Category Archives: A.A.

Love and Tolerance for Others

Love and Tolerance for Others
Pastor Cathy Hanus, Certified Holistic Health Coach
All Are Welcome at Our Table !

Introduction

Health and Wellness
Spirit Health and Wellness, Is. 38:16.

Presentation
Love and Tolerance for Others
Love and tolerance for others is our code. – ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84.
I have found that I have to forgive others in all situations to maintain any real spiritual progress. The vital importance of forgiving may not be obvious to me at first sight, but my studies tell me that every great spiritual teacher has insisted strongly upon it.
I must forgive injuries, not just in words, or as a matter of form, but in my heart. I do this not for the other persons’ sake, but for my own sake. Resentment, anger, or a desire to see someone punished, are things that rot my soul. Such things fasten my troubles to me with chains. They tie me to other problems that have nothing to do with my original problem. – Daily Reflections. © 1990. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services.

AA. Into Action p.84.
Step Ten discussion.

Simple Gut Heal Meal
Simple Gut Heal Meal

Meal
Healing the Gut
Organic Broccoli
Organic Cauliflower
Organic Pine nut based Hummus
Organic Vegetable crackers

Song
What the World Needs Now
Jackie DeShannon
https://youtu.be/YUaxVQPohlU

What the World Needs Now

Prayer

Thank you, God, for the body of believers who are called to serve you, who are proclaiming the Good News to all who will hear. From those who minister across the country to the men, women, and youth here at home, send us out to be a light in the dark. Send us out to speak life. Send us out to extend grace and mercy. Send us out to feed the hungry, to befriend the lonely, to find the lost. Open the doors of this church and fill it with the broken, the angry, the hurting. Let them find forgiveness and comfort here in the presence of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name. Amen. – adapted from community prayer by Jennie McChargue.

Peace and Joy! Pastors Michael and Cathy Hanus and the Spirit of Peace Missional Community.

Freedom Fellowship

Fellowship of Freedom 

If only men were granted absolute liberty, and were compelled to obey no one, they would then voluntarily associate themselves in the common interest. – AS BILL SEES IT, p. 50. 

When I no longer live under the dictates of another or of alcohol, I live in a new freedom. When I release the past and all the excess baggage I have carried for so very long, I come to know freedom. I have been introduced into a life and a fellowship of freedom. The Steps are a “recommended” way of finding a new life, there are no commands or dictates in A.A. I am free to serve from desire rather than decree. There is the understanding that I will benefit from the growth of other members and I take what I learn and bring it back to the group. The “common welfare” finds room to grow in the society of personal freedom. – Daily Reflection. © 1990. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. 

Freedom Fellowship
Freedom Fellowship

Reflection genesis: 

Tradition Two. 

AA. Twelve Traditions. 

For our group purpose there is one ultimate authority – a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern. 

Discussion: 

One Ultimate Authority 

Responsibility 

Being God 

Discuss no need to fix 

Choices v Told 

Freedom to choose 

Dominance v Subservience 

Getting along with others 

 Follow the Rules 

Dont tell me what to do 

Building character 

Good Old Days 

 AA. Big Book. 

Twelve and Twelve 

 Principles 

Quitting drinking easy compared to dealing with the  -Isms 

Alcoholism > no conscience, 

 Sobriety > find the Higher Power 

Freedom 

Pharrell Williams 

Peace and Joy!  Pastor Michael. SpiritofPeace.us 

Family obligations

Family Obligations 

A spiritual life which does not include family obligations may not be so perfect after all. – ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 129. 

I can be doing great in the program, applying it at meetings, at work, and in service activities, and find that things have gone to pieces at home. I expect my loved ones to understand, but they cannot. I expect them to see and value my progress, but they do not, unless I show them. Do I neglect their needs and desires for my attention and concern? When I am around them, am I irritable or boring? Are my “amends” a mumbled “Sorry,” or do they take the form of patience and tolerance? Do I preach to them, trying to reform or “fix” them? Have I ever really cleaned house with them? “The spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it.” Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 83. – Daily Reflections. © 1990. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. 

Family Obligations
Family Obligations

Topic Discussion Worksheet 

AA. Big Book. Chapter 9. The Family Afterward. 

Experiencing freedom from guilt. 

Appears like this Reflection engages proactively working Steps Eight and Nine. 

Step Eight. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. 

Step Nine. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

Family. 

Dysfunction. 

