*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 18, 2015* *Overcoming Fear* *When I took the Fifth Step with all the thoroughness I could muster, that part of me I feared the most no longer frightened me. I suddenly realized that God loves me just as I am.* - The AA Grapevine, July 1980 "Short Takes" *Thought to Ponder . . .* *A fear faced is a fear erased.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *H O W* = **H**onesty, **O**pen-mindedness, **W**illingness. Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of y ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 17, 2015 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Belonging There is no more aloneness, with that awful ache, so deep in the heart of every alcoholic, that nothing, before, could ever reach it. That ache is gone and never need return again. Now there is a sense of belonging, of being wanted and needed and loved. In return for a bottle and a hangover, we have been given the Keys of the Kingdom.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 276 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *The sense of belonging ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 16, 2015* *Contact* *I had been undergoing a spiritual experience without knowing it.  My continued questioning about a Higher Power, my changed mental attitude, and even my physical recovery had all been a part of a spiritual awakening. Without knowing it, I had been in contact with the source of life, whatever or whoever that may be.* /- The Best of the Grapevine/ [Vol. 2], p. 193 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *New ideals and new attitudes bring a new life.* ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 15, 2015* *A New Meaning* *My intelligence, instead of drawing me further away from spiritual faith, is bringing me closer to it. I no longer react in quite the same way when my will and desires are apparently frustrated. The simple words "Thy Will Be Done" and the simple ideas of honesty and of helping others are taking on a new meaning for me.* /- Experience, Strength and Hope,/ p. 127 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Life will take on new meaning.* *AA- ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 14, 2015* *Step Five* /"Admitted to God, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs."/ *With AA as my structure and God as my source of strength, I can face life without taking a drink. . . But I must also bear in mind that it is the spirit within me, which comes from God, that is going to be the healing force. I can turn to it wherever I am.  I want very much to share myself with another human being now. I am afraid of taking that s ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 13, 2015 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Complacency It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe.  We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 85 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *The alcoholic is in no greater peril than when he takes sobriety for granted ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 12, 2015* *Tranquility* *We truly get to know ourselves as never before if we honestly study that Fourth Step. This knowledge can eventually make us strong, if we ask for help in the right quarter. . . In this way, I've gained some measure of tranquility as well as a deep and abiding gratitude to AA and the Greater Power.* /- Thank You For Sharing,/ p. 43 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *I want the gift of an untroubled mind.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *G I F T S ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 11, 2015* *Understanding* *A tiny kernel of locked-in feelings began to unfold when I first attended AA meetings and self-knowledge then became a learning task for me. This new self-understanding brought about a change in my responses to life's situations. I realized I had the right to make choices in my life, and the inner dictatorship of habits slowly lost its grip.* /- Daily Reflections,/ p. 135 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Once we understand ourselves, the re ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 10, 2015 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Truth Truth liberates.  Truth heals. Truth unlocks the door to the glory of reality, and gives us the means to live in harmony with reality. In return, it asks only that we surrender all lies and illusions and love what is. Why do we wait so long?* /- The Best of the Grapevine/ [Vol. 1], p. 138 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Truth is to inner space what sunshine is to a garden.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *A A* = **A**lway ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 9, 2015* *The Answer* *The answer was on page fifty-eight: "Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program . . " My problem was not that I could not, because I knew I could; my problem was that I would not. After this discovery, I commenced to follow the program as outlined in the Big Book, and for the first time in my life, I completely gave myself to this simple program.* /- The Best of the ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 8, 2015* *Growth* *The essence of all growth is a willingness to change for the better and then an unremitting willingness to shoulder whatever responsibility this entails.* /- As Bill Sees It,/ p. 115 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *When in doubt, be silent.  Grow where you are planted.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *A A* = **A**lways **A**live. Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope in carrying the AA message. B ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 7, 2015* *Willpower* *We know for sure that alcoholics do have tremendous willpower. Consider the ways we could manage to get a drink in defiance of all visible possibilities. Merely to get up some mornings -- with a rusting cast-iron stomach, all your teeth wearing tiny sweaters, and each hair electrified -- takes willpower many nondrinkers rarely dream of. Once you've gotten up with your head, on those certain mornings, the ability to carry it all through the d ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 6, 2015 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Anonymity Once one is fairly sober, and sure of this, there seems to be no reason for failing to talk about AA membership in the right places. This has a tendency to bring in other people.  Word of mouth is one of our most important communications.* /- As Bill Sees It,/ p. 120 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Anonymity is real humility at work.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *A N O N Y M O U S* = **A**ctions, **N**ot **O**ur **N ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 5, 2015* *Today* *Today is the day.  Doing our best, living each day to the fullest is the art of living. Yesterday is gone, and we don't know whether we will be here tomorrow. If we do a good job of living today, and if tomorrow comes for us, then the chances are we will do a good job when it arrives -- so why worry about it?  The AA way of life is the way we always should have tried to live.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 357 *Thought to Ponder . . .* ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 4, 2015* *Unity* *To those now in its fold, AA has made the difference between misery and sobriety, and often the difference between life and death. AA can, of course, mean just as much to uncounted alcoholics not yet reached. Therefore, no society of men and women ever had a more urgent /need/ for continuous effectiveness and permanent unity. We alcoholics see that we must work together and hang together, else most of us will finally die alone.* /- Alcoholics An ...Continue Reading