Just for Today

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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(\  ~~~  /)
(   \(AA)/  )
(_   /AA\ _)
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Defense

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.
c. 1976, 2001 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous,  p. 43
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                                                                                                                                                               &n bsp;                                                                           
Thought to Consider
Alcohol ... cunning, baffling, powerful!

. . .
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
S O B E R =  Spirituality Over Booze Equals Recovery

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

Wealth

From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":

"Let us now talk about money and A.A.'s attitude towards it. Wealth had ruined many men and nations. So would it ruin us? Especially in America, money was the symbol of prestige and power and comfort. Money can do a lot of good, yet there is practically no evil which it cannot arouse. Would A.A.'s brand of spirituality mix with any money at all? Or, on the other hand, should we have a *lot* of money, the better to do good works? This was the age-old dilemma and the temptation that faced us. . . .

"After a while we awoke to the pleasant fact that A.A. as such was not going to require much money after all. When we got rid of our grandiose ideas about hospitals, research, rehabilitation, and education, not much of a bill was left to pay. Other enterprises needed large sums, but we did not. We could be spared that headache." (Written in 1959)

© 2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 110

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
THE 100% STEP

Only Step One, where we made the 100 percent admission we were powerless over alcohol, can be practiced with absolute perfection.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p.  68

Long before I was able to obtain sobriety in A.A., I knew without a doubt that alcohol was killing me, yet even with this knowledge, I was unable to stop drinking.  So, when faced with Step One, I found it easy to admit that I lacked the power to not drink.  But was my life unmanageable?  Never!  Five months after coming into A.A., I was drinking again and wondered why.

Later on, back in A.A. and smarting from my wounds, I learned that Step One is the only Step that can be taken 100%.  And that the only way to take it 100% is to take 100% of the Step.  That was many twenty-four hours ago and I haven't had to take Step One again.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Quantity or Quality

"About this slip business - I would not be too discouraged. I think you are suffering a great deal from a needless guilt. For some reason or other, the Lord has laid out tougher paths for some of us, and I guess you are treading one of them. God is not asking us to be successful. He is only asking us to try to be. That, you surely are doing, and have been doing. So I would not stay away from A.A. through any feeling of discouragement or shame. It's just the place you should be. Why don't you try just as a member? You don't have to carry the whole A.A. on your back, you know!
"It is not always the quantity of good things that you do, it is also the quality that counts.
"Above all, take it one day at a time."

LETTER, 1958
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"God will constantly disclose more to you and to us. Ask Him in your
morning meditation what you can do each day for the man who is still
sick. The answers will come, if your own house is in order. But
obviously you cannot transmit something you haven't got. See to it
that your relationship with Him is right, and great events will come
to pass for you and countless others. This is the Great Fact for us."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, pg. 164~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

When we were drinking, most of us never thought of helping others. We liked to buy drinks for people, because that made us feel like big shots. But we only used others for our own pleasure. To really go out and try to help somebody who needed help never occurred to us. To us, helping others looked like a sucker's game. But when we came into A.A., we began to try to help others. And we found out that helping others made us happy and also helped us to stay sober Have I learned that there is happiness in helping others?

Meditation for the Day

I will pray only for strength and that God's will be done. I will use God's unlimited store of strength for my needs. I will seek God's will for me. I will strive for consciousness of God's presence, for He is the light of the world. I have become a pilgrim, who needs only marching orders and strength and guidance for this day.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may seek God's guidance day by day. I pray that I may strive to abide in God's presence.

©Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012©

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AA Thoughts for Today

 

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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(\  ~~~  /)
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  /AA\
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Courage

I looked around me at people who seemed happy
and tried to analyze their happiness,
and it seemed to me that without exception
these people had something or somebody
they loved very much.
I didn't have the courage to love;
I was not even sure I had the capacity.
Fear of rejection and its ensuing pain were not to be risked . . .
c. 1976 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous,  p. 546
(does not appear in 4th Edition)
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Thought to Consider . . . 

Courage is fear that has said its prayers.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A A  =  Altered Attitudes

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
 

Obsession

From "The Missing Link":

"Whatever the problem, I soon found what appeared to be the solution to everything. ? I got drunk for the first time that night. It changed everything. . . .

"It culminated in one last night of drinking and staring at the problem. It made me sick to think about it, and even sicker to continue drinking it away. I was forced to look at my drinking as the chief suspect."

© 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs. 282 and 284

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
UNITED WE STAND

We learned that 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.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p.  30

I came to Alcoholics Anonymous because I was no longer able to control my drinking.  It was either my wife's complaining about my drinking, or maybe the sheriff forced me to go to A.A. meetings, or perhaps I knew, deep down inside, that I couldn't drink like others, but I was unwilling to admit it because the alternative terrified me.  Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women united against a common, fatal disease.  Each one of our lives is linked to every other, much like the survivors on a life raft at sea.  If we all work together, we can get safely to shore.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Out of the Dark

Self-searching is the means by which we bring new vision, action, and grace to bear upon the dark and negative side of our natures. With it comes the development of that kind of humility that makes it possible for us to receive God's help. Yet it is only a step. We will want to go further.
We will want the good that is in us all, even in the worst of us, to flower and to grow. But first of all we shall want sunlight; nothing much can grow in the dark. Meditation is our step out into the sun.

