Daily Reflection Podcast

Unable to stay sober for many years, Jean shares a powerful story that includes multiple relapses, and a final surrender of self-will to the program of Alcoholics Anonymous. Surrendering Self-Will Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 34 No matter how much one wishes to try, exactly how can one turn his own will and his own life over to the care of whatever God he thinks there is? In my search for the answer to this question, I became aware of the wisdom with which it was written: that this is a two-part Step. I could see many times where I should have died, or at least been injured, during my previous style of living, and it never happened. Someone, or something, was looking after me. I choose to believe my life has always been in God’s care. He alone controls the number of days I will be granted until physical death. The matter of will (self-will or God’s will) is the more difficult part of the Step for me. It is only when I have experienced enough emotional pain, through failed attempts to fix myself, that I become willing to surrender to God’s will for my life. Surrender is like the calm after the storm. When my will is in line with God’s will for me, there is peace within. Support the showNeed the Daily Reflection Book? Visit our web site Read about Recovery on our Blog Visit our Facebook Group Follow us on Twitter Support the Podcast: - On Patreon: https://patreon.com/dailyreflection - On PayPal: https://paypal.me/dailyreflection If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

Rich speaks with authority about his experience with the service structure of A.A and also shares about the important ways even those with little time can get into service by helping to carry the message at meetings. During this interview Rich mentions SEPIA, which is the Southeastern Pennsylvania Intergroup Association of AA. There are approximately 757 Inter-Groups or Central Offices registered with A.A.’s General Service Office; 514 are located in the United States and Canada. If you're interested in getting into service as part of an Area Integroup, reach out at your home group and talk to your General Service Representative (GSR). https://aa-intergroup.org/ WHAT? NO PRESIDENT? When told that our Society has no president having authority to govern it, no treasurer who can compel the payment of any dues, . . . our friends gasp and exclaim, "This simply can't be. . . ." TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 132 When I finally made my way to A.A., I could not believe that there was no treasurer to "compel the payment of dues." I could not imagine an organization that didn't require monetary contributions in return for a service. It was my first and, thus far, only experience with getting "something for nothing." Because I did not feel used or conned by those in A.A., I was able to approach the program free from bias and with an open mind. They wanted nothing from me. What could I lose? I thank God for the wisdom of the early founders who knew so well the alcoholic's disdain for being manipulated. Support the showNeed the Daily Reflection Book? Visit our web site Read about Recovery on our Blog Visit our Facebook Group Follow us on Twitter Support the Podcast: - On Patreon: https://patreon.com/dailyreflection - On PayPal: https://paypal.me/dailyreflection If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

Tony identifies as an atheist. His deep knowledge of the faith traditions and love for the program of recovery makes for an incredible discussion of today’s reflection… his is truly no ordinary success story. NO ORDINARY SUCCESS STORY A.A. is no success story in the ordinary sense of the word. It is a story of suffering transmuted, under grace, into spiritual progress. AS BILL SEES IT, p. 35 Upon entering A.A. I listened to others talk about the reality of their drinking: loneliness, terror and pain. As I listened further, I soon heard a description of a very different kind—the reality of sobriety. It is a reality of freedom and happiness, of purpose and direction, and of serenity and peace with God, ourselves and others. By attending meetings I am reintroduced to that reality, over and over. I see it in the eyes and hear it in the voices of those around me. By working the program I find the direction and strength with which to make it mine. The joy of A.A. is that this new reality is available to me. Support the showNeed the Daily Reflection Book? Visit our web site Read about Recovery on our Blog Visit our Facebook Group Follow us on Twitter Support the Podcast: - On Patreon: https://patreon.com/dailyreflection - On PayPal: https://paypal.me/dailyreflection If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

