Thought for the Day

Mothballs and new fatigues

Thought for the day: “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? PSALM 27:1 KJV
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I remember when I got drafted into the U.S. Army it was February 21, 1966. I felt like I had come home for the first time in a long, long time. The smell of mothballs and new fatigues, olive drab canvas duffle bags, and new boots was a sign to me that I had arrived home. The first thirteen years of my life were spent as a son of an Army sergeant. My parents divorced just before my fourteenth birthday. The next six years were spent as a civilian living in mid-town Kansas City Missouri. I felt like a fish out of water without the security of the army post and the life centered around the military. I loved the army, and was a good soldier. After Vietnam I made the decision to go back to civilian life, and made a few bad choices in life as to the way I would live it. Drugs and Alcohol became an everyday part of my life. By the grace of a loving God, today I do not have to use substances to sooth the feelings of homelessness. You see, I was looking for a place to belong, a place called home. Today I have the assurance of family, friends, church, AA and NA, which have become my home. But most of all through daily plugging away and reading the Word of God, when I sit down in the morning to read, I get that feeling of coming home. What joy I find, when the words on the page speak to my heart. Today I know that home is a place in my heart where God and my loved ones live. I am grateful for the light and strength in my life. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself. ………….JRE
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SOLITUDE AND SERENITY
Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding.
PROVERBS 2:2
An inner restlessness grows within us when we refuse to get alone [with God] and examine our own hearts, including our motives. As our lives begin to pick up the debris that accompanies a lot of activities and involvements, we can train ourselves to go right on, to stay active, to be busy in the Lord’s work. Unless we discipline ourselves to pull back, to get alone for the hard work of self-examination in times of solitude, serenity will remain only a distant dream. How busy we can become…and as a result, how empty! We mouth words, but they mean nothing. We find ourselves trafficking in unlived truths. We fake spirituality……
How easy to fall prey to meaningless talk, cliché-ridden responses, and mindless activities! It was never meant to be that way; but more often than not, that’s the way it is. To break the habit, solitude is required. The hard work of self-examination on a recurring basis is absolutely essential.
CHARLES SWINDOLL………Intimacy with the Almighty
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Somehow, being alone with God doesn’t seem as embarrassing as facing up to another person. Until we actually sit down and talk aloud about what we have so long hidden, our willingness to clean house is still largely theoretical. When we are honest with another person, it confirms that we have been honest with ourselves and with God.
BILL W. AA 12X12 page 60

Alley Springs

Thought for the day: “The fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose.” HADA BEJAR
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Yesterday I went to Alley Springs, this is a mill and spring deep in the Missouri Ozarks. It lies on the Jacks Fork of the Current River. What a beautiful setting, the high bluffs and deep valleys, and the trees still green with just a hint of change taking place in the leaves. I took the journey with my sponsor and spiritual mentor, and his wife. I had been asked to speak and tell my story to a gathering of AA’s (the way it was, what happened, and how it is now). I am grateful and humbled that they would ask me. There were people there I had never met, close friends and friends I hadn’t seen in a long time. Most importantly God was in our midst. The beautiful sky and scenery were evidence of a Power grater than ourselves. But more importantly was the evidence of that Power working in our lives as the Force that brings about rebirth and recovery. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………………JRE

I would like to share something that Bill W. wrote in the AA 12X12 page 106-107.
“When a man or woman has a spiritual awakening, the most important meaning of it is that he has now become able to do, feel, and believe that which he could not do before on his unaided strength and resources alone. He has been granted a gift which amounts to a new state of consciousness and being. He has been set on a path which tells him he is really going somewhere, that life in not a dead end, not something to be endured or mastered. In a very real sense he has been transformed, because he has laid hold of a source of strength which, in one way or another, he had hitherto denied himself. He finds himself in possession of a degree of honesty, tolerance, and unselfishness, peace of mind, and love of which he had thought himself quite incapable. What he has received is a free gift, and yet usually, at least in some small part, he has made himself ready to receive it.”
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I am grateful for Jesus and the work that was finished on the cross. The new-life and healing, which resulted in that work, and continues to work in my life and the lives of others. Thanks for letting me share this today…………………JRE

