Happy Spring 2007!

Big Book quote for the quarter

At the hospital I was separated from alcohol for the last time. Treatment seemed wise, for I showed signs of delirium tremens.

There I humbly offered myself to God, as I then understood him, to do with me as He would. I admitted for the first time that of myself I was nothing, without Him I was lost. I ruthlessly faced my sins and became willing for my new-found Friend to take them away, root and branch. I have not had a drink since.

-Bill W. Page 13

Whispers

I once whispered, "God, speak to me" and a meadowlark sang. But I did not hear.

So I yelled, "God, speak to me!" and thunder rolled across the sky. But I did not listen.

So I looked around and said,
"God let me see you."
And a star shined brightly. But I did not see.

So I Shouted, "God show me a miracle!" And a new life was born. But I did not notice.

So I cried out in despair,
"Touch me God, and let me know you are here!" But I brushed the butterfly away

and walked on.

Don't miss out on a blessing
because it isn't packaged the way that you expect!

-Anonymous

Having Hope

    According to Merriam-Webster, the usage of the word hope in modern English is, "A desire accompanied by the expectation of fulfillment, the anticipation of a particular outcome, a wish".  When I say to myself, "I really hope this happens,"  what I usually mean is that I really want this to happen.  Think about it.  Doesn’t the phrase, "I have hopes of getting a new car”, have the same basic meaning as, "I want a new car"?  Indeed, in our common way of speaking, the words hope, want, and desire, mean exactly the same thing. 

    Hope, when I direct it at a specific desire, can be a double edged sword.  If my desire is fulfilled then I am pleased  and my ability to continue a positive outlook is strengthened.  However, if I repeatedly get something other than what I hoped for or if I loose my patients while waiting for fulfillment, then I may become resentful. I may say to myself, “What’s the use of having hope!”.  Self-pity kicks in and takes over control.

    As Webster points out, the definition of hope is based on desire and the expectation of fulfillment.  When my hope is all about what’s in it for me, the anticipation of getting it begins to grow into the expectation that I really should get it exactly as I have imagined it.  A wise man once said, "An expectation is actually a premeditated resentment".  Once I begin to expect something, I can also expect a major resentment if I do not receive it.

So is there a way that hope can work for me rather than against me in my recovery? It has been my experience that there is. As with all matters of recovery the need for change is not in the outside world, or even in the definition of the word hope, it is inside of me.

Desire accompanied by the expectation of fulfillment, as it turns out, is a truthful definition of what hope is all about. The change I need to pursue is in exactly what my desire is. Which of my own personal wants tops the list, that is the key.

My self-centered wants have nearly always toped my list, and in that top position they have always led me toward destruction. “I want a spouse who will…”, “I want enough money to…”, “I want people to…”. But what if my strongest want was based on something other than self-seeking desire? What if I could base it on the One who has all power? What if I could base it on God?

When this new concept of hope was first presented to me in an AA meeting I didn’t find it very attractive. I was not a man of great faith, or even any faith at all. But there was one inescapable piece of proof that came with the idea: The men and women who presented it were quite obviously drunks just like me, and they were also the drunks leading the most joyfully sober lives that I had ever seen! That was my starting place, the seed of faith.

By open mindedly pursuing the belief that God really is a loving and infinite God having all power, my faith has continued to grow. I have gradually become more able to honestly say, “How can I best serve Thee-Thy will (not mine) be done,”. That is my freedom from the bondage of self, replacing my old number one desires with the desire that God’s will for me be done, whatever it may be.

With a growing faith that His will is to make all things work together for my good, He has indeed enabled me to meet calamity with serenity. How ever painful or unfair an event may seem, there is serenity in knowing that somewhere beneath the discomfort lies a needed benefit placed there for me by God.

The process of elevating God’s will to the number one position in my want list requires practice and an open mind on my part, along with willingness to wait and honesty to see what good will come from everything that happens. But the benefits of hope based on faith seem truly to be boundless, and without any of the traps set by hope based on self-centered desires.

-Caruth

God’s Will

I Spend a lot of time praying, and my prayer is about God’s will. Early on in recovery I had a hard time with Gods will and my will. It was hard for me to know when I was in self will. So I had to talk to a lot of people about God’s Will. Like what is God’s will for me today? And how do I find out if I’m on the right track.

In my life it came to me very slow, and I had to let go of a lot of things. One of the biggest thing’s I had to let go of was thinking that I had all the answers for everything and everybody. It’s a lot better for me when I don’t have to fix everything and everybody.

Today I believe that the power in my life is God. And He is all powerful. To step out on faith, at one time was very hard for me. Something else was in charge of my life then. But God is the one that helps. And talking to others about His power is what I need to do on a day to day bases. It is a lot easer to talk to God today and ask him to come into my life and take over. And in working with others I can see the power of God’s love.

