***********************************************************

As Bill Sees It

Love Everybody?, p. 230

Not many people can truthfully assert that they love everybody.
Most of us must admit that we have loved but a few; that we have
been quite indifferent to the many. As for the remainder--well, we
have really disliked or hated them.

We A.A.'s find we need something much better than this in order to
keep our balance. The idea that we can be possessively loving of
a few, can ignore the many, and can continue to fear or hate
anybody at all, has to be abandoned, if only a little at a time.

We can try to stop making unreasonable demands upon those we
love. We can show kindness where we had formerly shown none.
With those we dislike we can at least begin to practice justice and
courtesy, perhaps going out of our way at times to understand and
help them.

12 & 12, pp. 92-93

***********************************************************

Walk In Dry Places
 
Handle Today's Problem
Living Today
Many of us face seemingly insurmountable
difficulties, perhaps because of our compulsion or simply through
misfortune. Whatever the scale of our problems,One Day at a
Time and First things First, are keys to handling them.
Today, we can deal only with today's problems. One of today's problems, of course,
may be worrying about the future. A good method of handling that problem
is to turn our concern about it over to our Higher Power. But when
we do have work that clearly should be done today, we must carry through
with it. It's neither reasonable nor sensible to put off things that we
can and should do today.
There are certain tasks and responsibilities that must be dealt with
today. I will not put them off.

***********************************************************

Keep It Simple
 
The Master doesn't talk, she acts. When her work is done, the people say, "Amazing: we did it, all by ourselves!"
Our Higher Power works like the Master. Quietly. In fact, we usually take the credit ourselves!
We're like the child who bakes cookies for the first time. Mother found the recipe, bought the ingredients, and got out the bowl and pans and spoons. She told us what to do, and finished when we got tired. Then she cleaned up after us. We proudly served our cookies, saying, "I made them all by my self!"
In recovery, our Higher Power helps and teaches us every step of the way, just like a loving parent.
Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, thank-you ---for my life, for my recovery, for love, for hope, and for faith. Thank-you for teaching me how to live in a better way.
Action for the Day:  I'll list five ways my Higher Power has acted in my life.

***********************************************************

Each Day a New Beginning

Today was like a shadow. It lurked behind me. It's now gone forever. Why is it that time is such a difficult thing to befriend? --Mary Casey
Each passing minute is all that we are certain of having. The choice is ever present to relish the moment, reaping fully whatever its benefits, knowing that we are being given just what we need each day of our lives. We must not pass up what is offered today.
Time accompanies us like a friend, though often a friend denied or ignored. We can't recapture what was offered yesterday. It's gone. All that stands before us is here, now.
We can nurture the moment and know that the pain and pleasures offered us with each moment are our friends, the teachers our inner selves await. And we can be mindful that this time, this combination of events and people, won't come again. They are the gift of the present. We can be grateful.
We miss the opportunities the day offers because we don't recognize the experiences as the lesson designed for the next stage of our development. The moment's offerings are just, necessary, and friendly to our spiritual growth.
I will take today in my arms and love it. I will love all it offers; it is a friend bearing gifts galore.

***********************************************************

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Chapter 11 - A Vision For You

Our hope is that when this chip of a book is launched on the world tide of alcoholism, defeated drinkers will seize upon it, to follow its suggestions. Many, we are sure, will rise to their feet and march on. They will approach still other sick ones and fellowships of Alcoholics Anonymous may spring up in each city and hamlet, havens for those who must find a way out.

p. 153

***********************************************************

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

The Housewife Who Drank At Home

She hid her bottles in clothes hampers and dresser drawers.  In A.A., she discovered she had lost nothing and had found everything.

