with me. I am good enough. In Him I can afford to risk. Love must begin with the recognition of self.

I must remember that people are not "out to get me". I need not make myself the victim. People are much the same inside, and we all need each other to survive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Awakening

I think I have had a spiritual awakening, as undramatic as it may have been, and that it will go on and on as long as I continue to practice this program in my daily affairs. To me, there is no "spiritual side" to the program of Alcoholics Anonymous; the entire program is spiritual.

Came To Believe Page 48

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just a Quote

“If you’re always racing to the next moment, what happens to the one you’re in? Slow down and enjoy the moment you’re in and live your life to the fullest.” ~ Nanette Mathews