Tag Archives: SpiritofPeace.us

A.A., Prayer, Reflection, Spirit on the A's

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

Devotion, Prayer, Reflection

Good Bad Ugly

Good, Bad, Ugly

Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. Hebrews 13:5.

A dear friend of mine sent me a text message that said, “I am so glad we can tell each other the good, the bad, and the ugly!” We have been friends for many years, and we have learned to share our joys and our failures. We recognize we are far from perfect, so we share our struggles but we also rejoice in each other’s successes.

David and Jonathan had a solid friendship too, beginning with the good days of David’s victory over Goliath. 1 Sam. 18:1–4. They shared their fears during the bad days of Jonathan’s father’s jealousy. I Sam. 18:6–11; 20:1–2. Finally, they suffered together during the ugly days of Saul’s plans to kill David. 1 Sam. 20:42.

Good Bad Ugly
Good Bad Ugly

Real friendships are a gift from God.
Good friends don’t abandon us when external circumstances change. They stay with us through the good and the bad days. Good friends also may point us to God in the ugly days, when we may feel tempted to walk away from our Lord.

Real friendships are a gift from God because they exemplify the perfect Friend, who remains loyal through the good, the bad, and the ugly days. As the Lord reminds us, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Heb. 13:5. – Keila Ochoa. Daily Bread.
Prayer: Dear Lord, I thank You for the good friends You have placed in my life, but above all, I thank You for Your friendship.

 

Good Bad Ugly
Queimada soundtrack
Jose Dolores

Celebration, Prayer

Salt and Light Upon the City Celebration

Salt and Light Upon the City Celebration
for the Community.
Modern Song Focus on Contemporary Church Artists
performing hymns of traditional foundation.
Everyone is Welcome!

Introduction:
Isaiah tells us that when we worship, we should do it selflessly, more concerned for the community than for self.
In Psalm 112 David tells us that if you are good you will do well.
In 1 Cor. 2 Paul speaks to us as it informs us we may come to adopt the righteousness of Jesus through servitude and this culminates our days in knowing Joy.
We are still at the scene of Jesus preaching the Sermon on the Mount. Today, Matthew brings us awareness of the responsibilities of discipleship. It is ours to live out our identity, today we focus on salt and light. In our natural dispositions, we may seek comfort, yet Jesus calls upon us to be salt and light. We will explore this call.

 

I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
Come Unto Me and Rest
Horatius Bonar (1846).

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto me and rest;
lay down, O weary one, lay down
your head upon my breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was,
so weary, worn, and sad;
I found him in a resting place,
and he has made me glad.

 

Scripture:
Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Is. 58:1.
Praise the Lord! Happy are those who greatly delight in His commandments. Ps. 112:1.
What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Cor. 2:9.
No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. Matt. 5:15.

Prayer:
Perfect Light of revelation,
as you shone in the life of Jesus,
whose epiphany we celebrate,
so shine in us and through us,
that we may become beacons of truth and compassion,
enlightening all creation with deeds of justice and mercy. Amen.

 

Here in this Place New Light is Streaming
Gather Us In
Marty Haugen
https://youtu.be/wbUncXaDZ2A

 

Prayer: To God who welcomes all in love, let us pray for the good of the church and the concerns of those in need.
God of every land and nation, you have created all people and you dwell among us in Jesus Christ. Listen to the cries of those who pray to you, and grant that, as we proclaim the greatness of your name, all people will know the power of love at work in the world. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

God Moves in a Mysterious Way
William Cowper (1774).
Jeremy Riddle Choral
acapella

 

Prayer:
O God of light,
your searching Spirit reveals and illumines
your presence in creation.
Shine your radiant holiness into our lives,
that we may offer our hands and hearts to your work:
to heal and shelter,
to feed and clothe,
to break every yoke and silence evil tongues. Amen.

 

Christ, Be Our Light!
Longing for light, we wait in darkness
Bernadette Farrell

The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26.