-Someone who cares

My home group

    My home group is the Courage to Change Group. We meet on Wednesday night at 8:00 PM ( open discussion) and on Sunday night at 7:00 PM (closed book study) at the First Presbyterian Church located on North 12TH Street. Our meeting started like most meetings -- a resentment!  At the time, 1992, the only other local meeting was a 'smoking' meeting.  A newcomer, a non-smoker, wanted a meeting that, " I don't have to take my clothes to the laundry afterwards".  So, a meeting was started that was  'non-smoking'.

    The first place we met was Christ The King Catholic Church on South Greenwood Road.  From there we moved to St. Boniface Catholic Church.  But that didn't seem to want to work out so we moved again to Immaculate Conception Catholic Church --- well, guess what!  That didn't work so well for us either. SO, again we moved. This time to First Presb. Church where we have been for the past several years.

    Our group recognizes AA anniversary's EVERY week, so that if a person's dry date comes at the first or middle of the month, they can pick up a 'chip' sooner.  We have a business meeting on the first of the month.  Sometimes there is not much to talk about, but we take the time to at least say, "There is not much to talk about," then we end the business meeting. Our group contributes to the Intergroup Office, District 04, Area 04 and to the General Service Office every quarter. Even though sometimes the amount may be small, two or three dollars, we always send it in.

    Come and see us at Courage to Change on Wednesdays. We'll be there with the coffee on and the Big Book open ready to have a meeting.

-Terry L.

Service Comes in all Forms

A lot of people in AA wonder what service work is? Some people say its going to meetings. It’s that and a lot more. It’s getting to meetings early and making coffee, and cleaning up after. It’s standing at the door and making people welcome, chairing the meeting, and talking to the new comer.

At the Intergroup office there is all kinds of service work. Like answering the phone after hours, sitting in the office for a few hours and waiting on the people that come in, or folding meeting schedules.

There is nothing that I will not do for AA . Service work keeps me going. If it was not for service I would be so into self will it would kill me.

Working with the new person is what its all about.

-Someone who cares

Report From Your Intergroup

March 2007

The report I have for Fort Smith Area AA office is not as good as it could be in some areas. Things have slowed down very much recently. First of all here is the hours put in by me and the boys.

Ed W. 0

Steve 50

Greg 27

John 139

Total of hours 216 Hours

216 hour for carrying the message of AA is not bad. I Have a great bunch of men working here. You might want to stop by the office and meet them.

We now have some new call forwarding people that man the phones when the office is closed. Well done, and thank you for responding! But we still need more servants in this area, so volunteer if you can. We also still need people to take those who don’t have cars to meetings, if you are willing let us know so we can add you to the list.

Rodney is doing a good job as our new treasurer. We are working together to make things better. Thank you Rod!

Carrying the message is the most important thing that we do. This comes in many forms, office work, visits, by phone, and on line by e-mail. The crew is outstanding in this area. Being of service is what its all about.

The intergroup now has a brand new web site, don’t forget to check it out at www.aa-fort-smith-arkansas.org or just Google “aa fort smith” and our Intergroup site will be the first on the list. It will be growing in features in the coming months and, with your help, we will be keeping the online meeting schedule, news, and events up to the minute. Once we have security measures firmly in place forms will be available online for you to request meeting schedule changes, post news and events, or volunteer for service work.

We are falling short on ours news letter articles, come on people it doesn’t take that much to sit down and write a short story, or perhaps to give us some announcements and news to put into the letter.

We are getting low on everything. We need books and chips and a lot of other thing. Please give if you can.

Lets all pull together and make AA in our area the best we can. It doesn’t take much, I’m willing to do my part are you willing to do yours?

Thanks to God and all the people that have helped out in making things better!

-John, Intergroup

Upcoming Events

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

Beaver’s Bend Campground Round Robin

April 27-29, $10 registration includes meals, kids under 12 free. Registration begins Friday at noon. Meetings, speakers, raffle, dance, and campfire meetings. Volunteers gratefully accepted, Judy R. 870-898-5995.

District 6 May Fun Day 2007

May 5^th, Dam Site Picnic Area – Heber Springs, $5 registration includes lunch, kids under 12 free. Speaker Bill R. from Stuttgart following the meal. Fellowship, games and activities, raffle, helicopter rides $1.

Serenity by the Lake

June 2-3, Tenkiller Lake Cherokee Landing. Meetings, food, fellowship, fun. Contact Dave P. for directions.

Ben Geren Park 4^th of July Fellowship

July 4^th 10am-6pm, Ben Geren Park Pavilion, Fort Smith. Volunteers needed, call Terry L. 479-883-2500.

67^th Annual “Old Grandad” (oldest convention west of the Mississippi)

Arkansas state AA convention July 27-29, Arlington Resort Hotel, Hot Springs (Rooms 501-623-7771). Registration $15 opens 4pm Friday. Speakers, dancing, golf, sight seeing.

Autumn in the Ozarks

September 14-16, Bel’arco resort, Bull Shoals, AR. 870-445-4242. Pre Registration Friday 2pm $12, Registration at the door $15. Theme “Walking the Talk”. 6 speaker meetings, camping, hiking, fishing, boating, golf, tennis, sight seeing. Lots of nearby dining available. See website www.autumnintheozarks.com