Thoughts For The Day~*~The Light ^*^*^*^*^ March 9, 2014

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~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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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, 30^th printing 2004, pg. 35

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
SURRENDERING SELF-WILL

Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p.  34

No matter how much one wishes to try, exactly how can one turn his own will and his own life over to the care of whatever God he thinks there is?  In my search for the answer to this question, I became aware of the wisdom with which it was written: that this is a two-part Step.

I could see many times where I should have died, or at least been injured, during my previous style of living, and it never happened.  Someone, or something, was looking after me.  I choose to believe my life has always been in God's care.  He alone controls the number of days I will be granted until physical death.

The matter of will (self-will or God's will) is the more difficult part of the Step for me.  It is only when I have experienced enough emotional pain, through failed attempts to fix myself, that I become willing to surrender to God's will for my life.  Surrender is like the calm after the storm.  When my will is in line with God's will for me, there is peace within.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
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~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
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
Copyright 1967 Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

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

If we had absolutefaith in the power of God to keep us from drinking and if we turned our drink problem entirely over to God without reservations, we wouldn't have to do anything more about it. We'd be free from drink once and for all. But since our faith is apt to be weak, we have to strengthen and build up this faith. We do this in several ways. One way is by going to meetings and listening to others tell how they have found all the strength they need to overcome drink. Is my faith being strengthened by this personal witness of other alcoholics?

Meditation for the Day

It is the quality of my life that determines its value. in order to judge the value of a person's life, we must set up a standard. The most valuable life is one of honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love. All people's lives ought to be judged by this standard in determining their value to the world. By this standard, most of the so-called heroes of history were not great men. "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world, if he loseth his own soul?"

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may be honest, pure, unselfish, and loving. I pray that I may make the quality of my life good by these standards.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Inventory ^*^*^*^*^ March 8, 2014

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~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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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

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
TURNING IT OVER

Every man and woman who has joined A.A. and intends to stick has, without realizing it, made a beginning on Step Three.  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? .  .  .  Any 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?

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p.  35

Submission to God was the first step to my recovery.  I believe our Fellowship seeks a spirituality open to a new kinship with God.  As I exert myself to follow the path of the Steps, I sense a freedom that gives me the ability to think for myself.  My addiction confined me without any release and hindered my ability to be released from my self-confinement, but A.A. assures me of a way to go forward.  Mutual sharing, concern and caring for others is our natural gift to each other and mine is strengthened as my attitude toward God changes.  I learn to submit to God's will in my life, to have self-respect, and to keep both of these attitudes by giving away what I receive.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
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~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
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
Copyright 1967 Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"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~

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

We must go to A.A. meetings regularly. We must learn to think differently. We must change from alcoholic thinking to sober thinking. We must reeducate our minds. We must try to help other alcoholics. We must cooperate with God by spending at least as much time and energy on the A.A. program as we did on drinking. We must follow the A.A. program to the best of our ability. Have I turned my alcoholic problem over to God and am I cooperating with Him?

Meditation for the Day

The joy of true fellowship shall be mine in full measure. I will revel in the joy of real fellowship. There will come back a wonderful joy, if I share in fellowship now. Fellowship among spiritually minded people is the embodiment of God's purpose for this world. To realize this will bring me a new life-joy. If I share in humanity's joy and travail, a great blessing will be mine. I can truly live a life not of earth, but a heaven life here and now.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may be helped and healed by true spiritual fellowship. I pray that I may sense His presence in spiritual fellowship with His children.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Obsession ^*^*^*^*^ March 7, 2014

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~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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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, 30^th printing 2004, pg. 101

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
THE KEY IS WILLINGNESS

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.

      TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p.  35

The willingness to give up my pride and self-will to a Power greater than myself has proved to be the only ingredient absolutely necessary to solve all of my problems today.  Even the smallest amount of willingness, if sincere, is sufficient to allow God to enter and take control over any problem, pain, or obsession.  My level of comfort is in direct relation to the degree of willingness I possess at any given moment to give up my self-will, and allow God's will to be manifested in my life.  With the key of willingness, my worries and fears are powerfully transformed into serenity.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
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~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
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
Copyright 1967 Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"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~

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

There are two important things we have to do if we want to get sober and stay sober. First, having admitted that we're helpless before alcohol, we have to turn our alcoholic problem over to God and trust Him to take care of it for us. This means asking Him every morning for the strength to stay sober that day and thanking Him every night. it means really leaving the problem in God's hands and not reaching out and taking the problem back to ourselves. Second, having given our drink problem to God, we must cooperate with Him by doing something about it ourselves. Am I doing these two things?

