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03-01-2021, 05:56 AM | #1 |
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AA Thoughts For Today - March
March 1 Third Step Prayer Many of us said to our Maker, as we understood Him: "God, I offer myself to Thee—to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of life. May I do Thy will always!" - Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 63 Thought to Ponder Life is fragile, handle with prayer. AA-related 'Alconym' P U S H = Pray Until Something Happens. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Selfishness Selfishness, self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt. c. 2001 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 62 Thought to Consider . . . Swallowing your pride will not get you drunk. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* A A = Altered Attitudes *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Opinion From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous": "As by some deep instinct, we have known from the very beginning that, no matter what the provocation, we must never publicly take sides, as A.A.s, in any fight, even a worthy one. All history affords us the spectacle of striving nations and groups finally torn asunder because they were designed for, or tempted into, controversy. Others fell apart because of sheer self-righteousness while trying to force upon the rest of mankind some millennium of their own specification. In our own times we have seen millions die in political and economic wars often spurred by religious and racial differences." 2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 123 ~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "If I want to be of some use to someone (my family, my employer, my community) then I can be a leader by becoming a servant. This is one of those crazy paradoxes we find all over the AA program: being a servant to be a leader." Humbolt, Saskatchewan, February 1996 "I Wish You Well" AA Grapevine ~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "We do not like to pronounce any individual as alcoholic, but you can quickly diagnose yourself, Step over to the nearest barroom and try some controlled drinking. Try to drink and stop abruptly. Try it more than once. It will not take long for you to decide, if you are honest with yourself about it. It may be worth a bad case of jitters if you get a full knowledge of your condition." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg.31 "Many of us keep liquor in our homes. We often need it to carry green recruits through a severe hangover. Some of us still serve it to our friends provided they are not alcoholic. But some of us think we should not serve liquor to anyone. We never argue this question. We feel that each family, in the light of their own circumstances, ought to decide for themselves." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 102~ His sponsor probably says, “Take it easy. -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 26 Misc. AA Literature - Quote Brain Power Alone? To the intellectually self-sufficient man or woman, many A.A.'s can say, 'Yes, we were like you - far too smart for our own good. We loved to have people call us precocious. We used our education to blow ourselves up into prideful balloons, though we were careful to hide this from others. Secretly, we felt we could float above the rest of the folks on our brain power alone. 'Scientific progress told Us there was nothing man couldn't do. Knowledge was all powerful. Intellect could conquer nature. Since we were brighter than most folks (so we thought), the spoils of victory would be ours for the thinking. The god of intellect displaced the God of our fathers. 'But John Barleycorn had other ideas. We who had won so handsomely in a walk turned into alltime losers. We saw that we had to reconsider or die.' TWELVE AND TWELVE, pp. 29-30 Prayer for the Day: Father, As we quietly wait in your presence this early morning, we give you praise for a new day. The storms of life may rage around us, but if we are grounded in you, we will not lose our footing. As we listen to the storm with the wind and rain, we know that we dwell in your peace, for we are surrounded with shelter. So it is in the midst of the many issues that so many are facing, your are their stillness, comfort, hope, and peace. May we draw from your strength today and know that you alone see our heart, and know us. How we praise you for your forgiving love and grace.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
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03-02-2021, 06:09 AM | #2 |
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AA Thought for the Day
March 2 Powerless Shortly afterward I came home drunk. There had been no fight. Where had been my high resolve? I simply didn’t know. It hadn't even come to mind. Someone had pushed a drink my way, and I had taken it. Was I crazy? I began to wonder, for such an appalling lack of perspective seemed near being just that. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Bill's Story) p. 5 Thought to Ponder We are without defense against the first drink. AA-related 'Alconym' A A = Alcoholic's Answer. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Why Worry? "There are many short phrases and expressions in AA which make sound sense. 'First Things First': solving our immediate problems before we try to solve all the others . . . 'Easy Does it.' Relax a little. Try for inner contentment. No one individual can carry all the burdens of the world. Everyone has problems. Getting drunk won't solve them. 'Twenty-four hours a day.' Today is the day. Doing our best, living each day to the fullest is the art of living. Yesterday is gone, and we don't know whether we will be here tomorrow. If we do a good job of living today, and if tomorrow comes for us, then the chances are we will do a good job when it arrives - so why worry about it?" 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 382 Thought to Consider . . . Every day is a gift. That is why we call it the present. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* S I T = Stay In Today *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Within From "Inner Voice": "Long before nagging and pressures from others concerning my excessive use of alcohol made any impression on me, the nagging voice of conscience my own inner voice of truth and right apprised me of the irrevocable fact that I had lost control of alcohol, that I was powerless. I know now that the inner voice was God, as I understand Him, speaking. For, as I had been taught from earliest memory and as A.A. has emphasized, God or good emanates from within each of us. Lakewood, Ohio, USA 1973 AAWS, Inc.; 30th Printing 2004, Came to Believe, pg. 83 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "I started to understand that while I didn't believe in churches, I had to see that something or someone was working in my life that hadn't been there before." Naples, Italy, January 1994 "Get With the Program" Beginner's Book: Getting and Staying Sober in AA ~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "Although financial recovery is on the way for many of us, we found we could not place money first. For us, material well-being always followed spiritual progress; it never preceded." