Corking the Bottle

I don't mean to insult the religion or spirituality of your choice, but I feel like I have to point something out: Many Christians believe their religion is the only true way to worship. Jews claim to be the chosen people. What's up with that? We have a right to our beliefs, but we should allow others the right to theirs. Isn't it right to have that right? I don't know if my spiritual beliefs are true any more than you do. All I do know is that God guides my life. That's good enough for me. If your scripture claims I am headed to hell for faith different than yours, I'm sorry you are afflicted with spiritual perfectionism. I thought about this today because of a post in Faces and Voices of Recovery. Please read it, consider it, and try to see what I mean: Paul Noiles  shared a  post . Trust me I know.  🤣 Here are  a few examples of Spiritual Perfectionism: 1) My spiritual practice is not good enough unless...

Drinking too much causes more problems than we can shake a Schlitz at. If you haven't turned that problem around yet, I hope you find comfort in the knowledge that your higher power is with you all the time. Trust me on that. I mentioned The Purpose Driven Life previously ( https://pastorrick.com/ ). My beliefs don't mesh with author Rick Warren's Biblical and Christian beliefs (I think both have flaws), but much of what he wrote I highlighted and underlined. Maybe you can identify with this passage from the book: "Problems (like alcoholism) force us to look to God and depend on him instead of ourselves.... Everything that happens to you has spiritual significance. Everything! Romans 8:28-29 explains why: 'We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.'" Sobriety is all about God. If you haven't let God in yet, explore how you can open that door. A.A.'s...

[First published August 1, 2018] I miss Jeff. We worked down the hall from each other until a brain tumor or something forced him to quit and move back home to western Pennsylvania. We graduated the same year from high schools just a few miles apart, and both found our way to Rohm and Haas in Louisville. I visited him once at his home in Zelienople when he was sick. Not long after, I drove 450 miles to attend his funeral there. Jeff told me something I will always remember. The lesson seems clear to me now, but it took a while to sink in. My recovery from alcoholism has helped me hear his words more clearly. He stood in my office door one day and told me that what we say about other people tells more about us than it does about them. I don't remember how the conversation evolved to that point. But he said if we say someone is lazy, for example, that doesn't mean he is. That just means that is our opinion and our opinion only. It tells the listener that we fear laziness in...

We are getting into the time of year when Mom used to warn I better be good or Santa Claus wouldn't come bring me presents. I don't know if those warnings made me better behaved, but it sure didn't hurt. I was taking no chances. Mom wouldn't lie. Somehow, Santa was at the North Pole making a list and checking it twice, monitoring me all day, and then deciding if I had been a good boy. Something similar happened all year in regard to church. Sunday school teachers, preachers, Bible readings, and parents all warned me I had to be good if I wanted to get into heaven. It wasn't clear if that meant not stealing or murdering, or if picking up my toys made me good enough in God's eye. St. Peter was like Santa, keeping a check list to show to God when I died and appeared at the pearly gates. Could I stay "up there," or would I be sent someplace underground to burn in eternal damnation? Scary stuff, for sure. When I got older and found that Santa didn...

This past week has been a real beaute for me. My father-in-law died. I got a flat tire and needed my car towed to get it replaced. My cell phone died, and not all my settings, data, and contacts transferred to my new phone. Today is day 10 without a furnace with nighttime temperatures in the 30s and 40s. When I get the furnace fixed, the cost is estimated at $1,400. I  could use a stiff drink, followed by a loss of control, a blackout, a wife explosion, and a hangover that leaves me with the same original problems. Instead, I choose faith in God. "When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life. Even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God. Some tests seem overwhelming, while others you don't even notice. But all of them have eternal implications. "The...

The Bible says, " For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven." (Ecclesiastes, 3:1) My season is winter. It's hard for me to run anymore. Or go down steps without a handrail. My daughters are approaching middle age. It's still summer for them, but autumn isn't far away. My hands are stiff with arthritis. Even interesting TV shows put me to sleep. I forget stuff, but I remember when we had no personal computers or cell phones. Or blogs. Yeah, winter is setting in all right. I was in just 32 when the Bangles sang, "Look around. Leaves are brown. And the sky is a hazy shade of winter." Now I know what that means. But now doesn't have to be the winter of our discontent. (I tinkered with Gloucester's quote from Richard III.) This season has given me a new look at life. I found God, and then He led me to sobriety. That changed everything. I have an opportunity to influence alcoholics and others. I'm pleased w...

Step 3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him. The writers of the Big Book italicized those words, not I. God as we understand him must be part of sobriety or sobriety doesn't work. I find God at the root of all that I read and all that I hear at A.A. meetings. Actually, Step 3 must be a part of everyone's lives, addict or not, in order to fully understand real joy, to maneuver through life's setbacks, to overcome our flaws, and to care about others. I like to quote The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren ( https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-purpose-driven-life-what-on-earth-am-i-here-for-by-rick-warren/247079/?mkwid=s|dc&pcrid=263432259749&pkw=&pmt=b&plc=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIt-r-5bHv3AIVQbXACh1qcQoAEAAYBSAAEgKB8fD_BwE#isbn=0310210747&idiq=5181304 ).   But that doesn't mean I always have to agree with everything it contains. On page 101 it says, "God is pleased when our love is accurate...

I miss Jeff. We worked down the hall from each other until a brain tumor or something forced him to quit and move back home to western Pennsylvania. We graduated the same year from high schools just a few miles apart, and both found our way to Rohm and Haas in Louisville. I visited him once at his home in Zelienople when he was sick. Not long after, I drove 450 miles to attend his funeral there. Jeff told me something I will always remember. The lesson seems clear to me now, but it took a while to sink in. My recovery from alcoholism has helped me hear his words more clearly. He stood in my office door one day and told me that what we say about other people tells more about us than it does about them. I don't remember how the conversation evolved to that point. But he said if we say someone is lazy, for example, that doesn't mean he is. That just means that is our opinion and our opinion only. It tells the listener that we fear laziness in ourselves. If we say someone is bo...