Each day more than 55,000 people receive a Today's Gift thought via email from Hazelden. Each day many recipients forward the thought on to several friends. And each day Hazelden receives notes of thanks along with stories of how these thoughts have made a difference in people's lives.

"When people open their email, they know the Today's Gift thought will be there, will be positive, and will be something that can really set the tone for a good day," said Linda H. Peterson, Hazelden's Webmaster who oversees staff who select the Today's Gift messages.

"These thoughts do impact people's lives," added Peterson, and the evidence is in the responses the Web staff receive every day. From suicide prevention to reaching the homebound, feedback indicates that sometimes people feel their lives depend on the Today's Gift message. One responder said, "I want you to know that some days the daily reading is the only thing that keeps me going."

Higher Power at work?
Web staffers and those who receive the daily message share a common feeling about the "real" source of Today's Gift: They sense that a power greater than themselves is working behind the scenes. "I truly believe there's an incredible, beyond-human-understanding amount of Higher Power work involved in the choosing of Today's Gift thoughts," said one responder. Another said that recent thoughts "have been particularly appropriate and helpful to me. I believe that a higher spiritual power is using your service to provide support and guidance to me-the coincidence is too remarkable to explain any other way." One Hazelden Web staff member says the thoughts are "almost divinely selected," because she feels that "a Higher Power has a say in what the message is going to be each day."

Thoughts are chosen to reflect a variety of issues and to stay in tune with current events. For the days after September 11, Peterson said, "We threw out everything we had planned for the days after 9/11 and we put in messages about faith and courage and the future. And after the hurricanes, we posted messages that would provide hope."

Through a simple registration process, anyone can receive a Today's Gift thought via email every morning. The messages, taken from more than 35 meditation books published by Hazelden, are chosen to inspire those recovering from all forms of addiction, or simply those who are seeking a spiritual lift. Some of the books quoted include: Each Day a New Beginning, The Promise of a New Day, The Language of Letting Go, Touchstones, Food for Thought, Keep It Simple, Night Light, The Reflecting Pond, and Twenty-Four Hours a Day.

How to subscribe
To receive the daily Today's Gift thought in your email box, click on the link to Sign In at the top of the page, and follow the instructions under "Are you a new visitor?" The Hazelden Web site also has two other daily meditation options available. The Thought for the Day, posted on the homepage, offers a complete daily reading from any one of six meditation books. And look for "Serenity Now!" where you can type a key word to find a variety of meditations on that topic.

Web site reaches out to millions
The Hazelden Web site receives over a quarter million visits each month. In addition to providing daily meditation services, the Hazelden Web site is a portal to helpful resources such as the online bookstore, information about Hazelden treatment services, an alcohol screening quiz, informational articles, newsletters, research, educational opportunities, jobs, and more.

"We touch the lives of thousands of people each day through the Web site and the daily Today's Gift email," Peterson concluded. "I'd like people to know that although the media is high tech, the heart of our messages come from human beings who really care."

Also see Today's Gift FAQs

--by Jeanne Engelmann

Published in The Voice, Winter 2006