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 127~ "So our rule is not to avoid a place where there is drinking, if we have a legitimate reason for being there. That includes bars, nightclubs, dances, receptions, weddings, even plain ordinary whoopee parties. To a person who has had experience with an alcoholic, this may seem like tempting Providence, but it isn't. You will note that we made an important qualification. Therefore, ask yourself on each occasion, 'Have I any good social, business, or personal reason for going to this place? Or am I expecting to steal a little vicarious pleasure from the atmosphere of such places?' If you answer these questions satisfactorily, you need have no apprehension. Go or stay away, whichever seems best. But be sure you are on solid spiritual ground before you start and that your motive in going is thoroughly good. Do not think of what you will get out of the occasion. Think of what you can bring to it. But if you are shaky, you had better work with another alcoholic instead" Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 101 These fears are the termites that ceaselessly devour the foundations of whatever sort of life we try to build. -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 49 Misc. AA Literature - Quote Resolving Fear Fear somehow touched about every aspect of our lives. It was an evil and corroding thread; the fabric of our existence was shot through with it. It set in motion trains of circumstances which brought us misfortune we felt we didn't deserve. But did not we often set the ball rolling ourselves? The problem of resolving fear has two aspects. We shall have to try for all the freedom from fear that is possible for us to attain. Then we shall need to find both the courage and the grace to deal constructively with whatever fears remain. 1. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pp. 67-68 - 2. GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1962 Prayer for the Day: Dear Father in heaven, we ask you from our hearts to give us your peace. Grant that nothing may take your peace from us, and protect us from all that is evil. May we always be mindful that we should serve you in self-denial. May we be faithful on all our ways, looking to the great promise you have given each one of us. Keep us under your protection, as you have always done. We praise and thank you for all that comes to our hearts from you, making us full of trust and certain of your further help. Amen.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
03-03-2021, 06:04 AM | #3 |
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AA Thought for the Day
March 3 Great News The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered a common solution. We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree, and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious action. This is the great news this book carries to those who suffer from alcoholism. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (There Is A Solution) p. 17 Thought to Ponder Together we can do what we could never do alone. AA-related 'Alconym' T E A M = Together Everyone Achieves More. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Meetings "We have also found that going to meetings is not something to be done only when we feel the temptation to drink. We often get more good from the meetings by attending them when we feel fine and haven't so much as thought of drinking. And even a meeting which is not totally, instantly satisfying, is better than no meeting at all. "Living Sober, p. 81 *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* ALCOHOLICS = A Life Centered On Helping Others Live In Complete Sobriety *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Bottom From "Bill's Story": "No words can tell of the loneliness and despair I found in that bitter morass of self-pity. Quicksand stretched around me in all directions. I had met my match. I had been overwhelmed. Alcohol was my master." 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 8 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "Ever deepening humility, accompanied by an ever greater willingness to accept and to act upon clear obligations -- these are truly our touchstones for all growth in the life of the spirit." AA Co-Founder, Bill W., January 1966 "The Guidance of AA's World Affairs" The Language of the Heart ~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "We have seen the truth demonstrated again and again: 'Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic.' Commencing to drink after a period of sobriety, we are in a short time as bad as ever." "We have learned that whatever the human frailties of various faiths may be, those faiths have given purpose and direction to millions. People of faith have a logical idea of what life is all about." Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 49 "Many of us keep liquor in our homes. We often need it to carry green recruits through a severe hangover. Some of us still serve it to our friends provided they are not alcoholic. But some of us think we should not serve liquor to anyone. We never argue this question. We feel that each family, in the light of their own circumstances, ought to decide for themselves." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 102~ The idea that we can be possessively loving of a few, can ignore the many, and can continue to fear or hate anybody, has to be abandoned, if only a little at a time. -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 93 Misc. AA Literature - Quote A Different Swinging Door When a drunk shows up among us and says that he doesn't like the A.A. principles, people, or service management, when he declares that he can do better elsewhere - we are not worried. We simply say, 'Maybe your case really is different. Why don't you try something else?' If an A.A. member says he doesn't like his own group, we are not disturbed. We simply say, 'Why don't you try another one? Or start one of your own.' To those who wish to secede from A.A. altogether, we extend a cheerful invitation to do just that. If they can do better by other means, we are glad. If after a trial they cannot do better, we know they face a choice: They can go mad or die or they can return to A.A. The decision is wholly theirs. ( As a matter of fact, most of them do come back. ) TWELVE CONCEPTS, pp. 72 - 73 Prayer For The Day: Lord, protect me as I strive everyday to draw closer to You! Remind me that I am not alone for You are my help. You are my strong shelter that I know I can trust and rely on. Thank you for never leaving me.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
03-04-2021, 06:45 AM | #4 |
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AA Thought for the Day
March 4 A Gift When a man or a woman has a spiritual awakening, the most important meaning of it is that he has now become able to do, feel, and believe that which he could not do before on his unaided strength and resources alone. He has been granted a gift which amounts to a new state of consciousness and being. He has been set on a path which tells him he is really going somewhere, that life is not a dead end, not something to be endured or mastered. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Twelve) pp. 106 - 107 Thought to Ponder A spiritual awakening is our greatest gift. AA-related 'Alconym' G O D = Gifts Offered Daily. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Motives "Suppose we fall short of the chosen ideal and stumble? Does this mean we are going to get drunk? Some people tell us so. But this is only a half-truth. It depends on us and our motives. If we are sorry for what we have done, and have the honest desire to let God take us to better things, we believe we will be forgiven and will have learned our lesson. If we are not sorry, and our conduct continues to harm others, we are quite sure to drink. "Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 70 *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* TRUST Try Relying Upon The Steps *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Fear From "Fear of Fear": "Many women who have reached the stage that I had reached in my drinking have lost husbands, children, homes, everything they hold dear. I have been very fortunate in many ways. The important thing I lost was my own self-respect. I could feel fear coming into my life. I couldn't face people. I couldn't look them straight in the eyes, although I had always been a self-possessed, brazen person. I'd brazen anything out. I lied like a trooper to get out of many scrapes. "But I felt a fear coming into my life, and I couldn't cope with it. I got so that I hid quite a bit of the time, wouldn't answer the phone, and stayed by myself as much as I could. I noticed that I was avoiding all my social friends, except for my bridge club. I couldn't keep up with many of my other friends, and I wouldn't go to anyone's house unless I knew they drank as heavily as I did. I never knew it was the first drink that did it. I thought I was losing my mind when I realized that I couldn't stop drinking. That frightened me terribly." 