Daily Reflection

“God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one of them to say ‘Thank You’?” (William Arthur Ward)

“Act as if Andrew!” That was the suggestion given to me by my sponsor in recovery recently when I told her I was really struggling with prayer and not feeling like anything was being answered in my life. When I asked her what she meant by that, she said why not act as if God has already answered my prayers by thanking Him, rather than constantly praying for what I feel I need.

Honestly, of the 86,400 seconds that occur every single day, I probably say “Thank You” to God far less than I ask Him for something. Most of the time I find myself praying for my health to improve, instead of thanking God for all the healing that’s already taken or currently taking place. Or the fact that I pray for my relationship to improve with my partner, instead of thanking God for how close the two of us have grown and continue to grow. Or that I pray for my sponsees to get their step work done, instead of thanking God for how much work He’s done to keep them sober and how much they’ve done in turn.

The reality is it feels pretty foreign to thank God for things I’ve been praying for that I feel haven’t been fully answered. But I’ve been wondering about something ever since my sponsor made this rather simple suggestion. Could it be possible that many of my prayers haven’t totally materialized yet because my focus has mostly been on what I feel is lacking in my life and in others as well, instead of being on all the wonderful blessings that are right in front of me all the time or the ones that I know will come when they are meant to?

Maybe it’s time for me to stop praying for so many things I think I or the world needs and instead start thanking God for everything, as maybe then I might start seeing the world through a more joyful set of eyes, rather than looking through ones that have been too blindly focused in prayer to see that God has already answered quite a number of my prayers.

Dear God, I thank you for helping me to praise more than pray, to acknowledge more than ask, and to focus on what I’ve been given more than what I feel has been taken. I know I need to act as if You’ve already answered all my prayers, because the truth is, you probably have…

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson

Silly Joke Friday

Silly Joke #1

One day a fella was driving home when he suddenly realized that it was his daughter’s birthday and *shock* he hadn’t bought her anything. Out of the corner of his eye he notices a shopping mall. Knowing that it was ‘now or never’, he pulls his car through three lanes of traffic, finds a parking bay and runs into the mall. After a frantic search he finds a toy store, goes inside and attracts the attention of the shop assistant. When asked what he’d like, he simply says: “a Barbie Doll”. The shop assistant looks at him in a condescending manner and asks, “So Sir, which Barbie would that be?” The man looks surprised so the assistant continues, “We have Barbie Goes To the Ball at $19.99, Barbie goes Shopping at $19.99, Barbie goes Clubbing at $19.99, Barbie Goes To The Gym at $19.99, Cyber Barbie at $19.99 and Divorced Barbie at $249.99.” The man can’t help himself and asks, “Why is Divorced Barbie $249.99 when all those other Barbies are selling for $19.99?!!” “Well Sir, that’s quite obvious!” says the assistant, “Divorced Barbie also comes with Ken’s house, Ken’s sports car, Ken’s furniture, Ken’s entertainment system, Ken’s workout equipment, Ken’s pool table and well, pretty much anything Ken has ever owned…”

Silly Joke #2

There once was a fly buzzing around a barn one day when she happened upon a pile of fresh cow manure. Due to the fact that it had been hours since she had had her last meal, she flew down and began to eat. She ate and ate. Finally, she decided she had eaten enough and tried to fly away. She had eaten too much though, and could not get off the ground. As she looked around wondering what to do, she spotted a pitchfork leaning up against the wall. She climbed to the top of the handle and jumped off, thinking that once she got airborne, she would be able to take flight. Unfortunately, she was wrong and she dropped like a rock, and smashed when she hit the floor. Dead! So, what’s the moral of this story? Never fly off the handle when you know you’re full of shi*t.

Silly Joke #3

A preacher was completing a fiery temperance sermon: with great expression he said, “If I had all the beer in the world, I’d take it and throw it into the river.”With even greater emphasis he said, “And if I had all the wine in the world, I’d take it and throw it into the river.” And then finally, he said, “And if I had all the whiskey in the world, I’d take it and throw it into the river.” He then abruptly sat down. The song leader then stood very cautiously and announced with a smile, “For our closing song, let us now sing Hymn # 365: “Shall We Gather at the River.”

Bonus Joke (Credit goes to my friend George C.)

Do you think that at the 12 Step recovery meetings for Arson’s Anonymous that they still ask at the end of each meeting if anyone has a burning desire?

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson

Question Of The Day

Today’s question is…

If you suddenly found yourself stranded on a deserted island where you actually discovered a home with a working tv that didn’t get any channels, but did have a DVD player connected to it, and were able to have one movie of your choosing to play on it for the rest of your existence, what would you want it to be?


The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step   The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step   The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step  The Twelfth Step


Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson