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A BLAST of Recovery
(Vol. 21  No. 01)
STEP One - We admitted we were powerless over food. That our lives had become unmanageable
          Spiritual Principal - Honesty

TRADITION Twelve - Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon OA unity.
         Spiritual Principal - Unity

CONCEPT Twelve - The ultimate responsibility and authority for OA world services reside in the collective conscience of our whole Fellowship.
         Spiritual Principal - Unity
   Chair's Corner
 
* There has been interest in forming a Recovery/Relapse meeting. If you are willing to begin your new year with service and would assist in taking a survey of time/place/etc. email me. irene.cabrelli@gmail.com. If you are interested in the meeting, please email your contact information

*We are compiling a list of sponsors for the website. [temporary also]. Please send your contact information to the above email.
 
*Unity Day is February 28. Please add this to your calendar.

As 2021 arrives I wish all of you a blessed and peaceful year. I am thankful for our deep connection within OA. We each know that we can show vulnerability and share each other’s burdens and longings.

I read this recently in a meditation I receive and found the message perfect.

It appears that God loves life—the creating never stops.

It appears that God loves the variety of multiple features, faces, and forms.

We will not be afraid of the other, the not-me, the stranger at the gate.

We will love and create and maintain life.

It appears that God is love—and enduring, patient kind.

We will seek and trust love in all its humanizing forms.

It appears that God loves—is—beauty: Look at this world!

Those who pray already know this.

     - Irene

Meeting of the Month


Every month the BLAST will highlight contributions from member meetings of the Brandywine InterGroup. Stories, poems, art work or anything which helped in your recovery or adds to our experience, strength and hope are welcome.

 

Saturday - Havertown - 9:30 am
 

This meeting usually takes place at:
 
Bethany Evangelical Presbyterian Church
 5 N Concord Ave,
Havertown, PA 19083
 
For now it is a ZOOM meeting:

Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/633420769
Mtg. ID#: 633 420 769
Passcode: 954463
Dial-in: +1 929 205 6099
Mtg. ID#: 633 420 769
Passcode: 954463

For more information on the Havertown meeting,
please contact Flora at (610) 325- 2296

 
Here are Havertown's submissions:
 
Stay at Home

When the pandemic first started in March and the “stay at home” orders were put into place, I felt like I needed to know how long this would last. I was pondering this as I was swinging on a swing in my neighborhood park. I love to swing. It always makes me happy!
And then I thought, “Is everything OK today?” I realized that it was. Could I be OK one day at a time? I realized that I needed to think like this. I had been in OA over 43 years and still had a hard time with one day at a time. I shared this realization with a friend in recovery and said
that maybe this whole pandemic is to help me to get this concept. She said, “Do you think you can hurry up and get this, so this can be over?!” I am making progress with this and am so grateful to be living in recovery and for right thinking.

   - Martha Z.
Real Tolerance

Most of us sense that real tolerance of other people’s shortcomings and viewpoints and a respect for their opinions are attitudes which make us more useful to others.” (BB p.19-20)
This paragraph is so meaningful and helpful today.  I was talking with a very dear friend in recovery yesterday.  She said something political that was 180* from how I think.  Restraint of tongue for me!  My husband and I are 180* politically.  I understand that our past experiences have figured into our views (his dad a member of the NRA, my mom a member of the Women’s League for Peace and Freedom).  I think that I am right the way I see things.  But it’s just one opinion.  Everyone has a right to think just as they do.  Each day I pray for real tolerance.  Love and tolerance of others is my code.  My job is to be of maximum service, and I can only do that when I’m loving and tolerant.  After tolerance comes acceptance, and I have found that acceptance is the answer to all my problems today!  

                                                          Martha Z.