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs. 291-92 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "Alcoholics have short memories." Paradise, Calif., October 2003 "'How It Works Works for Me" Beginner's Book: Getting and Staying Sober in AA ~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "When we decide who is to hear our story, we waste no time. We have a written inventory and we are prepared for a long talk. We explain to our partner what we are about to do and why we have to do it. He should realize that we are engaged upon a life-and-death errand. Most people approached in this way will be glad to help; they will be honored by our confidence." Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 75 "Despite all we can say, many who are real alcoholics are not going to believe they are in that class. By every form of self deception and experimentation, they will try to prove themselves exceptions to the rule, therefore nonalcoholic. If anyone who is showing inability to control his drinking can do the right about face and drink like a gentleman, our hats are off to him. Heaven knows, we have tried hard enough and long enough to drink like other people!" ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 31~ For alcoholism had been a lonely business, even though we had been surrounded by people who loved us. -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 116 Misc. AA Literature - Quote Free of Dependence I asked myself, 'Why can't the Twelve Steps work to release me from this unbearable depression?' By the hour, I stared at the St. Francis Prayer: 'It is better to comfort than to be comforted .' Suddenly I realized what the answer might be. My basic flaw had always been dependence on people or circumstances to supply me with prestige, security, and confidence. Failing to get these things according to my perfectionist dreams and specifications, I fought for them. And when defeat came, so did my depression. Reinforced by what grace 1 could find in prayer, I had to exert every ounce of will and action to cut off these faulty emotional dependencies upon people and upon circumstances. Then only could I be free to love as Francis had loved. GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1958 Prayer For The Day: Dear Lord, please help me to do what I can, and understand that I cannot do everything. Help me make what I can do count.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
03-05-2021, 06:42 AM | #5 |
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AA Thought for the Day
March 5 Solitary Self-Appraisal Hence it was most evident that a solitary self-appraisal, and the admission of our defects based upon that alone, wouldn't be nearly enough. We'd have to have outside help if we were surely to know and admit the truth about ourselves—the help of God and another human being. Only by discussing ourselves, holding back nothing, only by being willing to take advice and accept direction could we set foot on the road to straight thinking, solid honesty, and genuine humility. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Five) p. 59 Thought to Ponder Humility is telling the truth about yourself. Humiliation is when someone else does it for you. AA-related 'Alconym' A A = Attitude Adjustment. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Self-will "No matter how one wishes to try, exactly how can he turn his own will and his own life over to the care of whatever God he thinks there is? A beginning, even the smallest, is all that is needed. Once we have placed the key of willingness in the lock and have the door ever so slightly open, we find that we can always open it some more. Though self-will may slam it shut again, as it frequently does, it will always respond the moment we again pick up the key of willingness. "Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 35As Bill Sees It, p. 35 *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* EDI not DIE Easy Does It not Does It Easy *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Explanation From "More about Alcoholism": "We learned we had to fully concede to our innermost selves that we were alcoholics. This is the first step in recovery. The delusion that we are like other people, or presently may be, has to be smashed. "We alcoholics are men and women who have lost the ability to control our drinking. We know that no real alcoholic ever recovers control. All of us felt at times that we were regaining control, but such intervals usually brief were inevitably followed by still less control, which led in time to pitiful and incomprehensible demoralization." 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 30 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "Today I can look upon myself and others with understanding, acceptance, forgiveness, and love ... Recovery is a wonderland." Manhattan, N.Y., January 1970 "Tradition Three," The Best of the Grapevine, Volume 1 ~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "When we became alcoholics, crushed by a self-imposed crisis we could not postpone or evade, we had to fearlessly face the proposition that either God is everything or else He is nothing. God either is or He isn't." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 53~ "Assuming we are spiritually fit, we can do all sorts of things alcoholics are not supposed to do. People have said we must not go where liquor is served; we must not have it in our homes; we must shun friends who drink; we must avoid moving pictures which show drinking scenes; we must not go into bars; our friends must hide their bottles if we go to their houses; we mustn't think or be reminded about alcohol at all. Our experience shows that this is not necessarily so. We meet these conditions every day. An alcoholic who cannot meet them, still has an alcoholic mind; there is something the matter with his spiritual status." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 100~ Next came the expression of an aspiration and a hope for himself. -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 101 Misc. AA Literature - Quote Search for Motives Some of us clung to the claim that when drinking we never hurt anybody but ourselves. Our families didn't suffer, because we always paid the bills and seldom drank at home. Our business associates didn't suffer, because we were usually on the job. Our reputations didn't suffer, because we were certain few knew of our drinking. Those who did would sometimes assure us that, after all, a lively bender was only a good man's fault. What real harm, therefore, had we done? No more, surely, than we could easily mend with a few casual apologies. This attitude, of course, is the end result of purposeful forgetting. It is an attitude which can be changed only by a deep and honest search of our motives and actions. TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 79 Prayer For The Day: Father as we come to you in prayer today, we give you praise once again for your word of comfort. So often we go through the day filled with anxiety and pain. We carry our burdens around with us, and they consume us. We are filled with fear and uncertainty, and are searching for answers that never come. Will you lead us today to a place of rest and comfort? Will you forgive us and teach us how to listen with our heart to your word of truth?
