~*~Step Eleven Group~*~: 12/15/19

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Thoughts For The Day~~Help is Available^^*^ December 22

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AA Night Before Christmas

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

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(\ ~~ /)
( \(AA)/ )
(_ /AA\ _)
/ AA \
^*^*^*^*^

Help is Available

If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it - then you are ready to take certain steps. At some of these we balked. We thought we could find an easier, softer way. But we could not. With all the earnestness at our command, we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely. Remember we deal with alcohol - cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power - that One is God. May you find Him now!
c. 1976, 2001 AAWS
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 58

Thought to Consider . . .
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.

*~*AACRONYMS*~*

H O P E
Heart Open; Please Enter

*~*^Just For Today!^*~*
Safe
From "Good Housekeeping" article, 1954:

"When you stand outside a room where a group of Alcoholics Anonymous is meeting, the most frequent sound you hear is laughter. Mellow laughter, which can come only from people who have looked destruction and catastrophe in the face, not once but continuously over long years, and now are free and unafraid. The laughter, in short, of people who hold God's hand and feel safe."
c. Letter to a Woman Alcoholic
(A.A. Pamphlet P-14)

*~Daily Reflections~*

PRINCIPLES, NOT PERSONALITIES

The way our "worthy" alcoholics have sometimes tried to judge the "less worthy" is, as we look back on it, rather comical. Imagine, if you can, one alcoholic judging another!
THE LANGUAGE OF THE HEART, p. 37

Who am I to judge anyone? When I first entered the Fellowship I found that I liked everyone. After all, A.A. was going to help me to a better way of life without alcohol. The reality was that I couldn't possibly like everyone, nor they me. As I've grown in the Fellowship, I've learned to love everyone just from listening to what they had to say. That person over there, or the one right here, may be the one God has chosen to give me the message I need for today. I must always remember to place principles above personalities.

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

Recovery Through Giving

"For a new prospect, outline the program of action, explaining how you made a self-appraisal, how you straightened out your past, and why you are now endeavoring to be helpful to him. It is important for him to realize that your attempt to pass this on to him plays a vital part in your own recovery. Actually, he may be helping you more than you are helping him. Make it plain that he is under no obligation to you."
<<< >>>
"In the first six months of my own sobriety, I worked hard with many alcoholics. Not a one responded. Yet this work kept me sober. It wasn't a question of those alcoholics giving me anything. My stability came out of trying to give, not out of demanding that I receive."
1. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 94
2. GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1958

*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*

"Once more: The alcoholic at certain times has no effective mental defense against the first drink. Except in a few rare cases, neither he nor any other human being can provide such a defense. His defense must come from a Higher Power."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition
More About Alcoholism, pg. 43

*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*

A.A. Thought for the Day

As we look back over our drinking careers, we must realize that our lives were a mess because we were a mess inside. The trouble was in us, not in life itself. Life itself was good enough, but we were looking at it the wrong way. We were looking at life through the bottom of a whiskey glass, and it was distorted. We could not see all the beauty and goodness and purpose in the world because our vision was blurred. We were in a house with one-way glass in the windows. People could see us but we could not look out and see them and see what life meant to them and should mean to us. We were blind then, but now we can see. Can I now look at life as it really is?

Meditation for the Day

Fear no evil, because the power of God can conquer evil. Evil has power to seriously hurt only those who do not place themselves under the protection of the Higher Power. This is not a question of feeling, it is an assured fact of our experience. Say to yourself with assurance that whatever it is, no evil can seriously harm you as long as you depend on the Higher Power. Be sure of the protection of God's grace.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that fear of evil will not get me down. I pray that I may try to place myself today under the protection of God's grace.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Friday, December 20, 2019

Thoughts For The Day~~Freedom ^^*^ December 21

Visit

AA Night Before Christmas

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

^*^*^*^*^
(\ ~~ /)
( \(AA)/ )
(_ /AA\ _)
/AA\
^*^*^*^*^
Freedom

"Through A.A., we can experience freedom from self. After all, it was self (you, me) that stood in our own way, that ran the show and ran ourselves into bankruptcy, that hurt the ones we loved. All Twelve Steps of A.A. are designed to kill the old self (deflate the old ego) and build a new, free self."
1976 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 459

Thought to Consider . . .

