AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) December 9, 2020 Simple and Personal In spite of the great increase in the size and the span of this Fellowship, at its core it remains simple and personal. Each day, somewhere in the world, recovery begins when one alcoholic talks with another alcoholic, sharing experience, strength, and hope. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Foreward to Third Edition) p. xxii Thought to Ponder Every recovery from alcoholism begins with one sober hour. AA-related 'Alconym' H O P E  = &nb ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) December 8, 2020 Third Step Prayer We were now at Step Three. Many of us said to our Maker, as we understood Him: "God, I offer myself to Thee—to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of life. May I do Thy will always!" - Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 63 ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) December 7, 2020 The Old Game Inwardly he would give anything to take half a dozen drinks and get away with them. He will presently try the old game again, for he isn’t happy about his sobriety. He cannot picture life without alcohol. Some day he will be unable to imagine life either with alcohol or without it. Then he will know loneliness such as few do. He will be at the jumping-off place. He will wish for the end. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (A Vision For You) p. 152 Tho ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) December 6, 2020 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Willing to Believe Stress the spiritual feature freely. If the man be agnostic or atheist, make it emphatic that he does not have to agree with your conception of God. He can choose any conception he likes, provided it makes sense to him. The main thing is that he be willing to believe in a Power greater than himself and that he live by spiritual principles.  - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Working With Others) p. 93  Thoug ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) December 5, 2020 Control The old pleasures were gone. They were but memories. Never could we recapture the great moments of the past. There was an insistent yearning to enjoy life as we once did and a heartbreaking obsession that some new miracle of control would enable us to do it. There was always one more attempt—and one more failure. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (A Vision For You) p. 151 Thought to Ponder When we try to control our drinking, we have already lost control ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) December 4, 2020 Inventory Beginning with Step Four, we commenced to search out the things in ourselves which had brought us to physical, moral, and spiritual bankruptcy. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory. Looking at Step Five, we decided that an inventory, taken alone, wouldn't be enough. We knew we would have to quit the deadly business of living alone with our conflicts, and in honesty confide these to God and another human being. - Twelve Steps and Twe ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) December 3, 2020 Faith in a Power Actually we were fooling ourselves, for deep down in every man, woman, and child, is the fundamental idea of God. It may be obscured by calamity, by pomp, by worship of other things, but in some form or other it is there. For faith in a Power greater than ourselves, and miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives, are facts as old as man himself. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (We Agnostics) p. 55 Thought to Ponder People of faith h ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) December 2, 2020 It's Our Inventory Putting out of our minds the wrongs others had done, we resolutely looked for our own mistakes. Where had we been selfish, dishonest, self-seeking and frightened? Though a situation had not been entirely our fault, we tried to disregard the other person involved entirely. Where were we to blame? The inventory was ours, not the other man’s. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 67 Thought to Ponder The first step in overcoming mist ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) December 1, 2020 Direction On awakening let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead. We consider our plans for the day. Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 86 Thought to Ponder True ambition is not what we thought it was. AA-related 'Alconym' F A I T H  =   For All I Trust Him. Thanks to all of you for sharing s ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) November 30, 2020 Direct Contact In Step Eleven we saw that if a Higher Power had restored us to sanity and had enabled us to live with some peace of mind in a sorely troubled world, then such a Higher Power was worth knowing better, by as direct contact as possible. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Twelve) pp. 108 - 109 Thought to Ponder Relationships are built with communication; so we pray. AA-related 'Alconym' A S A P  =   Always Say A Prayer. ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) November 29, 2020 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Lack of Power Our human resources, as marshalled by the will, were not sufficient; they failed utterly. Lack of power, that was our dilemma. We had to find a power by which we could live, and it had to be a Power greater than ourselves. Obviously. But where and how were we to find this Power? Well, that’s exactly what this book is about. Its main object is to enable you to find a Power greater than yourself which will solve yo ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) November 28, 2020 Reason Hence, we saw that reason isn’t everything. Neither is reason, as most of us use it, entirely dependable, though it emanate from our best minds. What about people who proved that man could never fly? Yet we had been seeing another kind of flight, a spiritual liberation from this world, people who rose above their problems. They said God made these things possible, and we only smiled. We had seen spiritual release, but liked to tell ourselves it w ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) November 27, 2020 Assets Learning daily to spot, admit, and correct these flaws is the essence of character-building and good living. An honest regret for harms done, a genuine gratitude for blessings received, and a willingness to try for better things tomorrow will be the permanent assets we shall seek. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Ten) p. 95 Thought to Ponder Gratitude is a tool, a form of perspective, reminding me to appreciate the simple things. AA- ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) November 26, 2020 No Monopoly He should not be pushed or prodded by you, his wife, or his friends. If he is to find God, the desire must come from within. If he thinks he can do the job in some other way, or prefers some other spiritual approach, encourage him to follow his own conscience. We have no monopoly on God; we merely have an approach that worked with us. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Working With Others) p. 95 Thought to Ponder AA is not for people who need it, it' ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) November 25, 2020 Taking Action Your candidate may give reasons why he need not follow all of the program. He may rebel at the thought of a drastic housecleaning which requires discussion with other people. Do not contradict such views. Tell him you once felt as he does, but you doubt whether you would have made much progress had you not taken action. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Working With Others) p. 94 Thought to Ponder Sobriety without action is fantasy. AA-related 'A ...Continue Reading