Joe found the program but didn't get a sponsor. He thought he had it all figured out until he realized the only true victory is through surrender. He decided to take some suggestions like getting a sponsor, working the steps and today, he's lives a happy, joyous and free life. RESCUED BY SURRENDERING Characteristic of the so-called typical alcoholic is a narcissistic egocentric core, dominated by feelings of omnipotence, intent on maintaining at all costs its inner integrity. . . . Inwardly the alcoholic brooks no control from man or God He, the alcoholic, is and must be the master of his destiny. He will fight to the end to preserve that position. A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 311 The great mystery is: "Why do some of us die alcoholic deaths, fighting to preserve the 'independence' of our ego, while others seem to sober up effortlessly in A.A.?" Help from a Higher Power, the gift of sobriety, came to me when an otherwise unexplained desire to stop drinking coincided with my willingness to accept the suggestions of the men and women of A.A. I had to surrender, for only by reaching out to God and my fellows could I be rescued. Support the showNeed the Daily Reflection Book? Visit our web site Read about Recovery on our Blog Visit our Facebook Group Follow us on Twitter Support the Podcast: - On Patreon: https://patreon.com/dailyreflection - On PayPal: https://paypal.me/dailyreflection If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

Yuchen was born and raised in China and immigrated to the United States when she was fourteen. She remembers having trouble with the language and feeling very different from her classmates. She solved the challenges of being different using drugs and alcohol and this only served to create more problems. At the age of nineteen, she ended up having to enter the psychiatric unit of a hospital where she first felt the realization that she needed to get sober. Today, she has a wonderful, full life as a medical student at one of the most prestigious universities on the planet and maintains a very full schedule in addition to being a vibrant member of the recovery community and helping other women to get what she's gotten. I'm so proud to know her and to have her on the show to share on the daily reflection for today. GOAL: SANITY ". . . Step Two gently and very gradually began to infiltrate my life. I can't say upon what occasion or upon what day I came to believe in a Power greater than myself, but I certainly have that belief now." TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 27 "Came to believe!" I gave lip service to my belief when I felt like it or when I thought it would look good. I didn't really trust God. I didn't believe He cared for me. I kept trying to change things I couldn't change. Gradually, in disgust, I began to turn it all over, saying: "You're so omnipotent, you take care of it." He did. I began to receive answers to my deepest problems, sometimes at the most unusual times: driving to work, eating lunch, or when I was sound asleep. I realized that I hadn't thought of those solutions—a Power greater than myself had given them to me. I came to believe. Support the showNeed the Daily Reflection Book? Visit our web site Read about Recovery on our Blog Visit our Facebook Group Follow us on Twitter Support the Podcast: - On Patreon: https://patreon.com/dailyreflection - On PayPal: https://paypal.me/dailyreflection If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

Ceci joins us today to share on the concept of the group, the program and the fellowship coming before our own personal desires. She also shares a beautiful poem by Mary Oliver entitled "Praying"... It doesn't have to be the blue iris, it could be weeds in a vacant lot, or a few small stones; just pay attention, then patch a few words together and don't try to make them elaborate, this isn't a contest but the doorway into thanks, and a silence in which another voice may speak. OUR COMMON WELFARE COMES FIRST The unity of Alcoholics Anonymous is the most cherished quality our Society has . . . We stay whole, or A. A. dies TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 129 Our Traditions are key elements in the ego deflation process necessary to achieve and maintain sobriety in Alcoholics Anonymous. The First Tradition reminds me not to take credit, or authority, for my recovery. Placing our common welfare first reminds me not to become a healer in this program; I am still one of the patients. Self-effacing elders built the ward. Without it, I doubt I would be alive. Without the group, few alcoholics would recover. The active role in renewed surrender of will enables me to step aside from the need to dominate, the desire for recognition, both of which played so great a part in my active alcoholism. Deferring my personal desires for the greater good of group growth contributes toward A.A. unity that is central to all recovery. It helps me to remember that the whole is greater than the sum of all its parts. Support the showNeed the Daily Reflection Book? Visit our web site Read about Recovery on our Blog Visit our Facebook Group Follow us on Twitter Support the Podcast: - On Patreon: https://patreon.com/dailyreflection - On PayPal: https://paypal.me/dailyreflection If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

