La Hacienda

Good morning!

Well, summer is here and we’ve already had a lot of cool events going on out there in alumni land - make sure you check out our website for more upcoming events.

This morning, after I started my morning prayer and meditation with the 3rd Step prayer, instead of reading one of my many meditation books, I flipped open my Big Book to page 51, the chapter “We Agnostics,” and read “Leaving aside the drink question, they tell why living was so unsatisfactory.  They show how the change came over them.  When many hundreds of people are able to say that the consciousness of the Presence of God is today the most important fact of their lives, they present a powerful reason why one should have faith.”

Prior to sobering up July 24th 2004, I was led to believe that this program was all about just not drinking or using.  Just don’t drink or use and go to meetings seemed to be one of the major themes in several of our fellowships.  Oh, I can’t forget “put the plug in the jug!”   “The elimination of our drinking or using is only a beginning,” everyone including myself believed that alcohol and drugs were the problem.  Drinking and using wasn’t my problem, LIVING without drinking or using was my problem.  I had no power in my life!  Meetings don’t keep me sober, a sponsor can’t keep me sober, and the 12 Steps don’t keep me sober!  But a combination of these things gets me connected to a power greater than myself (GOD) that not only keeps me sober, but enables me to live a life that I could not have possibly ever imagined.  I was discontented my whole life and now I’m ok just being.  I am so grateful for the program of recovery outlined in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.  Do the Deal!

Peace, Love, Joe

Cup of Joe

Good morning alumni!  It has been crazy busy up here on the hill!  However, I recently ran across a story my sponsor gave me early in sobriety.  It really hit home.

God Bless,

Peace, Love, Joe

A drunk fell in a hole and couldn’t get out.

A businessman went by.  The drunk called out for help.  The businessman threw some money and told him to get himself a ladder.  But the drunk could not find a ladder in this hole he was in.

A doctor walked by.  The drunk said, “Help, I can’t get out.”  The doctor gave him drugs and said, “Take this, it will relieve the pain.”  The drunk said thanks, but when the pills ran out, he was still in the hole.

A renowned psychiatrist rode by and heard the drunk crying for help.  He stopped and said, “How did you get there?  Were you born there?  Were you put there by your parents?  Tell me about yourself; it will alleviate your sense of loneliness.”  So the drunk talked with him for an hour, then the psychiatrist had to leave, but he said he’d be back next week.  The drunk thanked him, but he was still in his hole.

A priest came by and the drunk called for help.  The priest gave him a bible and said, “I’ll say a prayer for you.”  He got down on his knees and prayed for the drunk, then left.  The drunk was very grateful; he read the bible but was still stuck in the hole.

A recovering alcoholic happened to be passing by and the drunk cried out, “Hey, help me, I’m stuck in this hole.”  Right away, the recovering alcoholic jumped in the hole with him.  The drunk said, “What are you doing?  Now we are both stuck in here.”

But the recovering alcoholic said, “It’s okay, I’ve been here before; I know the way out.”

Good morning Alumni,

The AAggieland Convention this past weekend was awesome.  It was so good
to see so many of you there, especially those of you I haven’t seen
since you left the mother ship. The speakers were amazing, very funny,
yet they carried a strong message of recovery as outlined in the Big
Book. My hat is off to the folks in the La Ha hospitality room; they
kept everyone well fed all weekend. I have to thank Chris W. and Robert
Park for all their help with the Friday night hot dog feast.  If you
weren’t able to make it this year, mark your calendar for next year; I
already have.

I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for
all your prayers for me, my brother, and my whole family. The emails,
cards, and calls have been overwhelming.

God Bless,
Peace, Love, Joe

Cup of Joe by Joe Hartwell

Good morning alumni and friends!

It’s been too long….I have been out in the trenches!   The Sponsorship by the Dozen workshop in Dallas was a hit!   I want to thank Julie Harvey and all the the guys in the Dallas alumni group for putting it together.  A special thanks to Audrey C. and Mike K. for carrying a clear-cut message around sponsorship as outlined in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.  For those of you that were not there, here are the highlights:

• Step 12 is suggested like they suggest you pull the rip cord on a parachute when you jump out of an airplane.
• Work with others when all other efforts fail.
• We recover by the steps we take, not the meetings we make.

Wish I would of gotten pictures of Able and his travelling bbq pit, it was huge and that man can cook!  Overall it was great food, fellowship and fun had by all.  

