One of the most difficult aspects of my recovery is not necessarily turning my will over to my Higher Power but feeling unsure about what the outcome will be. In other words, I have faith enough to turn my will and life over to God but I don't always have enough trust that the outcome will be the right one. I guess what I'm saying is that I put a situation, problem or whatever in God's hands but then hope that the solution suits me; that it is going to be a positive outcome and that all will be well.

I heard a story very early in sobriety and I wish I had written it down word for word. I do recall the basic story, though, and it goes like this: If there was a wire over the Grand Canyon, do you believe that your Higher Power (for me, God) could walk a wheelbarrow across the canyon on that wire? (My answer was then and is now, an absolute "yes" because I have faith that God can do anything.) If your answer is "yes" here is the second part: would you get in the wheelbarrow? That is a completely different issue. This is trust. This is the scary part. I envision God with that wheelbarrow and myself standing there wondering if I trust Him enough to put my life on the line. Before you give an immediate answer visualize

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This article touched us so much that we had to share it with you all. Sent to me by an AA friend...
We buried him yesterday. The County Coroner had published the required notices for next of kin and nobody had claimed the body. It was just me and his sponsor, no preacher even, the county doesn't pay for those.

Not much of send-off, and not the one David had asked for.. A cheap coffin, a backhoe dug a hole, and that was it; just another old AA gone.

He had been sober over 20 years and first tried AA over 30 years ago, a stern and rigid man who tried to soften his edges and never could.

He was a loner, a fringer, an isolated man at the edge of life's good things. He hung in there.... and in the end hung himself. I don't know why; I can't know.

I know there had been a diagnosis of senile dementia, and I know that the doctor had added cancer to the list. But, I've seen AA's deal with such things before... I don't know why David decided he couldn't.

It isn't the first time I've been through this in Alcoholics Anonymous. I've known several men over the years who just up and walked out life's door one day. Sober but they are not happy. Sober but they are not at peace. Sober but they died of alcoholism.

Our disease doesn't need us to drink in order to kill us. I wish more folks knew that, and appreciated it.

Alcoholism is the only disease that is entirely capable of fighting back, of taking care of it self, and of(Click Read More to continue November's Article)

If you go to step meetings like I do that follow the months of    the year, you feel totally exhausted of Steps 8 and 9 by the end of September. Amazingly, however, no matter how many times I am in meetings that discuss a step (and we take one entire month per step), I hear something new or I have somewhat of an epiphany concerning my own recovery. And since I have been asked to speak on Step 8 this Sunday, I guess there are still a few things my Higher Power wants me to either put out there or clarify something within my own sobriety.

I feel that I have exhausted Steps 8 and 9 in my articles from how to do a Step 8 to everything I had experienced in Step 9; but when all is said and done, more is always revealed to me within my recovery and that is what I want to share with you.

When anyone first begins working the steps it seems that most newcomers are aware of and in fear of Steps 4, 5, 8, and 9. We all know why they are so intimidated. They require trust, honesty, humility, openness, willingness and probably a lot more. In other words, all of the qualities many of us do not have a grip on when we...(to continue article click "Read More" below)

There is a women's AA Step meeting that I attend every week. We study one step per month which seems almost boring but you would be amazed at how much we can get out of one single step. This meeting has been an inspiration to me in writing my weekly articles. I can hear so many wonderful perspectives on every aspect of a step from women who might be different yet so much the same.

The discussion was on Step Two ("Came to believe in a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity"). The focus was on a Higher Power and I continue to be amazed at those who only recently found one. I think I am amazed because I am not sure I could have ever hung on to sobriety without a Higher Power from the first day.

The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous tells us that sometimes it is easier for an agnostic to find a Higher Power than it is for someone raised in a traditional religion. I do not doubt that this is true for some folks because they only had to find a Higher Power for the first time. They did not have years and