Daily Meditations for Sat, March 18th, 2023 - Wa:k Pow Wow at San Xavier today!
Daily Meditations for Sat, March 18th, 2023 - Wa:k Pow Wow at San Xavier today!"The sacred fire used to heat the rocks represents the eternal fire that burns at the center of the universe."Help support local news from a Chicanx / Native American perspective! The latest articles are sent immediately to your mailbox!Get 30 day free trialWa:k Pow Wow 2023March 18, 2023 - March 19, 2023Behind the San Xavier Mission del Bac Church1950 W.San Xavier Rd., Tucson, AZ, 85746Admission: $10 Adults, $5 Kids, Age 6 and under freeParking: $5 Cash OnlyDance Categories Include: Team Dancing, Hoop Dance, Drum Contest, Owl Dance, Chicken Dance, Inter-tribal Dances and moreELDER’S MEDITATION OF THE DAY"The sacred fire used to heat the rocks represents the eternal fire that burns at the center of the universe."— Dr. A.C. Ross (Ehanamani), LAKOTAOur Sweat Lodge represents the womb of Mother Earth. This is the place of forgiveness. The altar is the place where the Grandfathers are heated. The Sweat Lodge and the altar represent the whole story of the universe. The Sweat Lodge and the ceremonies are sacred. The Great Spirit gave these things to us to help us. He taught us to do the ceremonies in harmony with Mother Earth. We need to know and understand these things.Great Spirit, let me understand harmony.DAILY STOICdailystoicA post shared by Daily Stoic (@dailystoic)DAILY REFLECTIONS REAL INDEPENDENCE“The more we become willing to depend upon a Higher Power, the more independent we actually are.”— TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 36I start with a little willingness to trust God and He causes that willingness to grow. The more willingness I have, the more trust I gain, and the more trust I gain, the more willingness I have. My dependence on God grows as my trust in Him grows. Before I became willing, I depended on myself for all my needs and I was restricted by my incompleteness. Through my willingness to depend upon my Higher Power, whom I choose to call God, all my needs are provided for by Someone Who knows me better than I know myself—even the needs I may not realize, as well as the ones yet to come. Only Someone Who knows me that well could bring me to be myself and to help me fill the need in someone else that only I am meant to fill. There never will be another exactly like me. And that is real independence.Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc “You wouldn’t talk over someone while listening to them. And yet this is what we do to our thoughts. By sitting in silence and simply observing, you give your mind a chance to really listen to itself.”GRAPEVINE“Through uncovering and admitting my character defects, I realized that I was no different than the people I was so afraid of. I understood that we were all suffering and that I didn’t need to disguise my authentic self.”— Cornwall, Ontario, January 2005, “From Rags to Riches,” Voices of Long-Term SobrietyJUST FOR TODAY “Through uncovering and admitting my character defects, I realized that I was no different than the people I was so afraid of. I understood that we were all suffering and that I didn’t need to disguise my authentic self.”— Cornwall, Ontario, January 2005, “From Rags to Riches,” Voices of Long-Term SobrietyCopyright (c) 1991-2023, NA World Services, Inc. All Rights ReservedThree Sonorans Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.AS BILL SEES ITR.S.V.P.–Yes or No?, p. 77Usually, we do not avoid a place where there is drinking–if we have a legitimate reason for being there. That includes bars, night clubs, dances, receptions, weddings, even plain ordinary parties.You will note that we made an important qualification. Therefore, ask yourself, “Have I any good social, business, or personal reason for going to this place? Or am I expecting to steal a little vicarious pleasure from the atmosphere?” Then go or stay away, whichever seems better. But be sure you are on solid spiritual ground before you start and that your motive in going is thoroughly good. Do not think of what you will get out of the occasion. Think of what you can bring to it.If you are shaky, you had better work with another alcoholic instead!Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 101-102 OUR DAILY BREAD March 18 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 32–34; Mark 15:26–47Weeding Out Sins“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins.”When I noticed a sprig budding next to the garden hose by our porch, I ignored the seemingly harmless eyesore. How could a little weed possibly hurt our lawn? But as the weeks passed, that nuisance grew to be the size of a small bush and began taking over our yard. Its stray stalks arched over a portion of our walkway and sprouted up in other areas. Admitting its destructive existence, I asked my husband to help me dig out the wild weeds by the roots and then protect our yard with weed killer.When we ignore or deny its presence, sin can invade our lives like unwanted overgrowth and darken our personal space. Our sinless God has no darkness in Him . . . at all. As His children, we’re equipped and charged to face sins head-on so we can “walk in the light, as he is in the light” (1 John 1:7). Through confession and repentance, we experience forgiveness and freedom from sin (vv. 8–10) because we have a great advocate—Jesus (2:1). He willingly paid the ultimate price for our sins—His lifeblood—and “not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (v. 2).When our sin is brought to our attention by God, we can choose denial, avoidance, or deflection of responsibility. But when we confess and repent, He weeds out sins that harm our relationships with Him and others.By Xochitl DixonREFLECT & PRAYHow does knowing your sins are offenses against God change your view about repentance? What sins have taken root and need to be weeded out of your life?Loving Father, please uproot the sins from my life so I can grow closer to You and others.SCRIPTURE INSIGHTThe apostle John reminds us that “God is light” (1 John 1:5) and encourages us to walk in fellowship with Him (vv. 6–7). Elsewhere, Paul reminds us that we “are not in darkness” but are “children of the light” (1 Thessalonians 5:4–5). In 1 John, the apostle challenges us to “not sin” (2:1). But because we’re still not perfected, we do continue to sin (1:8). John assures us that when we confess and repent, God will “forgive us our sins” (v. 9). Our “advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One” (2:1), “through the shedding of his blood” (Romans 3:25), is “the atoning sacrifice [propitiation] for our sins” (1 John 2:2; see 4:10). The NIV Zondervan Study Bible describes “atoning sacrifice” as what Jesus did on the cross in “removing guilt and purifying sinners (expiation) and appeasing God’s anger toward sinners (propitiation).”Leave a comment