A spiritual thought
archie
When is the time to do God’s will, now.
Pray for calmness.
THE SERENITY PRAYER
How many of us say this little prayer at the start of an A.A. meeting and promptly forget it? This is the most powerful short prayer in the world today. Nothing can replace the Lord’s Prayer, of course, but these words of the Serenity Prayer pack a lot of power and meaning.
Source unknown
Always Say A Prayer
archie
When God controls us on the inside, we will be genuine on the outside.
Pray that God will help us control our anger, channeling legitimate anger into effective action.
THE SOLUTION TO OUR PROBLEMS
If you put a buzzard in a pen that is six feet by eight feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of ten to twelve feet. Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner. For life in a small jail with no top.
The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.
A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.
In many ways, we are like the buzzard, the bat, and the bumblebee. We struggle about with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing that all we have to do is look up!
That's the answer, the escape route and the solution to any problem! Just look up.
Sorrow looks back. Worry looks around. But faith looks up!
Source unknown
archie
When God works a change in us, He can change others through us.
Pray for forgiveness for yesterday’s errors; ask for hope for better things tomorrow.
THE SERENITY PRAYER
GOD
(Yes I hear you.)
GRANT ME
(You want help, my child? What is it?)
THE SERENITY
(I see you want peace. Don’t you recall my words, Peace I give to you, My peace I leave you. I shall grant you peace.
TO ACCEPT
(You want to accept? What is it you want to accept? To accept means not to question, pry or expect. It means to let be.)
THE THINGS
(I see, you want Me to give you peace in being able to let things be, things from the past, things in the future. You would like to live just today.)
I CANNOT CHANGE
(You can change nothing, My child. What has happened has happened, there is nothing you can do about it. Let it be. What will happen will happen, leave that to Me. You can change no one else. Let go and let Me do My work.)
COURAGE
(Yes, you want power, power from Me, for you can do nothing without My help or power to carry out My will, so ask for it and it shall be given to you.)
TO CHANGE
(Now you have it. I will give you the power to change yourself, to look only at yourself, your faults and the power from Me to turn those faults into virtues. You can do nothing more.)
THE THINGS
(Yes, the power to change things, not others. Things about yourself, no one else. If your motive is to change others, I cannot help you.)
I CAN
(By saying, I can you have already received My graces. I can means you can change yourself with the help of My power.)
AND THE WISDOM
(Ah yes, this is one of my greatest gifts. In other words, you want Me to give you discernment. In order to get wisdom you must pray and meditate, be silent so you can hear Me. You will gain discernment by listening to others, reading and having an open mind.)
TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE
(This is the hard part. After you have prayed for guidance, sought council, and did some reading and truly listened for My answer, go forward bravely, I am with you always. If you are not sure of answer, then that is your answer. Let the matter rest with Me so I can do My work. I am the Master Painter of your life.)
Source unknown
archie
When God comes to us, He leads us to others with whom we can share our belief in restoration of faith.
Pray that our will be laid aside and that God’s will direct us.
FUNNY HOW, WELL, MAYBE NOT
We set our clocks to arise at four am or five am to be at the job by seven thirty am, yet when Sabbath comes we can’t get to church for nine am to praise the One who gave us the jobs!
Funny how we call God our Father and Jesus our Brother, but find it hard to introduce them to our family.
Funny how small our sins seem, but how big "their" sins are.
Funny how we demand justice for others, but expect mercy from God.
Funny how much difficulty some have learning the gospel well enough to tell others, but how simple it is to understand and explain the latest gossip about someone else.
Funny how we can’t think of anything to say when we pray, but don’t have any difficulty thinking of things to talk about to a friend.
Funny how we are so quick to take directions from a total stranger when we are lost, but are hesitant to take God’s direction for our lives.
Funny how so many church goers sing "Standing on the Promises" but all they do is sit on the premises.
Funny how people want God to answer their prayers, but refuse to listen to His counsel.
Funny how we sing about heaven, but live only for today.
Funny how people think they are going to Heaven, but don’t think there is a Hell.
Funny how it is okay to blame God for evil and suffering in the world, but it is not necessary to thank Him for what is good and pleasant.
Funny how when something goes wrong, we cry, "Lord, why me?" but when something goes right, we think, "Hey, it must be me!"
Oh wait, maybe all this isn’t so "funny" after all.
Source unknown
archie
When God takes something from our grasp, He’s not punishing us, but merely opening our hands to receive something better.
Pray for strength and courage to enable us to do Gods work today.
