Thoughts For The Day~*~Ready? ^*^*^ July 7, 2007

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Ready?
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"We shall need to make a brand new venture
into open-mindedness.
We shall need to raise our eyes toward perfection,
and be ready to walk in that direction.
It will seldom matter how haltingly we walk.
The only question will be
'Are we ready?' "
Bill W.
1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 68
^*^*^*^*^*

Thought to Consider . . .

Feed your faith and your doubts will starve to death.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
F A I T H  =  Facing All In Trusting Him

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^^*~*~*~*~*

Guides

From On the Broad Highway:

I now realize that my former prejudice against clergymen was blind and wrong. They have kept alive through the centuries a faith which might have been extinguished entirely. They pointed out the road to me, but I did not even look up, I was so full of prejudice and self-concern.   

When I did open my eyes, it was because I had to. And the man who showed me the truth was a fellow sufferer and a layman. Through him, I saw at last, and I stepped from the abyss to solid ground, knowing at once that my feet were on the broad highway if I chose to walk. From a letter written by Bill W.

1967, AAWS, Inc.; As Bill Sees It, pg.119

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
 . . . AND LETTING GO OF IT

. . . 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, p. 76

Peace is possible for me only when I let go of expectations. When I'm trapped in thoughts about what I want and should be coming to me, I'm in a state of fear or anxious anticipation and this is not conducive to emotional sobriety. I must surrender over and over to the reality of my dependence on God, for then I find peace, gratitude and spiritual security.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
To Survive Trials

In our belief, any scheme of combating alcoholism which proposes wholly to shield the sick man from temptation is doomed to failure. If the alcoholic
tries to shield himself he may success for a time, but he usually winds up
with a bigger explosion than ever. We have tried these methods. These
attempts to do the impossible have always failed. Release from alcohol, and
not flight from it, is our answer.
<<<>>>
"Faith without works is dead." How appallingly true for the alcoholic! For if
an alcoholic fails to perfect and enlarge his spiritual life through work and
self-sacrifice for others, he cannot survive the certain trials and low spots
ahead. If he does not work, he will surely drink again, and if he drinks, he
will surely die. Then faith will be dead indeed.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
1. P. 101
2. PP. 14-15
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"We have begun to comprehend their futility and their fatality. We
have commenced to see their terrible destructiveness. We have begun
to learn tolerance, patience and good will toward all men, even our
enemies, for we look on them as sick people."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, Pg. 70~

*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

We had become hopelessly sick people, spiritually,
emotionally, and physically. The power that controlled
us was greater than ourselves---it was John Barleycorn.
Many drinkers have said: "I hadn't gone that far; I
hadn't lost my job on account of drink; I still had my
family; I managed to keep out of jail. True, I took too
much sometimes and I guess I managed to make quite an
ass of myself when I did, but I still thought I could
control my drinking. I didn't really believe that I was
an alcoholic." If I was one of these, have I fully
changed my mind?

Meditation for the Day

Painful as the present time may be, you will one day see
the reason for it. You will see that it was not only
testing, but also a preparation for the life-work that you
are to do. Have faith that your prayers and aspirations
will some day be answered. Answered in a way that perhaps
seems painful to you but is the only right way. Selfishness
and pride often make us want things that are not good for
us. They need to be burned out of our natures. We must be
rid of the blocks that are holding us back, before we can
expect our prayers to be answered.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may be willing to go through a time of testing.
I pray that I may trust God for the outcome.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Restraint ^*^*^ July 6, 2007

  ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Restraint
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"It is evident that the harmony, security, and
future effectiveness of AA will depend largely upon
our maintenance of a thoroughly nonagressive
and pacific attitude in all our public relations.
This is an exacting assignment,
because in our drinking days we were prone to anger,
hostility, rebellion and aggression.
And even though we are now sober,
the old patterns of behavior are to a degree still with us,
always threatening to explode on any good excuse.
But we know this,
and therefore I feel confident that in the conduct
of our public affairs we shall always find the grace
to exert an effective restraint."
Bill W.
©1962AAWS, Twelve Concepts for World Service, p. 68
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Thought to Consider . . .

Nothing pays off like restraint of tongue and pen.  
©1953AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p, 91

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A C T I O N  =  Any Change Toward Improving One's Nature

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*

Prayer

From "'Ask God for Strength'":

"I went to the filthy bathroom and got down on my knees. 'God, teach me to pray,' I begged. I remained there a long time, and when I arose and left the room, I knew I never had to drink again. I came to believe, that day, that God would help me maintain my sobriety. Since then, I've come to believe that He will help me with any problem. – Birmingham, Alabama, USA"

© 1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30^th printing 2004, pg. 36

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*~*
The chief activator of our defects has been self-centered fear.         