Daily Reprieve

Thought for the day: “Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.” PROVERBS 17:1 NIV
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FATHER OF MERCIES
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. 2 CORINTHIANS 1:3
In our world of superficial talk and casual relationships, it’s easy to forget that a smile doesn’t necessarily mean “I’m happy” and the courteous answer “I’m fine” may not be at all truthful…..
I’m not suggesting that everyone is an emotional time bomb or that masks are worn by all who seem to be enjoying life. But I’ve lived long enough to know that many a heart hides agony while the face reflects ecstasy.
There is someone, however, who fully knows what lurks in our hearts. And knowing, He never laughs mockingly and fades away. He never shrugs and walks away. Instead, He understands completely and stays near……
He is “the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort.”
CHARLES SWINDOLL………The Finishing Touch
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The Bible tells me that God’s mercies are renewed everyday. Each day I have a fresh supply of God’s mercy extended toward me. I must receive this gift to make use of what God has to offer today. If mercy and forgiveness are there and I don’t accept them, and chose to live in my self-centered, pity-infested, poor-me attitude, then God will allow me to sit right there in the dark as long as I want. The AA Big Book says, “All we really have is a daily reprieve contingent upon maintenance of a spiritual condition.” New mercy everyday….I am so grateful that while I sat in my dark, pity-infested life, someone who cared showed up with some light to show me the way out. May I always be grateful for this and remember that God can use me if I am willing to give of myself, and carry the light into darkened lives. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………………….JRE
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“When I was driven to my knees by alcohol, I was made ready to ask for the gift of faith, And all was changed. Never again, my pains and problems notwithstanding, would I experience my former desolation. I saw the universe to be lighted by God’s love; I was alone no more.”
BILL W. a letter dated 1966

Learning to drive

Thought for the day: “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” VINCE LOMBARDI
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Words of Paul to the Philippians: “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:11-13).

I remember learning to drive. All of my first experiences behind the wheel of an automobile take place on the farm where I live, and up and down the road outside the gate. I remember around the age of seven when we came to visit my grandparents, my father would let me sit on his lap and steer the car down the gravel road. What a thrill it was. I can remember him telling me to stay in the ruts where the other cars had gone and not wander around in the loose gravel. When I was eleven or twelve, my grandfather let me drive for the first time by myself. What I drove was a 1 ton flatbed, 48 Chevy. I got to drive it from the hayfield across the creek and up to the barn. The night before Papa went over the H shifting pattern, and how to apply the gas and let out on the clutch gradually. Papa and John Brown cut the hay with Star and Bird, a team of horses. The hay was raked with a dump rake pulled by the team, I got to sit on the seat and operate the lever of the rake. After the hay was windrowed and dried it was shocked and stacked on the flatbed and trailer to be taken to the barn. I drove the truck across the creek to the barn once. I felt pretty grown up. A few years later when my aunt Sharron was 16 and I was 13, she would drive to town and take me along. On the way home as we were on the gravel road and close to the house, Sharron would let me drive all by myself. When we got close to the house we would switch places so that Granny and Papa would not know that I was driving. As in driving, most of my experience in life could not have been learned without the help of others. So it is in my recovery, I depend upon my family, my sponsor, and friends in the fellowship of AA and my church to help me see the headlights of my way. I am so grateful for help. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself………………..JRE
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“All A.A. progress can be reckoned in terms of just two words: humility and responsibility. Our whole spiritual development can be accurately measured by our degree of adherence to these magnificent standards.
Ever deepening humility, accompanied by an ever greater willingness to accept and to act upon clear-cut obligations, these are truly our touchstones for all growth in the life of the spirit. They hold up to us the very essence of right being and right doing. It is by them that we are enabled to find and to do God’s will.”
BILL W. A talk, 1965

Healing Confession

Thought for the day: “He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king for his friend.” Proverbs 22:11 NIV
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Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. JAMES 5:16 NKJV

