Readings

Today's For Today:

"When a man's willing and eager, God joins in." Aeschylus

"When a job or situation or personal problem seemed too hard, I used to say, 'I can't do it.' In OA I have tapped a source of power greater than myself. All I need to start the action is willingness. Sometimes willingness comes easily, sometimes it is locked head-on with defiance. Then I feel heavy with the load.
What is the willingness formula? Prayer. When the miracle happens, I watch a defect evaporate, a task easily done, a problem solved. God does for me what I cannot do for myself.

For today: I pray for willingness to get on with the twelve steps of recovery. That is the only way I know to replace my fears and insecurities with confidence and courage. When I am willing there is no voci and all things are possible.

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Voices of Recovery

"Taint worthwhile to wear a day all out before it comes." Sarah Orne Jewett as quoted in For Today, p. 182

"This quote speaks to me from For Today every June 30th. I always have to stop, chuckle to myself, and thank my Higher Power for the reminder (whether I like it or not). It reminds me to take one day at a time, to have a plan, then to turn the day over to my Higher Power's care and trust Him for the outcome. This way of living never lets me down! I can get so wrapped up in how I think a day should turn out that by the time it is over, I've missed it! That's why OA tells us to stay in the moment. Yesterday is the past, tomorrow our future, today our present - a present from my Higher Power to be enjoyed one minute at a time. I am learning to stop and smell the roses, take notice of my surroundings, and have gratitude. I have so much living to do today, now that I'm not just surviving in a food fog. OA is teaching me to slow down, breathe deeply, pray like crazy, and trust. I can trust my Higher Power, the principles of OA, and myself because I am becoming trustworthy. Keep coming back!

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In This Moment, I hear my Higher Power.

"What does my Higher Power want for me? How do I learn that? I hear the voice of my Higher Power in many ways. It's a mystery how it works. I connect to my Higher Power by going to meetings, making my calls, talking to other CoDA members, being still, resting, or talking to my sponsor. I discern my Higher Power's guidance during regular times of prayer and meditation. Each day, as I practice Step Eleven, I ask my Higher Power to show me what to do today and help me do it.

I trust that my Higher Power's plan for me is one of fullness, abundance, and joy. 'Thank you, God,' is all I need to say.

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Today's The Language of Letting Go

"New Beginnings

Resentments are the blocks that hold us back from loving ourselves and others. Resentments do not punish the other person; they punish us. They become barriers to feeling good and enjoying life. They prevent us from being in harmony with the world. Resentments are hardened chunks of anger. They loosen up and dissolve with forgiveness and letting go.
Letting go of resentments does not mean we allow the other person to do anything to us that he or she wants. It means we accept what happened in the past, and we set boundaries for the future. We can let go of resentments and still have boundaries!
We try to see the good in the person, or the good that ultimately evolved from whatever incident we feel resentful about. We try to see our part.
Then we put the incident to rest.
Praying for those we resent helps. Asking God to take our resentments from us helps too.
What better way to begin a new year than by cleaning the slate of the past, and entering this one free of resentments.

Higher Power, help me become ready to let go of my resentments. Bring any resentments that are hidden within me, and blocking me, to the surface. Show me what I need to do to take care of myself, by letting go of resentments, and then help me do that.

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