I became one of the most active women in the community, what with P.T.A., other community organizations, and drives.  I'd go into an organization, and it wasn't long before I was on the committee, and if I was in a group, I'd soon be treasurer or secretary of the group.  But I wasn't happy.  I became a Jekyll-and-Hyde person.  As long as I worked, as long as I got out, I didn't drink.  But I had to get back to that first drink somehow.  And when I took that first drink, I was off on the usual merry-go-round.  And it was my home that suffered.

p. 299

***********************************************************

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions. "

There is another story about money. One night in 1948, the trustees of the Foundation were having their quarterly meeting. The agenda discussion included a very important question. A certain lady had died. When her will was read, it was discovered she had left Alcoholics Anonymous in trust with the Alcoholic Foundation a sum of ten thousand dollars. The question was: Should A.A. take the gift?

pp. 163-164

***********************************************************

The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new
landscapes but in having new eyes.
--Marcel Proust

"The first recipe for happiness is: Avoid too lengthy meditations on
the past."
--André Maurois

"Act so as to elicit the best in others and thereby in thyself."
--Felix Adler

"The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching
the egg - not by smashing it."
--Arnold Glasow

"Patience and perseverance at length / Accomplish more than anger
or brute strength."
--Jean de La Fontaine

Hold your head high, stick your chest out. You can make it. It gets
dark sometimes but morning comes... Keep hope alive.
--Jesse Jackson

***********************************************

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

ABILITY

"Man's ability is derived from
God and does not have to be
acquired."
-- James H. McReynolds

I woke this morning and remembered that sobriety and serenity are
gifts from God that are freely given. I need only discover them within
my capacity to be honest. I need only seek them in my new attitudes. I
need only discover them in the spiritual program from my life.

God is alive in my life and His acceptance of me is guaranteed.

May I continue to discover more of Your beauty in my life.

***********************************************************

"Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath."
James 1:19

"The Father and I are one."
John 10:30

"But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from
the evil one."
2 Thessalonians 3:3

***********************************************************

Daily Inspiration

The more frantic we feel on the inside, the more compulsive we try to organize the outside. Lord, help me bring peace and order to my inner spirit by letting go of the past, bring resolution to the issues that are pressing and making a commitment to enjoy my life right now.

Do not be afraid to ask everything of God. He is always present and always loving us. Lord, I trust in You and ask for Your help in all that I do and need and want. I also ask for Your help in accepting Your answers when they are different than I would want or expect.

***********************************************************

NA Just For Today

How Long Do I Have To Go?

"The way to remain a productive, responsible member of society is to put our recovery first."
Basic Text, p. 102

The meetings have been great! Each night we've attended, we've gathered with other addicts to share experience, strength, and hope. And each day, we've used what we've learned in the meetings to continue in our recovery.

Meanwhile, life goes on. Work, family, friends, school, sport, entertainment, community activities, civic obligations-all call out for our time. The demands of everyday living sometimes make us ask ourselves, "How long do I have to go to these meetings?"

Let's think about this. Before coming to Narcotics Anonymous, could we stay clean on our own? What makes us think we can now? Then there's the disease itself to consider - the chronic self-centeredness, the obsessiveness, the compulsive behavior patterns that express themselves in so many areas of our lives. Can we live and enjoy life without effective treatment for our disease? No.
"Ordinary" people may not have to worry about such things, but we're not "0rdinary" people - we're addicts. We can't pretend we don't have a fatal, progressive illness, because we do. Without our program, we may not survive to worry about the demands of work, school, family, or anything else. NA meetings give us the support and direction we need to recover from our addiction, allowing us to live the fullest lives possible.

Just for today: I want to live and enjoy life. To do that, I will put my recovery first.
pg. 240

