*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 15 2015 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Tradition Seven /"Every AA Group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."/* /- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,/ p. 160 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *The Twelve Steps tell us how it works; the Twelve Traditions tell us why it works.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *A A* = **A**lways **A**live. ** *A Member Shares: Hi, I'm Jocelyn, an alcoholic.  My sponsor always says that giving to th ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 14, 2015* *Hope* *Hope is the priceless ingredient for recovery.  This, AA gives, most frequently not in mere words. Upon the alcoholic's first contact with AA, as he looks around the room and sees men and women respectably clothed and in their right minds, enjoying themselves, that flicker of hope begins to burn. And he says to himself, "If those jokers can do it, I can." The first need, beyond any other, is hope.  Without it, there is nothi ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 13, 2015* *Making Coffee* *All I thought about as I was making the coffee was making the coffee and how people could enjoy it. At my sponsor's suggestion, I stood near the coffeepot and welcomed everyone who came by. I must have experienced a million smiles in a very short time.  And when I pushed the broom, all I concentrated on was the dust rising from it as I moved across the floor. My troubles were gone for the time that I was doing these things.  ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 12, 2015 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Balance Our sponsors come to the rescue.  They can do this, for they are the carriers of AA's experience with Step Four. . . This, the sponsor promptly proves by talking freely and easily, and without exhibitionism, about his own defects, past and present. . . This tends to clear away morbidity and encourage balance.* /- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,/ p. 46 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *A sponsor is someone who holds ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 11, 2015* *Discovery* *It is a positive fact that I shall never attain perfection, but in the attempt I have discovered a new zest for life, a new and more interesting battle every day, and the peace-giving knowledge that at least I am trying something I never experienced before. I believe that man's value to himself is the sum total of his positive reaction to the little things in life.* /- Thank You For Sharing,/ p. 56 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Recovery is d ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 10, 2015* *Just One Day* *Any of us can handle just one day; all each one of us has to try at is our own job, our own family life. We don't have to try fixing up the whole world or understanding what no theologian of any faith has ever understood. We simply stop messing in God's business. And in my opinion, when we stop messing and stop worrying, we /have/ turned our will and our lives over to God (or Good) as we understand (or don't understand) Him.* /- Came To ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 9, 2015* *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 help.* /- Alcoholics ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 8, 2015 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ A Novel Idea My friend suggested what then seemed a novel idea.  He said, /"Why don't you choose your own conception of God?"/  That statement hit me hard. . . /It was only a matter of being willing to believe in a Power greater than myself. Nothing more was required of me to make my beginning./  Would I have it?  Of course I would! Thus I was convinced that God is concerned with us humans when we ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 7, 2015* *Pride* *We alcoholics return to drink more often because of petty difficulties than because of life's serious setbacks and tragedies. The big problems seem to bring out our virtues, petty ones our faults. For God to remove our shortcomings, we need to identify the defect for what it is. . . And certainly the most difficult fault to see in ourselves is pride, aptly termed the first deadly sin.* /- The Best of the Grapevine/ [Vol. 3], p. 208 *Thought to ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 6, 2015* *Children of Chaos* *Over the years, every conceivable deviation from our Twelve Steps and Traditions has been tried. That was sure to be, since we are so largely a band of ego-driven individuals. Children of chaos, we have definitely played with every brand of fire, only to emerge unharmed and, we think, wiser. These very deviations created a vast process of trial and error, which under the grace of God, has brought us to where we stand today.* /- Twel ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 5, 2015 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ A Foundation 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 is we have omitted anything, for we are building an arch through which we shall walk a free man at last. Is our work solid so far?  Are the stones properly in place? Have we skimped on the cement put into the foundation?  Have we tried to make mortar without sand?* /- ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 4, 2015* *Freedom* *I craved freedom.  First, freedom to drink; later, freedom from drink. The AA program of recovery lies on a foundation of free choice. There are no mandates, laws or commandments.  AA's spiritual program, as outlined in the Twelve Steps, and by which I am offered even greater freedoms, is only suggested. I can take it or leave it.* /- Daily Reflections,/ p. 95 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Our AA freedoms create the soil in which genu ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 3, 2015* *A Precious Life* *I have found rooms full of wonderful people, and for me each and every one of the Big Book's promises have come true. The things I have learned from my own experience, from the Big Book, and from my friends in AA -- patience, acceptance, honesty, humility, and true faith in a Power greater than myself -- are the tools I use today to live my life, this precious life.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 475 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Life is ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 2, 2015* *Today* *Today is always here.  Life /is/ daily; today is all we have; and anybody can go one day without drinking. First, we try living in the now just in order to stay sober -- and it works. Once the idea has become a part of our thinking, we find that living life in 24-hour segments is an effective and satisfying way to handle many other matters as well.* /- Living Sober,/ p. 7 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Every day is a gift.  That is why w ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 1, 2015 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ 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 and Twelve Traditions,/ p. 72 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Learning is the very essence of humility; the two walk hand in hand.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *A R T* = **A**lways **R* ...Continue Reading