None of us can expect a life free of crisis. If our recovery is strong, we can meet life's challenges head on. It doesn't mean it will be easy but we will come out of it maintaining our sobriety.

Every now and then it is my honor to have a guest writer. It gives me an opportunity to sit back and take it easy for a week but more important it gives me the chance to read and reflect on the words of another alcoholic being of service. I think you will enjoy this article.

Believing in a Higher Power is crucial to recovery. The key, however, to living a life of peace and serenity is not only believing but having a daily, conscious contact with God.

Expectations breed resentment because we place too much trust in another person. Try using confident expectancy instead. It keeps us focused and positive and the source is our Higher Power.

Finding a sponsor can be challenging but having a sponsor is vital to recovery. There is a special person out there for you and all you have to do is want what they have and ask the question, "Will you be my sponsor?"

The Twelve Steps of any recovery program are almost identical but the way we personalize them are different. This book helped me look at codependency and boundaries in a fresh, new way.

Recovery gives us the freedom to make choices in our behaviors. How we choose to live the principles of the 12 Steps will determine the peace, happiness and serenity we want in our lives.

There are so many ways we have changed in sobriety. We also know we can't change others. Acceptance is not always easy.

The day we were able to stay sober for good (yes, it's still one day at a time), is celebrated as one of the most important days of the year. Maybe it is THE most important.

They are about the size of a half-dollar. The first few in various colors, the rest more solid. They are round pieces of metal. They have no monetary value but mean the world to those of us as we celebrate our hours, days, weeks, months, and years of sobriety.