***********************************************************

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Large streams from little fountains flow. --David Everett
Somewhere nearby, no matter where we are, runs a creek. We've seen plenty of them, narrow and rocky. In summer it's hardly a creek at all, but in the spring, it feeds a mighty river.
Each of us is like that creek, a trickle contributing to some greater plan. Sometimes we feel dried up, contributing nothing. Often we feel small, rocky, not up to the task--when we can understand what the task is.
Sometimes the task seems too simple--get up each morning, love and work and live the day as honestly as we can. What kind of contribution is that? Sometimes it seems too complicated. How much more we could contribute if we could see the whole river--where it begins and ends--if we knew what would happen tomorrow.
So we ebb and flow. And in our moments of contentment, we know we are doing the best we can each day.
What contribution, however small, can I offer the world today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
The years forever fashion new dreams when old ones go. God pity the one dream man. --Robert Goddard
A painful loss can seem like the end of hope for us. It is true that the place a loved one had in our lives will never be filled. The loss of a job may dash a dream that will not come true - at least not as we thought it would. The aging of our body ends physical strength, and we lose options that will not come around a second time. Yet, change is a basic fact of life. We must empty a glass before we can fill it with something else. Our spiritual task is to become less rigid in our attachments and more accepting of the flow of life.
When we look straight at our losses and allow ourselves to cry and grieve over them, we are saying good-bye and letting go. Grief cleanses the soul and frees us to move on to new dreams. The loss of a job may put us in a position to discover undreamed of possibilities. In time, the loss of a love heals, and it deepens our relationship with our Higher Power and with our other friends. The other side of grief is freedom, and we are learning to have many new dreams in our lives.
I pray for the freedom that comes with having dreams in my life.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Today was like a shadow. It lurked behind me. It's now gone forever. Why is it that time is such a difficult thing to befriend?
--Mary Casey
Each passing minute is all that we are certain of having. The choice is ever present to relish the moment, reaping fully whatever its benefits, knowing that we are being given just what we need each day of our lives. We must not pass up what is offered today.
Time accompanies us like a friend, though often a friend denied or ignored. We can't recapture what was offered yesterday. It's gone. All that stands before us is here, now.
We can nurture the moment and know that the pain and pleasures offered us with each moment are our friends, the teachers our inner selves await. And we can be mindful that this time, this combination of events and people, won't come again. They are the gift of the present. We can be grateful.
We miss the opportunities the day offers because we don't recognize the experiences as the lesson designed for the next stage of our development. The moment's offerings are just, necessary, and friendly to our spiritual growth.
I will take today in my arms and love it. I will love all it offers; it is a friend bearing gifts galore.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Valuing this Moment
Detachment involves present moment living - living in the here and now. We allow life to happen instead of forcing and trying to control it. We relinquish regrets over the past and fears about the future. We make the most of each day. --Codependent No More
This moment, we are right where we need to be, right where we are meant to be.
How often we waste our time and energy wishing we were someone else, were doing something else, or were someplace else. We may wish our present circumstances were different.
We needlessly confuse ourselves and divert our energy by thinking that our present moment is a mistake. But we are right where we need to be for now. Our feelings, thoughts, circumstances, challenges, and tasks - all of it is on schedule.
We spoil the beauty of the present moment by wishing for something else.
Come back home to yourself. Come back home to the present moment. We will not change things by escaping or leaving the moment. We will change things by surrendering to and accepting the moment.
Some moments are easier to accept than others.
To trust the process, to trust all of it, without hanging on to the past or peering too far into the future, requires a great deal of faith. Surrender to the moment. If you're feeling angry, get mad. If you're setting a boundary, dive into that. If you're grieving, grieve. Get into it. Step where instinct leads. If you're waiting, wait. If you have a task, throw yourself into the work. Get into the moment; the moment is right.
We are where we are, and it is okay. It is right where we're meant to be to get where we're going tomorrow. And that place will be good.
It has been planned in love for us.
God, help me let go of my need to be someone other than who I am today. Help me dive fully into the present moment. I will accept and surrender to my present moments - the difficult ones and the easy ones, trusting the whole process. I will stop trying to control the process; instead, I will relax and let myself experience it.


I have all the time in the world to do God's Will for me today I trust that my Higher Power is filling me with all the energy that I need for these 24 hours. --Ruth Fishel

*****

Journey to the Heart
Throw Away Old Messages

Who told you that you were bad and wrong? Are you still letting others tell you that-- after all these years?

Listen quietly. Whose voice do you hear telling you that? Is someone still putting you down, sabotaging your happiness, preventing you from living and moving in self-acceptance, joy, and love?

