Gaining Spiritual Strength for taking our MORAL INVENTORY in April

There is a FREE gift waiting for us in Recovery.

We begin filled with shame and guilt!

We turn these feelings over to God along with our self-will and accept that we are forgiven, accepted and supported Spiritually as well as by our fellows who have gone before us.

Now we understand that many are not comfortable with "turning over" of such as shame and guilt to a God they may not know. They likely never had opportunity nor took the time to trust God! To these we can only say that millions have followed the same path and have found that the faith and trust came over time as prayer and fellowship took on a new dimension.

Perhaps you can start with an old piece called "How to Listen to God"

The following piece is only for those who really want to hear God and who are willing to invest a small amount of time to test a formula that I can honestly say has worked for Julia and me and many others!  Some major decisions have been arrived at quickly and with confidence using this formula! We highly recommend you get into a practice of connecting this way as we get ready to start our MORAL INVENTORY month of April. Please call me any time if you have questions or concerns about the process. We have used several variations of this over the years with two or more people working prayer sessions together! The commitment of working with another always generates greater results! Anyone wanting a partner to go through the exercise should get in touch Julia or myself!

"How To Listen To God" By John E. Batterson (An Oxford Group pamphlet/technique used by early A.A. members)

These are a few simple suggestions for people who are willing to make an experiment. You can discover for yourself the most important and practical thing any human being can ever learn - how to be in touch with God. All that is needed is the willingness to try it honestly. Every person who has done this consistently and sincerely has found that it really works.

Before you begin, look over these fundamental points. They are true and are based on the experience of thousands of people. 1 - God is alive. He always has been and He always will be. 2 - God knows everything. 3 - God can do anything. 4 - God can be everywhere - all at the same time. (These are the important differences between God and us human beings). 5 - God is invisible - we can't see Him or touch Him - but, God is here. He is with you now. He is beside you. He surrounds you. He fills the room or the whole place where you are right now. He is in you now. He is in your heart. 6 - God cares very much for you. He is interested in you. He has a plan for your life. He has an answer for every need and problem you face. 7 - God will tell you all that you need to know. He will not always tell you all that you want to know. 8 - God will help you do anything that He asks you to do. 9 - Anyone can be in touch with God, anywhere and at any time, if the conditions are obeyed.

These are the conditions:

To be quiet and still, To listen, To be honest about every thought that comes, To test the thoughts to be sure that they come from God, To obey. So, with these basic elements as a background, here are specific suggestions on How to Listen to God: 1 - TAKE TIME Find some place and time where you can be alone, quiet and undisturbed. Most people have found that the early morning is the best time. Have with you some paper and pen or pencil. 2 - RELAX Sit in a comfortable position. Consciously relax all your muscles. Be loose. There is no hurry. There needs to be no strain during these minutes. God cannot get through to us if we are tense and anxious about later responsibilities. 3 - TUNE IN Open your heart to God. Either silently or aloud, just say to God in a natural way that you would like to find His plan for your life - you want His answer to the problem or situation that you are facing just now. Be definite and specific in your request. 4 - LISTEN Just be still, quiet, relaxed and open. Let your mind go "loose." Let God do the talking. Thoughts, ideas and impressions will begin to come into your mind and heart. Be alert and aware and open to every one. 5 - WRITE! Here is the important key to the whole process. Write down everything that comes into your mind. Everything. Writing is simply a means of recording so that you can remember later. Don't sort out or edit your thoughts at this point.

Don't say to yourself:

This thought isn't important This is just an ordinary thought This can't be guidance This isn't nice This can't be from God This is just me thinking..., etc.

