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July 2 - The Essentials · The Daily Ripples Podcast

• 0:03
  Well, hello, and welcome to the Daily Ripples podcast.
• 0:07
  Each day, we take a stone of truth from AA's Daily Reflections.
• 0:12
  This ripples out to the practical and spiritual application at the intersection of faith and
• 0:17
  recovery.
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  Well, welcome to today's July 2nd, and our Daily Ripple is titled, The Essentials.
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  The Stone.
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  Growth does not require complexity.
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  It requires honesty, willingness, and openness.
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  These simple qualities shape a strong and steady life.
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  Ripple 1.
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  Practical.
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  Today I will be honest about where I am.
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  I will stay willing to take the next right step, even if it is uncomfortable.
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  I will remain open to learning, even when it challenges me.
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  Ripple 2.
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  Is spiritual.
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  As I come before the Father with honesty, the Holy Spirit begins His work within me.
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  Following Christ, I learn to live with openness and trust.
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  Over time, these simple qualities lead to something deeper,
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  a quiet steadiness and peace that shapes every part of life.
• 1:15
  Well, if you haven't noticed by now, it's just me, Cristi.
• 1:21
  So welcome to today's podcast for July 2nd.
• 1:25
  I can't believe they let me do this by myself.
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  But we're in for a treat today.
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  Woo-hoo!
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  Wait till they hear this one.
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  But I would like to start off by talking about honesty.
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  And being that I'm a 70s girl, I'm going to start with a song by Billy Joel.
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  Hopefully you're familiar with it.
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  And it's titled Honesty.
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  And the chorus reads like this.
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  [Honesty lyrics]
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  [Honesty lyrics]
• 2:02
  [Honesty lyrics]
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  [Honesty lyrics]
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  Wow.
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  Number one, I love that song.
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  I have always loved that song.
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  But it speaks truth.
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  In the world today, honesty is not something that comes by easily.
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  Not everybody has it.
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  Not everyone exudes it.
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  Not everyone holds it dear.
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  So when you can find someone that is honest with you, as my bestie and I call it, butt-ugly honest, it is a treasure.
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  as a woman, you want to know from another woman or girlfriend, someone that you can trust,
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  that if you say, do I look fat in this dress, that they will be honest with you because you
• 2:57
  don't want to go out there looking crazy. Now, if you ask your husband or boyfriend,
• 3:02
  you may not want to know the truth. You may want them to go, no, you look fabulous.
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  But for the most part, in a relationship and anything that you value and hold dear, you want
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  honesty. And it's not anything that should be complex. It should be something that is simple.
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  It should come without any thought, any prompting, anything that requires, you know, heavy lifting.
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  It should just come naturally.
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  If that is part of your morale, something that you value.
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  Now, if that is not your MO, then yeah, maybe you struggle with it.
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  But if you live an honest, rich, open life, it helps to create, as is said in the stone,
• 3:57
  it shapes a strong and steady life.
• 4:00
  It helps you in your course of life, making the right decisions, staying on the right path, if you will.
• 4:08
  And then when it comes to the practical, being honest about where you are and being willing to take the next right step, even if it's uncomfortable.
• 4:20
  So I'm going to share something that is kind of personal.
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  I am very, I guess you would say, in my career, many people would say I have a very successful career.
• 4:34
  And I have been blessed to have a successful career in information technology without obtaining a degree.
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  However, I am currently in school because I have decided, as uncomfortable as it may be, especially at my age, it's something that I want to obtain for my own self, to say that I've accomplished it, and it's not too late.
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  So I have made the conscious decision that this is something that I want to do.
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  So I'm going to do it.
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  And I feel good about it, even though, yes, it doesn't, you know, come easy to me.
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  As a matter of fact, it has its challenges.
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  But I'm still working through it.
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  And I'm proud of myself that I have made the decision to go back to school.
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  But it is uncomfortable, but it's a decision that I have made.
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  And again, I feel good about it.
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  But I had to be honest with myself that because I didn't have a degree, that it was going to keep me from getting to some of the level, senior management, that I wanted to get to.
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  Also, there are some conversations that I'm in that in those conversations, I can't participate intelligently.
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  I have to sit quiet, listen to context, listen to everything that goes on around me, then take it back, then decipher everything.
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  Whereas I think if I had that degree, I may be better suited to be a part of those conversations.
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  Now, the spiritual aspect of it.
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  It says, as I come before the Father with honesty.
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  Let's pause right there.
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  Because there is a scripture that I'm sure we're all familiar with, which is Romans 10, 9 through 10.
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  And it starts by saying that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus.
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  Confess with the mouth.
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  Be honest.
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  Be open.
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  Which is what this is talking about.
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  If you confess, if you confess to somebody else, if you confess to the Lord, if you confess to your partner, if you confess to whomever, being open and honest about where you are.
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  In the AA community, taking accountability, first admitting that you have become a victim
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  to something.
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  It has taken over your life and you don't want to be there anymore.
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  You want to finally be in control, confessing it, being honest about it.
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  So just like in the scripture, thou shall confess with the mouth and shall believe in thine heart.
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  God will meet us where we are if we're honest.
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  First, we have to be honest and open about it.
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  Many people are willing to forgive if you're open and honest about it.
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  And over time, it gets better.
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  These simple qualities.
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  It's nothing big.
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  It doesn't have to be a huge fanfare.
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  You don't have to have a parade.
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  You don't even have to dress up for it, put on makeup, none of that.
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  These are simple everyday gestures that you can take.
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  Honesty doesn't require a lot from you.
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  It just requires the best of you.
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  Just the best of you.
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  And I know for some people, that may be hard.
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  But I believe in you.
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  I believe in you.
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  And it's a daily walk.
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  It's not something you pick up today and put down tomorrow.
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  Something you pick up today and you go tonight and all bets are off.
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  It is a daily walk.
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  It is a conscious effort to always walk in honesty and openness.
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  no matter who you are, where you are, or what you're doing.
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  It is always a mantle that you need to carry with you at all times
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  because it will shape every part of your life.
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  Good, bad, or indifferent.
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  Not everybody's going to agree with your honesty.
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  Sometimes your honesty is going to be,
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  they're going to be like, look, I didn't need to hear that.
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  You could have kept that to yourself.
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  Trust me.
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  I'm one of those that is brutally honest
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  Do not ask my opinion if you're not ready for it
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  I'm one of those
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  But people who know me know that about me
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  They know only ask Cristi if you are ready for the butt-ugly honest answer
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  Now if you're not, then you just need to keep on moving past me
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  but when you're ready for the real hard conversation, I'm here for you because I'm
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  going to give it to you because guess what? Somebody gave it to me. And here's the thing
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  as the recipient of honesty, you don't even have to fully accept it in that moment, but at some
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  point you will. And when you do, when you accept it and you're honest with yourself about it,
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  it brings about a change. And it normally brings about a change for the better. It shapes your life
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  for the better. And that is a good thing. That's what you want. You want a better life.
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  You want better results. You want a fully enriched life. Don't we all want that?
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  I know I do. So why not be honest? Why not pick up that mantle? Not tomorrow, not later today,
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  But you can start right now.
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  It's an action that you can take right now.
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  To be honest, willing, and open.
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  Open to what life has for you.
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  So let's close with a prayer.
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  Father, give me honesty, willingness, and openness today.
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  through your spirit guide me into a life of peace and growth as I follow your son.
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  Amen. Amen. Thank you guys for joining me today. I appreciate you listening and I pray that you
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  have an awesome day full of honesty and openness. Be well, take care, and cast your stone. Bye-bye.