Inhale and breathe in love, peace, and joy. Exhale and breathe out negative energy and negative messages. Feel them loosen, disintegrate, release. Feel your soul, mind, and heart become clear. You don't have to let others take your power, rob your joy. Don't become so accustomed to living with the pain of old, negative messages that you don't notice how much they hurt.

Get rid of these old messages. Pull them out of your soul just as you would pull out barbs or knives. Pull them out on by one, then toss them away. You don't have to work around the pain from these messages any more. You don't have to figure out how to incorporate that pain into your life.


Allow yourself to heal. Find new messages than empower you with love, messages that set you free.

************************************************** ***************

more language of letting go
Say thanks for the help

There's so much do-it-yourself talk. So much self-help talk.

Healing is a gift.

Yes, we participate in our gifts. If we're recovering from chemical dependency, we go to our meetings and work the Steps. The same is true if we're recovering from codependency or other issues that we might face.

We stand at each gateway and protest, "I don't want this. I don't want the problem. I don't want the healing. I want my life back, the way it was-- or the way I imagined it to be." And we resist and struggle, but the changes fall upon us anyway.

We do our part, whatever that means to us, each day. Bit by bit, the next step becomes clear. A healing begins to settle in.

We receive our medallions for the number of days we've stayed straight or gone to Al-Anon. Or we go through an important holiday without breaking down and crying, because we focus on who is there, instead of who isn't there.

We can feel good about the things we've done, the part we've played in taking care of our lives. But remember, healing is a gift. So is love. So is success. Feel good about doing your part in helping yourself. But a gentle thank you may be in order,too.

God, thanks.

*****

Sweetening a Sour Apple
When a Bad Apple Spoils the Bunch by Madisyn Taylor

When dealing with negative people we can choose not to respond to their behavior and allow our positive behavior be an example.

Because life requires that we interact with different personalities, it is not uncommon for us to encounter a situation where there is one person whose behavior may negatively impact the experiences of others. Someone who is loud and crass can interrupt the serenity of those who come together to practice peace. A disruptive worker can cause rules to be imposed that affect their colleagues’ professional lives. A team member who is pessimistic or highly critical may destroy the morale of their fellow members. And one “bad apple” in your personal life can be a potent distraction that makes it difficult to focus on the blessings you’ve been given and the people who love you.

There may always be people in your life who take it upon themselves to create disruption, foster chaos, stamp out hope, and act as if they are above reproach – even when, in doing so, they put a blight on their own experiences. But you don’t need to allow their negativity and callousness to sour your good mood. Often, our first impulse upon coming head-to-head with a bad apple is to express our anger and frustration in no uncertain terms. However, bad apples only have the power to turn our lives sour if we let them.

If you can exercise patience and choose not to respond to their words or actions, you will significantly limit the effect they are able to have on you and your environment. You can also attempt to encourage a bad apple to change their behavior by letting your good behavior stand as an example. If your bad apple is simply hoping to attract notice, they may come to realize that receiving positive attention is much more satisfying than making a negative impression. While you may be tempted to simply disassociate yourself entirely from a bad apple, consider why they might be inclined to cause disturbances. Understanding their motivation can help you see that bad apples are not necessarily bad people. Though bad apples are a fact of life, minimizing the impact you allow them to have upon you is empowering because you are not letting anyone else affect the quality of your experiences. You may discover that buried at the very heart of a bad apple is a seed of goodness. Published with permission from Daily OM

*****

A Day At A Time
August 18

Reflection For The Day

As Addictive persons, self-delusion was intricately woven through almost all our thoughts and actions. We became experts at convincing ourselves, when necessary, that black was white, that wrong was right, or even that day was night. Now that we’re in The Program, our need for self-delusion is fading. If I’m fooling myself these days, my sponsor can spot it quickly. And, as he skillfully steers me away from my fantasies, I find that I’m less and less likely to defend myself against reality and unpleasant truths about myself. Gradually, in the process, my pride, fear and ignorance are losing their destructive power. Do I firmly believe that a solitary self-appraisal wouldn’t be nearly enough?

