Meetings Tools & Concepts OA Is For Me OA is for me—and it has been ever since a friend brought me to program in December 1981. People of all shapes and sizes told my story. I found a place where I belong. Despite sometimes feeling like I belong in a subset of OA, due to multiple allergies, afflictions, anxiety, and depression, I belong. I am here because I’m … Read More
Meetings Tools & Concepts Aptly Named I wanted to share how this magazine is truly a lifeline. I came into OA in July 2013, and I became abstinent in October 2013. A Sunday meeting used an issue of Lifeline magazine, and it hooked me. I borrowed the issue and brought it to my home group to share how great Lifeline is. They agreed. I wanted and needed … Read More
Share It Waiting Room Bloom I always take a Lifeline to read in the doctor’s waiting room, then leave it for someone else. When I caught up on the April 2018 issue, I read a beautiful poem, “New Life Blooming.” Thank you for your service. Good luck and good life. — Muriel M., Fayetteville, Tennessee USA (more…) Read More
Tools & Concepts Writing Participate and Be Blessed When I entered the doors of OA, I weighed 162 pounds (73 kg) and stood five feet one inches tall (155 cm). I’d been struggling to drop pounds for several years after having some success with a commercial weight-loss program, but I’d plateaued and didn’t know how to move past it. I felt hopeless and powerless. So, Step One came … Read More
Literature Tools & Concepts A Way That Invites I just read a beautifully written story in the May/June 2018 issue: “No Stone Unturned.” This Lifeline article is one I will keep forever. The author’s words and quotes are expressed in a thoughtful way that invites me to be filled with peace and serenity. I have even copied the writer’s morning prayer and put it with my prayers that … Read More
Literature Tools & Concepts Full-Length Program I would like to comment on “No Stone Unturned” in the May/June 2018 issue of Lifeline. It begins on page 11 under the subheading “Conscious Contact and Relationships.” I’ve been receiving Lifeline magazine for a number of years and have to say that this article is the most profound I’ve ever read! It includes all aspects of the writer’s program … Read More
Share It Shared Struggle When I received my April 2018 Lifeline magazine and opened it at random, I read the beautiful poem New Life Blooming. It struck me so much that I decided to bring it to my OA meeting that afternoon. I read it to the other members, and as we shared our thoughts about it, all of us realized we experienced some of … Read More
Share It Principle Placement I am a Lifeline subscriber and can’t imagine ever not being one. Everything about the magazine is wonderful. The talent and work put into its production is such a service. I still have my old OA Brown Book and the OA Twelve and Twelve I purchased in 1991. A few years ago, in my Twelve and Twelve, I wrote in by hand each … Read More
Gratitude Recovery Summer Steps and Smiles As I reflect on the unofficial start of the summer season, I’m filled with gratitude for OA. I first came into these sacred rooms on a Monday, right after the Fourth of July. Thank God that summer party at a friend’s lake house drove me to look into OA. A childhood friend had become sober in another Twelve Step fellowship … Read More
Recovery Relationships Applying Traditions, Accepting Others My oldest daughter in her early teens caused me a great many problems—this was in the mid-1990s. Coincidentally at that time, Lifeline featured a series of articles on various Traditions. During one of my weekly phone calls with my sponsor, I mentioned those Lifeline articles. She suggested I go through the Traditions and see how many of them applied to … Read More