     I go through times when my HP gives me repeated messages.  4 years ago I kept seeing, “With God all things are possible.”  I would see it in my reading or someone would say it.  Someone even gave me a key chain with that on it.  I needed that to prepare me for my mom having a stroke 3 ½ years ago.  In my life today, I’ve been thinking a lot about the importance of right thinking.  On my morning meeting someone shared that the problem is our thinking not our feelings or our circumstances.  Recently on KWY they have had a spot on mental health.  They have celebrities talking about their struggles and finding solutions.  On one such recording the person talked about a quote from Buddha where he said that happiness doesn’t depend on what you have or who you are.  It solely relies on what you think. She said that she thought that maybe she could turn her life around one thought at a time.  I found that so powerful.  I thought about transforming my life one thought at a time.  Again it reinforces my HP’s message about right thinking. The Big Book says that our main problem centers in the mind.  I believe that I have a 2 fold illness: an allergy of the body and an obsession of the mind.  I keep my allergy at bay by abstaining from my trigger foods.  Practicing the 12 Steps straightens out my mental twist (specifically Steps 10 and 11).  When I am disturbed, I do my 10th step so I can see where I am at fault. Step 11 keeps me grounded with my HP and helps me to live in recovery.  I can’t control my first thought, but my second thought is always a more recovered one.  “If I cannot change the wind, I can adjust my sails”.
                                                 Martha Z.

Body Image


At the Region 7 convention I attended a workshop on body image. I didn’t think I had an issue with body image any more. I have 5 years of recovery by working the steps in the big book. I commit my food plan to my sponsor, have had the same clothes size for 5 years which is a miracle in itself. The workshop was inspiring and I heard people share on topics that I identified with such as “I acted as though I was fat”, and the behavior of throwing trash out in external places. In the next few weeks I had doctor appointments with the routine weigh-in. Before recovery this was always a trigger for me, which my higher power has since relieved me of. However I was triggered by the number on the scale at these recent visits. I let that number dictate how I was feeling about myself. My recovery has taught me a lot about myself and the way I react to the world around me. I may still have body issues, even if I don’t want to have them. I am a work in progress. OA has given me a structure and willingness to follow directions - from my higher power, my sponsor, and my fellows. I just started a new step study using the OA 12 & 12. Instead of isolating myself as I have done in the past I look forward to exploring my body image issues.

          - Linda R.

Spiritual Quotes


I saw these two quotes at my recent visit to the National Center for Padre Pio.

“God does not call the equipped, He equips the called.”

I have seen the truth of this statement all through my recovery. As a compulsive overeater living in recovery, I can be uniquely useful. A few years ago, I felt called to do Step 1 workshops. I would never have been able to do this on my own, but I affirmed that my HP would help me do it. And He did. I have been called to speak for things beyond the local level. I always pray for the right words. Before I share at my local meetings, sponsor, and take outreach calls, I always pray first. My HP has never let me down. He also takes care of helping me say the right words in all my interactions. It’s quite miraculous!

“Pray, hope, and don’t worry.”

When I first saw this, I thought that this is exactly what I need to do today. First, I leave “all” in His hands. I trust Him to take care of things. I trust Him with my life. I know that hope is the most important thing. OA gave me hope 44 years ago. The faith that I found there continues to reinforce it. I pray to stay hopeful, so that I can give hope. I always think about the quote, “If you pray, why worry and if you worry why pray.” This brings me back to the beginning of the quote. “Pray”- a beautiful circle.

Martha Z.

 

 

 

As we closed out the 12th month, I thought about the 12th step promise which so applies right now:

“Both you and the new man must walk day by day in the path of spiritual progress. If you persist, remarkable things will happen. When we look back, we realize that the things which came to us when we put ourselves in God’s hands were better than anything we could have planned. Follow the dictates of a HP and you will presently live in a new and wonderful world, no matter what your present circumstances.” (BB p. 100)

     - Martha Z.

