AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 16, 2021 Our Basic Troubles Our basic troubles are the same as everyone else's, but when an honest effort is made "to practice these principles in all our affairs," well-grounded A.A.'s seem to have the ability, by God's grace, to take these troubles in stride and turn them into demonstrations of faith. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Twelve) p. 114 Thought to Ponder Reliance on God enables me to match calamity with serenity. AA-related 'Al ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 15, 2021 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ From Darkness Into Light To watch the eyes of men and women open with wonder as they move from darkness into light, to see their lives quickly fill with new purpose and meaning, to see whole families reassembled, to see the alcoholic outcast received back into his community in full citizenship, and above all to watch these people awaken to the presence of a loving God in their lives—these things are the substance of what we rece ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 14, 2021 No Defense Once more: The alcoholic at certain times has no effective mental defense against the first drink. Except in a few cases, neither he nor any other human being can provide such a defense. His defense must come from a Higher Power. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (More About Alcoholism) p. 43 Thought to Ponder I can't, He can, I'll ask Him to. AA-related 'Alconym' F R O G  =   Fully Rely On God. Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 13, 2021 Joy of Living The joy of living is the theme of A.A.'s Twelfth Step, and action is its key word. Here we turn outward toward our fellow alcoholics who are still in distress. Here we experience the kind of giving that asks no rewards. Here we begin to practice all Twelve Steps of the program in our daily lives so that we and those about us may find emotional sobriety. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Twelve) p. 106 Thought to Ponder AA is not s ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 12, 2021 Alcoholism An illness of this sort—and we have come to believe it an illness—involves those about us in a way no other human sickness can. If a person has cancer all are sorry for him and no one is angry or hurt. But not so with the alcoholic illness, for with it there goes annihilation of all the things worth while in life. It engulfs all whose lives touch the sufferer’s. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (There Is A Solution) p. 18 Thought to Ponder Right action ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 11, 2021 True Ambition That we need no longer be square pegs in round holes but can fit and belong in God's scheme of things—these are the permanent and legitimate satisfactions of right living for which no amount of pomp and circumstance, no heap of material possessions, could possibly be substitutes. True ambition is not what we thought it was. True ambition is the deep desire to live usefully and walk humbly under the grace of God. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Tra ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 10, 2021 Freedom From Fear It did not matter too much what our material condition was, but it did matter what our spiritual condition was. Money gradually became our servant and not our master. It became a means of exchanging love and service with those about us. When, with God’s help, we calmly accepted our lot, then we found we could live at peace with ourselves and show others who still suffered the same fears that they could get over them, too. We found that f ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 9, 2021 Self He decides to exert himself more. He becomes, on the next occasion, still more demanding or gracious, as the case may be. Still the play does not suit him. Admitting he may be somewhat at fault, he is sure that other people are more to blame. He becomes angry, indignant, self-pitying. What is his basic trouble? Is he not really a self-seeker even when trying to be kind? Is he not a victim of the delusion that he can wrest satisfaction and happiness ou ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 8, 2021 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Indecision In thinking about our day we may face indecision. We may not be able to determine which course to take. Here we ask God for inspiration, an intuitive thought or a decision. We relax and take it easy. We don’t struggle. We are often surprised how the right answers come after we have tried this for a while.  - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 86  Thought to Ponder The Three "P's" -- Pause, Pray ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 7, 2021 Faith Applied Let him see that you are not there to instruct him in religion. Admit that he probably knows more about it than you do, but call to his attention the fact that however deep his faith and knowledge, he could not have applied it or he would not drink. Perhaps your story will help him see where he has failed to practice the very precepts he knows so well. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Working With Others) p. 93 Thought to Ponder Faith without works ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 6, 2021 Greatest Possession Showing others who suffer how we were given help is the very thing which makes life seem so worth while to us now. Cling to the thought that, in God's hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you have—the key to life and happiness for others. With it you can avert death and misery for them. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (The Family Afterward) p. 124 Thought to Ponder Through adversity, we find strength. AA-related 'Alconym' H O L D & ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 5, 2021 For Each Individual In our personal stories you will find a wide variation in the way each teller approaches and conceives of the Power which is greater than himself. Whether we agree with a particular approach or conception seems to make little difference. Experience has taught us that these are matters about which, for our purpose, we need not be worried. They are questions for each individual to settle for himself. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (We Agnostics) ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 4, 2021 A Fair Hearing We looked at the human defects of these people, and sometimes used their shortcomings as a basis of wholesale condemnation. We talked of intolerance, while we were intolerant ourselves. We missed the reality and the beauty of the forest because we were diverted by the ugliness of some of its trees. We never gave the spiritual side of life a fair hearing. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (We Agnostics) p. 50 Thought to Ponder If you want to change wh ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 3, 2021 Experience Henry Ford once made a wise remark to the effect that experience is the thing of supreme value in life. That is true only if one is willing to turn the past to good account. We grow by our willingness to face and rectify errors and convert them into assets. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (The Family Afterward) p. 124 Thought to Ponder If you want to change who you are, change what you do. AA-related 'Alconym' A C T I O N  =   Any Change To ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 2, 2021 Step Eight "Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all." We might next ask ourselves what we mean when we say that we have "harmed" other people. What kinds of "harm" do people do one another, anyway? To define the word "harm" in a practical way, we might call it the result of instincts in collision, which cause physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual damage to people. ...Continue Reading