Write down everything that passes through your mind:

Names of people Things to do Things to say Things that are wrong and need to be made right

Write down everything:

Good thoughts - bad thoughts Comfortable thoughts - uncomfortable thoughts "Holy" thoughts - "unholy" thoughts Sensible thoughts - "crazy" thoughts

Be honest! Write down everything! A thought comes quickly, and it escapes even more quickly unless it is captured and put down. 6 - TEST When the flow of thoughts slows down, stop. Take a good look at what you have written. Not every thought we have comes from God. So we need to test our thoughts. Here is where the written record helps us to be able to look at them. a) Are these thoughts completely honest, pure, unselfish and loving? b) Are these thoughts in line with our duties to our family - to our country? c) Are these thoughts in line with our understanding of the teachings found in our spiritual literature? 7 - CHECK When in doubt and when it is important, what does another person who is living two-way prayer think about this thought or action? More light comes in through two windows than one. Someone else who also wants God's plan for our lives may help us to see more clearly. Talk over together what you have written. Many people do this. They tell each other what guidance has come. This is the secret of unity. There are always three sides to every question - your side, my side, and the right side. Guidance shows us which is the right side - not who is right, but what is right. 8 - OBEY Carry out the thoughts that have come. You will only be sure of guidance as you go through with it. A rudder will not guide a boat until the boat is moving. As you obey, very often the results will convince you that you are on the right track. 9 - BLOCKS? "What if I don't seem to get any definite thought?" God's guidance is as freely available as the air we breathe. If I am not receiving thoughts when I listen, the fault is not God's. Usually it is because there is something I will not do:

Something wrong in my life that I will not face and make right A habit or indulgence I will not give up A person I will not forgive A wrong relationship in my life I will not give up A restitution I will not make Something God has already told me to do that I will not obey Check these points and be honest. Then try listening again. 10 - MISTAKES "Supposing I make a mistake and do something in the name of God that isn't right?" Of course we make mistakes. We are humans with many faults. However, God will always honor our sincerity. He will work around and through every honest mistake we make. He will help us make it right. But, remember this! Sometimes when we do obey God, someone else may not like it or agree with it. So when there is opposition, it doesn't always mean you have made a mistake. It can mean that the other person doesn't want to know or to do what is right. "Supposing I fail to do something that I have been told and the opportunity to do it passes?" There is only one thing to do. Put it right with God. Tell Him you're sorry. Ask Him to forgive you, then accept His forgiveness and begin again. God is our Father - He is not an impersonal computer. He understands us far better than we do. 11 - RESULTS? We never know what swimming is like until we get down into the water and try. We will never know what this is like until we sincerely try it. Every person who has tried this honestly finds that a wisdom, not their own, comes into their minds and that a Power greater than human power begins to operate in their lives. It is an endless adventure. There is a way of life, for everyone, everywhere. Anyone can be in touch with the living God, anywhere, any time, if we fulfil His conditions.

When man listens, God speaks. When man obeys, God acts.

This is the law of prayer.

God's plan for this world goes forward through the lives of ordinary people who are willing to be governed by Him.

From powerless to prayer-power....

The prospect of "turning our will over to God"

What experience do I have in turning anything serious over to anyone?
Does will suggest power; if you release it, are you powerless?
Do you know and trust your God to the point where you can honestly do this?
Interesting because you cannot see your will nor can you see God.

So then by faith we make a decision to give up our so-called will-power to a God, whom we may only have recently encountered! We are dealing, in most cases with something that has gotten control of us (addiction, compulsion,mental illness e.g.), and we have tried everything that man has to offer without success. However as humans, we still feel that our sense of so-called control must be available to us! To become devoid of power, leaves us where? I beleive it leaves us very dependent on God who, in the beginning is pretty much a mystery! What a leap!

We do it because we are desperate and we have immediate access to thousands of stories that resemble our own, many with far greater negative circumstances. People who have taken the same steps and are now functional joyous and free. They are also very much connected to God who they did not know very well in the beginning either. So we listen to them and we hang on, agreeing to do whatever it takes to get what they have-a functional, Godly and practical way of life! NAKED TRANSPARENT AND VULNERABLE WE BEGIN OUR JOURNEY TO FREEDOM! We find prayer power that will operate for and with us and we marvel at the success. We stay close to those who have gone before us and with patience we learn how to listen to God  and experience His Spirit at work in our lives. We are about ready to move to the "taking stock or inventory" of who we are and how we got to here. Our morality gets exposed here. In our form of recovery we are moving into Step 4.
1-Recognized a problem we were powerless over
2-Accepted the idea that God could help

3-Decided to turn our will and selves over to God
4-Let's find out who we are and how we got here (inventory time)

Allowing the real Power to work in you....