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
03-06-2021, 05:20 AM | #6 |
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AA Thought for the Day
March 6 Our Troubles Selfishness—self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt. So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 62 Thought to Ponder The smallest package in the world is an alcoholic all wrapped up in himself. AA-related 'Alconym' I S M = I, Self, Me. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Lessons "I find the willingness to give thanks by contemplatingthe lessons learned from past suffering--lessons which have led to blessings I now enjoy. I can remember how the agonies of alcoholism,the pain of rebellion and thwarted pride,have often led me to God's grace,and so to a new freedom. "Bill W., Box 1980: The AA Grapevine, March 1962As Bill Sees It, p. 266 Thought to Consider . . . Remember that we deal with alcohol -- cunning, baffling, powerful! *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* TRUST Try Relying Upon The Steps *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Self-sufficient From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous": "At the Foundation, meanwhile, we had taken a significant action that was incorporated in these Traditions. In 1945 we wrote [our early supporters] Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and the 1940 dinner guests that we would no longer need their financial help. The book royalties could now look after Dr. Bob and me; group contributions could pay the general office expenses. If these were insufficient, the reserve accumulated out of literature sales could meet the deficit. This meant that we had finally declared for full self-support. Since that time A.A.'s Board of Trustees has steadfastly refused outside contributions." 2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pgs. 203-04 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "Today, my short version of the Third Step is this: Keep taking care of me, Lord, because I appreciate it now." Berrien Springs, Mich., April 1991 "Dear God: Keep Coming Back" AA Grapevine ~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* We constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show, humbly saying to ourselves many times each day "Thy will be done." We are then in much less danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self- pity, or foolish decisions. We become much more efficient. We do not tire so easily, for we are not burning up energy foolishly as we did when we were trying to arrange life to suit ourselves." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 87~ "Above everything, we alcoholics must be rid of this selfishness. We must, or it kill us! God makes that possible. And there often seems no way of entirely getting rid of self without His aid. Many of us had moral and philosophical convictions galore, but we could not live up to them even though we would have liked to." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 62~ It is when we try to make our will conform with God’s that we begin to use it rightly. To all of us, this was a most wonderful revelation. Our whole trouble had been the misuse of willpower. We had tried to bombard our problems with it instead of attempting to bring it into agreement with God’s intention for us. To make this increasingly possible is the purpose of A.A.’s Twelve Steps, and Step Three opens the door.” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 40 Misc. AA Literature - Quote Growth by the Tenth Step In the years ahead A.A. will, of course, make mistakes. Experience has taught us that we need have no fear of doing this, providing that we always remain willing to admit our faults and to correct them promptly. Our growth as individuals has depended upon this healthy process of trial and error. So will our growth as a fellowship. Let us always remember that any society of men and women that cannot freely correct its own faults must surely fall into decay if not into collapse. Such is the universal penalty for the failure to go on growing. Just as each A.A. must continue to take his moral inventory and act upon it, so must our whole Society if we are to survive and if we are to serve usefully and well. A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 231 Prayer For The Day: Dear Lord, thank you for this day. Please give me the strength to move in the direction I need to go. Help me realize that if I just stay were I am I will get no where.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
03-07-2021, 05:53 AM | #7 |
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AA Thought for the Day
March 7 Design for Living I have seen hundreds of families set their feet in the path that really goes somewhere; have seen the most impossible domestic situations righted; feuds and bitterness of all sorts wiped out. I have seen men come out of asylums and resume a vital place in the lives of their families and communities. Business and professional men have regained their standing. There is scarcely any form of trouble and misery which has not been overcome among us. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Bill's Story) p. 15 Thought to Ponder Don't give up before the miracle happens. AA-related 'Alconym' A C T I O N = Any Change To Improve Our Nature. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Obsession "Under the lash of alcoholism, we are driven to AA, and there we discover the fatal nature of our situation. Then, and only then, do we become as open-minded and as willing to listen as the dying can be. We stand ready to do anything which will lift the merciless obsession from us. Thought to Consider . . . The best things in life aren't things. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* NUTS Not Using The Steps *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Illogical From "I Must Learn": "'Man is ready to die for an idea, provided that idea is not quite clear to him,' Paul Eldridge wrote. That is the way the spiritual side of the A.A. program appears to me. I'm in trouble if I attempt to parse it: I don't attempt to understand it." 1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 101 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "AA gives us a Ph.D. in life and a black belt in common sense." Keego Harbor, Mich., June 1998 "Paradoxes of Sobriety" Beginner's Book: Getting and Staying Sober in AA ~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, pg. 164~ "It did not satisfy us to be told that we could not control our drinking just because we were maladjusted to life, that we were in full flight from reality, or were outright mental defectives. These things were true to some extent, in fact, to a considerable extent with some of us. But we are sure that our bodies were sickened as well. In our belief, any picture of the alcoholic which leaves out this physical factor is incomplete." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Doctor's Opinion, pg. xxvi~ Then, in Step Seven, we humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings such as He could or would under the conditions of the day we asked. In step Eight, we continued our house-cleaning, for we saw that we were not only in conflict with ourselves, but also with people and situations in the world in which we lived. We had to begin to make our peace. -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 108 Misc. AA Literature - Quote For Emergencies Only? Whether we had been believers or unbelievers, we began to get over the idea that the Higher Power was a sort of bush- league pinch hitter, to be called upon only in an emergency. The notion that we would still live our own lives, God helping a little now and then, began to evaporate. Many of us who had thought ourselves religious awoke to the limitations of this attitude. Refusing to place God first, we had deprived ourselves of His help. But now the words 'Of myself I am nothing, the Father doeth the works' began to carry bright promise and meaning. TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 75 Prayer For The Day: Holy God, as I face another day, I know I am going to face many challenges: to my faith, to my patience, to my love for others. I am going to have constant temptations to lapse into sin. Come to me now, Lord, and stay with me all day. Let your Spirit encompass my mind. Let me know your presence. Steer my hand, direct my words, guide my thoughts in everything I think and say and do. I resolve to live this day as a beacon of your glory, the best I can, with your help. I commit myself to give this day to you. In the name of Christ, be with me and help me. Amen.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
03-08-2021, 06:34 AM | #8 |
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AA Thought for the Day