Today I Pray

May I understand that not only must I look to my Higher Power, but that I need to trust my fellow members of the group in this Step of self-evaluation. For we mirror each other in all of our delusions and fantasies, and with there facing mirrors, we produce a depth of perspective that we could never come by alone.

Today I Will Remember

To see myself all around, I need a three-way mirror — with reflections from God, my friends and me.

*****

One More Day
August 18

You may judge others only according to your knowledge of yourself.
– Kahlil Gibran

We know that our behavior patterns may not be the only acceptable ones. Many of us have spent the major part of our lives trying to please others. We finally understand that there’s no need for us to reach beyond our own capabilities.

Now that our physical health is limited and our emotional health is stretched almost to the breaking point, we begin to realize that people around us may have serious problems of their own. By reaching out, unselfishly, we can help. Inadvertently, we will reap the benefits of our own behavior.

As I understand my limitations, I begin to know myself more intimately than ever before. I am learning about my untapped potential.

************************************************** *****************

Food For Thought

Self-Respect

When we were overeating, we did not have much self-respect. Because we felt guilty about the quantity of food we were consuming and the way we looked, we had a very poor self-image. Since we did not respect ourselves, we did not act in a way which evoked respect from others. We put ourselves down and allowed other people to use us.

Abstinence and the OA program produce a change, which is often astonishing. Our self-respect grows in direct proportion to the control we acquire. When we stop overeating and begin to live in accordance with the will of our Higher Power, we can accept and respect ourselves. Those around us respond to us differently as our own attitude improves.

What we realize is that self-respect and inner acceptance are more important than any external approval or disapproval. Instead of living for the admiration of others, we seek each day to follow the will of our Higher Power.

I am grateful for the self-respect OA has given me.

*****************************************

One Day At A Time

FEAR
“Some of your griefs you have cured
And the sharpest you still have survived ~
But what torments of pain you endured
From evils that never arrived.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

As a compulsive overeater I have lived my life in fear. I feared the apparent cruelty of the surrounding world. I feared to challenge the unknown and chose instead to seek safety in familiar "surroundings." I was afraid to have ambition and dreams.

My whole life I've battled an increasing waistline. I realized that I was stagnate in a world of pain and darkness because my fears of responsibility as a "slim" person sabotaged my efforts to lose weight.

I’ve learned that worrying about a situation doesn't change the outcome! My fears simply prevented me from moving forward. They clouded the real issues and hid the answers to my problems. Instead of expending so much energy into worrying and fearing an event, I could put it to much better use by dealing with the present realities in my life.

Surviving a situation provides added armor for the next battle. Overcoming a fearful predicament puts confidence in my stride towards my next goal. Faith is the opposite of fear. Having faith in my choices, abilities and ambitions will provide the steadfast pathway ahead.

One Day at a Time . . .
I try to remember that fear and worry only serve to chain me to the present. Faith can break the shackles and enable me to walk on to where I was heading.
~ Nancy

*****************************************

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

THIS WAS STEP FOUR: A business which takes no regular inventory usually goes broke. Taking a commercial inventory is a fact-finding and fact-facing process. It is an effort to discover the truth about the stock-in-trade. One object is to disclose damaged or unsalable goods, to get rid of them promptly and without regret. If the owner of the business is to be successful, he cannot fool himself about values.
We did exactly the same thing with our lives. We took stock honestly. First, we searched out the flaws in our make-up which caused our failure. Being convinced that self, manifested in various ways, was what had defeated us, we considered its common manifestations. - Pg. 64 - How It Works

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Do you feel like you are compelled to do everything perfectly now that you're sober? Impatient for everything to be normal? Take three deep breaths and relax. You are right where you are supposed to be and all will unfold in it own good time.

The world ran in spite of the fact that I was 'out of it' in the past. Help me accept that the world will chug along without me while I recover, too.