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 76

When I feel uncomfortable, irritated, or depressed, I look for fear. This "evil and corroding thread" is the root of my distress: Fear of failure; fear of others' opinions; fear of harm, and many other fears. I have found a Higher Power, who does not want me to live in fear and, as a result, the experience of A.A. in my life is freedom and joy. I am no longer willing to live with the multitude of character defects that characterized my life while I was drinking. Step Seven is my vehicle to freedom from these defects. I pray for help in identifying the fear underneath the defect, and then I ask God to relieve me of that fear. This method works for me without fail and is one of the great miracles of my life in Alcoholics Anonymous.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Talk or Action?

In making amends, it is seldom wise to approach an individual who still
smarts from our injustice to him, and announce that we have gone religious.
This might be called leading with the chin. Why lay ourselves open to being
branded fanatics or religious bores? If we do this, we may kill a future
opportunity to carry a beneficial message.
But the man who hears our amends is sue to be impressed with our sincere
desire to set right a wrong. He is going to be more interested in a
demonstration of good will than in talk of spiritual discoveries.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, P. 77
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"We are careful never to show intolerance or hatred of drinking as
an institution. Experience shows that such an attitude is not
helpful to anyone. Every new alcoholic looks for this spirit among
us and is immensely relieved when he finds we are not witch-burners.
A spirit of intolerance might repel alcoholics whose lives could
have been saved, had it not been for such stupidity."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 103~

*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

We tried to study our alcoholic problem, wondering what
was the cause of our strange obsession. Many of us took
special treatments, hospitalization, even confinement in
institutions. In every case, the relief was only temporary.
We tried through crazy excuses to convince ourselves that
we knew why we drank, but we went on regardless. Finally
drinking had gone far beyond even a habit. We had become
alcoholics, men and women who had been destroying
themselves against their own will. Am I completely free
from my alcoholic obsession?

Meditation for the Day

"Ask and ye shall receive." Never let yourself think you
cannot do something useful or that you never will be able
to accomplish a useful task. The fact is that you can do
practically anything in the field of human relationships,
if you are willing to call on God's supply of strength. The
supply may not be immediately available, because you may
not be entirely ready to receive it. But it will surely come
when you are properly prepared for it. As you grow spiritually,
a feeling of being plentifully supplied by God's strength will
possess you and you will be able to accomplish many useful
things.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may claim God's supply of strength by my faith
in Him. I pray that it shall be given to me according to my faith.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Simplicity ^*^*^ July 5, 2007

 ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Simplicity
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"A willingness to do whatever I was told to do
simplified the program for me.
Study the AA book - don't just read it.
They told me to go to meetings,
and I still do at every available opportunity,
whether I am at home or in some other city.
Attending meetings has never been a chore for me.
Nor have I attended them with a feeling
of just doing my duty.
Meetings are both relaxing and refreshing to me
after a hard day.
They said 'Get active," so I helped whenever I could,
and still do."
1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 381
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Thought to Consider . . .

The ankle-biters of everyday struggles will eat away at me
unless I go to meetings and share.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A C T I O N  =  Any Change Toward Improving One's Nature

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*

Steps

From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":

"It might be a long time before readers of the book in distant places and lands could be personally contacted. Therefore our literature would have to be as clear and comprehensive as possible. Our steps would have to be more explicit. There must not be a single loophole through which the rationalizing alcoholic could wiggle out. …

"Finally I [Bill W.]started to write. I set out to draft more than six steps; how many more I did not know. I relaxed and asked for guidance. With a speed that was astonishing, considering my jangling emotions, I completed the first draft. It took perhaps half an hour. The words kept right on coming. When I reached a stopping point, I numbered the new steps. They added up to twelve."

© 2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 161

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*~*
A NEW DIRECTION

Our human resources, as marshalled by the will, were not sufficient; they
failed utterly. . . Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's
will into all our activities.   

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS,  p.45,85

I hear talk of the "weak-willed" alcoholic, but I am one of the
strongest-willed people on earth!  I now know that my incredible strength of
will is not enough to save my life.  My problem is not one of "weakness," but
rather of direction.  When I, without falsely diminishing myself, accept my
honest limitations and turn to God's guidance, my worst faults become my
greatest assets.  My strong will, rightly directed, keeps me working until
the promises of the program become my daily reality.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
"The Only Requirement. . ."

In Tradition Three, A.A. is really saying to every serious drinker, "You are
an A.A. member if you say so. You can declare yourself in; nobody can keep
you out. No matter how low you've gone, no matter how grave your emotional complications--even your crimes--we don't want to keep you out. We just want to be sure that you get the same chance for sobriety that we've had."
<<<>>>
We do not wish to deny anyone his chance to recover from alcoholism. We wish to be just as inclusive as we can. never exclusive.

1. TWELVE AND TWELVE, P. 139
2. GRAPEVINE, AUGUST 1946
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"More than most people, the alcoholic leads a double life. He is very
much the actor. To the outer world he presents his stage character.
This is the one he likes his fellows to see. He wants to enjoy a
certain reputation, but knows in his heart he doesn't deserve it."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 73~


*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

Until we came into A.A. most of us had tried desperately
to stop drinking. We were filled with the delusion that we
could drink like our friends. We tried time and again to
take it or leave it, but we could do neither. We always
lapsed into ceaseless, unhappy drinking. Families, friends,
and employers threw up their hands in hurt bewilderment,
in despair, and finally in disgust. We wanted to stop. We
realized that every reason for drinking was only a crazy
excuse. Have I given up every excuse for drinking.?

