Sober Feast:
Fine Dining For Sober Living
“A Safe and Supportive Path to Sobriety”
"The Men's Home provides a home-like environment for alcoholics who are sincere in wanting to recover from alcoholism"
What we are talking about this month at The Men's Home
Step 10: "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."
The spiritual axiom referred to in the Tenth Step—"every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us"—also tells me that there are no exceptions to it. No matter how unreasonable others may seem, I am responsible for not reacting negatively. Regardless of what is happening around me I will always have the prerogative, and the responsibility, of choosing what happens within me. I am the creator of my own reality. DAILY REFLECTIONS
But there is another kind of hangover...That is the emotional hangover, the direct result of yesterday's and sometimes today's excesses of negative emotion-anger, fear, jealousy, and the like. If we would live serenely today and tomorrow, we certainly need to eliminate these hangovers. The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pg.88
"The inventory, obviously, is only part of the treatment. The deficiencies it reveals must be made up. Or, in the thought of the 10th Step: When wrong, promptly admit it. That is putting the inventoried knowledge into action." GRAPEVINE, AUGUST 1945
What are you talking about this month?
You can help support our progress (not perfection).
Golf Classic 2024 Tournament Is Around The Corner!
Register, Donate, Get Ready To Play
Click Link Below To Secure Your Spot For This Years Golf Classic!
The Men's Home is making some upgrades, and we could use your help!
Our dressers are aging out. We need to replace about 10 old dressers. We are asking our friends and supporters if they would be willing to pitch in with either a donation or a gently used dresser.
This dresser was recently donated to the Home. This is exactly the type we need. Tall, not wide as we will need two to a room.
You can donate via the button below or send a check to: The Men's Home 402 Hume Ave. Alexandria, VA 22301. If you have a piece of furniture you'd like to donate, let us know and we will arrange to pick it up. Again, thanks to everyone supporting our efforts to provide a comfortable living space for men in early recovery.
The Men's Home Annual Memorial Day Picnic is almost here. From 2:30pm-5:30pm we will be grilling burgers and hotdogs and hanging out with new and old friends. It's always a good time and we hope to see you there!
What we are talking about in May
Step 5 "Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs." This practice of admitting one's defects to another person is, of course, very ancient. It has been validated in every century, and it characterizes the lives of all spiritually centered and truly religious people. But today religion is by no means the sole advocate of this saving principle. Psychiatrists and psychologists point out the deep need every human being has for practical insight and knowledge of his own personality flaws and for a discussion of them with an understanding and trustworthy person. So far as alcoholics are concerned, A.A. would go even further. Most of us would declare that without a fearless admission of our defects to another human being we could not stay sober. It seems plain that the grace of God will not enter to expel our obsessions until we are willing to try this. —TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, PGS. 56-57
We pocket
our pride and go to it, illuminating every twist of character, every dark
cranny of the past. Once we have taken this step, withholding nothing, we are
delighted. We can look the world in the eye. We can be alone at perfect peace
and ease. Our fears fall from us. We begin to feel the nearness of our
Creator.
—ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, PG. 75
“We finally saw that the inventory should be ours, not the other man's. So we admitted our wrongs honestly and became willing to set these matters straight.” — AS BILL SEES IT, p. 222
What we are talking about in April
Step 4
"Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."
"We want to find exactly how, when, and where our natural desires have warped us. We wish to look squarely at the unhappiness this has caused others and ourselves. By discovering what our emotional deformities are, we can move toward their correction."
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 43
"We went back through our lives. Nothing counted but thoroughness and honesty....It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to futility and unhappiness. To the precise extent that we permit these, do we squander the hours that might have been worthwhile. But with the alcoholic whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely grave."
-Alcoholics Anonymous, pages 65-66
Inventory-taking is not always done in red ink. It's a poor day indeed when we haven't done something right. As a matter of fact, the waking hours are usually well filled with things that are constructive. Good intentions, good thoughts, and good acts are there for us to see." — TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 93
What are you talking about this month?
Will you help support our progress (not perfection)?