Matthew joins me today to share his experience on the concept of Rigorous Honesty. Like so many of us, he's got experience being dishonest and shares he shares his experience and what he's learned from recovery about becoming honest with himself and with others. A powerful message of how getting sober can help us live esteemable lives. RIGOROUS HONESTY Who wishes to be rigorously honest and tolerant? Who wants to confess his faults to another and make restitution for harm done? Who cares anything about a Higher Power, let alone meditation and prayer? Who wants to sacrifice time and energy in trying to carry A.A. 's message to the next sufferer? No, the average alcoholic, self-centered in the extreme, doesn't care for this prospect—unless he has to do these things in order to stay alive himself. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 24 I am an alcoholic. If I drink I will die. My, what power, energy, and emotion this simple statement generates in me! But it's really all I need to know for today. Am I willing to stay alive today? Am I willing to stay sober today? Am I willing to ask for help and am I willing to be a help to another suffering alcoholic today? Have I discovered the fatal nature of my situation? What must I do, today, to stay sober? Support the showNeed the Daily Reflection Book? Visit our web site Read about Recovery on our Blog Visit our Facebook Group Follow us on Twitter Support the Podcast: - On Patreon: https://patreon.com/dailyreflection - On PayPal: https://paypal.me/dailyreflection If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

Lee returns with her good friend and a fellow in recovery, Jessica C. Jess got sober relatively young in life and shares her experience around that and around how the program has impacted her relationships with her family and everyone around her. She's got a great story and a great attitude. Jess is definitely not glum... she's learned how to have fun in sobriety. HAVING FUN YET? . . . we aren't a glum lot. If newcomers could see no joy or fun in our existence, they wouldn't want it. We absolutely insist on enjoying life. We try not to indulge in cynicism over the state of the nations, nor do we carry the world's troubles on our shoulders ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 132 When my own house is in order, I find the different parts of my life are more manageable. Stripped from the guilt and remorse that cloaked my drinking years, I am free to assume my proper role in the universe, but this condition requires maintenance. I should stop and ask myself, Am I having fun yet? If I find answering that question difficult or painful, perhaps I'm taking myself too seriously—and finding it difficult to admit that I've strayed from my practice of working the program to keep my house in order. I think the pain I experience is one way my Higher Power has to get my attention, coaxing me to take stock of my performance. The slight time and effort it takes to work the program—a spot-check inventory, for example, or the making of amends, whatever is appropriate—are well worth the effort. Support the showNeed the Daily Reflection Book? Visit our web site Read about Recovery on our Blog Visit our Facebook Group Follow us on Twitter Support the Podcast: - On Patreon: https://patreon.com/dailyreflection - On PayPal: https://paypal.me/dailyreflection If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

Rick C. is a fixture in the Philadelphia recovery community. He helps so many people which is why today's reflection is so perfect. Today is Rick's sober anniversary and I want to wish him congratulations. He's helped me immensely in my recovery. I should mention that Rick keeps it real and uses language that may not be appropriate for younger audiences... and I love him for that. SERVING MY BROTHER The member talks to the newcomer not in a spirit of power but in a spirit of humility and weakness. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS COMES OF AGE p. 279 As the days pass in A.A., I ask God to guide my thoughts and the words that I speak. In this labor of continuous participation in the Fellowship, I have numerous opportunities to speak. So I frequently ask God to help me watch over my thoughts and my words, that they may be the true and proper reflections of our program; to focus my aspirations once again to seek His guidance; to help me be truly kind and loving, helpful and healing, yet always filled with humility, and free from any trace of arrogance. Today I may very well have to deal with disagreeable attitudes or utterances—the typical stock-in-trade attitude of the still-suffering alcoholic. If this should happen, I will take a moment to center myself in God, so that I will be able to respond from a perspective of composure, strength and sensibility. Support the showNeed the Daily Reflection Book? Visit our web site Read about Recovery on our Blog Visit our Facebook Group Follow us on Twitter Support the Podcast: - On Patreon: https://patreon.com/dailyreflection - On PayPal: https://paypal.me/dailyreflection If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