<<<>>>

"A clear light seems to fall upon us all - when we open our eyes. Since our blindness is caused by our own defects, we must first deeply realize what they are. Constructive meditation is the first requirement for each new step in our spiritual growth."

1. TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 98 - 2. LETTER, 1946
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"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~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

When we were drinking, most of us were full of pride and selfishness. We believed we could handle our own affairs, even though we were making a mess of our lives. We were very stubborn and didn't like to take advice. We resented being told what to do. To us, humility looked like weakness. But when we came into A.A., we began to be humble. And we found out that humility gave us the power we needed to overcome drinking. Have I learned that there is power in humility?

Meditation for the Day

I will come to God in faith and He will give me a new way of life. This new way of life will alter my whole existence, the words I speak, the influence I have. They will spring from the life within me. I see how important is the work of a person who has this new way of life. The words and the example of such a person can have a wide influence for good in the world.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may learn the principles of the good life. I pray that I may meditate upon them and work at them, because they are eternal.

©Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012©

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Sponsors ^*^*^*^*^ January 7, 2007

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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(\ ~~~ /)
( \(AA)/ )
(_ /AA\ _)
/AA\
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Sponsors

Every sponsor is necessarily a leader.
The stakes are huge.
A human life, and usually the happiness of a whole family,
hangs in the balance.
What the sponsor does and says,
how well he estimates the reactions of his prospects,
how well he times and makes his presentation,
how well he handles criticisms,
and how well he leads his prospect on
by personal spiritual example ...
well, these attributes of leadership
can make all the difference,
often the difference between life and death.
Thank God that Alcoholics Anonymous is blessed
with so much leadership in each and all of its great affairs!
Bill W., April 1959
c. 1988 AA Grapevine, The Language of the Heart, p. 292
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Thought to Consider . . .

A recovering alcoholic without a sponsor
is much like a ship without a rudder.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
S P O N S O R =
Sober Person Offering Newcomer Support Of Recovery

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

From "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."

c. 1967, As Bill Sees It, page 70

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
AT THE TURNING POINT

Half measures availed us nothing. We stood at the turning point. We asked His protection and care with complete abandon.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 59

Every day I stand at turning points. My thoughts and actions can propel me toward growth or turn me down the road to old habits and to booze. Sometimes turning points are beginnings, as when I decide to start praising, instead of condemning someone. Or when I begin to ask for help instead of going it alone. At other times turning points are endings, such as when I see clearly the need to stop festering resentments or crippling self-seeking. Many shortcomings tempt me daily; therefore, I also have daily opportunities to become aware of them. In one form or another, many of my character defects appear daily: self-condemnation, anger, running away, being prideful, wanting to get even, or acting out of grandiosity.

Attempting half measures to eliminate these defects merely paralyzes my efforts to change. It is only when I ask God for help, with complete abandon, that I become willing -- and able -- to change.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
The Realm of the Spirit

In ancient times material progress was painfully slow. The spirit of modern scientific inquiry, research, and invention was almost unknown.
In the realm of the material, men's minds were lettered by superstition, tradition, and all sorts of fixed ideas. Some of the contemporaries of Columbus thought a round earth preposterous. Others came near putting Galileo to death for his astronomical heresies.
Are not some of us just as biased and unreasonable about the realm of the spirit as were the ancients about the realm of the material?

<<<>>>

We have found that God does not make too hard terms with those who seek Him. To us, the realm of spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive, never exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek. It is open, we believe, to all men.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS - 1. p. 51 - 2. p. 46
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Another principle we observe carefully is that we do not relate
intimate experiences of another person unless we are sure he would
approve. We find it better, when possible, to stick to our own
stories. A man may criticize or laugh at himself and it will affect
others favorably, but criticism or ridicule coming from another often
produces the contrary effect."

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 125
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

When temptation comes, as it does sometimes to all of us, I will say to myself.- "No, my whole life depends on not taking that drink and nothing in the world can make me do it." Besides, I have promised that Higher Power that I wouldn't do it. I know that God doesn't want me to drink and I won't break my promise to, God. I've given up my right to drink and it's not my decision any longer. Have I made the choice once and for all, so that there's no going back on it?

Meditation for the Day

In silence comes God's meaning to the heart. I cannot judge when it enters the heart. I can only judge by results. Go6s word is spoken to the secret places of my heart and, in some hour of temptation, I find that word and realize its value for the first time. when I need it, I find it there. "Thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly."

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may see God's meaning in my life. I pray that I may gladly accept what God has to teach me.

©Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012©

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