I have needed healing in my life and have stood upon this Scripture and the preceding two Scriptures with it. As I look at this Scripture today what I see is that confession and honesty are tied in with the healing. Also part of the healing is the un-selfish act of praying for others. When I look back over my life some of the most painful times have been times when there was overwhelming feeling of guilt, shame, and the realization of dishonesty in my dealings with others. My body actually feels physically sick and it truly is sick when dishonesty reigns. I can’t say that my life is totally free of all dishonesty, but I am working on it on a daily basis am I am learning to “nip it in the bud” to quote Deputy Fife. Oh how the pain goes away when the truth comes to light. Today I am grateful for the simple program of AA which has shown me a deeper meaning to this Scripture. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself, thanks for letting me share…………….JRE
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A.A. Step 5: Admitted to God, to ourselves, and another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Our isolated, me-centered society has developed a strong repugnance for the word accountability. We no longer want to be accountable to and for our families, our community, or even ourselves. Although the idea of accountability is out of vogue, the Bible has much to say about it.
God says we are not only accountable to Him, but we are accountable to other Christians as well. And far from being an odious burden, this is, in fact, a major source of joy and healing.
When we find the courage to acknowledge our wrongs to a fellow believer, we open ourselves to a new energy and capacity to change our lives. Our confession actually strengthens our commitment toward spiritual growth since we now have a companion interceding in prayer with us, encouraging and sharing with us. And even though we may have times of weakness when we fall back into our old ways, we will also have the love and support of God and our fellow believers to pick us up and help us back onto the path of life.
NELSON SERENITY BIBLE page 330
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In the first six months of my own sobriety, I worked hard with many alcoholics. Not a one responded. Yet this work kept me sober. It wasn’t a question of those alcoholics giving me anything. My stability came out of trying to give, not out of demanding that I receive.
BILL W. Grapevine, January 1958

Never again?

Thought for the day: “A single grateful thought toward heaven is the most complete prayer.” GOTTHOLD LESSING
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SELF-CONTROL IS INNER STRENGTH
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Galatians 5:22-23
Every one of us has gotten angry and lost our tempers, only to regret it. Every one of us has allowed our schedules to get so overloaded that, looking back over the week, we must admit to ourselves, if we’re honest, we’ve not stopped to pray even once. Every one of us has eaten too much, even when we swore we wouldn’t. Who hasn’t fought yet again the old battle with lust or greed or materialism or anger or envy?…..
There is an answer to this daily dilemma, a solution that is easy to identify. There is a secret to holding back……
”Self-control”….that’s the key…that’s the answer…….
The best synonym for self-control is “discipline”….Self-control means “inner strength.”
The fruit of the Spirit is self-control. Self control frees us from slavery. Self-control stops bad habits. It checks us It halts us.
CHARLES SWINDOLL…….Esther: A Woman of Strength and Dignity
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Many times in my life through bad choices, I was made to experience the results of those choices. When the pain was there, I would say to myself, “I will never do this again!” After the pain went away I would go back and repeat the behavior again, once more to say to my self, “I for sure won’t do this again.” Over and over this would happen, I couldn’t seem to get a grip on my self-control. I knew what I wanted to do, and said what I wanted to do, but could not get it accomplished. I have discovered in myself that my self-control does not work when projected into the future, no matter how far or close it may be. When I say, “never again” I am trying to take on too big of a piece of time. Today is where the work needs to be done. This day, this evening, this afternoon, this morning, this hour, this minute, this second. I can do something about right now and that is all that I can do. By working my self-control in the here and now, I am able by the grace of a loving God to turn seconds into minutes, minutes into hours, hours to days, days to weeks, weeks to months, and months to years. I am grateful for this simple lesson in living life one day at a time. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……JRE
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When pain comes, we are expected to learn from it willingly, and to help others to learn. When happiness comes, we accept it as a gift, and thank God for it.
BILL W. a letter dated 1950