Next Month's Meeting: Royersford
 
Please send all submissions, articles, poems, cartoons, etc. to be published in the February Brandywine Intergroup BLAST of Recovery Newsletter by January 31st to Laura at wienickl@aol.com Any questions, please email or call her at 610-331-8378.  And please try to keep all submissions to one page or less. Submissions made after deadline may have to wait to be considered for publishing at a later time.
And now we're on FACEBOOK as well!
Come be our friend and "like" us!
https://www.facebook.com/Overeaters-Anonymous-Brandywine-Intergroup-106589767801515 
 
NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

***

BRANDYWINE INTERGROUP
 
 
January Intergroup Meeting & Speaker Meeting

The Brandywine InterGroup will meet  
Saturday, January 9th @ 10:00am

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86258728739
 
Meeting ID: 862 5872 8739

Dial by your location
        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
        +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kfwCeox0w
 
After the business meeting, there will be a regular OA Speaker meeting. This will begin at approximately 11:30am
 
Meeting List

To obtain the latest copy of the Brandywine Intergroup mailing list, use this link:
https://oabrandywinenews.files.wordpress.com/2020/11/big-meeting-list-11.30.2020.pdf

Thank You!

The Board would like to thank the following meetings for donations we have received in the past month:
  • Saturday - Intergroup/Speaker Meeting
  • Saturday - Conshohocken
  • Monday - Boyertown
  • Monday - Media
  • Tuesday - Royersford
All donations and contributions are appreciated!

To find out how to make your 7th Tradition contributing to the Brandywine Intergroup, Region 7, or World Service Office, please use the following link:
https://oabrandywinenews.files.wordpress.com/2020/12/ways-to-make-7th-tradition-contributions-at-our-zoom-or-phone-meetings.pdf

Beginner's Meeting
 
The Monday Night Overbrook  meeting will be hosting their monthly Newcomers Meeting Monday, January 4, 2020 at 7:30 PM.
The Zoom Meeting number is:  835 416 098
Password: 005209
 
Please spread the word to any newcomers you know who could benefit from this 1/2 hour meeting. For more information please contact:     
Laura W.     610-331-8378

OTHER REGIONS

The Virtual Intergroup will be having it's monthly 2nd Sunday E-workshop on January 10th from 3:00 to 4:30 pm.
This month's topic is: "And practice these principals in all our affairs"
For more information, please use this link:
https://oavirtualregion.org/news-events/events/vrworkshops/workshops/#youngperson

***
 
WORLD SERVICE ORGANIZATION

"A Step Ahead"

The latest edition of the World Service Organization's quarterly newsletter is available at:
https://oa.org/app/uploads/2020/10/asa-q4-2020.pdf 


World Service Convention





 














The OA Young Persons’ Committee

The OA Young Persons’ Committee is seeking stories of recovery from members ages 18–30, including members who are older but found recovery as a young person in OA. Submit your contact information via this online questionnaire, and a member of the Young Persons’ Committee will contact you about the possibility of sharing your experience, strength, and hope as a podcast. Give service to young people in OA with your story!
“Any form of service — no matter how small — that helps reach a fellow sufferer adds to the quality of our own recovery.”
- “The Tools of Recovery”, p. 5
OA Web Links:

Brandywine InterGroup: https://brandywineintergroup.org/
Region 7: https://oaregion7.org/
World Service Organization: https://oa.org/
Virtual Region: https://oavirtualregion.org 
OA Men's Group: http://www.oamen.org/ 
OA Young People’s Facebook page:
https://m.facebook.com/OAinfo
 




The Brandywine Inter-Group of
Overeaters Anonymous
 
We are a community of individuals dedicated to recovery from compulsive eating. We hold virtual and in person meetings locally in the Montgomery, Delaware, and Chester Counties of southeastern Pennsylvania.

The InterGroup meets on the second Saturday of the month at 10:00 am

Our phone number: 610-565-9695
Our e-mail address: brandywineintergroup2020@gmail.com
Our website: https://brandywineintergroup.org/ 
Our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Overeaters-Anonymous-Brandywine-Intergroup-106589767801515 






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Brandywine Intergroup of Overeaters Anonymous · PO Box 605 · Bryn Mawr, PA 19010-0605 · USA

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