THE SERENITY PRAYER
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GOD |
With the saying of this word, we are admitting the existence of a Higher Power. |
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GRANT |
With the repeating of this second word we are admitting that this Higher Power is an authority that can bestow or give. |
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ME |
We are asking something for ourselves, for the Bible states, Ask and it shall be given. It is not wrong to ask for betterment of yourself, for with the improvement of your character people around you will be made happier. |
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SERENITY |
We are asking for calmness, composure, and peace in our lives which will enable us to think straight and govern ourselves properly. |
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TO ACCEPT |
We are resigning ourselves to conditions as they are right now. |
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THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE |
We are accepting our lot in life as it is. Until we have the courage to change part of our lives we don’t like, we must accept it and not accept it grudgingly. |
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COURAGE |
We are asking for a quality of spirit to face conditions without flinching. |
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TO CHANGE |
We are asking for conditions to be different. |
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THE THINGS I CAN |
We are asking for help to make a right decision. If you have to make a decision, consider carefully the worst that could happen to you if your decision to change did not work out. If you can accept the worst and your decision can get you out of a rut, then proceed. |
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WISDOM |
We are asking for the ability to form sound judgments in any matter. |
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TO KNOW |
We want to understand clearly a truth of fact. |
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THE DIFFERENCE |
We want to see things differently in our lives so there can be some distinction. We need to sense a definite value in sobriety over drunkenness if we are to stay sober. |
Source unknown
archie
When everything seems to go against us, God is still for us.
Pray, then obey.
START OVER
When you've trusted God and walked His way,
When you've felt His hand lead you day by day,
But your steps now take you another way-–
Start over.
When you've made your plans and they've gone awry,
When you've tried your best and there's no more try,
When you've failed yourself and you don't know why—-
Start over.
When you've told your friends what you plan to do,
When you've trusted them and they didn't come through,
And now you're all alone and it's up to you—-
Start over.
When you've failed your kids and they're grown and gone,
When you've done your best but it's turned out wrong,
And now your grandchildren have come along—-
Start over.
When you've prayed to God so you'll know His will,
When you've prayed and prayed and you don't know still,
When you want to stop cause you've had your fill—-
Start over.
When you think you're finished and want to quit,
When you've bottomed out in life's deepest pit,
When you've tried and tried to get out of it—-
Start over.
When the year has been long and successes few,
When December comes and you're feeling blue,
God gives a January just for you—-
Start over.
Starting over means "victories won";
Starting over means "a race well run."
Starting over means "God's will done"-—
So don't just sit there,...
Start Over.
Source unknown
archie
When facing difficult situations, seek God’s purpose and ask for His guidance and strength.
Pray to see something good in every person we meet, even those we dislike.
STRANGE ISN’T IT?
Isn’t it strange how a twenty dollar bill seems like such a large amount when we donate it to church, but such a small amount when we go shopping?
Isn’t it strange how two hours seem so long when we’re at church, and how short they seem when we’re watching a good movie?
Isn’t it strange that we can’t find a word to say when we’re praying but we have no trouble thinking what to talk about with a friend?
Isn’t it strange how difficult and boring it is to read one chapter of the Bible but how easy it is to read one hundred pages of a popular novel or Zane Grey book?
Isn’t it strange how everyone wants front-row-tickets to concerts or games but they do whatever is possible to sit at the last row in Church?
Isn’t it strange how we need to know about an event for Church two or three weeks before the day so we can include it in our agenda, but we can adjust it for other events in the last minute?
Isn’t it strange how difficult it is to learn a fact about God to share it with others; but how easy it is to learn, understand, extend and repeat gossip?
Isn’t it strange how we believe everything that magazines and newspapers say but we question the words in the Bible?
Isn’t it strange how everyone wants a place in heaven but they don’t want to believe, do, or say anything to get there?
Isn’t it strange how we send jokes in e-mails and they are forwarded right away but then we are going to send messages about God, we think about it twice before we share it with others?
Source unknown
archie
When God says no to our request we can be sure it’s for our best.
Pray for the wisdom to build a better tomorrow on the mistakes and experiences of yesterday.
THE SERENITY PRAYER AND TRAFFIC LIGHTS
I consider myself a green light person. I was born assertive, aggressive, unafraid, bounding into all situations fearlessly. No grass grows under Jinny’s feet, I’d been told when I made my wedding announcement seventeen days after meeting my husband.
Somewhere amid all that full-steam-ahead charging, something got shattered, and I found myself in Alcoholics Anonymous. What I have discovered in my new way of thinking, the A.A. way of thinking, is that the Serenity Prayer can be my new traffic light.
When I say, God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, I stop. It’s my red light. As a green light person, my former response to things was often to shout aloud in protest, or issue a command. But just beginning the Serenity Prayer is a red light. I stop what I’m doing or thinking and begin the prayer. I ask for serenity. Then I wait.
Repeating the second part of the Serenity Prayer I visualize my yellow light of caution. As I hear myself say, the courage to change the things I can, I am careful. As a green light person I plowed straight ahead and never used the brakes. I went from low to high gear. But courage for me now is no longer just gunning it when the light changes. It is thinking first.
When the light turns green, it’s so new a shade I don’t even recognize it, more like no color, or a clear light. My new green light is the third part of the Serenity Prayer: the wisdom to know the difference.
I can be performing a simple task, such as driving, walking, or sitting at a desk when my green light just appears. I find myself waiting, and quietly realize it’s time to go.
Nobody is behind me blasting their horn because I am slow. There is no hurry anymore. Not when I use the Serenity Prayer as my traffic light.
AAGrapevine, August 1990