Meditation for the Day

Many things can upset you and you can easily get off the
track. But remember that God is near you all the time,
ready to help you if you call on Him. You cannot forever
stand against God's will for you, nor can you, forever
upset God's plan for your life, even though Gods plan may
be postponed by your willfulness and deliberate choice of
evil. A whole world of men and women cannot permanently
change God's laws nor His purpose for the universe. The sea
of life may took very rough to us, but we can believe that
our Captain steers the boat on a straight course.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may try to steer a straight course. I pray
that I may accept God's direction in my life's journey.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Freedom ^*^*^ July 4, 2007

 ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Freedom
^*^*^
"Looking back we see that our freedom to choose badly
was not, after all, a very real freedom.
When we chose because we 'must,'
this was not a free choice either.
But it got us started in the right direction.
When we chose because we 'ought to'
we were really doing better.
This time we were earning some freedom,
making ourselves ready for more.
But when, now and then, we could gladly make
right choices without rebellion, holdout, or conflict,
then we had our first view of what
perfect freedom under God's will could be like."
Bill W., May 1960
1988AAGrapevine, The Language of the Heart, p. 302
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Thought to Consider . . .

Within our wonderful new world,
we have found freedom from our fatal obsession.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
F I N E  =  Free, Independent, New and Energetic

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*

Independence

From "Window of Opportunity":

"People suggested that I find a Higher Power. I was not fooled. I knew when they said Higher Power they meant God. And I knew that God waited for me to step out of line just once so that he could take his revenge. I wanted no part of God.

"With this resistance I plodded along for a few months. Whenever people asked me how I was going, I would say, 'Fine, just fine,' no matter how hard I was crying inside. …

"When I had finished talking, he told me something simple: 'You don't have to drink over it.' What an idea! I had thought that situations made me drink. If I was angry, I drank. If I was happy, I drank. Bored or excited, elated or depressed, I drank. Here was a man telling me that, in- dependent of my life situation, I did not have to drink. If I stuck with A.A., I could stay sober under any and all conditions. He gave me hope, and in many ways, he symbolized the door through which I finally walked into Alcoholics Anonymous."

© 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 427-29

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
A NATURAL FAITH

. . . deep down in every man, woman and child, is the fundamental idea of
God. It may be obscured by calamity, by pomp, by worship of other things, but in some form or other it is there. For faith in a Power greater than
ourselves, and miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives, are
facts as old as man himself.                    

                               ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 55

I have seen the workings of the unseen God in A.A. rooms around the country. Miracles of recovery are everywhere in evidence. I now believe that God is in these rooms and in my heart. Today faith is as natural to me, a former agnostic, as breathing, eating and sleeping. The Twelve Steps have helped to change my life in many ways, but none is more effective than the acquisition of a Higher Power.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Boomerang

When I was ten, I was tall and gawky, and smaller kids could push me around in quarrels. I remember being very depressed for a year or more, and then I began to develop a fierce resolve to win.
One day, my grandfather came along with a book about Australia and told me, "This book says that nobody but an Australian bushman knows how to make and throw the boomerang." "Here's my chance," I thought. "I will be the first man in America to make and throw a boomerang." Well, any kid could have had a notion like that. It might have lasted two days or two weeks. But mine was a power drive that kept on for six months, till I made a boomerang that swung around the church yard in front of the house and almost hit my grandfather in the head when it came back.
Emotionally, I had begun the fashioning of another sort of boomerang, one
that almost killed me later on.

A.A. comes of age, P. 53
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Sometimes we hear an alcoholic say that the only thing he needs to
do is to keep sober. Certainly he must keep sober, for there will be
no home if he doesn't. But he is yet a long way from making good to
the wife or parents whom for years he has so shockingly treated."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 82~

*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought For The Day

In Alcoholics Anonymous there is no thought of individual
profit.  No greed or gain.  No membership fees, no dues.  
Only voluntary contributions of our money and ourselves.  
All that we hope for is sobriety and regeneration, so that
we can live normal, respectable lives and can be recognized
by others as men and women willing to do unto others as we
would be done by.  These things we accomplish by the help
of each other, by following the twelve steps and by the
grace of God.  Am I willing to work for A.A. without
material gain to myself?

Meditation For The Day

What is sometimes called by religion as conversion is often
only the discovery of God as a friend in need.  What is
sometimes called religion is often only the experiencing of
the help and strength of God's power in our lives.  What is
sometimes called holiness is often only the invitation of
God to be our Friend.  As God becomes your friend, you
become a friend of others.  We experience true human
friendship and from this experience we can imagine what
kind of Great Friend God can be.  We believe Him to be a
tireless, selfless, all conquering, miracle-working Friend.  
We can reach out to the Great Friend and figuratively take
His hand in ours.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may think of God as a Great Friend in need.  
I pray that I may go along with Him.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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