March 8 Clear a Channel If at these points our emotional disturbance happens to be great, we will more surely keep our balance, provided we remember, and repeat to ourselves, a particular prayer or phrase that has appealed to us in our reading or meditation. Just saying it over and over will often enable us to clear a channel choked up with anger, fear, frustration, or misunderstanding, and permit us to return to the surest help of all—our search for God's will, not our own, in the moment of stress. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Eleven) p. 103 Thought to Ponder I want the gift of an untroubled mind. AA-related 'Alconym' F A I T H = Facing All, Intuitively Trusting Him. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Inventory "We continue to take personal inventory and continue to set right any new mistakes as we go along. We vigorously commenced this way of living as we cleaned up the past. We have entered the world of the Spirit. Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime. Continue to look for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear." Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 84 Thought to Consider . . . When I am too busy to pray - I am just too busy. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* CHANGE Choosing Honesty Allows New Growth Everyday *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Focus From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous": "The Washingtonian Society, a movement among alcoholics which started in Baltimore a century ago [the 1850s], almost discovered the answer to alcoholism. At first the society was composed entirely of alcoholics trying to help one another. The early members foresaw that they should dedicate themselves to this one aim. In many respects the Washingtonians were akin to A.A. Their membership passed the five hundred thousand mark. Had they stuck to their one goal, they might have found the full answer. Instead, the Washingtonians permitted politicians and reformers, both alcoholic and nonalcoholic, to use the society for their own purposes. Abolition of slavery, for example, was a stormy political issue then. Soon Washingtonian speakers violently and publicly took sides on this question. Maybe the society could have survived the abolition controversy, but it did not have a chance from the moment it decided to reform all America's drinking habits. Some of the Washingtonians became temperance crusaders. Within a very few years they had completely lost their effectiveness in helping alcoholics, and the society collapsed." 2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pgs. 124-25 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "Great love is the sunlight of AA's tree of life." Jackson, Miss., November 1964 "Let Go and Let God" AA Grapevine ~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "Now we go out to our fellows and repair the damage done in the past. We attempt to sweep away the debris which has accumulated out of our effort to live on self-will and run the show ourselves. If we haven't the will to do this, we ask until it comes. Remember it was agreed at the beginning we would go to any lengths for victory over alcohol." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg.76~ "We meet frequently so that newcomers may find the fellowship they seek." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, pg. 15~ Those of us who have come to make regular use of prayer would no more do without it than we would refuse air, food, or sunshine. And for the same reason. When we refuse air, light, or food, the body suffers. And when we turn away from meditation and prayer, we likewise deprive our minds, our emotions, and our intuitions of vitally needed support. As the body can fail its purpose for lack of nourishment, so can the soul. -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 97 Misc. AA Literature - Quote Thousands of 'Founders' 'While I thank God that I was privileged to be an early member of A.A., I honestly wish that the word 'founder' could be eliminated from the A.A. vocabulary. 'When you get right down to it, everyone who has done any amount of successful Twelfth Step work is bound to be the founder of a new life for other alcoholics.' 'A.A. was not invented! Its basics were brought to us through the experience and wisdom of many great friends. We simply borrowed and adapted their ideas.' 'Thankfully, we have accepted the devoted services of many nonalcoholics. We owe our very lives to the men and women of medicine and religion. And, speaking for Dr. Bob and myself,I gratefully declare that had it not been for our wives, Anne and Lois, neither of us could have lived to see A.A.'s beginning.' 1. LETTER, 1945 - 2. LETTER, 1966 - 3. LETTER, 1966 Prayer For The Day: Dear Lord, I ask for strength, and You give me difficulties that require strength. I pray for courage, and You give me dangers to overcome. I ask for favors, and You give me opportunities. I pray for patience, and You lead me into a traffic tie-up, but You never forsake me. Your love surrounds me, and You give me both encouragement and hope. ... Help me to remember times in the past when You have stood by me, comforted me, strengthened me, healed me, and blessed me. Thank You, Lord, and help me to be a blessing to others, that they may want to know You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
03-09-2021, 06:15 AM | #9 |
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AA Thought for the Day
March 9 Humility For without some degree of humility, no alcoholic can stay sober at all. Nearly all A.A.'s have found, too, that unless they develop much more of this precious quality than may be required just for sobriety, they still haven't much chance of becoming truly happy. Without it, they cannot live to much useful purpose, or, in adversity, be able to summon the faith that can meet any emergency. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Seven) p. 70 Thought to Ponder With humility, we accept our place as one among many others. AA-related 'Alconym' C H A N G E D = Choosing Humility Allows New Growth Each Day. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ The Light "To what extent I was personally responsible for my drinking, I don't know. Yet I'm not one to take complete refuge in the idea that I was a sick man only. In earlier years, I certainly had some degree of free will. That free will I used badly, to the great misery of my mother and countless others. I am deeply ashamed. As one who knows me a little, you may have heard how, ten years ago, a friend, himself a liberated alcoholic, came to me bearing the light which finally led me out of the toils. There will come a day like that for you and yours--I'm so confident!" Bill W., Letter to the Mother of an Alcoholic, Dec. Language of the Heart, p. 102 Thought to Consider . . . It's impossible for me to love God and hate myself. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* ISM = I, Self, Me *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Substitute From "Stay Sober on Love": "The things I thought I needed for so many years no longer seem important, now that I have become aware of the spiritual resources God has given me. With these, I don't need alcohol to function. What a joy to stay sober on love on love instead of fear!" Toronto, Ontario/Canada 1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 35 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "If there are challenges to be met today, I remember other days when what seemed impossible was made possible." Huntington, W.V., August 2006 "Never Sober Today Before" Beginner's Book: Getting and Staying Sober in AA ~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "We feel that elimination of our drinking is but a beginning. A much more important demonstration of our principles lies before us in our respective homes, occupations and affairs." Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 19 "When people presented us with spiritual approaches, how frequently did we all say, "I wish I had what that man has. I'm sure it would work if I could only believe as he believes. But I cannot accept as surely true the many articles of faith which are so plain to him." So it was comforting to learn that we could commence at a simpler level." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 47~ True ambition is not what we thought it was. True ambition is the deep desire to live usefully and walk humbly under the grave of God. -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 124 Misc. AA Literature - Quote Renew Your Effort 'Though I know how hurt and sorry you must be after this slip, please do not worry about a temporary loss of your inner peace. As calmly as you can, just renew your effort on the A.A. program, especially those parts of it which have to do with meditation and self-analysis. 'Could I also suggest that you look at excessive guilt for what it is? Nothing but a sort of reverse pride. A decent regret for what has happened is fine. But guilt - no. 'Indeed, the slip could well have been brought about by unreasonable feelings of guilt because of other moral failures, so called. Surely, you ought to look into this possibility. Even here you should not blame yourself for failure; you can be penalized only for refusing to try for better things.' LETTER, 1958 Prayer For The Day: Dear Lord, please grant me the wisdom to understand that I do make a difference in the world.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