Praying for a Miracle. 

Al-Anon 

Many family members of alcoholics get stuck at Step Three. 

Step Three. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. 

We Are Family 

Sister Sledge 

How to Love Your (Dysfunctional) Family Well 

(and Every Family Is Dysfunctional). 

Be Present. 

Share Yourself. 

Welcome the Stranger. 

Engage in Dialogue, Not Debate. 

Practice Self-Care. 

 – Kale Uzzel. St. Louis Metro Baptist Assn. 

 

May the Lord Bless Your Paths in This World!

Peace and Joy! Pastor Michael Hanus. Spirit of Peace.

First Things First

FIRST THINGS FIRST
Some of us have taken very hard knocks to learn this truth: Job or no job, wife or no wife, we simply do not stop drinking so long as we place dependence upon other people ahead of dependence on God. – ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 98.

Before coming to A.A., I always had excuses for taking a drink: “She said,” “He said,” “I got fired yesterday,” “I got a great job today.” No area of my life could be good if I drank again. In sobriety my life gets better each day. I must always remember not to drink, to trust God, and to stay active in A.A. Am I putting anything before my sobriety, God, and A.A. today? – Daily Reflections. © 1990. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services.

First Things First
First Things First

Read AA Big Book Chapter 7. Working with Others.
Mature life is More than just a social hour in a room.

Step Three. We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

Establish priorities
Habituation transformation from bad, alcohol, to good, Higher Power.
Allegiance to God as we understand Him.
Replace the AA We term with I
Dependance on God
Manage life on life’s terms

First Thing First
Neon Trees

You are never gonna get
Everything you want in this world
First things first
Get what you deserve
It began when I was twenty-one years old
And my mom and dad were begging me to go
So I left a note and we went and hit the road
Me and Chris and all the stuff I own
I went out to find my soul and left the only comfort that I’d known
It wasn’t ’bout a girl or even California bleeding
It was all about me choosing where to go.

Open to Change

Open to Change 

Self-searching is the means by which we bring new vision, action, and grace to bear upon the dark and negative side of our natures. With it comes the development of that kind of humility that makes it possible for us to receive God’s help, we find that bit by bit we can discard the old life, the one that did not work, for a new life that can and does work under any conditions whatever. – AS BILL SEES IT, pp. 10, 8. 

I have been given a daily reprieve contingent upon my spiritual condition, provided I seek progress, not perfection. To become ready for change, I practice willingness, opening myself to possibilities of change. If I realize there are defects that hinder my usefulness in A.A. and toward others, I become ready by meditating and receiving direction. “Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely” (Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 58). To let go and let God, I need only surrender my old ways to Him; I no longer fight nor do I try to control, but simply believe that, with God’s help, I am changed and affirming this belief makes me ready. I empty myself to be full of awareness, light, and love, and I am ready to face each day with hope. – Daily Reflections. © 1990. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. 

Changes 

David Bowie 

I still don’t know what I was waiting for

And my time was running wild

A million dead-end streets

Every time I thought I’d got it made

It seemed the taste was not so sweet

So I turned myself to face me

But I’ve never caught a glimpse

Of how the others must see the faker

I’m much too fast to take that test. 

Hope

Hope
Since most of us are born with an abundance of natural desires, it is not strange that we often let these far exceed their intended purpose. When they drive us blindly, or we willfully demand that they supply us with more satisfactions or pleasures than are possible or due us, that is the point at which we depart from the degree of perfection that God wishes for us here on earth. That is the measure of our character defects, or, if you wish, of our sins. – TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 65.

hope
hope

This is where long-term hope is born and perspective is gained, both of the nature of my illness and the path of my recovery. The beauty of A.A. lies in knowing that my life, with God’s help, will improve. The A.A. journey becomes richer, the understanding becomes truth, the dreams become realities and today becomes forever.
As I step into the A.A. light, my heart fills with the presence of God. – Daily Reflections. © 1990. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services.
 
Hope. Feeling of Trust or Expectation and Desire for a certain thing to happen.
 
Song of Hope
Canto Esperanza
https://youtu.be/Cus53eeR3bA
 
May the God of hope go with us every day,
Filling all our lives with love and joy and peace.
May the God of justice speed us on our way,
Bringing light and hope to every land and race.

Path to Faith

Path to Faith
True humility and an open mind can lead us to faith, and every A.A. meeting is an assurance that God will restore us to sanity if we rightly relate ourselves to Him. – TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 33.

