Thoughts For The Day~*~Surrender ^*^*^ September 10, 2008

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

Surrender
^*^*^
"There are two things I've learned from this program.
First, to surrender completely.
I was fighting a losing battle with the bottle.
I gave up, and through defeat, I won.
Second, to change myself, because the world isn't
going to change to suit 'poor little old me.'
It's just this simple -- whatever it is in me
that led me down the alcoholic road to misery,
I no longer want any part of it."
c.1976, AA for the Woman  (AA Pamphlet P-5), p. 17

^*^*^*^*^
Thought to Consider . . .

Take a walk with God.
He will meet you at the Steps.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A S A P  =  Always Say A Prayer

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

What I've Learned

From: "Building a New Life" 

There have been some hard times too during these years of sobriety. When I was five years sober, the daughter who drove me to the treatment program and helped me get admitted disappeared. My AA friends helped me search for her, but she has never been found. Her mother and I raised her three daughters. I did not have to take a drink. I went to lots of meetings to relieve the pain. When I lost a second daughter to cancer a few years ago, I did the same thing. 

What I've learned is that it doesn't matter what hardships and losses I've endured in sobriety, I have not had to go back to drinking. As long as I work the program, keep being of service, go to meetings, and keep my spiritual life together, I can live a decent life. 

2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 485

 

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
RECOVERY BY PROXY?

They [the Promises] will always materialize if we work for them.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS  p. 84

Sometimes I think: "Making these amends is going too far!  No one should have to humble himself like that!"  However, it is this very humbling of myself that brings me that much closer to the sunlight of the spirit.  A.A. is the only hope I have if I am to continue healing and gain a life of happiness, friendship and harmony.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
"Look Before You Leap"?

"Wise men and women rightly give a top rating to the virtue of prudence. They know that without this all important attribute little wisdom is to be had.
"Mere 'looking before we leap' is not enough. If our looking is charged with
fear, suspicion, or anger, we had better not have looked or acted at all."

<<<>>>

"We lose the fear of making decisions, great and small, as we realize that
should our choice prove wrong we can, if we will, learn from the experience.
Should our decision be the right one, we can thank God for giving us the
courage and the grace that caused us so to act."

LETTER, 1966
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"To sum up about sex: We earnestly pray for the right ideal, for
guidance in each questionable situation, for sanity, and for the
strength to do the right thing. If sex is very troublesome, we throw
ourselves the harder into helping others. We think of their needs
and work for them. This takes us out of ourselves. It quiets the
imperious urge, when to yield would mean heartache."

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


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

Here are answers to the question of how a person can live without liquor and be happy: "The things we put in place of drinking are more than substitutes for it. One is the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. In this company, you find release from care, boredom, and worry. Your imagination will be fired. Life will mean something at last. The most satisfactory years of your existence lie ahead. Among other A.A.s you win make lifelong friends. You will be bound to them with new and wonderful ties." Does life mean something to me now?

Meditation for the Day

Do you want the full and complete satisfaction that you find in serving God
and all the satisfactions of the world also? it is not easy to serve both God
and the world. It is difficult to claim the rewards of both. If you work for
God, you will still have great rewards in the world. But you must be prepared
to sometimes stand apart from the world. You cannot always turn to the world and expect all the rewards that life has to offer. If you are trying
sincerely to serve God, you will have other and greater rewards than the
world has to offer.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may not expect too much from the world. I pray that I may also be content with the rewards that come from serving God.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

---

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Delusion ^*^*^ September 9, 2008

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

Delusion
^*^*^
"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 were like other people,
or presently may be, has to be smashed."
1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 17

^*^*^*^*^
Thought to Consider . . .

There is no such thing as being 'a little bit alcoholic.'

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
D E N I A L  =  Don't Even Notice I Am Lying

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

Condemn

Tradition Three: The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.  

Why did A.A. finally drop all its membership regulations? Why did we leave it to each newcomer to decide himself whether he was an alcoholic and whether he should join us? Why did we dare say, contrary to the experience of society and government everywhere, that we would neither punish nor deprive any A.A. of membership, believe anything, or conform to anything? 

The answer, now seen in Tradition Three, was simplicity itself. At last experience taught us that to take away any alcoholic's full chance was sometimes to pronounce his death sentence, and often to condemn him to endless misery. Who dared to be judge, jury, and executioner of his own sick brother? 

