Monthly Topics
Lifeline is created from OA members’ letters. Monthly topics are suggestions. You may write about any subject important to your recovery from compulsive overeating. Send your letters to Lifeline, PO Box 44020, Rio Rancho, NM 87174-4020 or email.
Features
- Stepping Out, Service with a Smile, Living Traditions and Taking the Spiritual Path: we always need stories related to these themes.
- Newcomers Corner: newcomers, share your OA experiences and concerns.
- OA Around the World: give us a history OA in your country or area; current information on the number of service boards, intergroups and groups; significant accomplishments; and two or three short pieces from local members. Please send your history today!
- Generally Speaking (general OA topics) and How OA Changed My Life
- Main Attraction: share your successes with public information and attraction.
Departments
- Ask-It Basket, Datebook, For Discussion and Web Links
- Share It runs only if sufficient material is available.
Other Materials
Lifeline accepts letters, artwork and photos (no faces, please) for publication. Credit lines and rights to submitted work apply equally to articles, artwork and photos. Submitted materials are not returned. Lifeline may edit articles and crop photos. Lifeline promotes “unity with diversity” regarding the race, nationality, gender, age, physical challenges and sexuality of its writers.
Please submit articles at least three and a half months prior to the first day of the month of publication. Deadlines appear in parentheses next to topics. Indicate the topic and month for which the article is intended. Typed letters by mail, fax or e-mail are preferred. Letters must contain the author’s name and address, even if the author wishes to remain anonymous in print. Thank you.
2010 Topics
JANUARY ANNIVERSARY ISSUE (Deadline: 9/15/09)
OA’s Golden Anniversary: The Gold in My Life
Retrospective: Lifeline stories/graphics
OA History: 1960–1964
“Twelve and Twelve” quote (member selected): Why It Has Meaning for Me
FEBRUARY (Deadline: 10/15/09)
It’s Not Just Weight: It’s a Deadly Disease
To the Teen
OA History: 1965–1969
50th Celebration: Lifeline’s Role in My Recovery Over the Years
OA Unity—Surviving Its Challenges
Splinter groups, men in OA, dignity of choice, HOW, anorexia and bulimia
"Twelve and Twelve” quote
MARCH/APRIL (Deadline: 11/15/09)
Working an Honest Program
What does it mean to work an honest program?
How have you deceived yourself while working the program?
What made you realize your dishonesty?
How did you change your program?
Diversity in Working the OA Program
Share how you work the program.
OA History: 1970–1974
50th Celebration: My First Day in OA
“Twelve and Twelve” quote
MAY (Deadline: 1/15/10)
After the Thrill
How have you maintained your program after the thrill of reaching a healthy body size?
How do you keep your program fresh?
Knowing How to Say No
What can you do (instead of eat) when the urge to binge arises?
Am I Really Recovered?
Ask how you need to improve your abstinence, work on character defects, be consistent with your program, become less isolated, be more honest with yourself, strengthen relationships, let go of controlling behavior, etc.
OA History: 1975–1979
50th Celebration: Memories of OA Milestones
(e.g., a Convention, Conference, change in bylaws, piece of new literature, move to New Mexico, etc.)
“Twelve and Twelve” quote
JUNE (Deadline: 2/15/10)
How I Learned to Be a Sponsor
What should a sponsor expect; what are the responsibilities; how do you sponsor?
Sponsorship Prerequisites: Are They Necessary?
Should people sponsor before they have read the Big Book and done the Twelve Steps? If not, what are they teaching sponsees?
Being a Sponsee
What are your expectations? How do you want to be sponsored? What are your responsibilities as a sponsee?
Helping Sponsees Work the Steps:
Assignments
Sponsors—share some of your best assignments and the results.
Sponsees—describe actions you took after a particularly good assignment.
Ending a Sponsor/Sponsee Relationship
Why, when and how should it be done?
OA History: 1980–1984
50th Celebration: 50 Years of Service— What I Have Done and How It Helped My Recovery
“Twelve and Twelve” quote
JULY (Deadline: 3/15/10)
How OA Changed My Life
OA History: 1985–1989
50th Celebration: My Memories of Personal OA Milestones
(e.g., freedom from guilt, compulsion, character defects, illness; achieving abstinence; improving a relationship; mastering chaos or finances; finding a Higher Power, etc.)
“Twelve and Twelve” quote
AUGUST (Deadline: 4/15/10)
Meeting Formats: Unity With Diversity
Why does your format work for you?
Is one format better than another?
Do tensions exist between meeting formats, such as traditional OA, HOW, 90 days? How are they relieved?
How is unity achieved through diverse formats?
How OA Works in Non-English-Speaking Countries
How was the OA message first brought to your area?
How did your meetings begin?
Are they held in your native language, English or both?
Have you made changes to the format to accommodate the culture of your country?
Online or Telephone Meetings: What They Mean to My Recovery
Accentuate the Positive
Describe how your meeting stays focused on positive sharing and gently discourages negative shares.
Share how OA’s “Suggested Guidelines for Sharing” helped your meeting avoid negative sharing.
OA History: 1990–1994
50th Celebration: What Conventions, Assemblies, Retreats Have Meant to Me Over 50 Years
“Twelve and Twelve” quote
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER (Deadline: 5/15/10)
The Eight Tools of OA
What was your most memorable, humorous, frightening or uplifting experience using a tool?
Which tool made the most difference in your recovery?
Tools I Dislike But Use Anyway Because They Work
The Hardest Tool for Me
OA History: 1995–1999
50th Celebration: A Brief History of OA in Cyberspace.
How has cyberspace helped your recovery?
“Twelve and Twelve” quote
NOVEMBER (Deadline: 7/15/10)
The Spiritual Part of OA
Does it help or hinder your recovery?
How did you find your Higher Power?
Describe your unconventional Higher Power.
Spiritual Awakenings
How has the OA program changed your spiritual life? Share an unforgettable OA spiritual experience.
How to Work the Program as an Atheist or Agnostic
Share your experience.
Discover OA’s Spiritual Path Book
Which stories have been most meaningful?
How has the book assisted your recovery?
OA History: 2000–2004
50th Celebration: How Has OA Changed Over the Years?
“Twelve and Twelve” quote
DECEMBER(Deadline: 8/15/10)
My Most Memorable Moment in OA
OA History: 2005–2010
50th Celebration: Fast-Forward to OA
50 Years in the Future
“Twelve and Twelve” quote
