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AL-ANON
DISTRICT 200
Newsletter
Editor:
Randy N.
Al-Anon District 200
I S S U E
Help us name
our newsletter!
We need your
articles and
thoughts;. See
contact
information on
page 4.
# 1
A Safe Place
2
My Own 3rd
Step Prayer
2
I Was Not
3
Alone in That
5 Things to
Do
3
The Acorn
and the Oak
3
Contact
Information
4
Keep Up
Your Daily
Reading
5
2 0 1 5
Your New Newsletter!
Let’s start with the Serenity Prayer:
God, grant me the serenity to
accept the things I cannot
change, courage to change the
things I can, and wisdom to
know the difference.
Hello! My name is Randy N., and
welcome to our District 200 AlAnon newsletter. Our idea is to
make it an “electronic” Al-Anon
meeting, where we can share
together our experience,
strength, and hope in order to
INSIDE
THIS ISSUE:
M A R C H ,
solve our common problems. In
this newsletter we will endeavor
to practice the principles of the
12 Steps and 12 Traditions of AlAnon for all in District 200 and
beyond. We will share in recovery.
Maybe the place to begin is with
a name. What should we call our
newsletter?? What name best
expresses our Al-Anon experience? (We are open for suggestions!)
The schedule is to publish it
quarterly, on the first of March,
June. September, and December.
(Yeah we’re a bit late on this
first one!) We will be posting it
on the District 200 website, and
also developing an email list for
those who would like to receive
it. At this time we do not anticipate mailing it out via U.S. Mail.
(Let us know if we should).
What Has Al-Anon Meant to Me?
What has Al-Anon meant to me?
Go ahead and review the 12
Steps. Here it is March (the 3rd
month), so take a particular look
at Step 3, which says “Made a
decision to turn our will and our
lives over to the care of God as
we understood Him”. Step 3
was a critical moment for me.
Step 1, which was admitting I
was powerless over alcohol….rather easy to do. At the
time it was easy to admit my life
was a mess and I was in great
pain due to my qualifier’s drinking. Step 2 also wasn’t so difficult, because the whole mess
was making me pretty crazy, and
obviously what I was doing wasn’t working very well. So it was a
short step to realize that it
would take a power greater than
myself to restore my sanity. But
Step 3…Whoa!!! Make a decision to turn my will and my life
over to God?? No no no no!
That’s not what I came here for.
But I listened anyway… And
everyone at the meeting said
“Give it 6 weeks”, so I came
back. I can’t explain it, but I
somehow felt better after every
meeting. About the 5th meeting
someone on the other side of
the circle began to share her
experience. She was very different from me in culture, age,
etc….. But as I listened, I realized
that she was telling my story.
That was the first of many miracles, large and small, that I have
experienced in Al-Anon, where
my Higher Power reached out
and found me. Soon after, I did
Step 3… Yes, that is what I did…
I made a decision to turn my will
and my life over to the care of
God as I understood Him. It has
been quite a ride ever since. I
have never looked back. I have
learned it wasn’t all my qualifier’s
fault. I needed recovery as well.
I can say have learned more
about myself and people around
me in the last 2 (Al-Anon) years
as in the previous 30.
What a bonus! I came to AlAnon to relieve the pain of living
with an an alcoholic. And now I
am a different person, and I am
in a personal relationship with
my Higher Power. Yes I am a
very grateful member of AlAnon.
-Randy
PAGE
2
Al-Anon Means to Me…..
Al-Anon is a safe place where
I can be me. I can be honest
about my life and struggles in
my dealings with a sick person. I gain hope, encouragement and get to step out of
the isolation that is so easy to
do when dealing with this
disease. I had qualifiers since
birth so there is a lot of behavior that I am unlearning or
letting go of. It starts with me.
I am eternally grateful for this
Several others have also
shared their experience,
strength and hope, and
what Al-Anon has meant
to them….
program and group of people
who have gone before me
and who keep coming back to
share their strength and wisdom. This is a one day at a
time type of deal and that
works for me.
- Beloved Blossom
What Al-Anon Means to Me
When I worked Step 3 my sponsor asked
me to rewrite the Step 3 prayer. Here is
the original prayer written by Bill Wilson.
It is from the Big Book of Alcoholics
Anonymous:
The Third Step Prayer
(from page 63 of the Big Book of Alcoholics
Anonymous)
“What are my
directions for
today?
...Walk
with me today…”
God, I offer myself to TheeTo 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!
Copyright © Alcoholics Anonymous World
Services, Inc..
