Meetings Recovery Working the Program worldwide Day or Night I need a traveling program, one that is available to me 24/7. I have used our website, oa.org, a lot. I’ve looked up in-person meetings when I travel. This past November, I was traveling on the East Coast (I live on the West Coast), and I searched and found a meeting for every day that I was available, including a … Read More
Abstinence Grace-Full Breakup I never thought I could or would even be willing to have an abstinent holiday season, but by the grace of God and what I’ve learned in this Fellowship over the past year, I did. Not that I didn’t gaze lovingly at some of my binge foods, but at each moment I had a choice to make: the choice between … Read More
Recovery Relationships Word of Hope When I woke up on Unity Day, I wasn’t too thrilled to be around people. The disease of compulsive overeating, which for me is a cacophony of voices in my head, was screaming that I didn’t need to be at Unity Day with other compulsive overeaters. My disease was permitting me to isolate! It didn’t matter that I made a … Read More
Literature Tools & Concepts Self-Sustaining Abstinence Did you know that OA exists in Barillas, Guatemala? I am writing to you from a small, rural village outside of the town. Today is Thanksgiving Day in America. My heart is full of gratitude, and my belly is not stuffed from overeating holiday treats! My two teens, my husband, and I have spent the last four days with the … Read More
Fellowship Recovery Unity Day Portions Unity Day 2016 was a day to remember. We had three speakers, and the tone for the day was set when we read the quote on page 360 in For Today: “The only gift is a portion of thyself.” The first speaker noted, “I finally gave up believing that skinny equals happy. There is a Higher Power out there if … Read More
Share It Cookout Call-Out My husband and I are headed to a cookout— we’ll enjoy the company of friends, late-summer swimming, and card games. There will be delicious food as well, but that is neither the sole nor the primary reason for me to go to this cookout. I appreciate the reminders of the gifts of recovery in “Recovery Celebration” (July 2018). I too have … Read More
Recovery Working the Program Season’s Greetings from Program Happy, joyous, and free is what we can be in this Twelve Step program. Attitude change—the only person we focus on changing is ourselves. Prayer is suggested as a form of meditation—a strong component of the Eleventh Step. Problems begin to lose the magnitude they once had (when we do the necessary Step work). You need never be alone again—we … Read More
Relapse Twelfth Step Within Time for Twelfth Step Within In the “Kingdom of OA,” December 12 is officially Twelfth Step Within Day. We members of Region Eight’s Twelfth Step Within Committee address the twelfth day of every month as a day to reach out to still-suffering OA members, and on “twelve-twelve” (December 12), we double down. Everyone in OA acknowledges this official designation. According to my TSW Committee’s website, we … Read More
Literature Tools & Concepts Holiday Pocket Guide During holidays, I can almost feel the frenzy in the air: my fellow compulsive eaters’ worry. Holidays can bring stress, require travel, demand hosting duties, or carry us to strange kitchens and dining tables. Holidays confront us with our love-hate relationship with food and may require stocking up for family feasts at unfamiliar grocery stores. Great anticipation about being with … Read More
Recovery Working the Program Traveling Recovery Traveling away from home over the holidays can be a difficult time for a compulsive overeater like me. Surprisingly, I am still compulsive away from home! Because I travel often, I’ve developed some techniques that help me stay abstinent and in recovery on the road, especially over the holidays. To set up recovery before my trip, I do these things: … Read More
