“Am I reborned to Life If I die to self?”

“Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him”. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 34 “No matter how much one wishes to try, exactly how can one turn his own will and his own life over to the care of whatever God he thinks there is? In my search for the answer to this question, I became aware of the wisdom with which it was written: that this is a two-part Step. I could see many times where I should have died, or at least been injured, during my previous style of living, and it never happened. Someone, or something, was looking after me. Today, I choose to believe my life has always been in God’s care. He alone controls the number of days I will be granted until physical death. The matter of will (self-will or God’s will) is the more difficult part of the Step for me. It is only when I have experienced enough emotional pain, through failed attempts to fix myself, that I become willing to surrender to God’s will for my life. Surrender is like the calm after the storm. When my will is in line with God’s will for me, there is peace within.”

“It is by dying that one awakens to Eternal Life.”

“But why shouldn't we laugh? We have recovered, and have been given the power to help others."

“What is the work of a master?” asked a solemn-faced visitor. “To teach people to laugh,” said the Master gravely.”

“Humor is, in fact, a prelude to faith, and laughter is the beginning of prayer.” [Note: this quote is attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr. Niebuhr has been attributed to having contributed to a version to what is frequently referred to as the Serenity Prayer]