My last drunk had landed me in the hospital, totally broken. It was then that I was able to see my past float in front of me. I realized that, through drinking, I had lived every nightmare I had ever had. My own self-will and obsession to drink had driven me into a dark pit of hallucinations, blackouts and despair. Finally beaten, I asked for God’s help. His presence told me to believe. My obsession for alcohol was taken away and my paranoia has since been lifted. I am no longer afraid. I know my life is healthy and sane. – Daily Reflections. © 1990. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services

Path to Faith
Path to Faith

Step 2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

Therefore, Step Two is the rallying point for all of us. Whether agnostic, atheist, or former believer, we can stand together on this Step. True humility and an open mind can lead us to faith, and every A.A. meeting is an assurance that God will restore us to sanity if we rightly relate ourselves to Him. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 33.

Humility appears to be the key character component to getting sobriety started, and to keep it progressing. Sally N.

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less. C.S. Lewis

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I am having trouble with personal relationships. I can not control my emotional nature. I am prey to misery and depression. I can not make a living. I feel useless. I am full of fear. I am unhappy. I can not seem to be of real help to others. I know in my heart that only you can restore me to sanity if I am just willing to stop doubting your power. I humbly ask that you help me to understand that it is more powerful to believe than not to believe and that you are either everything or nothing. (Big Book p. 52:2, 52:3, 53:1, 53:2).

 

Walk the Path of Faith
Emily Christensen
https://youtu.be/kmeAL5kniec

Faith Gone Missing

Faith Gone Missing
Sometimes A.A. comes harder to those who have lost or rejected faith than to those who never had any faith at all, for they think they have tried faith and found it wanting. They have tried the way of faith and the way of no faith. – TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 28.
I was so sure God had failed me that I became ultimately defiant, though I knew better, and plunged into a final drinking binge. My faith turned bitter and that was no coincidence. Those who once had great faith hit bottom harder. It took time to rekindle my faith, though I came to A.A. I was grateful intellectually to have survived such a great fall, but my heart felt callous. Still, I stuck with the A.A. program; the alternatives were too bleak! I kept coming back and gradually my faith was resurrected. – Daily Reflections. © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services.

Leap of Faith
Leap of Faith

Unfortunately in the ways of our world, all the way back before the time of Christ and preceding the prophets, we are temped to lose faith at times when we need it most. This is the human dilemma. It takes strength of character and faith in the Higher Power to get through every day, especially the worst of them.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matt. 11:28.

This transitions us to prayer:

Footprints in the Sand
One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my Lord.
After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.
This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
“Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You’d walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”
He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you.”

 

Waiting Here for You

Christy Nochols

If faith can move the mountains
Let the mountains move
We come with expectation
Waiting here for you, waiting here for you.

Come to our Gathering to hear how Faith is Never Alone, and Good Works accomplished with Love will bring Faith!
Peace and Joy! Pastor Michael Hanus

Faith Without Works is Dead

Faith without Works is Dead.

There is action and more action. “Faith without works is dead.” … To be helpful is our only aim. AA. p. 88-9.

I understand that service is a vital part of recovery but I often wonder, “What can I do?” Simply start with what I have today! I look around to see where there is a need. Are the ashtrays full? Do I have hands and feet to empty them? Suddenly I am involved! The best speaker may make the worst coffee; the member who’s best with newcomers may be unable to read; the one willing to clean up may make a mess of the bank account – yet every one of these people and jobs is essential to an active group. The miracle of service is this: when I use what I have, I find there is more available to me than I realized before. – Daily Reflections. © 1990 Alcoholics Anonymous World Services.

Faith Without Works is Dead
Faith Without Works is Dead

Faith Without Works Is Dead. James 2:14-26.

So there is more going on here than helping out. Eventually we come upon our Step 12.

Step 12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

This step prepares you to embrace all 12 steps as you continue your journey into a life of acceptance and understanding. It also encourages you to help others and to empower them as they discover the benefits of AA. – Recovery.org

Step 12 Prayer:
Dear God, Having had a spiritual experience, I must now remember that “faith without works is dead.” And Practical Experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics. So, God, please help me to carry this message to other alcoholics! Provide me with the guidance and wisdom to talk with another alcoholic because I can help when no one else can. Help me secure his confidence and remember he is ill. – A.A. Big Book Page 89:1.

Faith Without Works is like a Submarine with a Screen Door