Douglas K. from Philadelphia joins us for January 16 - Hitting Bottom. Douglas had a moment of clarity at one point in the latter stages of his drinking wherein it became clear to him that everything that mattered to him in his life had to come after drinking. This is when he hit bottom and knew he needed help. HITTING BOTTOM Why all this insistence that every A.A. must hit bottom first? The answer is that few people will sincerely try to practice the A.A. program unless they have hit bottom. For practicing A. A.'s remaining eleven Steps means the adoption of attitudes and actions that almost no alcoholic who is still drinking can dream of taking. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 24 Hitting bottom opened my mind and I became willing to try something different. What I tried was A.A. My new life in the Fellowship was a little like learning how to ride a bike for the first time: A.A. became my training wheels and my supporting hand. It's not that I wanted the help so much at the time; I simply did not want to hurt like that again. My desire to avoid hitting bottom again was more powerful than my desire to drink. In the beginning that was what kept me sober. But after a while I found myself working the Steps to the best of my ability. I soon realized that my attitudes and actions were changing—if ever so slightly. One Day at a Time, I became comfortable with myself, and others, and my hurting started to heal. Thank God for the training wheels and supporting hand that I choose to call Alcoholics Anonymous. Support the showNeed the Daily Reflection Book? Visit our web site Read about Recovery on our Blog Visit our Facebook Group Follow us on Twitter Support the Podcast: - On Patreon: https://patreon.com/dailyreflection - On PayPal: https://paypal.me/dailyreflection If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

Erin shares her experience on the concept of an unsuspected inner resource and on how she maintains her sobriety despite the challenges she faces as someone with a dual diagnosis. Erin has such an amazing vibe and a great attitude and approach to her sobriety. AN UNSUSPECTED INNER RESOURCE With few exceptions our members find that they have tapped an unsuspected inner resource which they presently identify with their own conception of a Power greater than themselves ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pp. 569-70 From my first days in A.A., as I struggled for sobriety, I found hope in these words from our founders. I often pondered the phrase: "they have tapped an unsuspected inner resource." How, I asked myself, can I find the Power within myself, since I am so powerless? In time, as the founders promised, it came to me: I have always had the choice between goodness and evil, between unselfishness and selfishness, between serenity and fear. That Power greater than myself is an original gift that I did not recognize until I achieved daily sobriety through living A.A.'s Twelve Steps. Support the showNeed the Daily Reflection Book? Visit our web site Read about Recovery on our Blog Visit our Facebook Group Follow us on Twitter Support the Podcast: - On Patreon: https://patreon.com/dailyreflection - On PayPal: https://paypal.me/dailyreflection If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

Lee made many attempts at controlling her drinking prior to coming into the program and she shares that she once felt so much remorse for the life she previously led. However, those things that used to cause her to feel shame have now become her greatest equity. Lee shares her powerful experience on the concept of having "No Regrets." NO REGRETS We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 83 Once I became sober, I began to see how wasteful my life had been and I experienced overwhelming guilt and feelings of regret. The program's Fourth and Fifth Steps assisted me enormously in healing those troubling regrets. I learned that my self-centeredness and dishonesty stemmed largely from my drinking and that I drank because I was an alcoholic. Now I see how even my most distasteful past experiences can turn to gold because, as a sober alcoholic, I can share them to help my fellow alcoholics, particularly newcomers. Sober for several years in A.A., I no longer regret the past; I am simply grateful to be conscious of God's love and of the help I can give to others in the Fellowship. Support the showNeed the Daily Reflection Book? Visit our web site Read about Recovery on our Blog Visit our Facebook Group Follow us on Twitter Support the Podcast: - On Patreon: https://patreon.com/dailyreflection - On PayPal: https://paypal.me/dailyreflection If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

John has over fifteen months (as of Jan 2021) of sobriety and recently experienced the loss of his job. Without a program of recovery, he would likely have used this as an excuse to drink or fall deep into self-pity. Today, he shares how he uses the program, and his support network to view this as an opportunity for growth. John has a great program and I'm grateful to help share his story today on the concept of accepting our present circumstances. ACCEPTING OUR PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES Our very first problem is to accept our present circumstances as they are, ourselves as we are, and the people about us as they are. This is to adopt a realistic humility without which no genuine advance can even begin. Again and again, we shall need to return to that unflattering point of departure. This is an exercise in acceptance that we can profitably practice every day of our lives. Provided we strenuously avoid turning these realistic surveys of the facts of life into unrealistic alibis for apathy or defeatism, they can be the sure foundation upon which increased emotional health and therefore spiritual progress can be built. AS BILL SEES IT, p. 44 When I am having a difficult time accepting people, places or events, I turn to this passage and it relieves me of many an underlying fear regarding others, or situations life presents me. The thought allows me to be human and not perfect, and to regain my peace of mind. Support the showNeed the Daily Reflection Book? Visit our web site Read about Recovery on our Blog Visit our Facebook Group Follow us on Twitter Support the Podcast: - On Patreon: https://patreon.com/dailyreflection - On PayPal: https://paypal.me/dailyreflection If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