Making that decision to turn our wills and our lives over to God!

At some point we make that decision, sometimes it is, as though, it was made for us during a spiritual experience of sorts. For most, it is a decision that must be decided over and over again in order to reap the sense that God really is in charge and can be trusted!

To trust a man is a dangerous proposition if we believe that, as our first step teaches us; we are really quite powerless over our own behaviours, let alone that of another. Yes, we can become great at coping and; we can become phenomenal boundary setters. Generally speaking, life will work far better than without these aids. However, I am who I am and lest God does a work on me to make me different, I am fundamentally the same person. If I screwed things up before, I can do it again and so can the fellow I have entrusted to do whatever!

The simple lesson is "do not trust one with anything that could drastically change things for the worse if it did not go right!" Know ahead of time that we have as much power as God allows us at any given time and so does he/she whom you have entrusted with this task! The slogan "BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD" comes to mind!

When we have said the 3rd step prayer which I start every day with, we are seeking God's will for the day! That keeps us somewhat free of our own will-fullness and allows us to focus on simply "doing the right thing"! Chances are that our concern over what others will do to harm us, will take up a lot less space in our heads.

OUR MARCH PRAYER (STEP 3 ORIGINAL)

God, I offer myself to Thee- 
To build with me
and to do with me as Thou wilt.
Relieve me of the bondage of self,
that I may better do Thy will.
Take away my difficulties,
that victory over them may bear witness
to those I would help of Thy Power,
Thy Love, and Thy Way of life.
May I do Thy will always!

Trust grows as a relationship lasts and endures. Communicate with God often, listen as you look into His word (the bible). Mention each task you undertake and seek that special peace whenever a decision is required. No peace, hold off and discuss the matter and reason things out with another believer, then pray again and WHEN the peace arrives, make the decision and never look back!

Join us as we trudge our way through the steps to freedom. April will be our "looking down deep inside month". Finding your part in life's circumstances cannot be done without taking a thorough moral inventory of your life!

Come meet with us any or every Tuesday evening at TOB.ca in Markham and Wexford United in Scarborough both at 730 PM. All are welcome! Details call Scott 647 222 0515

Beware of hoarding or burying your talents

As we work the steps of Sharing The Burden (basically the original 12 steps with minor adaptation) and I get to three where a decision to turn over ALL to the God who created, owns and ever will do so, all that I could possess or cherish; I am slightly uncomfortable!

Why has more not been accomplished and why has God not found me worthy of being steward over what so many others are?

Then I am reminded, especially today, by the Life Recovery Devotional's sharing from Matthew 25 on the talents and their distribution. In this parable, the frightened servant simply hid his talent so that it could not be lost or exploited in some way. In other words, his having this talent was a total waste because it did nothing for anyone. God gave him something to work with and he hid it from all and everyone. He was not rewarded for such!

So to seek our God given talent(s), exploit, share and grow with the energy inherent in it, seems absolutely necessary! This was the part God gave for us to do!

Could our faith be measured by our willingness to turn it all over and make it available to God and our fellow man? Could one be transparent with buried motives and secrets? Could God have given any of us anything that was to be hoarded?

Key pieces of knowledge when entering recovery/therapy for emotional/Spiritual problems (Scott's opinions)

My feelings are not good decision makers
Emotional spells STOP and get alone until I've reasoned things out with someone I trust and God
I may never feel different about certain things but forgiveness and love are MUSTS
Love and forgiveness are DECISIONS not feelings
I cannot recover alone or without help beyond man's capability
I can change my attitude
I will always be me and though I may cope better and set wonderful boundaries as God gives me wisdom
Only God can change the fundamental me

Every moment in and of itself is possible to endure and together WE can be WELL!

This is "turn it over month" at Sharing The Burden. We focus on doing our best and asking for God's direction each day giving to God everything that we cannot solve.

Try AA's 3rd step prayer for your problem