Out of My Pores Please

I do not want this disease in my life any more. For as long as I remember, this illness of addiction surrounds me. It is everywhere in my family. The distorted and stinkin thinking, the grandiosity, living on the edge, the inability to face reality and the unwillingness to be humbled by our own powerlessness in front of the disease tears at my heart and sickens my stomach. I see its poison enveloping generation after generation. I am disgusted, horrified and deeply saddened by witnessing the wreckage of this illness.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

'Resentment' is when you didn't get your way yesterday. 'Anger' is when you don't get your way today. 'Fear' is that you won't get your way tomorrow.

There are no good reasons for resentment, anger, and fear-- just good excuses.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Progression: The bottom will start falling out faster than you can lower your standards.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

I have all the time in the world to do God's Will for me today.

I trust that my Higher Power is filling me with all the energy that I need for this 24 hours.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Trying not so much to think of myself less, as less of myself. - Brian.

*****************************************

AA Thought for the Day

August 18

Listening
Sometimes, the body can speak an eloquent language all its own. I see and feel that in meetings.
So coming to regular meetings of AA is a priceless experience for me on a great many levels
-- mental, spiritual, social, emotional, and now possibly physical.
Listening quietly is already a joy to me, and if it calms me down and lowers my blood pressure in the process,
that's just another great reason to keep coming back.
- Thank You For Sharing, p. 76

Thought to Ponder . . .
Learn to listen; listen to learn.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
K C B = Keep Coming Back.

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~

Anonymity
"And finally, we of Alcoholics Anonymous believe
that the principle of anonymity
has an immense spiritual significance.
It reminds us that we are to place
principles before personalities;
that we are actually to practice a genuine humility.
This to the end that our great blessings may never spoil us;
that we shall forever live in thankful contemplation
of Him who presides over us all."
Tradition Twelve - the Long Form
1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 567-8

Thought to Consider . . .
Walk softly and carry a Big Book.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A N O N Y M O U S =
Actions, Not Our Names, Yield Maintenance Of Unity and Service.

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*

Fatal
From: "How It Works"
It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to futility and unhappiness. To the precise extent that we permit these, do we squander the hours that might have been worth while. But with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely grave. We found that it is fatal. For when harboring such feelings we shut ourselves off from the sunlight of the Spirit. The insanity of alcohol returns and we drink again. And with us, to drink is to die.
2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 66

*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"With each passing year we increasingly realize the immense importance of adequately presenting the program to every new prospect who is in the least inclined to listen. Many of us feel this to be our greatest obligation to him and our failure to do so our greatest dereliction. The difference between a good approach and a bad one can mean life or death to those who seek our help."
AA Co-Founder, Bill W., May 1947
"Adequate Hospitalization: One Great Need"
The Language of the Heart

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*

"We needed to ask ourselves but one short question. 'Do I now
believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power
greater than myself?' As soon as a man can say that he does believe,
or is willing to believe, we emphatically assure him that he is on
his way. It has been repeatedly proven among us that upon this
simple cornerstone a wonderfully effective spiritual structure can be
built."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 47

"Most of us sense that real tolerance of other people's shortcomings and viewpoints and a respect for their opinions are attitudes which make us more useful to others."
Alcoholics Anonymous p.19

“Many could recover if they had the opportunity we have enjoyed.”
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 19

“There are many opportunities even for those of us who feel unable to speak at meetings or who are so situated that we cannot do much face-to-face Twelfth Step work.”
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 110

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Not many people can truthfully assert that they love everybody. Most of us must admit that we have loved but a few; that we have been quite indifferent to the many. As for the remainder - well, we have really disliked or hated them.
We A.A.'s find we need something much better than this in order to keep our balance. The idea that we can be possessively loving of a few, can ignore the many, and can continue to fear or hate anybody at all, has to be abandoned, if only a little at a time.
We can try to stop making unreasonable demands upon those we love. We can show kindness where we had formerly shown none. With those we dislike we can at least begin to practice justice and courtesy, perhaps going out of our way at times to understand and help them.

Prayer for the Day: My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me strength, as I go out from here, to do your bidding. Amen.