03-10-2021, 05:54 AM | #10 |
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AA Thought for the Day
March 10 Whatever Price "Belief meant reliance, not; defiance. In A.A. we saw the fruits of this belief: men and women spared from alcohol's final catastrophe. We saw them meet and transcend their other pains and trials. We saw them calmly accept impossible situations, seeking neither to run nor to recriminate. This was not only faith; it was faith that worked under all conditions. We soon concluded that whatever price in humility we must pay, we would pay." - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Two) p. 31 Thought to Ponder Humility is the ability to give up your pride and still retain your dignity. AA-related 'Alconym' F R O G = Fully Rely On God. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Life on Life's Terms "For years, I was sure the worst thing that could happen to a nice guy like me would be that I would turn out to be an alcoholic. Today, I find it's the best thing that has ever happened to me. This proves I don't know what's good for me. And if I don't know what's good for me, then I don't know what's good or bad for you or for anyone. So I'm better off if I don't give advice, don't figure I know what's best, and just accept life on life's terms, as it is today--especially my own life, as it actually is. Before AA, I judged myself by my intentions, while the world was judging me by my actions. "Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 449-50 Thought to Consider . . . I am liberated from dreaming the impossible dream and free, finally, to start living the possible dream. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* TRUST Try Relying Upon the Steps and Traditions *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Agnostics >From "We Agnostics": "Some of us have been violently anti-religious. To others, the word 'God' brought up a particular idea of Him with which someone had tried to impress them during childhood. With that rejection we imagined we had abandoned the God idea entirely. We were bothered with the thought that faith and dependence upon a Power beyond ourselves was somewhat weak, even cowardly. We look upon this world of warring individuals, warring theological systems, and inexplicable calamity, with deep skepticism. How could a Supreme Being have anything to do with it all? And who could comprehend a Supreme Being anyhow? Yet, in other moments, we found ourselves thinking, when enchanted by a starlit night, 'Who, then, made all this?' There was a feeling of awe and wonder, but it was fleeting and soon lost. "Yes, we of agnostic temperament have had these thoughts and experiences. We found that as soon as we were able to lay aside prejudice and express even a willingness to believe in a Power greater than ourselves, we commenced to get results, even though it was impossible for any of us to fully define or comprehend that Power, which is God." 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs. 45-46. *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "I'm free to be the person I've always wanted to be, but never before had the courage to become." Temple, TX, October 1990 "The Man I've Always Wanted to Be," AA Grapevine ~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "Try to remember that though God has wrought miracles among us, we should never belittle a good doctor or psychiatrist. Their services are often indispensable in treating a newcomer and in following his case afterward." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 133~ "Next, we decided that hereafter in this drama of life, God was going to be our Director. He is the Principal; we are His agents. He is the Father, and we are His children. Most good ideas are simple, and this concept was the keystone of the new and triumphant arch through which we passed to freedom." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 62~ "And they have increasingly found a peace of mind which can stand firm in the face of difficult circumstances." -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 104 (Step Eleven) Misc. AA Literature - Quote Giving Without Demand Watch any A.A. of six months working with a Twelfth Step prospect. If the newcomer says, 'To the devil with you,' the twelfth-stepper only smiles and finds another alcoholic to help. He doesn't feel frustrated or rejected. If his next drunk responds, and in turn starts to give love and attention to other sufferers, yet gives none back to him, the sponsor is happy about it anyway. He still doesn't feel rejected; instead he rejoices that his former prospect is sober and happy. And he well knows that his own life has been made richer, as an extra dividend of giving to another without any demand for a return. GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1958 Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me through the difficulties, so that my victory over them may bear witness to those I will help.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
03-11-2021, 05:37 AM | #11 |
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AA Thought for the Day
March 11 Fear The chief activator of our defects has been self-centered fear—primarily fear that we would lose something we already possessed or would fail to get something we demanded. Living upon a basis of unsatisfied demands, we were in a state of continual disturbance and frustration. Therefore, no peace was to be had unless we could find a means of reducing these demands. The difference between a demand and a simple request is plain to anyone. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Seven) p. 76 Thought to Ponder Fear is a darkroom for developing negatives. AA-related 'Alconym' F E A R = Forgetting Everything's All Right. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Willpower "We AA's know the futility of trying to break the drinking obsession by will power alone. However, we do know that it takes great willingness to adopt AA's Twelve Steps as a way of life that can restore us to sanity. "Bill W., Letter, 1966 As Bill Sees It, p. 88 Thought to Consider . . . Willingness is doing what I have to, whether I want to or not. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* LET GO Leave Everything To God, Okay? *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Powerlessness Step Three: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. "Isn''t it true that in all matters touching upon alcohol, each of them has decided to turn his or her life over to the care, protection, and guidance of Alcoholics Anonymous? Already a willingness has been achieved to cast out one's own will and one's own ideas about the alcohol problem in favor of those suggested by A.A. A willing newcomer feels sure A.A. is the only safe harbor for the foundering vessel he has become. Now if this is not turning one's will and life over to a newfound Providence, then what is it?" 1952, AAWS, Inc.; Printed 2005; Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pg. 35 *~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~* "I have come to believe that my drinking insanity is only one form of the craziness to which we AAs are prone. I call it Insanity A. Insanity B is finding out what works for you -- and then not doing it." Prague, Czechoslovakia, February 2005 "Insanity B" Beginner's Book: Getting and Staying Sober in AA ~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "Resentment is the "number one" offender. It destroys more alcoholics than anything else." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 64~ "If we are planning to stop drinking, there must be no reservation of any kind, nor any lurking notion that someday we will be immune to alcohol." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 33~ All these failings generate fear, a soul-sickness in its own right. Then fear, in turn, generates more character defects. -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 49 Misc. AA Literature - Quote Truth, the Liberator How truth makes us free is something that we A.A.'s can well understand. It cut the shackles that once bound us to alcohol. It continues to release us from conflicts and miseries beyond reckoning; it banishes fear and isolation. The unity of our Fellowship, the love we cherish for each other, the esteem in which the world holds us - all of these are products of the truth which, under God, we have been privileged to perceive. Just how and when we tell the truth - or keep silent - can often reveal the difference between genuine integrity and none at all. Step Nine emphatically cautions us against misusing the truth when it states: 'We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.' Because it points up the fact that the truth can be used to injure as well as to heal, this valuable principle certainly has a wide-ranging application to the problem of developing integrity. GRAPEVINE, AUGUST 1961 Prayer For The Day: Dear Lord, I thank you for all you have done. I feel sometimes as if I ask to much. Today I just want to say thank you.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