AL-ANON
DISTRICT
200
Here is my 3rd Step prayer:
Dear God,
What are my directions for today?
Help me to carry them out unselfishly.
Remove the negative thoughts and obsessions
of my mind
and instead plant a beautiful garden that
produces the principles of love,
joy, tolerance and peace.
Together we can tend this garden,
pulling the weeds of any expectations
I might have and watering
the roots of acceptance
so that they will grow deep and strong.
Show me that the more I share the gifts
of the spirit, the more I receive
and the lovelier my garden grows.
Walk with me today so that I can give a
flower to everyone I meet.
-Anonymous, but grateful,
member of Al-Anon
ISSUE
#1
PAGE
What has Al-Anon Meant to Me?
I went to several Al-Anon Meetings
over the years "for her". It took a
moment of fear, loneliness, and
suffering to finally make me willing
to come "for myself". And when I
came into my first Meeting "for
me," I began a journey that would
soon introduce me to some
strange and foreign concepts: That
my life was unmanageable - and I
was not alone in that fact. That I
had resentments, a need to
"manage" others, a need to be liked
and needed, a sense of unworthiness - and I was not alone in that.
That these were all forms of fear,
that had largely ruled my actions as
an adult - and I was not alone in
that. That I actually /did/ know
people who were alcoholics, that
I'd known them all my life, though I
did not realize it - and I was not
alone in that. That there was
something in the world that was
greater than my conscious, planning, designing self. That some part
of that greater power resided in
me, and in everyone else I encountered. That that higher power
could make my life seem manageable again. And that it could and
would, one day or hour at a time,
set me free from my life-long fear whenever I sought it. Finally, I
learned that I have experience,
strength, and hope to share
with others - and that I am not
alone in that, either.
–A grateful Homestead Al-Anon
Member
Five (5) Things to Do
When I came to Al-Anon I was
angry, mad, sick and tired. I did not
realize I had been affected by the
so called disease of alcoholism. I
wanted a recipe card on how to
get my husband sober. What I got
was a recipe card to get ME better!
I heard in a meeting there were 5
things I needed to do for recovery.
1. Go to meetings
2. Get a sponsor
3. Work the steps
4. Read CAL (Conference –
Approved Literature)
5. Do Service
It was hard at first but I wanted the
peace and serenity I saw in the
meetings. I did all 5 over the next
several years and realized alcoholism was a disease. I heard the 3
C's: I didn't Cause It, I couldn't
She learned 5
Control It and I couldn't Cure it.
Al-Anon saved my life! Today I'm
taking care of me and making sure I
stay in my hula hoop. I found the
peace and serenity this program
offers.
AND I WILL KEEP COMING
BACK
-A grateful Miami
Al-Anon member
things to do
for recovery.
Thinking About What Al-Anon Means to Me
There is an intelligence in the universe, an energy which repeatedly
unfolds to a plan. The lowly acorn
has within it everything necessary
to grow into a giant oak tree.
According to plan it falls from the
tree, rolls down a hill, lodges in
dirt, then waits for a little sunshine
and a little rain and invariably acorn
after acorn after acorn becomes an
oak tree. This same intelligence,
this eternal energy is within me
too, and as the oak and the acorn
unfold so too do I unfold . When it
is my time I let go and find my own
warm niche where the sun and
showers nourish me too. I too
connect and grow as I tap into that
inner resource which is my birthright, my plan, my blueprint, my
God.
–A very grateful Homestead AlAnon Member
3
And in Conclusion…..
Al-Anon District 200
P.O. Box 557264
Thank you for reading and enjoying the first edition of our
District 200 newsletter. We are totally open to suggestions
how to improve, what to add (or remove), how to distribute it, etc. And yes, please give us your suggestions for a
Newsletter Name!
Our next edition will be published in early June. Please send
your comments and submissions to us by early May (May 15
deadline). The email address is:
Miami, FL 33155
Newletter Contact:
[email protected]
Our Website: Alanonsofla.org
District Representative Contact
Information, Dickie S.
[email protected]
South Florida Area Website:
SouthFloridaAl-anon.org
[email protected]
Your first name will not be mentioned unless you request it.
Your last name will never be used.
….. And to conclude a few special words to those who have
not been with us long. “Whatever your problems, there are
those among us who have had them too. If you try to keep
an open mind, you will find help. You will come to realize
that there is no situation too great to be bettered and no
unhappiness too great to be lessened.”
And to conclude…..
When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, let the
hand of Al-Anon and Alateen always be there. And let it
begin with me….!
And Yoda the Cat says “Keep up with your daily reading!”