Crackers and Cheese

Thought for the day: “Spiritual fitness can be enhanced by repetition, not by rhetoric; by practice, not by preaching.” ANONYMOUS
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Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’”
LUKE 4:1-4 NIV
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Jesus quoted the book of Deuteronomy 8:3 when He said, “man does not live by bread alone,” the rest of the Scripture is, “but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.”
I like crackers and cheese. It is one of my weaknesses. Somewhere between 8 and 10 PM each evening I hear the cheese singing in the refrigerator, and the crackers in the pantry join in and are in perfect harmony. The cheese slicer hanging on the wall even joins in the chorus. The paper plates fill in the four-part harmony with the bass section singing, “no mess.” I am persuaded and allow them to make music in my stomach. When the concert is over, I am really no better off. Nothing has been fulfilled that will give a lasting affect. The food that gives true inner strength and joy does not come from the table. It comes from the Word, prayer, fellowship with brothers and sisters, and times of sharing. You see, to keep something of a spiritual essence it must be shared. Otherwise it becomes stale. By sharing the Truth, we reinforce what is already there, when we speak we also hear what we ourselves say. It is like a fountain that puts oxygen into the water and keeps it fresh. I am grateful for others who share on a regular basis with me, and I am blessed to be able to share also. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…..JRE
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I must remember that in spiritual matters I am only an instrument. It is not mine to decide how or when I am to act. God plans all spiritual matters. It is up to me to make myself fit to do God’s work. All that hinders my spiritual activity must be eliminated. I can depend on God for all the strength I need to overcome those faults that are blocks. I must keep myself fit, so that God can use me as a channel for His spirit.
HAZELDEN…….Twenty-Four Hours A Day
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Let no alcoholic say he cannot recover unless he has his family back. His recovery is not dependent upon people. It is dependent upon his relationship with God, however he may define Him.
BILL W. Alcoholics Anonymous pages 99-100

A good nights sleep

Thought for the day: “I will both lay me down in peace and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8
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When David wrote this Psalm he was in distress because his son Absalom was rebelling and trying to take over the kingdom. David loved his children, but because of sin in his own life his family suffered a life of rebellion and violence. Still even though David’s world was turned upside down he could sleep in peace because he knew the Lord and knew where the security in his life was found. David had four hundred or more mighty men of war with him at all times, but it was the Lord that gave him peace. I am learning by living life one day at a time, that I can sleep in peace. I still have times of interrupted sleep brought on by thoughts of past events in my life, but I am learning to turn to the One who brings peace during the night, the Lord. I am grateful to be an alcoholic. That might sound a little strange to some of you, and some of you understand totally what I mean. For me if I don’t use or drink, the day is successful no matter what happens, and I can sleep in peace in the evening. I must remember to say please in the morning and thank you in the evening. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………..JRE
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SUNSHINE AND SHADOW
If you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed.
1 Peter 3:14
All the masterpieces of painting contain both light and shadow. By them the artist highlights certain features of his subject, and they provide contrast and harmony to reveal beauty or character.
A happy life is not one filled only with sunshine, but one that uses both light and shadow to produce beauty. Suffering or persecution can become a blessing because they can form a dark backdrop for the radiance of the Christian life. The greatest musicians as a rule are those who know how to bring song out of sadness. Fanny Crosby, her spirit aglow with faith in Christ, saw more with her sightless eyes than most of us do with normal vision. She gave us some of the great gospel songs that cheer our hearts and lives.
Paul and Silas sang a song of praise at midnight in a rat-infested jail in Philippi, their feet in stocks, their backs raw from the jailer’s whip. But their patience in suffering and persecution led to the conversion of the heathen prison warden and his family.
Don’t despise the shadows God brings into your life. He can use them to produce a masterpiece. BILLY GRAHAM
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“The most heated bit of letter-writing can be a wonderful safety valve, providing the wastebasket is somewhere nearby.”
BILL W. a letter dated 1949

My joy will remain

Thought for the day: “ Nothing I’ve ever done has given me more joys and rewards than being a father to my children.” BILL COSBY
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“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” 1 John 4:4 KJV

