*AA Thought for the Day*(courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 15, 2017*   A QuestionOur friend’s gorge rose as he bitterly cried out: "If there is a God, He certainly hasn’t done anything for me!"  But later, alone in his room, he asked himself this question: "Is it possible that all the religious people I have known are wrong?" While pondering the answer he felt as though he lived in hell.  Then, like a thunderbolt, a great thought came. It crowded out all else:/"Who are you to say the ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day*(courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 14, 2017*   Helping OthersIf you are satisfied that he is a real alcoholic, begin to dwell on the hopeless feature of the malady. Show him, from your own experience, how the queer mental condition surrounding that first drink prevents normal functioning of the will power.- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 92  Thought to PonderTrust God. Clean house. Help others. AA-related 'Alconym'A L C O H O L I C S  =  A Life Centered On Helping Others Live In Comple ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day*(courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 13, 2017*   A TornadoThe alcoholic is like a tornado roaring his way through the lives of others. Hearts are broken. Sweet relationships are dead. Affections have been uprooted. Selfish and inconsiderate habits have kept the home in turmoil. We feel a man is unthinking when he says that sobriety is enough. He is like the farmer who came up out of his cyclone cellar to find his home ruined. To his wife, he remarked, "Don’t see anything the matter here, Ma. ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day*(courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 12, 2017*   We ReviewReturning home we find a place where we can be quiet for an hour, carefully reviewing what we have done. We thank God from the bottom of our heart that we know Him better. Taking this book down from our shelf we turn to the page which contains the twelve steps.  Carefully reading the first five proposals we ask if we have omitted anything, for we are building an arch through which we shall walk a free man at last.- Alcoholics Anonymou ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day*(courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 11, 2017  * *AmendsWe 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. If our manner is calm, frank, and open, we will be gratified with the result.- Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 77 - 78   * *Thought to PonderIt is the highest form of self-respect to admit mistakes and to make amends for them. ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day*(courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 10, 2017*   Daily InventoryIn all these situations we need self-restraint, honest analysis of what is involved, a willingness to admit when the fault is ours, and an equal willingness to forgive when the fault is elsewhere. We need not be discouraged when we fall into the error of our old ways, for these disciplines are not easy. We shall look for progress, not for perfection.- Alcoholics Anonymous, p 86    Thought to PonderInventory-taking is not alw ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day*(courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 9, 2017* *Forgiveness*If we ask, God will certainly forgive our derelictions. But in no case does He render us white as snow and keep us that way without our cooperation. That is something we are supposed to be willing to work toward ourselves. He asks only that we try as best we know how to make progress in the building of character./- Twelve Steps & 12 Traditions, /p. 65 *Thought to Ponder . . .*Forgiveness is the key to moving forward. *AA-related 'Alconym' ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day*(courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 8, 2017* *Prayer and Meditation*Perhaps one of the greatest rewards of meditation and prayer is the sense of belonging that comes to us.  We no longer live in a completely hostile world. We are no longer lost and frightened and purposeless./- Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions,/ p. 105 *Thought to Ponder . . .*Trying to pray is praying. *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .***P U S H** = **P**ray **U**ntil **S**omething **H**appens.   Thanks to all of you for sha ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day*(courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 7, 2017* *Rebellion**A whole lifetime geared to self-centeredness cannot be set in reverse all at once.  Rebellion dogs our every step at first. 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 n ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 6, 2017* *Two Alternatives* If you are as seriously alcoholic as we were, we believe there is no middle-of-the-road solution. We were in a position where life was becoming impossible, and if we had passed into the region from which there is no return through human aid, we had but two alternatives: One was to go on to the bitter end, blotting out the consciousness of our intolerable situation as best we could; and the other, to accept spiritual hel ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 5, 2017 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Why They Fell* Time after time newcomers have tried to keep to themselves certain facts about their lives. Trying to avoid this humbling experience, they have turned to easier methods. Almost invariably they got drunk. Having persevered with the rest of the program, they wondered why they fell. We think the reason is that they never completed their housecleaning. They took inventory all right, but hung on to som ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 4, 2017* *A New Freedom* If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ pp. 83 - 84 *Thought to Ponder . . .* Serenity isn't freedom from the storm; it is peace within the storm. ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 3, 2017* *Program of Action* The program of action, though entirely sensible, was pretty drastic. It meant I would have to throw several lifelong conceptions out of the window. That was not easy.  But the moment I made up my mind to go through with the process, I had the curious feeling that my alcoholic condition was relieved, as in fact it proved to be. /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 42 *Thought to Ponder . . .* What is now proved was once ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 2, 2017* *Obsession* *It is not surprising that our drinking careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove we could drink like other people. The idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. The persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 30 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *When we try to c ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 1, 2017* *Our Hope* Our hope is that many alcoholic men and women, desperately in need, will see these pages, and we believe that it is only by fully disclosing ourselves and our problems that they will be persuaded to say, “Yes, I am one of them too; I must have this thing.” /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 29 *Thought to Ponder . . .* Hope is the key that unlocks the door of discouragement. *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* A B C  =  Acce ...Continue Reading