*AA Thought for the Day*(courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 5, 2018* *Malady*It was then discovered that when one alcoholic had planted in the mind of another the true nature of his malady, that person could never be the same again. Following every spree, he would say to himself, "Maybe those A.A.'s were right . . ." - Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions, p. 23 Thought to PonderThe gritty pain of alcoholism is the traction of recovery. AA-related 'Alconym'*F A I L*  =  *F*rom *A*dversity *I* *L* ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy AA-Alive.net) February 4, 2018 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ *Sponsor*The unique ability of each A.A. to identify himself with, and bring recovery to, the newcomer in no way depends upon his learning, eloquence, or on any special individual skills. The only thing that matters is that he is an alcoholic who has found a key to sobriety. - Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions, pp. 150 - 151 Thought to PonderA recovering alcoholic without a sponsor is much like a ship without a rudder. AA-r ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day*(courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 3, 2018* *Change*We thought "conditions" drove us to drink, and when we tried to correct these  conditions and found that we couldn't to our entire satisfaction, our drinking  went out of hand and we became alcoholics. It never occurred to us that we  needed to change ourselves to meet conditions, whatever they were. - Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions, p. 47 Thought to PonderIf you want to change who you are, change what you do. ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day*(courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 2, 2018* *Promises*We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us—sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them. - Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 84 Thought to PonderReliance on God enables me to match calamity with serenity. AA-rela ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day*(courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 1, 2018* *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, p. 67 Thought to PonderIn order to recover we have to uncover. AA-related ' ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day*(courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 31, 2018* *Choice*When we became alcoholics, crushed by a self-imposed crisis we could not postpone or evade, we had to fearlessly face the proposition that either God is everything or else He is nothing. God either is, or He isn’t. What was our choice to be? - Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 53 Thought to PonderGod seldom becomes a reality until God becomes a necessity. AA-related 'Alconym'*G I F T*  =  *G*od *I*s *F*orever *T*here. Thanks to all of you ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day*(courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 30, 2018* *Every Imaginable Remedy*We have tried every imaginable remedy. In some instances there has been brief recovery, followed always by a still worse relapse. Physicians who are familiar with alcoholism agree there is no such thing as making a normal drinker out of an alcoholic. Science may one day accomplish this, but it hasn’t done so yet. - Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 31 Thought to PonderWhen we try to control our drinking, we have already lost control ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day*(courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 29, 2018* *Humility*It was only by repeated humiliations that we were forced to learn something about humility. It was only at the end of a long road, marked by successive defeats and humiliations, and the final crushing of our self-sufficiency, that we began to feel humility as something more than a condition of groveling despair. - Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions, p. 72 Thought to PonderHumility is not thinking less of myself, but think ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy AA-Alive.net) January 28, 2018 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ *Faith Without Works*Faith without works was dead, he said. And how appallingly true for the alcoholic! For if an alcoholic failed to perfect and enlarge his spiritual life through work and self-sacrifice for others, he could not survive the certain trials and low spots ahead. If he did not work, he would surely drink again, and if he drank, he would surely die. - Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 14 - 15 Thought to PonderIf faith wi ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day*(courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 27, 2018* *Inner Resource*What often takes place in a few months could seldom have been accomplished by years of self-discipline. With few exceptions our members find that they have tapped an unsuspected inner resource which they presently identify with their own conception of a Power greater than themselves. - Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 567 - 568 Thought to PonderTrust God. Clean house. Help others. AA-related 'Alconym'*F A I T H*  =  *F*acing *A*l ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day*(courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 26, 2018* *Three Pertinent Ideas*Our description of the alcoholic, the chapter to the agnostic, and our personal adventures before and after make clear three pertinent ideas: (a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives. (b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism. (c) That God could and would if He were sought. - Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 60 Thought to PonderI can't, God can, I'll ask Him to. AA-related 'Alconym'*W I ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day*(courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 25, 2018* *Self-appraisal*In actual practice, we usually find a solitary self-appraisal insufficient. Many of us thought it necessary to go much further. We will be more reconciled to discussing ourselves with another person when we see good reasons why we should do so. The best reason first: If we skip this vital step, we may not overcome drinking. - Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 72 Thought to PonderI cannot mend if I bend the truth. AA-related 'Alconym'*H O W & ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day*(courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 24, 2018* *Step Twelve*Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. "If the day comes that I do drink again, it will not be because I had no alternative. It will be because I had an alternative, provided by a loving God, but was unwilling to use it." - AA Grapevine, October 1994, "Lock Me Up, Please" Thought to PonderIt's n ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day*(courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 23, 2018* *The First Milestone*When we have finally admitted without reservation that we are powerless over alcohol, we are apt to breathe a great sigh of relief, saying, “Well, thank God that's over! I'll never have to go through /that/ again!” Then we learn, often to our consternation, that this is only the first milestone on the new road we are walking. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 73 Thought to PonderSobriety is not a destination, but an ever ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day*(courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 22, 2018* *Alcoholic Mind*They had said that though I did raise a defense, it would one day give way before some trivial reason for having a drink. Well, just that did happen and more, for what I had learned of alcoholism did not occur to me at all. I knew from that moment that I had an alcoholic mind. - Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 42 Thought to PonderThe ultimate defense against the first drink is a spiritual one. AA-related 'Alconym'*T H I N K*  =   ...Continue Reading