Sometimes when life seems to have a dark cloud hanging all around me, I can rest assured that it is only on the outside. I have the Spirit of the living God dwelling on the inside. Regardless of my circumstances my joy will remain if I feed my spirit on the Good News of the Word and other inspirational messages taken from the Word. My happiness will change from time to time, but my joy will remain. This has been tried and tested in my own life. When I was young and at times as an adult, when things didn’t go right, I could always go to my parents or my grandparents and they would comfort me. Just being in their presence made it all better. They are no longer with me today but I can draw upon the experience by turning to my heavenly Father and know that there is comfort in the presence of God. I have discovered that there is no place I can go where God cannot be found. Today I don’t go looking for God, I bring God with me where I go. I am grateful for knowing my Father…….today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………..JRE
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LEAVE IT TO GOD
The work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever. Isaiah 32:17
Can’t seem to get where you want to go fast enough? Leave it to God.
Worried about your kids? Leave it to God.
Living in a place you’d rather not be? Leave it to God.
Found a lump and you see the doctor tomorrow? Leave it to God.
A mid-career change seems scary? Leave it to God.
You did the job but someone else got the credit? Leave it to God.
Day by Day with Charles Swindoll
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We began to see that the world and its people had really dominated us. Under that unhappy condition, the wrongdoing of others, fancied or real, had power to actually kill us, because we could be driven back to drink through resentment. We saw that these resentments must be mastered, but how? We could not wish them away.
This was our course: We realized that the people who wronged us were perhaps spiritually sick. So we asked God to help us show them the same tolerance, pity, and patience that we would cheerfully grant a sick friend.
Today, we avoid retaliation or argument. We cannot treat sick people that way. If we do, we destroy our chance of being helpful. We cannot be helpful to all people, but at least God will show us how to take a kindly and tolerant view of each and every one.
BILL W. Alcoholics Anonymous pages 66-67

Twenty-third Psalm

Thought for the day: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
PSALM 23:1
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A.A. Step 3: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Throughout the Bible God uses the metaphor of the sheep and the shepherd. In John 10:14, Jesus calls Himself “the good shepherd” who gives His life for His sheep. David knew what it felt like to be the beloved sheep of the Good Shepherd. We can know the same restoration and protection and abundance because the Good Shepherd gave His life for us. As we make the commitment to turn our lives over to Him, we become His sheep. As we relinquish our self-will, our dependencies, and our excessive ambitions, we will find peace and restoration. Becoming the sheep of the Good Shepherd offers a security that nothing else on earth can match. Not only is our Shepherd good to us in the best sense of the word, but He is also totally wise and all-powerful. This is why David feared no evil. He knew that even on the roughest path, the Good Shepherd was leading to comfort and protect him.
NELSON SERENITY BIBLE page 395
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My, my, what a complete piece of Scripture, the 23 Psalm. I usually don’t hear it unless I’m at a funeral. I should read it more often, it is surely for today and the here and now. God is our protector and our provider, I shall not want. To me that means that not only are my needs supplied but my wants are taken care of also. Not many of us go hungry or fail to have a place to live. But sometimes we crave things that are not provided. These are wants. The Scripture says that I shall not want, I stand upon that promise. My desire today is to be clean and sober, one day at a time. Through a loving God of my understanding the craving for alcohol has been taken away, I do not want it, and for this I am very grateful. The craving for alcohol has been replace by the desire to grow closer to God. I must work at drawing closer to God every day lest I slip backwards. Prayer is the answer for me in staying close. I am grateful for timely words from the Word. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………………JRE
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In meditation, debate has no place. We rest quietly with the thoughts or prayers of spiritually centered people who understand, so that we may experience and learn. This is the state of being that so often discovers and deepens a conscious contact with God.
BILL W. AA 12X12 pages 100-101

Praying for friends

Thought for the day: “The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be.” SOCRATES
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“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.” Psalm 1:1 NIV

