*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 23, 2016* *Self-worth* *I know that I am not a total loss, even when I think I am. I know that freedom and usefulness, love, outgoingness, and sharing are the important things in life. But even more important, I have to care for me and achieve a sense of self-worth. So I continue to listen.  I am still open to suggestions.  I continue on my way.  And I am on the way up.* /- The Best of the Grapevine/ [Vol. 1], pp. 24-25 *Thought to Ponder . . ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 22, 2016* *Obsession* *Under the lash of alcoholism, we are driven to AA, and there we discover the fatal nature of our situation. Then, and only then, do we become as open-minded to conviction and as willing to listen as the dying can be. We stand ready to do anything which will lift the merciless obsession from us.* /- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,/ p. 24 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Within our wonderful new world, we have found freedom from our fatal ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 21, 2016* *H A L T* *Trying to argue yourself out of a drink is rather like attempting self-hypnosis. Often, it is about as effective as trying to persuade a pregnant mare not to foal when her term has come. For these reasons, then, when we suggest avoiding fatigue and hunger, we often tie in a mention of one more hazard to make it a triple play: "Don't let yourself get too tired, too hungry, or too lonely."  Check it out. If the notion of taki ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 20, 2016 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Step Three /"Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him."/ In all times of emotional disturbance or indecision, we can pause, ask for quiet, and in the stillness simply say: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.  Thy will, not mine, be done."* /- Twelve ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 19, 2016* *Acceptance* *Our whole treasured philosophy of self-sufficiency had to be cast aside.  This had not been done with old-fashioned willpower; it was instead a matter of developing the willingness to /accept/ these new facts of living. We neither ran nor fought.  But /accept/ we did.  And then we were free. There had been no irretrievable disaster.* /- The Language of the Heart,/ p. 271 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Acceptance is the answ ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 18, 2016* *Tornado!* *The 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 shelter to find his home ruined.  To his wife, he remarked, "Don't see an ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 17, 2016 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Working With Others . . . the thought came that there were thousands of hopeless alcoholics who might be glad to have what had been so freely given me. Perhaps I could help some of them.  They in turn might work with others.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 14 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Sharing is sometimes more demanding than giving. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . *E S H** = **E**xperience, **S**trength, and **H**ope. ** * ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 16, 2016* *Responsibilities* *Remember, AA is not going to preserve itself automatically. What are we, each one of us, doing with the gift of sobriety, so freely and lovingly given? Will we squander our magnificent inheritance? Perhaps each one of us should hold on to these thoughts: "Keep me mindful of the responsibilities that accompany the blessings of freedom. The only time that wrong can prevail is when good people do nothing."* /- The Home Gro ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 15, 2016* *Spiritual Progress* *Many of us exclaimed, "What a order!  I can't go through with it."  Do not be discouraged. No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles.  We are not saints. The point is, that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines. The principles we have set down are guides to progress.  We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection.* /- Alcohol ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 14, 2016* *Choices* *"Yet we finally did make choices that brought about our recovery. We came to believe that alone we were powerless over alcohol. This was surely a choice, and a most difficult one. We came to believe that a Higher Power could restore us to sanity when we became willing to practice AA's Twelve Steps. In short, we chose to 'become willing,' and no better choice did we ever make."* /- As Bill Sees It,/ p. 4 *Thought to Ponder . . . ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 13, 2016 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ The Doctor's Opinion Frothy emotional appeal seldom suffices. The message which can interest and hold these alcoholic people must have depth and weight. In nearly all these cases, their ideals must be grounded in a power greater than themselves, if they are to re-create their lives.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. xxviii *Thought to Ponder . . .* *So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains and we never even k ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 12, 2016* *Tradition One* /"Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon AA unity."/ *At first nearly every alcoholic we approached began to slip, if indeed he sobered up at all. Others would stay dry six months or maybe a year and then take a skid.  This was always a genuine catastrophe. We would look at each other and say, "Who next?"  We were afraid that alcohol might completely undo us. But today (195 ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 11, 2016* *Habits* *Our drinking was connected with many habits -- big and little. Some of them were thinking habits, or things we felt inside ourselves.  Others were doing habits -- things we did, actions we took. In getting used to not drinking, we have found that we needed new habits to take the place of those old ones. . . After we spent a few months practicing these new, sober habits or ways of acting and thinking, they became almost second nature t ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 10, 2016 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Tradition Twelve We of Alcoholics Anonymous believe that the principle of anonymity has an immense spiritual significance. It reminds us that we are to place principles before personalities; that we are actually to practice a genuine humility. This to the end that our great blessings may never spoil us; that we shall forever live in thankful contemplation of Him who presides over us all.* /- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditio ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *January 9, 2016* *Step One* /"We admitted we were powerless over alcohol -- that our lives had become unmanageable."/ *Who cares to admit complete defeat?  Practically no one, of course. Every natural instinct cries out against the idea of personal powerlessness. It is truly awful to admit that, glass in hand, we have warped our minds into such an obsession for destructive drinking that only an act of Providence can remove it from us.* /- Twelve Steps ...Continue Reading