Like so many, Riley didn't realize the grave nature of his problem with drinking until it began to affect so many areas of his life... until he found himself at a turning point. Today, he also views so many moments throughout the day as opportunities or turning points where he can choose to practice the principles of the program, and when he does, he continues to experience growth, change, and amazing life in sobriety. AT THE TURNING POINT Half measures availed us nothing. We stood at the turning point. We asked His protection and care with complete abandon. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 59 Every day I stand at turning points. My thoughts and actions can propel me toward growth or turn me down the road to old habits and to booze. Sometimes turning points are beginnings, as when I decide to start praising, instead of condemning someone. Or when I begin to ask for help instead of going it alone. At other times turning points are endings, such as when I see clearly the need to stop festering resentments or crippling self-seeking. Many shortcomings tempt me daily; therefore, I also have daily opportunities to become aware of them. In one form or another, many of my character defects appear daily: self condemnation, anger, running away, being prideful, wanting to get even, or acting out of grandiosity. Attempting half measures to eliminate these defects merely paralyzes my efforts to change. It is only when I ask God for help, with complete abandon, that I become willing—and able—to change. Support the showNeed the Daily Reflection Book? Visit our web site Read about Recovery on our Blog Visit our Facebook Group Follow us on Twitter Support the Podcast: - On Patreon: https://patreon.com/dailyreflection - On PayPal: https://paypal.me/dailyreflection If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

Chris got sober at the age of 16 and credits the victory of surrender for the grace to move forward and rebuild his life. He's built a wonderful life based on the firm bedrock of personal powerlessness. Sunlight of the Spirit - https://aavirginia.org/meetings/sunlight-of-the-spirit-4/ THE VICTORY OF SURRENDER We perceive that only through utter defeat are we able to take our first steps toward liberation and strength. Our admissions of personal powerlessness finally turn out to be firm bedrock upon which happy and purposeful lives may be built TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 21 When alcohol influenced every facet of my life, when bottles became the symbol of all my self-indulgence and permissiveness when I came to realize that, by myself, I could do nothing to overcome the power of alcohol, I realized I had no recourse except surrender. In surrender, I found victory—victory over my selfish self-indulgence, victory over my stubborn resistance to life as it was given to me. When I stopped fighting anybody or anything, I started on the path to sobriety, serenity, and peace. Support the showNeed the Daily Reflection Book? Visit our web site Read about Recovery on our Blog Visit our Facebook Group Follow us on Twitter Support the Podcast: - On Patreon: https://patreon.com/dailyreflection - On PayPal: https://paypal.me/dailyreflection If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

Kevin P. Joins us from Jacksonville Beach, FL where he's a Professional Therapist. Kevin shares on the topic of beginning where you are... Starting with the elimination of alcohol - that's merely the ticket to the show. The real challenge comes when we face the challenges of daily life. BEGIN WHERE YOU ARE We feel that the elimination of our drinking is but a beginning. A much more important demonstration of our principles lies before us in our respective homes, occupations, and affairs. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 19 It's usually pretty easy for me to be pleasant to the people in an A.A. setting. While I'm working to stay sober, I'm celebrating with my fellow A.A.S our common release from the hell of drinking. It's often not so hard to spread glad tidings to my old and new friends in the program. At home or at work, though, it can be a different story. It is in situations arising in both of those areas that the little day-to-day frustrations are most evident, and where it can be tough to smile or reach out with a kind word or an attentive ear. It's outside of the A.A. rooms that I face the real test of the effectiveness of my walk through A.A.'s Twelve Steps. Support the showNeed the Daily Reflection Book? Visit our web site Read about Recovery on our Blog Visit our Facebook Group Follow us on Twitter Support the Podcast: - On Patreon: https://patreon.com/dailyreflection - On PayPal: https://paypal.me/dailyreflection If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