Today in my study I finished the book of Job and read the first Psalm. Job had three friends who I feel loved him very much and sat with him many days when he was sick. They sat with him seven days and never said a word, just stayed with him in his misery. They cared about him, but when they opened their mouths to give him advice they did much harm. Like many people today they thought his sickness was caused by something he had done. In reading the book, the pain of what his friends had to say was almost more that the pain of his sickness. There are 42 chapters in the book of Job, and it is not until the last chapter that Job gets relief from his misery, and then only, I say again only, when he prayed for his friends. “And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends.” (Job 42:10). How important it is for our own well being that we pray for others. If you want serenity, pray for someone else’s serenity. If you want healing, pray for someone else who needs healing. If you want prosperity, pray for someone who has material needs. We all live together on this big blue marble and even though there are mockers we must pray for them and love them as we would want to be loved by others. I am grateful for friends who pray for me and are teaching me to pray for others. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…..JRE
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A RAGING FIRE
Resentment is the cocaine of the emotions. It causes our blood to pump and our energy level to rise. But, also like cocaine, it demands increasingly large and more frequent dosages. There is a dangerous point at which anger ceases to be an emotion and becomes a driving force. A person bent on revenge moves unknowingly further and further away from being able to forgive, for to be without the anger is to be without a source of energy.
Hatred is the rabid dog that turns on its owner.
Revenge is the raging fire that consumes the arsonist.
Bitterness is the trap that snares the hunter.
And mercy is the choice that can set them all free.
MAX LUCADO……………..The Applause of Heaven
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“We lose the fear of making decisions, great and small, as we realize that should our choice prove wrong we can, if we will, learn from the experience. Should our decision be the right one, we can thank God for giving us the courage and the grace that caused us so to act.”
BILL W. a letter dated 1966

Fathers Day 2000

Thought for the day: “There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other is wings.”
HODDING CARTER
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It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
GALATIANS 5:1 NIV
I have been set free! I do not want to go back to the way it used to be. I have freedom, but I must remember that with this freedom I have responsibility. I cannot afford to live care free. All I really have is a “daily reprieve contingent upon maintenance of a spiritual condition” (AA Big Book). I must say please in the morning, and with gratitude say thank you in the evening.
In 1980 I met Evelynn, she had three children and we lived somewhat as a family until 1992. We married in 1985. We were Christians, but the old nature in me kept leading me back to alcohol and drugs and a life of self-imposed pain. We divorced in 1994 and Evelynn passed from this life in 1995. Of her three children, one son committed suicide in 1990, and her daughter Jessica has not been heard from since 1995. My heart feels the loss everyday. I had no children of my own and at age fifty thought that I would never see any children of my own. What an awesome God we have who could turn this situation around and bring new life. I had to surrender in 1998, I could not continue to live the same old way. On September 11, 1998, I did my last dope and drank my last drink. The battle was over, through surrender I won the victory. After a year and a half of being clean and sober I had a talk with myself, God and another human being about the exact nature of my wrongs (AA Step 5). I made confession about past relationships and a pregnancy that I thought resulted in the death of the child because of my self-centered life. I truly was sorry for my selfish behavior. God understood this. Three weeks later I am on the phone to the child I thought was dead. She is a beautiful 29 year old woman named Cheri and has a 6 year old son named Brett. I am a father and a grandfather. The date was June 18, 2000 and it is Fathers Day. WOW Since that time two more sons have been born. I have three grandsons. I stand in awe of a loving God of my understanding. I don’t want to go back to my old life. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself. Thanks for letting me share…………………JRE
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It was only when I came fully to believe I was powerless over alcohol, only when I appealed to a God who just might exist, that I experienced a spiritual awakening. This freedom-giving experience came first, and then faith followed afterward….a gift indeed!
BILL W. a letter dated 1966