03-12-2021, 05:30 AM | #12 |
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AA Thought for the Day
March 12 At Home When your prospect has made such reparation as he can to his family, and has thoroughly explained to them the new principles by which he is living, he should proceed to put those principles into action at home. That is, if he is lucky enough to have a home. Though his family be at fault in many respects, he should not be concerned about that. He should concentrate on his own spiritual demonstration. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Working With Others) p. 99 Thought to Ponder The Three "C's" -- Concern, Compassion, Consideration. AA-related 'Alconym' A A W O L = A A Way Of Life. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Fear "Unreasonable fear that our instincts will not be satisfied drives us to covet the possessions of others, to lust for sex and power, to become angry when our instinctive demands are threatened, to be envious when the ambitions of others seem to be realized while ours are not. These fears are the termites that cease lessly devour the foundations of whatever sort of life we try to build. "Bill W., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 49 Thought to Consider . . . Courage is not the absence of fear, but the action in spite of the fear. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* ANONYMOUS Actions Not Our Names Yield Maintenance Of Unity & Service *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Awakening From Fear of Fear": "As we walked back through the hall, I, for the first time in my life, said to another human being, 'I'm having trouble with my drinking too.' She took me by the hand and introduced me to the woman that I'm very proud to call my sponsor. This woman and her husband are both in A.A., and she said to me, 'Oh, but you're not the alcoholic; it's your husband.' I said, 'Yes.' She said, 'How long have you been married?' I said, 'Twenty-seven years.' She said "Twenty-seven years to an alcoholic! How did you ever stand it?' I thought, now here's a nice sympathetic soul! This is for me. I said, "Well, I stood it to keep the home together, and for the children's sake.' She said, 'Yes, I know. You're just a martyr, aren't you?' I walked away from that woman grinding my teeth and cursing under my breath. But that night I tried to go to sleep. And I thought, 'You're some martyr, Jane! Let's look at the record.' And when I looked at it, I knew I was just as much a drunk as George was, if not worse. I nudged George next morning, and I said I'm in,' and he said, 'Oh, I knew you'd make it.' 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs. 289-90 *~*~*~*~*^Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "Some days are harder than others, but I have been told a person is not measured by what she has achieved but by what she has overcome." Toledo, Ohio, September 2008 "The Measure of Success" AA Grapevine ~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered a common solution. We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree, and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious action. This is the great news this book carries to those who suffer from alcoholism." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 17 "When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally and physically." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 64~ The philosophy of self-sufficiency is not paying off. Plainly enough, it is a bone-crushing juggernaut whose final achievement is ruin. -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 37 Misc. AA Literature - Quote 'How Can You Roll With A Punch?' On the day that the calamity of Pearl Harbor fell upon our country, a great friend of A.A. was walking along a St. Louis street. Father Edward Dowling was not an alcoholic, but he had been one of the founders of the struggling A.A. group in his city. Because many of his usually sober friends had already taken to their bottles that they might blot out the implications of the Pearl Harbor disaster, Father Ed was anguished by the thought that his cherished A.A. group would probably do the same. Then a member, sober less than a year, stepped alongside and engaged Father Ed in a spirited conversation - mostly about A.A. Father Ed saw, with relief, that his companion was perfectly sober. 'How is it that you have nothing to say about Pearl Harbor? How can you roll with a punch like that?' ''Well,' replied the yearling, 'each of us in A.A. has already had his own private Pearl Harbor. So why should we drunks crack up over this one?' GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1962 Prayer For The Day: God our Father, you call each of us by name and you know the innermost thoughts that we keep to ourselves. Stay with us, day by day, in good times and in bad. Empower us with your Spirit that we may grow in character and develop a true sense of values and ideals through following Jesus. Amen.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
03-13-2021, 05:03 AM | #13 |
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AA Thought for the Day
March 13 Transformed Until now, our lives have been largely devoted to running from pain and problems. We fled from them as from a plague. We never wanted to deal with the fact of suffering. Escape via the bottle was always our solution. Character-building through suffering might be all right for saints, but it certainly didn't appeal to us. Then, in A.A., we looked and listened. Everywhere we saw failure and misery transformed by humility into priceless assets. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Seven) pp. 74 - 75 Thought to Ponder New ideals and new attitudes bring a new life. AA-related 'Alconym' A R T = Always Remain Teachable. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Spiritual Growth "When we speak to you of God, we mean your own conception of God. Do not let any prejudice you may have against spiritual terms deter you from honestly asking yourself what they mean to you. At the start, this was all we needed to commence spiritual growth, to effect our first conscious relation with God as we understood Him. If we wished to grow we had to begin somewhere. So we used our own conception, however limited it was." Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 47 Thought to Consider . . . Spirituality is the ability to get our minds off ourselves. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* WISDOM When Into Self, Discover Our Motives *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Traditions From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous": "'Please don't talk any more about those damned Traditions.' [in the late 1940s] "Time has changed all that. Several years later it was recognized that the Twelve Traditions were going to be just as necessary to the life of our society as the Twelve Steps were to the life of each member. We saw that the A.A. Traditions were the key to the unity, the functioning, and even the survival of Alcoholics Anonymous." 2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 204 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "Because of this program I am starting to love myself again. I still get urges to 'drink and drug' but I don't let them run my life. I value good friends today. I value my serenity, and I value life today." Thornton, Penn., April 1993 "A Valuable Commodity" AA Grapevine ~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "...the actual or potential alcoholic, with hardly an exception, will be absolutely unable to stop drinking on the basis of self knowledge. This is a point we wish to emphasize and re-emphasize, to smash home upon our alcoholic readers as it has been revealed to us out of bitter experience." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 39~ "To be gravely affected, one does not necessarily have to drink a long time nor take the quantities some of us have. This is particularly true of women. Potential female alcoholics often turn into the real thing and are gone beyond recall in a few years." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 33~ Could we then foresee that troublesome people were to become our principal teachers of patience and tolerance? -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 141 Misc. AA Literature - Quote Dependence - Unhealthy or Healthy We discovered the best possible source of emotional stability to be God Himself. We found that dependence upon His perfect justice, forgiveness, and love was healthy, and that it would work where nothing else would. If we really depended upon God, we couldn't very well play God to our fellows, nor would we feel the urge to rely wholly on human protection and care. 1. LETTER, 1966 - 2. TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 116 Prayer For The Day: Lord, inspire us to act justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with you, our God. Breathe upon us your Spirit of peace that we may be bearers of reconciliation wherever you place us. May there be peace in our hearts, in our homes, in our land, and between all people. Amen.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