There is so much going in the next month or so.  Here is a rundown and be sure to click the links for more information:

• Austin alumni have rescheduled their picnic for Saturday, July 23^rd at Zilker Park.  They will be as close to Barton Springs pool as they can get.  The good times start around 9ish and go on until 8pm.  Alumni is providing food and drink so bring a chair, swim trunks and let’s have some fun. 
• Aggie Land Convention is August 5-7.  La Hacienda College Station Alumni will have a hospitality suite by the pool and I will be cooking up hot dogs on Friday night.
• Hill Country Round Up is August 26-28 at the Inn of the Hills in Kerrville.  La Hacienda will have the same hospitality suite and I will be cooking hot dogs ALL weekend!
• Wally P’s Back to Basics Workshop in Austin is July 23-24th

Peace, love, Joe

Cup of Joe

by: Joe Hartwell

Good morning all,

We finally got some much needed rain this past week here in the Hill Country.  Since then, the weather has been awesome and everything is green and colorful.  With the water up, I finally had the chance to jump in the river this weekend, pretty cool!

Just a reminder, the Alumni Golf Tournament is only 3 weeks away and filling up fast.  Don’t forget about the food, fun and fellowship on the river property from 6pm till dark after the tournament.  I hope to see you there! 

Sponsorship is an important subject in our fellowship.  There seems to be so many questions, and even more opinions, about what a sponsor is or isn’t. The Big Book gives us clear cut directions on how to sponsor, yet there still seems to be so much confusion on this matter.  Start by reading Chapter 7, Working With Others, on page 89.  Next, on page 90, you will find where we are to draw our sponsees attention to us as people who have RECOVERED!  My very life as an ex-problem drinker and user, depends on my constant thought of others and how I might help meet their needs (page 20).  This idea that I have to have long term sobriety before I can sponsor anybody is absolutely not true.  That’s one of the reasons I could never stay sober.  We always hear that you can’t keep it if you don’t give it away.  Man, I know I never got recovery until I gave it away!  

In the next Cup of Joe I will talk about what a sponsor is and what a sponsor isn’t.

Till then,

Peace, Love, Joe

Good morning all,

It’s such a joy to get all the calls and emails from you Alumni out there “Doing The Deal”!  Man, some of you were so broken with so many issues and no hope of ever solving them.  Now you are on the firing line of life!!  You found a good SOLUTION based meeting, got a sponsor, worked the 12 steps, and are carrying the message! Oh, and let’s not forget, the obsession to drink and use has been lifted because you are now tapped into the power of God.

We know that working and reworking the Twelve Steps provides us a guaranteed spiritual experience. Our lives change when we take the action!  What doesn’t work??Thinking, especially since “the main problem of the alcoholic and addict centers in our mind, not in our body.”  You can’t fix the problem with the problem.   Arguing, talking, rationalizing, and just going to meetings won’t do it either.  I see people, over and over again, wasting massive amounts of time, energy and money by seeking answers in all the wrong places.  They never understand that what they need is patiently waiting for them through the 12 step programs (GOD).  If we are to be free, there’s no way of getting around the work, trust me, it is the easier, softer, way!  Come join us, and live as spiritually awakened human beings.

Peace and love,

Joe

Cup of Joe by: Joe Hartwell

Good Morning From the Hill Country!

You know there are a lot of one liners that get thrown around in our fellowship without any rhyme or reason.   “God won’t give us anything we can’t handle” is one I’ve been hearing a lot of lately.  Of course this is only my opinion, but if we were given everything we could handle, why would we need God?  Moreover, this idea that God is responsible for all the hardship in the world, rather than man’s will, is ridiculous.  The Big Book says “ For if an alcoholic failed to perfect and enlarge his spiritual life through work (the 12 steps) and self sacrifice for others, he could not survive the certain trials and low spots ahead.  If he did not work, he would surely drink again, and if he drank, he would surely die.  Then faith would be dead indeed.  With us it is just like that.”  The book is very clear that we will have “certain trial and low spots”.  I think this is called life and we all have to live it, but we do it by trusting and relying upon God!  The quickest way through a storm is through it, not running from it or trying to go around it.  So when life throws us those curve balls, we can all walk through it with grace and dignity, as long as we keep close to God and perform his work well.

Peace, Love, Joe !

Morning Cup of Joe by: Joe Hartwell

Good Morning Alumni !

What a beautiful day here in the hill country. I hope this message finds you well. As I was following our directions in the 11^th step this morning ( Prayer and Meditation ), a phrase kept coming up. “ If you’re not happy with what you’ve got , God won’t give you more.” This new year will give each of us a chance to demonstrate our gratitude for our new lives.  Our true gratitude is shown, not by what we say, but by our actions. Let’s not forget about Selfishness and Self-centeredness !  Let’s all reach out and see who we can help today, for its only through giving that we truly receive.

Peace, love, Joe