We are all stewards spreading the Word of Jesus’ blessings for His people.
Picnic Fellowship Activities for the Entire Family!

Of course lively discussion and activities will be available!
Perhaps you may prefer to sit and visit!
Please Contact Us with Special Requests!

N.A., Reflection, Spirit on the A's

Feeling Good

Feeling Good is Not the Point

For us, recovery is more than just pleasure. Page 36.

Basic Text, p. 43. In our active addiction, most of us knew exactly how we were going to feel from one day to the next. All we had to do was read the label on the bottle or know what was in the bag. We planned our feelings, and our goal for each day was to feel good.

In recovery, we are liable to feel anything from one day to the next, even from one minute to the next. We may feel energetic and happy in the morning, then strangely let down and sad in the afternoon. Because we no longer plan our feelings for the day each morning, we could end up having feelings that are somewhat inconvenient, like feeling tired in the morning and wide-awake at bedtime.

Of course, there is always the possibility we could feel good, but that is not the point. Today, our main concern is not feeling good but learning to understand and deal with our feelings, no matter what they are. We do this by working the steps and sharing our feelings with others.

 

Feeling Good Today
Feeling Good Today

Just for Today: I will accept my feelings, whatever they may be, just as they are. I will practice the program and learn to live with my feelings. – (c) 2016 NA World Services

 

Feeling Good
Michael Buble

Birds flying high
You know how I feel
Sun in the sky
You know how I feel
Breeze driftin’ on by
You know how I feel
It’s a new dawn
It’s a new day
It’s a new life
For me
And I’m feeling good
I’m feeling good.

Mission, Prayer

Prayer to Convert Violent Acts

Prayer when Evil Rears its Ugly Head

Senseless Violence Berkeley CA
Senseless Violence Berkeley CA

Lord God my Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier; Every day I awake to the evil in the world-to acts done through sin, death, and the power of the devil. I cannot escape it, no matter how hard I try. When I see evil in the world, I get angry, and wish for revenge. But you have told us “Vengeance is Mine! I will repay!!” And so, Loving Father, I turn to you as I seek to battle evil in the world. Help me, every day, to see the good in people. By your Holy Spirit, fill my heart with goodness, that I may join in the battle to overcome evil. By Jesus’ example, teach me to pray; to engage in prayerful activity daily, to have faith that You, indeed, hear my humble prayers. Help me to go forth from this closet of prayer into the world, sharing Your goodness, one person at a time. Help me to rejoice in the goodness of others when I encounter it. Lord, those who perpetrate evil will become prisoners of their own devices. Let them be responsible for the evil they perpetrate, but let Your Holy Spirit convict them of their sin, and lead them to true repentance, that they may join the warriors of the Good as they face the forces of evil. Amen
– Bill Triebe.

A.A., Reflection, Spirit on the A's

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

Devotion, Prayer, Reflection

Prayer for Peace

Almighty, all-merciful God,
through Christ Jesus you have taught us to love one another,
to love our neighbors as ourselves,
and even to love our enemies.
In times of violence and fear,
let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts,
so that we may not be overcome with evil
but overcome evil with good.
Help us to see each person in light of the love and grace
you have shown us in Christ.
Put away the nightmares of terror
and awaken us to the dawning of your new creation.
Establish among us a future where peace reigns,
justice is done with mercy, and all are reconciled.
We ask these things in the name
and for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
– Prayers for Times of National and International Crisis and Tragedy.

Spirit of Peace
Spirit of Peace

They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. Isaiah 2:4.
Project Ploughshares, Ontario Canada.

Song of Peace
https://youtu.be/mxidrVmwznU
#Peace #ENDviolence

N.A., Reflection, Spirit on the A's

Goodwill

Goodwill is best exemplified in service; proper service is “Doing the right thing for the right reason.” Page 34.

Basic Text, p. xv. The spiritual core of our disease is self-centeredness. In dealing with others, the only motive our addiction taught us is selfishness. We want what we want when we want it. Obsession with self is rooted in the very ground of our lives. In recovery, how do we root self-obsession out?