1981, AAWS, Inc., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 141

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
OPENING NEW DOORS

They [ the Promises] are being fulfilled among us
- sometimes quickly,
sometimes slowly.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84

The Promises talked about in this passage are slowly coming to life
for me. What has given me hope is putting Step Nine into action. The
Step has allowed me to see and set goals for myself in recovery.
Old habits and behaviors die hard. Working Step Nine enables me to
close the door on the drunk I was, and to open new avenues for myself
as a sober alcoholic. Making direct amends is crucial for me. As I
repair relationships and behavior of the past, I am better able to
live a sober life!
Although I have some years of sobriety, there are times when the
"old stuff" from the past needs to be taken care of, and Step Nine
always works, when I work it.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Alone No More

Alcoholism was a lonely business, even though we were surrounded by people who loved us. But when our self-will had driven everybody away and our isolation became complete, we commenced to play the big shot in cheap barrooms. Failing even in this, we had to fare forth alone on the street to
depend upon the charity of passers-by.
We were trying to find emotional security either by dominating or by being
dependent upon others. Even when our fortunes had not totally ebbed, we
nevertheless found ourselves alone in the world. We still vainly tried to be
secure by some unhealthy sort of domination or dependence.
For those of us who were like that, A.A. has a very special meaning. In this
Fellowship we begin to learn right relations with people who understand us;
we don't have to be alone any more.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, pp. 116-117
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"Life will take on new meaning. To watch people recover, to see them
help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up
about you, to have a host of friends, this is an experience you
must not miss."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 89~

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

When alcoholics are offered a life of sobriety by following the A.A.
program, they will look at the prospect of living without alcohol and
they will ask. "Am I to be consigned to a life where I shall be stupid,
boring and glum, like some of the righteous people I see? I know I
must get along without liquor, but how can I? Have you a sufficient
substitute?" Have I found a more than sufficient substitute for
drinking?

Meditation for the Day

In God's strength you conquer life. Your conquering power is the grace
of God. There can be no complete failure with God. Do you want to make
the best of life? Then live as near as possible to God, the Master and
Giver of all life. Your reward for depending on God's strength will be
sure. Sometimes the reward will be renewed power to face life,
sometimes wrong thinking overcome, sometimes people brought to a new
way of living. Whatever success comes will not be all your own doing,
but largely the working out of the grace of God.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may try to rely more fully on the grace of God. I pray
that I may live a victorious life.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

---

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Solution ^*^*^ September 8, 2008

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
^*^*^*^*^
(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (AA)/   )
(_   /AA\ _)
  /AA\
^*^*^*^*^
Solution
^*^*^
"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."
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 17

^*^*^*^*^
Thought to Consider . . .

The solution is simple.
The solution is spiritual.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
S T E P S  =  Solutions To Every Problem in Sobriety

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

 

A Long Way

From: "Into Action" 

If we have no such complication, there is plenty we should do at home. 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 and parents whom for years he has so shockingly treated. Passing all understanding is the patience mothers and wives have had with alcoholics. Had this not been so, many of us would have no homes today, would perhaps be dead. 

2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 82

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
"WE ASKED HIS PROTECTION"

We asked His protection and care with complete abandon.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 59

I could not manage life alone. I had tried that road and failed.
My "ultimate sin" dragged me down to the lowest level I have ever
reached and, unable even to function, I accepted the fact that I
desperately needed help. I stopped fighting and surrendered entirely
to God.
Only then did I start growing! God forgave me. A Higher Power had to
have saved me, because the doctors doubted that I would survive. I
have forgiven myself now and I enjoy a freedom I have never before
experienced. I've opened my heart and mind to Him. The more I learn,
the less I know -- a humbling fact -- but I sincerely want to keep
growing. I enjoy serenity, but only when I entrust my life totally
to God. As long as I am honest with myself and ask for His help, I
can maintain this rewarding existence.

Just for today, I strive to live His will for me -- soberly.
I thank God that today I can choose not to drink.
Today, life is beautiful!

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Face the Music

"Don't be too discouraged about that slip. Practically always, we drunks
learn the hard way. "Your idea of moving on to somewhere else may be good, or it may not. Perhaps you have got into an emotional or economic jam that can't be well handled where you are. But maybe you are doing just what all of us have done, at one time or another: Maybe you are running away. Why don't you try to think that through again carefully?
"Are you really placing recovery first, or are you making it contingent upon
other people, places, or circumstances? You may find it ever so much better
to face the music right where you are now, and, with the help of the A.A.
program, win through. Before you make a decision, weigh it in these terms."

LETTER, 1949
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
And We have ceased fighting anything or anyone - even alcohol. For by this time sanity has returned. We can now react sanely & normally,

- Big Book, p. 84 © 1967 by A.A. World Services, Inc.