03-14-2021, 06:34 AM | #14 |
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AA Thought for the Day
March 14 Thoroughly Followed RARELY HAVE we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not, completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 58 Thought to Ponder The Twelve Steps -- a manuscript for rational living. AA-related 'Alconym' S O B R I E T Y = Staying Off Booze Recovery Is Everything To You. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Humility "The attainment of greater humility is the foundation principle of each of AA's Twelve Steps. For without some degree of humility, no alcoholic can stay sober at all. "Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 70 Thought to Consider . . . As I thus get down to my right size and stature, my self-concern and importance become amusing. Bill W., Box 1980: The AA Grapevine, June 1961 As Bill Sees It, p. 106 *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* FEAR False Expectations Appearing Real *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Spirituality From "In His Own Individual Right": "When people look at you and wonder what's with you, the look in your eyes will answer them: 'Because I can cut it!' "The singular thing that is spirituality cannot be given to a fellowman by word of mouth. If every man is to have it, then every man must earn it, in his own way, by his own hand, stamped by the seal of himself, in his own individual right.-- New York, New York, USA" 1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 6 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "My heart sings with each new day." Cleveland, Ohio, February 1993 "Facing the Truth" AA Grapevine ~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "We alcoholics are sensitive people. It takes some of us a long time to outgrow that serious handicap." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 125~ "Many of us keep liquor in our homes. We often need it to carry green recruits through a severe hangover. Some of us still serve it to our friends provided they are not alcoholic. But some of us think we should not serve liquor to anyone. We never argue this question. We feel that each family, in the light of their own circumstances, ought to decide for themselves." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 102~ These were some of the ways in which fear conspired with pride to hinder our making a list of all the people we had harmed. -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 79 Misc. AA Literature - Quote Two-Way Tolerance 'Your point of view was once mine. Fortunately, A.A. is constructed so that we need not debate the existence of God; but for best results, most of us must depend upon a Higher Power. You say the group is your Higher Power, and no right- minded A.A. would challenge your privilege to believe precisely that way. We should all be glad that good recoveries can be made even on this limited basis. 'But turnabout is fair play. If you would expect tolerance for your point of view, I am sure you would be willing to reciprocate. I try to remember that, down through the centuries, lots of brighter people than 1 have been found on both sides of this debate about belief. For myself, of late years, I am finding it much easier to believe that God made man, than that man made God.' LETTER, 1950 Prayer For The Day: Father, preserve in us a sense of wonder at the marvels of life. May all that we see around us lead us to you. Amen
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
03-15-2021, 06:46 AM | #15 |
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Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 74,237
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AA Thought for the Day
March 15 Step Six We have emphasized willingness as being indispensable. Are we now ready to let God remove from us all the things which we have admitted are objectionable? Can He now take them all—every one? If we still cling to something we will not let go, we ask God to help us be willing. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 76 Thought to Ponder The Three "P's" -- Pause, Pray, Proceed. AA-related 'Alconym' H O W = Honest, Open-minded, Willing. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Procrastination "After a preliminary trial at making amends, we may enjoy such a sense of relief that we conclude our task is finished. We will want to rest on our laurels. The temptation to skip the more humiliating and dreaded meetings that still remain may be great. We may just procrastinate, telling ourselves the time is not yet, when in reality we have already passed up many a fine chance to right a serious wrong. Let's not talk prudence while practicing evasion. "Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 85 Thought to Consider . . . Procrastination is really sloth in five syllables. Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 67 *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* ISM I Sponsor Myself *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Generosity From "Thousands of 'Founders:'""A.A. was not invented! Its basics were brought to us through the experience and wisdom of many great friends. We simply borrowed and adapted their ideas."Thankfully, we have accepted the devoted services of many nonalcoholics. We owe our very lives to the men and women of medicine and religion. And, speaking for Dr. Bob and myself, I gratefully declare that had it not been for our wives, Anne and Lois, neither of us could have lived to see A.A.'s beginning." c. 1967, As Bill Sees It, page 67 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "Each AA has been an individual who, because of his alcoholism, could seldom govern himself. Nor could any other human being govern the alcoholic's obsession to drink, his drive to have things his own way ... Yet we alcoholics can be led, we can be inspired." AA Co-Founder, Bill W., January 1947 "Will AA Ever Have a Personal Government?" The Language of the Heart ~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "Although financial recovery is on the way for many of us, we found we could not place money first. For us, material well-being always followed spiritual progress; it never preceded." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 127~ "Despite all we can say, many who are real alcoholics are not going to believe they are in that class. By every form of self-deception and experimentation, they will try to prove themselves exceptions to the rule, therefore nonalcoholic. If anyone who is showing inability to control his drinking can do the right-about-face and drink like a gentleman, our hats are off to him. Heaven knows, we have tried hard enough and long enough to drink like other people!" ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 31~ Since recovery from alcoholism is life itself to us, it is imperative that we preserve in full strength our means of survival. -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 177 Misc. AA Literature - Quote Breach the Walls of Ego People who are driven by pride of self unconsciously blind themselves to their liabilities. Newcomers of this sort scarcely need comforting. The problem is to help them discover a chink in the walls their ego has built, through which the light of reason can shine. The attainment of greater humility is the foundation principle of each of A.A.'s Twelve Steps. For without some degree of humility, no alcoholic can stay sober at all. Nearly all A.A.'s have found, too, that unless they develop much more of this precious quality than may be required just for sobriety, they still haven't much chance of becoming truly happy. Without it, they cannot live to much useful purpose, or, in adversity, be able to summon the faith that can meet any emergency. TWELVE AND TWELVE - 1. p. 46 - 2. p. 70 Prayer For The Day: Today’s Prayer: Lord, I ask that You help me to be aware of those people that You have put in my life today. Help me minister to them today. I ask that You give me the words to say to them. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen!
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
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