We reverse the effects of our disease by applying a few very simple spiritual principles. To counteract the self-centeredness of our addiction, we learn to apply the principle of goodwill. Rather than seeking to serve only ourselves, we begin serving others. Rather than thinking only about what we can get out of a situation, we learn to think first of the welfare of others. When faced with a moral choice, we learn to stop, recall spiritual principles, and act appropriately

Peace in Goodwill
Peace in Goodwill

As we begin doing the right thing for the right reason, we can detect a change in ourselves. Where once we were ruled by self-will, now we are guided by our goodwill for others. The chronic self-centeredness of addiction is losing its hold on us. We are learning to practice these principles in all our affairs; we are living in our recovery, not in our disease.

Just for Today: Wherever I am, whatever I do, I will seek to serve others, not just myself. When faced with a dilemma, I will try to do the right thing for the right reason. – (c) 2016 NA World Services

 

Share Your Goodwill

https://youtu.be/CcLKHPK8sH8

When you have a place to sleep at night,
when you have some food to eat,

when you have a coat to keep you warm,

and shoes upon your feet,
remember there are people
not as fortunate as you.
Remember they might need your help.

You know what you can do.

Prayer

Prayer in Times of Illness

Prayer in Times of Illness

Almighty God, with whom all things are possible, hear our prayer as we come to You in trouble and distress. You are our hiding place. You are our very present help in trouble. We have no other refuge in an hour like this. Gracious Lord, You can heal. Your grace can restore to health and give us strength to carry on. We know that You are compassionate, for You have sent Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer the death of the cross in order to redeem us and make us Your own. As You did not forsake Him, surely You will not abandon us in this time of great need. As You raised Him from the dead on the third day, so we ask that You would also raise us up with Him from this present danger in our lives. O Lord, we humble ourselves before You and confess our many sins. We ask for your unlimited mercy. We pray, merciful Father, for Your grace hour by hour. Forgive us and restore us, for You have made us Your own children in Christ. Remove the worries and anxious fears that would crush us. Give us grace to trust in You, whose will is wiser than our own, for we have been baptized into the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
– JKR.

Prayer
Prayer
Celebration, Devotion, Prayer, Reflection

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
for the Community.
Modern Song Focus on Contemporary Church Artists
performing hymns of traditional foundation.
Everyone is Welcome!

Introduction:
Mary and Joseph took the infant Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem forty days after His birth to complete Mary’s purification after childbirth, and to perform the redemption of the firstborn son, in obedience to the Torah. Mary and Joseph could not afford a lamb; so they sacrificed two young pigeons. Upon bringing Jesus into the temple, they met Simeon. The Holy Spirit told Simeon that “he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Simeon then uttered the prayer that would become known as the Nunc Dimittis or Canticle of Simeon, which prophesied the redemption of the world by Jesus.

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Scripture:
I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. Malachi 3:1.
Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise. Ps. 84:4.
Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested. Heb. 2:18.
Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation. Luke 2:29-30.
Prayer: God of steadfast love, you sent your Son to be the light of the world, saving people everywhere from sin and death. As Anna gave thanks for the freedom he would bring, and Simeon saw in him the dawn of redemption, complete your purpose once made known in him. Make us the vessels of his light, that all the world may glory in the splendor of your peace. Amen.

 

When to the Temple Mary Went
Johannes Eccard
Guilford Cathedral Choir (Barry Rose).

Prayer: Strong and mighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus, the presentation of your Son in the temple was his first entrance into the place of sacrifice. Grant that, trusting in his offering upon the cross to forgive our sins and uphold us in the time of trial, we may sing your praises and live in the light of your salvation, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26.

We are all stewards spreading the Word of Jesus’ blessings for His people.
Picnic Fellowship Activities for the Entire Family!

Of course lively discussion and activities will be available!
Perhaps you may prefer to sit and visit!
Please Contact Us with Special Requests!