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

*~*AACRONYMS*~*

B S
Before Sobriety

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

Honesty
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.
Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 83

*^Daily Reflections^*

LISTEN, SHARE AND PRAY

When working with a man and his family, you should take care not to participate in their quarrels. You may spoil your chance of being helpful if you do.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 100

When trying to help a fellow alcoholic, I've given in to an impulse to give advice, and perhaps that's inevitable. But allowing others the right to be wrong reaps its own benefits. The best I can do - and it sounds easier than it is to put into practice - is to listen, share personal experience, and pray for others.
Copyright 1990
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

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

When and How to Give

"Men who cry for money and shelter as a condition of their sobriety are on the wrong track. Yet we sometimes do provide a new prospect with these very things - when it becomes clear that he is willing to place his recovery first. It is not whether we shall give that is the question, but when and how to give. Whenever we put our work on a material plane, the alcoholic commences to rely upon alms rather than upon a Higher Power and the A.A. group. He continues to insist that he cannot master alcohol until his material needs are cared for. Nonsense! Some of us have taken very hard knocks to learn this truth: that, job or no job, wife or no wife, we simply do not stop drinking so long as we place material dependence upon other people ahead of dependence on God."
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 98

*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*

". . . we aren't a glum lot. If newcomers could see no joy or fun in our existence, they wouldn't want it. We absolutely insist on enjoying life."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition
The Family Afterward, pg. 132

*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*

A.A. Thought for the Day

Have I ceased being inwardly defeated, at war with myself? Have I given myself freely to A.A. and to the Higher Power? Have I gotten over being sick inside? Am I still wandering mentally or am I "on the beam"? I can face anything if I am sure I am on the way. When I am sure, I should bet my life on A.A. I have learned how the program works. Now will I follow it with all I have, with all I can give, with all my might, with all my life? Am I going to let A.A. principles guide the rest of my life?

Meditation for the Day

In this time of quiet meditation, follow the pressure of the Lord's leading. In all decisions to be made today, yield to the gentle pressure of your conscience. Stay or go as that pressure indicates. Take the events of today as part of God's planning and ordering. He may lead you to a right decision. Wait quietly until you have an inner urge, a leading, a feeling that a thing is right, a pressure on your will by the spirit of God.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that today I may try to follow the inner pressure of God's leading. I pray that I may try to follow my conscience and do what seems right today.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thursday, December 19, 2019

Thoughts For The Day~~Choices ^^*^ December 20

Visit

AA Night Before Christmas

~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~

^*^*^*^*^
(\ ~~ /)
( \(AA)/ )
(_ /AA\ _)
/ AA \
^*^*^*^*^

Choices

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 glimpse of what perfect freedom under God's will could be like.
Bill W., May 1960
c. 1988 AA Grapevine, The Language of the Heart, p. 302

Thought to Consider . . .

We live life in the moment but understand it looking back with the tool of gratitude.

*~*AACRONYMS*~*

O D A A T
One Day At A Time

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

Compensation
From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous"

"Shortly after the financial investigation episode, Father Ed Dowling, our Jesuit friend from St. Louis, turned up in New York. Still puzzled, I put the case up to him. He asked, 'Do you think A.A. requires your full-time efforts?' I replied, 'Yes, I think it does, perhaps indefinitely.' Then he inquired, 'Could you become a paid therapist, taking money for Twelfth Step work?' I told him that this issue had been settled long since. Most emphatically I could not, regardless of the consequences, nor could any other A.A. member. This meant that Dr. Bob and I must certainly never accept money for Twelfth Step work but that we could be recompensed for special services. We both accepted Father Ed's down-the-middle advice and have stuck by it ever since, and I am glad to say this status for Dr. Bob and me was later accepted as correct in principle by our entire fellowship."
2001 AAWS, Inc.

Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 195

*~Daily Reflections~*

THE REWARDS OF GIVING

This is indeed the kind of giving that actually demands nothing. He does not expect his brother sufferer to pay him, or even to love him. And then he discovers that by the divine paradox of this kind of giving he has found his own reward, whether his brother has yet received anything or not.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 109

Through experience with Twelfth Step work, I came to understand the rewards of giving that demands nothing in return. At first I expected recovery in others, but I soon learned that this did not happen. Once I acquired the humility to accept the fact that every Twelfth Step call was not going to result in a success, then I was open to receive the rewards of selfless giving.
Copyright 1990
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

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

Random Quote - The Reality of Spiritual Experiences

"Perhaps you raise the question of hallucination verses the divine imagery of a genuine spiritual experience. I doubt if anyone has authoritatively defined what an hallucination really is. However, it is certain that all recipients of spiritual experiences declare for their reality. The best evidence of that reality is in the subsequent fruits. Those who receive these gifts of grace are very much changed people, almost invariably for the better. This can scarcely be said of those who hallucinate. "Some might think me presumptuous when I say that my own experience is real. Nevertheless, I can surely report that in my own life and in the lives of countless others, the fruits of that experience have been real, and the benefactions beyond reckoning."
TALK, 1960

*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*

"We know that while the alcoholic keeps away from drink, as he may do for months or years, he reacts much like other men. We are equally positive that once he takes any alcohol whatever into his system, something happens, both in the bodily and mental sense, which makes it virtually impossible for him to stop. The experience of any alcoholic will abundantly confirm this."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition
There Is A Solution, pg. 22

*~Twenty Fours A Day~*

A.A. Thought for the Day

Our faith should control the whole of our life. We alcoholics were living a divided life. We had to find a way to make it whole. When we were drinking, our lives were made up of a lot of scattered and unrelated pieces. We must pick up our lives and put them together again. We do it by recovering faith in a Divine Principle in the universe that holds us together and holds the whole universe together and gives it meaning and purpose. We surrender our disorganized lives to that Power, we get into harmony with the Divine Spirit, and our lives are made whole again. Is my life whole again?

Meditation for the Day

Avoid fear as you would a plague. Fear, even the smallest fear, is a hacking at the cords of faith that bind you to God. However small the fraying, in time those cords will wear thin, and then one disappointment or shock will make them snap. But for the little fears, the cords of faith would have held firm. Avoid depression, which is allied to fear. Remember that all fear is disloyalty to God. It is a denial of His care and protection.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may have such trust in God today that I will not fear anything too greatly. I pray that I may have assurance that God will take care of me in the long run.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Regardless of what service you use, search for "Transitions Daily" and subscribe. We also list a number of recovery podcasts at the bottom of www.DailyAAEmails.com.

Topics are posted Daily via Podcast, Email, and Facebook!

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Thoughts For The Day~~Alternatives ^^*^ December 19

Visit

AA Night Before Christmas

~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~

^*^*^*^*^

(\ ~~ /)
( \(AA)/ )
( /AA\ )
/AA\
^*^*^*^*^
Alternatives

If you are as seriously alcoholic as we were, we believe there is no middle-of-the-road solution. We were in a position where life was becoming impossible, and if we had passed into the region from which there is no return through human aid, we had but two alternatives. One was to go on to the bitter end, blotting out the consciousness of our intolerable situation as best we could, and the other, to accept spiritual help. This we did because we honestly wanted to, and were willing to make the effort.
c. 1976 2001 AAWS
Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 25-26

Thought to Consider . . .

If you always do what you've always done, you will always be where you've always been.

*~*AACRONYMS*~*

A B C
Acceptance, Belief, Change.

