“The Grand Passport has many pages; each day has only a 24-Hour stamp on it!”

Three readings. A song that says the rest. And inspiration for whatever this day is here to teach.

A lone surfer riding inside a great curling wave

Read — the readings that opened the day

The Third Testament

Malcolm Muggeridge

“What suffering, desires, troubles or secrets can you hide from Me? None! Then learn to pray spiritually, to confess from within and before Me. Trust Me so you can allow My peace to penetrate your heart, that peace that you lack so much.”

Adapted from The Third Testament

The Sermon on the Mount

Emmet Fox

“The great essential for success in prayer—for obtaining that sense of the Presence of God, which is the secret of healing oneself and others too; of obtaining inspiration, which is the breath of the soul; of acquiring spiritual development—is that we first attain some degree of true peace of mind. This true, interior soul-peace was known to the mystics as serenity & they never tire of telling us that serenity is the Grand Passport to the Presence of God.”

Adapted from The Sermon on the Mount

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Meditation For The Day “Happiness cannot be sought directly; it is a byproduct of love and service. Service is a law of our being. With love in your heart, there is always some service to other people. A life of power, joy & satisfaction is built on love and service. Persons who hate or are selfish are going against the law of their own being, cutting themselves off from God and others. Simple acts of encouragement and service help to erase the rough places of life to make a path. If we do these things, we cannot help having our share of happiness. Prayer For The Day Today, I pray that I may give my share of love and service. I pray that I may not grow weary in my attempts to do the right thing.”

Reflect — Steve L.'s own words

Reading today's meditations, the term Grand Passport jumped off the page! Preparing to drive to Sky Harbor to leave Phoenix, we had to go back to my house to get my passport. Without it, I couldn’t board the flight to London. Before I met you, I had no conscious thought of a relationship with God; that love and service were the requirements for a happy and successful life. And I cannot blame it on anyone; it was a false perception to make the accomplishments I saw in my family my God. Like Bill Wilson, “The drive for success was on. I’d prove to the world I was important,” that false perception, propelled by drugs and alcohol, again, like Bill W. landed me on the rocks. Who knew a 24-Hour Chip would turn into a Grand Passport?

Traveling around London with Kehau and her 4 kids, we went from a park to a bookstore on the Thames to the London Eye. Using my passport to help buy tickets, we found ourselves on top of London, overlooking Parliament, Big Ben & Westminster Abbey.

My first 24-Hour chip that gave me feelings of shame, defeat & yet hope has morphed into a Grand Passport! “Simple, but not easy; a price had to be paid. It meant destruction of self-centeredness. I must turn in all things to the Father of Light who presides over us all.”

On my own, I am extremely self-centered. My entitlements, dreams, illusions, shame, fears, grudges and sex ideals – in other words, everything - must get turned over. But how? You told me to ask for Willingness. The saying, “Without help, it’s too much for us” is so true. Today, I continue to discover I still have all of my character defects! The only thing that’s been 100% removed is the desire to drink & use, and that’s just one day at a time.

The Grand Passport has many pages; each day has only a 24-Hour stamp on it!

There have been many dark days where I felt like a black sheep. You continued to tell me, “this too shall Pass; keep trusting the process” and that I was heading for the Light. How can I thank you for the sponsorship, fellowship, vulnerability, laughter, Love and a Higher Power that got me here?

“Pass it on” came to mind.

Places Along the Way