What we are talking about in March
Step 3
“Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him.”
AA is no success story in the ordinary sense of the word. It is a story of suffering transmuted, under grace, into spiritual progress.
As Bill Sees It; page 35.
Practicing Step Three is like the opening of a door which to all appearances is still closed and locked. All we need is a key, and the decision to swing the door open. There is only one key, and it is called willingness. Once unlocked by willingness, the door opens almost of itself, and looking through it, we shall see a pathway beside which is an inscription. It reads: “This is the way to a faith that works”.
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions; page 34.
The essence of all growth is a willingness to make a change for the better and then an unremitting willingness to shoulder whatever responsibility this entails.
— AS BILL SEES IT, p. 115
What are you talking about this month?
Help support our progress(not perfection).
What We're Talking About at The Men's Home:
STEP 2:
"Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity."
"Step 2 opens a vista of new hope, when based on willingness and faith. What we call this Power is a matter of choice. Call It what we will. Naming It is unimportant. The important thing is that we believe in It, that we use It to restore us to mental health and fitness."
The Little Red Book, page 24
"The minute I stopped arguing, I could begin to see and feel. Step 2 gently and very gradually began to infiltrate my life. I can't say upon what occasion or upon what day I came to believe in a Power greater than myself, but I certainly have that belief now. To acquire it, I had only to stop fighting and practice the rest of A.A.'s program as enthusiastically as I could."
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 27.
Chef Jonathan Till makes SOBERFEAST soar!!
SOBERFEAST was a gourmet’s delight thanks to Chef Jonathan Till’s wonderful and unique dishes.
Over 40 guests were treated to a 5-course gourmet meal courtesy of Chef Jonathan’s creations. A team of volunteers from the extended Men’s Home family helped guarantee a great time was had by all.
We reconnected with old friends and made new ones.
Special thanks to Brian M. and Darrell B. for their time, enthusiasm and determination in making this SOBERFEAST a reality.
We also want to send our humble thanks to Brian Hoysa and Jessica Giovannucci of The Old Town Community Church and of course, Pastor Phil for their generosity in allowing us to stage SOBERFEAST in “The Blue Room”. Their commitment to and support of the local recovery community is a blessing to us all.
And thanks to all of the friends of The Men’s Home for their continued support and generosity. Without you we could not continue the mission of bringing hope to men in early recovery.
The Men’s Home is thrilled to offer our second SOBERFEAST of 2023!
For more information, see the event on Eventbrite, or on our site.
Sunday Breakfast now $10.00
The price must go up as the show must go on.
We have raised our price for the Sunday Breakfast from $8 to $10.
We’ve kept the price steady for several years, but expenses dictate that we need to ask a bit more.
It’ll be the same hearty fare that you know and love:
- Bacon
- Sausage
- Eggs
- Pancakes
- Home Fries
- Fruit, etc.
Thank you for your understanding, we look forward to serving you when you need Sunday breakfast with a side of fellowship.
Donate to The Men's Home
As stated in our charter, the purpose of The Men’s Home is “to provide a home-like environment for alcoholics who are sincere in wanting to recover from alcoholism: to provide food, bed, information, fellowship and the sharing of spiritual values which are a part of that recovery; to expose the alcoholic to other recovering alcoholics so that, together, they can regain self-respect, confidence, and a useful place in the community; and to help attain sobriety through the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous.”
For the newly recovering man, The Home provides an alternative residence and family environment. It encourages new patterns of social relationships and supports the healing process of alcoholism recovery.
Since 1952, your donations have allowed us to operate the Home as our founders designed it. We are grateful for your continued support.
For more information you can visit out About Us page, see our Admittance page, or Donate to the Home.
AA meetings
All meetings are open, all are welcome.
- Tuesdays @ 7:30 PM - Big Book reading, discussion
- Thursdays @ 7:30 PM - 12&12 Step reading, discussion
- Sundays @ 11:00 AM - Speakers
We look forward to seeing you here at The Men’s Home. There will be coffee.