When I leave the home needing a little detachment, I’m grateful that my commute to work is only 3.3 miles and that one of the midwest’s most beautiful lighthouses is blocks from my office…

Sometimes, I listen to my YouVersion bible while I walk the breakwater. Today, Proverbs 16 came up in my reading plan…

1 To humans belong the plans of the heart,

but from the LORD comes the proper answer of the tongue.

2 All a person’s ways seem pure to them,

but motives are weighed by the LORD.

3 Commit to the LORD whatever you do,

and he will establish your plans.

via Proverbs 16 NIV – To humans belong the plans of the – Bible Gateway.

Running a business on my own is not always easy. Sometimes an open day on my calendar seems like an abyss. As one of those social media ‘gooroos’, there are never any shortage of distractions to satisfy the ‘ADD’ in me. That’s when I turn to my Higher Power and contemplate my 11th Step guidlines…

Preparing for the Day Ahead

• We ask God to direct our thinking, asking especially that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives.
• We consider our plans for the day. We can now use our mental faculties with assurance.
• If we face indecision or we can’t determine what course to take, we ask God for inspiration, an intuitive thought or a decision. We relax and take it easy.
• We pray to be shown all through the day what our next step is to be, that we be given whatever we need to take care of problems.
• We ask especially for freedom from self-will. [We might also pray for help with specific defects or problem areas, and review our 10th step corrective measures for the day ahead.]

Prayers to be of Use

• We ask for guidance in the way of patience, kindness, tolerance and love especially within the family.
• We pray as to what we can do today for the person who is still sick. [We might also pray for specific people in need, or those with whom we’re angry.]

Spiritual/Religious Exercises

• If appropriate, we attend to our religious devotions, or say set prayers which emphasize 12 Step principles.
• We may read from a spiritual book.

Practicing the 11th Step Throughout the Day

• We pause, when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action.
• We constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show, humbly saying to ourselves many times each day “Thy will be done.” Source: 11th Step Guidelines

You don’t have to have abused a substance to benefit from a 12 Step program! Celebrate Recovery — the Christian version of the AA 12 Step program — has been helpful to me in dealing with ‘hurts, hangups and habits’ and it may benefit you, too. God bless YOU today as you move into your week…