Living Sacrifice

Thought for the day: “The wrongdoer is often the person who has left something undone, rather than the person who has done something.”
MARCUS AURELIUS
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TRULY TRANSFORMED
Present your bodies a living sacrifice……..And be not conformed to this world. Romans 12:1-2
Others can’t see what goes on inside of you, your thoughts and emotions, your dreams and motives. Nor can they “see” your inner commitment to Christ.
All they see is your body, and they will judge what is on the inside of you by what they see happening on the outside. A frown signals concern or disapproval; a smile signals gratitude or welcome; a clenched fist signals hostility or anger.
Do you see why Paul tells us to “present [our] bodies a living sacrifice”? The reason is simple: The way we use our bodies will signal to others what we really are on the inside. We may claim to follow Christ, but if our actions tell a different story, people have a right to question our claim. Our dress, our speech, our habits, all should honor Christ. We are to be “blameless and pure, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and depraved generation” (Phil. 2:15 NIV).
Do your outer actions signal your inner commitment to Christ?
BILLY GRAHAM
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A living sacrifice. The idea of a living sacrifice is different than the way it was done in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, animals were sacrificed as part of the atonement, or the paying of a price for the sins of the people. All the way back from the “get go” something had to die to cover the sins. Adam and Eve sinned and animals had to die to cover their bodies which they saw as shameful. This was not needed before because where there is no sin there is no shame. The Hebrews first sacrificed a lamb for the first Passover when they left Egypt. Later it was done on a regular basis for the covering of the sins of the people. Animals to be sacrificed were brought to the priest and they would cut their throats. The blood was gathered and sprinkled on the altar. The animal was then put on a brazen altar and cooked for eating or when a burnt offering was made it was burned up. Paul in Romans tells us to be living sacrifices. I understand this, but it is not easy. The problem with a living sacrifice is it wants to keep crawling of the altar. I am so grateful for the grace of a loving God, who allows us who have crawled away from the altar to return. How we live is how we present ourselves to God. We can run away, but we cannot hide. I am transparent before God. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………JRE
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“The idea of ‘twenty-four-hour living’ applies primarily to the emotional life of the individual. Emotionally speaking, we must not live in yesterday, nor in tomorrow.”
BILL W. a letter dated 1954
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I want to thank all for letting me share regularly the last couple of months. I will have company for the next ten days and may not email this page. The 12th of September, I will celebrate 5 years clean and sober. This page has been part of my recovery. I thank all for allowing me to serve…JRE

da Blues

Thought for the day: “If ya want to know about the blues, ya got’s to go back to church.” MUDDY WATERS
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What a quote. I ran across it yesterday when I visited a Christian music website. How true it is, to know and understand the blues a person has to step outside the realm of depression, self-pity, anxiety, and blaming others for our condition. It’s hard to see the light of understanding when the darkness of our situation surrounds us on all sides. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Ya got’s to know Jesus to understand the blues. You have to have light shinning on your circumstances to understand and work through them. Life is not all mountain top living. It would be nice to always be on top of the world, but that’s not the way it is. We all have valleys in our lives, and as we walk through them we don’t have to be in the dark. What a comfort it is to walk through a valley with someone who has walked that way before us. If no one is near to us, we can rest assured that Jesus has walked that valley and will light our path. My preacher says that mountain top experiences are nice, but nothing grows on top of a mountain. Down in the valley is where the lilies grow. May I stay green and grow so that I can appreciate the mountain tops of life. May I stay, teachable. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself. Thanks for letting me share…….JRE
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WALKING WITH GOD
It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in a man.
Psalm 118:8
Walking with God is the most exciting and rewarding of all experiences on earth. I should add, it is also the most difficult. I don’t think I’ve ever met an exception to the rule, that those who walk closest to God are those who, like Jesus, become acquainted with trials and testings. God takes us through struggles and difficulties so that we might become increasingly more committed to Him……….
God may be leading you somewhere…..that doesn’t make much sense. I want to encourage you: Don’t try and make sense out of it, just go. If God leads you to stay in a difficult situation and you have peace that you are to stay, don’t analyze it, stay. Do your part. Do what He tells you to do, for His promises often hinge on obedience….
You can walk with Him in perfect trust. That’s your part.
CHARLES SWINDOLL………………..Perfect Trust
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Only through utter defeat are we able to take our first steps toward liberation and strength. Our admission of personal powerlessness finally turn out to be firm bedrock upon which happy and purposeful lives may be built.
BILL W. A.A. 12X12 page 21