"When I first came to OA, admitting I was a compulsive overeater was a big step toward my recovery.  What about today? Have I said the words "I am a compulsive overeater" so many times that they ave lost their meaning for me? I need to keep in mind that while I've been recovering in the OA rooms, my disease has been doing push-ups out in the hall.  My compulsion to overeat is cunning, baffling, powerful - and patient.  If I am wanting to eat inappropriately or to over eat it will do me no good to deny to myself what's going on to seek to hide it from others. That kind of egotistical pride will surely lead to relapse.

It doesn't matter how long I've been working the Steps or how many service positions I've held or how long I've been abstaining or how much physical recovery I have.  Today, if I'm wanting to overeat, I need to call someone and talk about it.  I need to say those humble, magic words I said when I first came to OA:  "I need help."  In this way, I admit to God, to myself and to another human being the exact nature of what's wrong with me today. When I stop denying the truth, it loses its power to destroy me."

How has your disease demonstrated to you that it's patiently doing push-ups? Are you willing to humbly ask for help when you need it? Do you feel compelled to deny that you still struggle from time to time? 

                                                                                               Voices of Recovery: December 22, Pg. 357

The Greater Cincinnati Intergroup hosted a Sponsorship Workshop this morning at the 10am St. Tim's of Anderson Meeting. The gathering was well organized and had a nice turnout. Here are some highlights! 

• A sponsor can keep a sponsee focused on his or her growth and progress.
• If someone asks you to be their sponsor it can be very helpful to ask them what their needs and expectations are.
• A sponsor must set boundaries - A sponsor is not a psychiatrist, marriage counselor, sex therapist or financial adviser.
• Being a sponsor and being sponsored can be a very spiritual experience.
• Sponsoring without being sponsored may make one feel as though they are always helping and never being helped, leading them to feelings of resentment or martyrdom.
• Being a sponsor is an important component of the 12th step.
• There is much to be read regarding sponsorship in the Big Book, For Today, Voices of Recovery, and the pamphlets: A Guide for Sponsors, The Tools of Recovery and Sponsoring Through the Twelve Steps.
• Different sponsors have different approaches to sponsorship. If the sponsor or sponsee feel the relationship is not a good fit, it is important to be able to communicate this effectively and for the other party to be understanding and not take it personally.
• If you aren't sure whether you're ready to sponsor, consider a few perspectives: 1) Once you have completed step three, you're ready to sponsor. 2) If someone asks you to be their sponsor, they probably see something in you that they want. Be honest about where you are in your program and whether you pursue the sponsor/sponsee relationship is between the two of you. 3) Your sponsor is likely one of the best references on whether you're ready to sponsor. 4) You can't keep it if you don't give it away. Start sponsoring as soon as you can.

What are your thoughts of the workshop? How might IG improve? What did you learn? What was your favorite idea shared?

"Food is not my best friend, my confidante or my lover. Food does not fix broken promises, broken hearts or broken dishwashers. It doesn't clean my house, organize my life or organize my mind. Food won't hold my hand and walk me through the dark when I'm afraid or whisper good advice in my ear when I'm about to screw up. Food does not carry a tissue in its back pocket to wipe away tears, nor does food have a shoulder to lean on when I just can't go another step. It does not fix any of my problems.

Food is not my advocate when I am treated unfairly or my spokesperson when I can't speak for myself. Food does not make right old wrongs, does not erase childhood trauma or make past abuse finally okay. It does not eliminate long-standing grudges, old mistakes or pain. Food does not make the disappointment go away or play games with me when the boredom sets in. Food does not help me deal with a job I hate, a person I hate or my own self-hate. Food does not give me things, will not make me prettier or smarter or thinner (especially not thinner).

Food will cover up the truth, food will distort reality, and food will pretend to do all the things that food really can't do.

Food, I am learning my friends, is just that. It's just food."
                                                  - Bianca W., Woodstock, Georgia USA. Lifeline Magazine November 2012

"If I slip, I will try again. Practice makes perfect, and I expect to practice abstinence until I 'get it.' What is the alternative? For Today: I will not waste time blaming myself, but instead, try again."
                                                                                                                - For Today: January 13, Pg. 13

"I started reading the "Big Book" at home, and in every instance where it used the word "alcohol," I crossed it out and put in the word "food." As I read this book, my life began to unfold in front of me.  I cried and I laughed, because, for the first time, I understood so much.  That night, while reading the "Big Book," I saw and heard what I'd denied about myself all my life. I could hardly wait for the next OA meeting, so I could ask the people there if they, too, grasped what this book said. I was on fire with excitement.  At last I was real, and I was alive.  That was 150 pounds ago, and my weight has not wavered more than 10 pounds in the almost ten years since."                                                    -Overeaters Anonymous, Second Edition, Pg. 69

"In what ways am I willing to adopt a whole new attitude about weight control, body image and eating?"
                                                                   -The Twelve Step Workbook of Overeaters Anonymous, pg. 21

"To keep our program, we need to give it away. Through sponsorship, the meaning of this statement becomes clear. It is in the sharing of our experience, strength and hope that we renew and reaffirm our own recovery.  We realize the greatest benefit - and the greatest joy - is reaching out... doing together what we could never do alone!"                                                 -A Guide For Sponsors: Why, when and how to be an OA sponsor