*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 31, 2015* *Isolation* *Isolation sneaks up on us.  We can mask it with familiar props that are not in themselves bad. We can isolate ourselves in an attempt to clean up our apartments (and then not do the cleaning); we can isolate ourselves in churches or in sleep; we can use family, sweethearts, compulsive working, television. The list is long.  The nicest way to end it is the way you and I do: together.   Reach out -- people can't read your ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 30, 2015 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Review the Day When we retire at night, we constructively review our day.  Were we resentful, selfish, dishonest or afraid? . . . What could we have done better? . . . After making our review, we ask God's forgiveness and inquire what corrective measures should be taken.* /- As Bill Sees It,/ p. 89 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Every day is a gift.  That is why we call it the present. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . *F ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 29, 2015* *Progression* *The progression of this disease catapulted me into outer space. An excess of chemical propellant overworked my sensory mechanism; like the crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft, I was almost stranded on the dark side of the moon.  I could not manage the added power; I was not able to control this by myself. I needed a helping Hand, the spiritual reserve of a Higher Power. I felt like a man in a tunnel with no opening at the other end, o ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 28, 2015* *Red Flags* *Many years later, although alcohol is not part of my life and I no longer have the compulsion to drink, it can still occur to me what a good drink tastes like and what it can do for me, from my stand-at-attention alcoholic taste buds right down to my stretched out tingling toes. As my sponsor used to point out, such thoughts are like red flags, telling me that something is not right, that I am stretched beyond my sober limit.  It' ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 27, 2015* *Good News* *I'm an alcoholic, sober today, thanks to my Higher Power and the fellowship and support of AA. That's my good news for you.  It's not a very fancy statement.  There's a lot more that needs to be said -- words about my Higher Power, about the incredible love AA people have for one another, about struggling with the Steps, about black battles with our own private demons.  Yes, it's a whole new way of life we're talking abo ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 26, 2015* *"If"* *Alcoholism respects no ifs.  It does not go away, not for a week, for a day, or even for an hour, leaving us nonalcoholic and able to drink again on some special occasion or for some extraordinary reason -- not even if it is a once-in-a-lifetime celebration, or if a big sorrow hits us, or if it rains in Spain, or the stars fall on Alabama. Alcoholism is for us unconditional, with no dispensations available at any price.* /- L ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 25, 2015* *Peace* *Most of us feel we need look no further for Utopia.  We have it with us right here and now. Each day my friend's simple talk in our kitchen multiplies itself in a widening circle of peace on earth and good will to men.* (Bill W., co-founder of AA) /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 16 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Joy is in knowing there is an answer.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *A A* = **A**lways **A**live. Thanks to all of you for shari ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 24, 2015* *Right Actions* *Doing the right things for the right reasons -- this is my way of controlling my selfishness and self-centeredness. I realize that my dependency on a Higher Power clears the way for peace of mind, happiness and sobriety. I pray each day that I will avoid my previous actions, so that I will be helpful to others.* /- Daily Reflections,/ p. 359 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Right actions for the future are the best apologies for wrong o ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 23, 2015 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Gratitude I try to hold fast to the truth that a full and thankful heart cannot entertain great conceits. When brimming with gratitude, one's heartbeat must surely result in outgoing love, the finest emotion that we can ever know.* /- As Bill Sees It,/ p. 37 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *I have learned how a heart full of gratitude feels. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . *A A** = **A**lways **A**wesome. ** *A Member Shares: Eveni ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 22, 2015* *Learn to Live* *I spent most of my life worrying about myself, thinking that I was unwanted, that I was unloved. I've learned since being in AA that the more I worry about me loving you, and the less I worry about you loving me, the happier I'll be. . . I have learned that the more I give, the more I will have; the more I learn to give, the more I learn to live.* /- Experience, Strength and Hope,/ p. 218 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *I have learned ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 21, 2015* *Carry the Message* *Carrying the message is gift of myself, no matter how many years of sobriety I may have accumulated. . . My wish to help another drunk is the key to my spiritual health. But I never forget that God acts through me.  I am only His instrument.* /- Daily Reflections,/ p. 352 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *In AA we don't carry the alcoholic; we carry the message.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *H O W* = **H**onesty, **O**pen-mind ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 20, 2015 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Working the Program Many of us found that the sooner we started work on the Twelve Steps offered as a program of recovery in the book "Alcoholics Anonymous," the better. Others of us felt the need to postpone this until we had been sober a little while. The point is, there is no prescribed "right" way or "wrong" way. Each of us uses what is best for himself or herself -- without closing the do ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 19, 2015* *A Common Solution* *The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered a common solution. We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree, and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious action. This is the great news this book carries to those who suffer from alcoholism.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 17 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Walk softly and carry a Big Book.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *H E A R T* = **H**ealing, ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 18, 2015* *Honesty* *Having trouble with the First Step?  All the program asks is enough honesty to get started -- just what we are capable of at the moment. At the beginning, that's very little honesty.  Each day, there will be a little more.  It will come. Because, you see, the AA program works for anyone who wants it.* /- The Best of the Grapevine/ [Vol. 2], p. 34 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Take the first step in faith.  You don't hav ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 17, 2015* *The Handshake* *I stumbled up the steps and came into this room, and some guy was up front talking, but I couldn't hear what he said. A couple of guys shook my hand.  Another one put his arm around my shoulder, and a third one gave me a cup of coffee. These guys had never seen me before -- they didn't know me from a bag of beans -- but all of a sudden I felt they liked me. An elementary thing, you say?  Of no importance?  Nonsense! ...Continue Reading