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

Simple
From "Freedom from Bondage":

"The A.A. members who sponsored me told me in the beginning that I would not only find a way to live without having a drink, but that I would find a way to live without wanting to drink, if I would do these simple things. They said if you want to know how this program works, take the first word of your question the 'H' is for honesty, the 'O' is for open-mindedness, and the 'W' is for willingness; these our Big Book calls the essentials of recovery."
2001 AAWS, Inc. Fourth Edition
Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs. 549-550

*^Daily Reflections^*

UNDERSTANDING THE MALADY

When dealing with an alcoholic, there may be a natural annoyance that a man could be so weak, stupid and irresponsible. Even when you understand the malady better, you may feel this feeling rising.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 139

Having suffered from alcoholism, I should understand the illness, but sometimes I feel annoyance, even contempt, toward a person who cannot make it in A.A. When I feel that way, I am satisfying my false sense of superiority and I must remember, but for the grace of God, there go I.
Copyright 1990
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

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

Random Quote - God's Gifts

"We see that the sun never sets upon A.A.'s Fellowship; that more than three hundred and fifty thousand of us have now recovered from our malady; that we have everywhere begun to transcend the formidable barriers of race, creed, and nationality. This assurance that so many of us have been able to meet our responsibilities for sobriety and for growth and effectiveness in the troubled world where we live, will surely fill us with the deepest joy and satisfaction. But, as a people who have nearly always learned the hard way, we shall certainly not congratulate ourselves. We shall perceive these assets to be God's gifts, which have been in part matched by an increasing willingness on our part to find and do His will for us."
GRAPEVINE, JULY 1965

*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*

". . . I humbly offered myself to God, as I then understood Him, to do with me as He would. I placed myself unreservedly under His care and direction. I admitted for the first time that of myself I was nothing; that without Him I was lost. I ruthlessly faced my sins and became willing to have my new-found Friend take them away, root and branch."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition
Bill's Story, pg. 13

*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*

A.A. Thought for the Day

The skeptic and the agnostic say it is impossible for us to find the answer to life. Many have tried and failed. But many more have put aside intellectual pride and have said to themselves: Who am I to say there is no God? Who am I to say there is no purpose in life? The atheist makes a declaration: "The world originated in a cipher and aimlessly rushes nowhere." Others live for the moment and do not even think about why they are here or where they are going. They might as well be clams on the bottom of the ocean, protected by their hard shells of indifference. They are going nowhere and they do not care. Do I care where I am going?

Meditation for the Day

We may consider the material world as the clay which the artist works with, to make of it something beautiful or ugly. We need not fear material things, which are neither good nor bad in the moral sense. There seems to be no active force for evil - outside of human beings themselves. Humans alone can have either evil intentions - resentments, malevolence, hate, and revenge - or good intentions - love and goodwill, they can make something ugly or something beautiful out of the clay of their lives.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may make something good out of my life. I pray that I may be a good artisan with the materials that I have been given to use.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

You have 3 Options to Participate in Transitions Daily:

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Regardless of what service you use, search for "Transitions Daily" and subscribe. We also list a number of recovery podcasts at the bottom of www.DailyAAEmails.com.

Topics are posted Daily via Podcast, Email, and Facebook!

~~Step Eleven Group~~

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Thoughts For The Day~~Help is Available^^*^ December 22

Friday, December 20, 2019

Thoughts For The Day~~Freedom ^^*^ December 21

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Thoughts For The Day~~Choices ^^*^ December 20

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Thoughts For The Day~~Alternatives ^^*^ December 19

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Blog Archive

Contributors

~*~Step Eleven Group~*~

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Thoughts For The Day~*~Help is Available^*^*^ December 22

Friday, December 20, 2019

Thoughts For The Day~*~Freedom ^*^*^ December 21

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Thoughts For The Day~*~Choices ^*^*^ December 20

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Thoughts For The Day~*~Alternatives ^*^*^ December 19

Followers

Blog Archive

Contributors

~~Step Eleven Group~~

Thoughts For The Day~~Help is Available^^*^ December 22

Thoughts For The Day~~Freedom ^^*^ December 21

Thoughts For The Day~~Choices ^^*^ December 20

Thoughts For The Day~~Alternatives ^^*^ December 19