Louie L. shares on the daily reflection for this, New Years Day - January, 1st entitled "I am a Miracle". "I AM A MIRACLE" The central fact of our lives today is the absolute certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lives in a way which is indeed miraculous. He has commenced to accomplish those things for us which we could never do by ourselves. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 25 This truly is a fact in my life today, and a real miracle. I always believed in God, but could never put that belief meaningfully into my life. Today, because of Alcoholics Anonymous, I now trust and rely on God, as I understand Him; I am sober today because of that! Learning to trust and rely on God was something I could never have done alone. I now believe in miracles because I am one! Support the showNeed the Daily Reflection Book? Visit our web site Read about Recovery on our Blog Visit our Facebook Group Follow us on Twitter Support the Podcast: - On Patreon: https://patreon.com/dailyreflection - On PayPal: https://paypal.me/dailyreflection If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

Join us as Tom Hilton, from Jacksonville Beach, FL, shares his experience, strength, and hope around today's Daily Reflection, The Joy of Living. THE JOY OF LIVING . . . therefore the joy of good living is the theme of A.A.'s Twelfth Step. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 125 A.A. is a joyful program! Even so, I occasionally balk at taking the necessary steps to move ahead, and find myself resisting the very actions that could bring about the joy I want. I would not resist if those actions did not touch some vulnerable area of my life, an area that needs hope and fulfillment. Repeated exposure to joyfulness has a way of softening the hard, outer edges of my ego. Therein lies the power of joyfulness to help all members of A.A. From the book Daily Reflections. Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All rights reserved. Support the showNeed the Daily Reflection Book? Visit our web site Read about Recovery on our Blog Visit our Facebook Group Follow us on Twitter Support the Podcast: - On Patreon: https://patreon.com/dailyreflection - On PayPal: https://paypal.me/dailyreflection If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

Join us as Joel Gough, from Leesburg, VA, shares his experience, strength, and hope around today's Daily Reflection, Accepting Success or Failure. ACCEPTING SUCCESS OR FAILURE Furthermore, how shall we come to terms with seeming failure or success? Can we now accept and adjust to either without despair or pride? Can we accept poverty, sickness, loneliness, and bereavement with courage and serenity? Can we steadfastly content ourselves with the humbler, yet sometimes more durable, satisfactions when the brighter, more glittering achievements are denied us? TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 112 After I found A.A. and stopped drinking, it took a while before I understood why the First Step contained two parts: my powerlessness over alcohol, and my life's unmanageability. In the same way, I believed for a long time that, in order to be in tune with the Twelve Steps, it was enough for me "to carry this message to alcoholics." That was rushing things. I was forgetting that there were a total of Twelve Steps and that the Twelfth Step also had more than one part. Eventually I learned that it was necessary for me to "practice these principles" in all areas of my life. In working all the Steps thoroughly, I not only stay sober and help someone else to achieve sobriety, but also I transform my difficulty with living into a joy of living. From the book Daily Reflections. Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All rights reserved. Support the showNeed the Daily Reflection Book? Visit our web site Read about Recovery on our Blog Visit our Facebook Group Follow us on Twitter Support the Podcast: - On Patreon: https://patreon.com/dailyreflection - On PayPal: https://paypal.me/dailyreflection If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.

Max E. from Chicago returns to the show to share his experience around today's Daily Reflection entitled A Sane and Happy Usefulness. A "SANE AND HAPPY USEFULNESS" We have come to believe He would like us to keep our heads in the clouds with Him, but that our feet ought to be firmly planted on earth. That is where our fellow travelers are, and that is where our work must be done. These are the realities for us. We have found nothing incompatible between a powerful spiritual experience and a life of sane and happy usefulness ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 130 All the prayer and meditation in the world will not help me unless they are accompanied by action. Practicing the principles in all my affairs shows me the care that God takes in all parts of my life. God appears in my world when I move aside, and allow Him to step into it. Support the showNeed the Daily Reflection Book? Visit our web site Read about Recovery on our Blog Visit our Facebook Group Follow us on Twitter Support the Podcast: - On Patreon: https://patreon.com/dailyreflection - On PayPal: https://paypal.me/dailyreflection If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, or wondering how to stop drinking it’s helpful to know that there’s a solution that has worked for millions of people. The Daily Reflection Podcast provides hope, and inspiration through the shared experiences of people that have found a way out.