Meditation for the Day

I must prepare myself by doing each day what I can to develop spiritually and to help others to do so. God tests me and trains me and bends me to His will. If I am not properly trained, I cannot meet the test when it comes. I must want God's will for me above all else. I must not expect to have what I am not prepared for. This preparation consists of quiet communion with God every day and gradually gaining the strength I need.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may really try to do God's will in all my affairs. I pray that I may do all I can to help others find God's will for them.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Lessons ^*^*^*^*^ Mar 6, 2014

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~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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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

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
THE IDEA OF FAITH

Do not let any prejudice you may have against spiritual terms deter you from honestly asking yourself what they mean to you.

               ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p.  47

The idea of faith is a very large chunk to swallow when fear, doubt and anger abound in and around me.  Sometimes just the idea of doing something different, something I am not accustomed to doing, can eventually become an act of faith if I do it regularly, and do it without debating whether it's the right thing to do.  When a bad day comes along and everything is going wrong, a meeting or a talk with another drunk often distracts me just enough to persuade me that everything is not quite as impossible, as overwhelming as I had thought.  In the same way, going to a meeting or talking to a fellow alcoholic are acts of faith; I believe I'm arresting my disease.  These are ways I slowly move toward faith in a Higher Power.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
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
Copyright 1967 Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

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

In A.A. we must surrender, give up, admit that we're helpless. We surrender our lives to God and ask Him for help. When He knows that we're ready, He gives us by His grace the free gift of sobriety. And we can't take any credit for having stopped drinking, because we didn't do it by our own willpower. There's no place for pride or boasting. We can only be grateful to God for doing for us what we could never do for ourselves. Do I believe that God has made me a free gift of the strength to stay sober?

Meditation for the Day

I must work for God, with God, and through God's help. By helping to bring about a true fellowship of human beings, I am working for God. I am also working with God because this is the way God works, and He is with me when I am doing such work. I cannot do good work, however, without God's help. in the final analysis, it is through the grace of God that any real change in human personality takes place. I have to rely on God's power, and anything I accomplish is through His help.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may work for God and with God. I pray that I may be used to change human personalities through God's help.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Self-will ^*^*^*^*^ Mar 5, 2014 (Corrected Copy)

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~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~

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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

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
A LIFELONG TASK

        "But just how, in these circumstances, does a fellow 'take it easy?' That's what I want to know."

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p.  26

I was never known for my patience.  How many times have I asked, "Why should I wait, when I can have it all right now?"  Indeed, when I was first presented the Twelve Steps, I was like the proverbial "kid in a candy store." I couldn't wait to get to Step Twelve; it was surely just a few months' work, or so I thought!  I realize now that living the Twelve Steps of A.A. is a lifelong undertaking.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
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
Copyright 1967 Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"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~

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

Sometimes we try too hard to get this program. It is better to relax and accept it. It will be given to us, with no effort on our part, if we stop trying too hard to get it. Sobriety can be a free gift of God, which He gives us by His grace when He knows we are ready for it. But we have to be ready. Then we must relax, take it easy, and accept the gift with gratitude and humility. We must put ourselves in God's hands. We must say to God: "Here am I and here are all my troubles. I've made a mess of things and can't do anything about it. You take me and all my troubles and do anything you want with me." Do I believe that the grace of God can do for me what I could never do for myself?

Meditation for the Day

Fear is the curse of the world. Many are our fears. Fear is everywhere. I must fight fear as I would a plague. I must turn it out of my life. There is no room for fear in the heart in which God dwells. Fear cannot exist where true love is or where faith abides. So I must have no fear. Fear is evil, but "perfect love casteth out all fear." Fear destroys hope and hope is necessary for all of humanity.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may have no fear. I pray that I may cast all fear out of my life.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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