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

Another of the mottoes of A.A. is "But for the Grace of God." Once we
have fully accepted the program we become humble about our achievement. We do not take too much credit for our sobriety. When we see another
suffering alcoholic in the throes of alcoholism, we say to ourselves:
"But for the grace of God, there go I." We do not forget the kind of
people we were. We remember those we left behind us. And we are very
grateful to the grace of God which has given us another chance. Am I
truly grateful for the grace of God?

Meditation for the Day

A consciousness of God's presence as One who loves you makes all life
different. The consciousness of God's love promotes the opening of your
whole being to God. it brings wonderful relief from the cares and
worries of our daily lives. Relief brings peace and peace brings
contentment. Try to walk in God's love. You will have that peace which
passes all understanding and a contentment that no one can take from
you. Feel sure of God's unfailing love and care for you and for all
His children. There is freedom and serenity in those who walk in God's
love, held safe in His loving care.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may walk in God's love. I pray that, as I go, I may feel
the spring of God's power in my steps and the joy of His love in my heart.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

---

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Honesty ^*^*^ September 7, 2008

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
^*^*^*^*^
(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (AA)/   )
(_   /AA\ _)
  /AA\
^*^*^*^*^
Honesty
^*^*^
"I know the biggest word for me in AA is 'honesty.'
I don't believe this program would work for me
if I didn't get honest with myself about everything.
Honesty is the easiest word for me to understand
because it is the exact opposite
of what I've been doing all my life.
Therefore, it would be the hardest to work on.
But I will never be totally honest -
that would make me perfect,
and none of us can claim to be perfect.
Only God is."
1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 482
^*^*^*^*^*

Thought to Consider . . .

Honesty is the absence of the intent to deceive.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
C H A N G E =  Choosing Honesty Allows New Growth Every day

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

Endless
From "The Central Experience":

"I have become more and more aware of the infinite expansion of happiness which is accessible within. The Upanishad, part of the Hindu scriptures, concludes: 'From Joy all things are born; by Joy all things are sustained; to Joy all things return.' The more thoroughly I can surrender to this proposition, the more thoroughly I enjoy my life. Ultimately, my God as I understand Him is joy and the expansion of joy. - Toronto, Ontario"

1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30^th printing 2004, pg. 100

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
"OUR SIDE OF THE STREET"

We are there to sweep off our side of the street, realizing that
nothing worth while can be accomplished until we do so, never trying
to tell him what he should do. His faults are not discussed. We
stick to our own.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pp. 77-78

I made amends to my dad after I quit drinking. My words fell on
deaf ears since I had blamed him for my troubles. Several months
later I made amends to my dad again. This time I wrote a letter
in which I did not blame him nor mention his faults. It worked,
and at last I understood! My side of the street is all that I'm
responsible for and--thanks to God and A.A. -- it's clean for
today.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Prayer Under Pressure

Whenever I find myself under acute tensions, I lengthen my daily walks and
slowly repeat our Serenity Prayer in rhythm to my steps and breathing.
If I feel that my pain has in part been occasioned by others, I try to
repeat, "God grant me the serenity to love their best, and never fear their
worst." This benign healing process of repetition, sometimes necessary to
persist with for days, has seldom failed to restore me to at least a workable
emotional balance and perspective.

GRAPEVINE, MARCH 1962
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"'There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which
is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in
everlasting ignorance that principle is contempt prior to
investigation.'"

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Appendice II, Spiritual
Experience, pg. 568~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

Another of the mottoes of A.A. is "Easy Does It." This means that
we just go along in A.A. doing the best we can and not getting steamed
up over problems that arise in A.A. or outside of it. We alcoholics
are emotional people and we have gone to excess in almost everything
we have done. We have not been moderate in many things. We have not
known how to relax. Faith in a Higher Power can help us to learn to
take it easy. We are not running the world. I am only one among many.
We are resolved to live normal, regular lives. From our A.A.
experience we learn that "easy does it." Have I Learned to take
it easy?

Meditation for the Day

"The eternal God is Thy refuge and underneath are the everlasting
arms." Sheltering arms express the loving protection of God's spirit.
Human beings, in their troubles and difficulties, need nothing so
much as a refuge, a place to relax where they can lay down their
burdens and get relief from cares. Say to yourself- "God is my refuge."
Say it until its truth sinks into your very soul. Say it until you
know it and are sure of it. Nothing can seriously upset you or make
you afraid, if God is truly your refuge.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may go each day to God as a refuge until fear goes and
peace and security come. I pray that I may feel deeply secure in the
Haven of His spirit.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

---

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