*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 16, 2014 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Freedom 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.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* **H J F** = **H**appy, **J**oyous, **F**ree. ** *A Member Shares: I'm Bobbie Jo ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 15, 2014* *Complacency* *Following the principles laid out in the Big Book has not always been comfortable, nor will I claim perfection. I have yet to find a place in the Big Book that says, "Now that you have completed the Steps; have a nice life." The program is a plan for a lifetime of daily living. There have been occasions when the temptation to slack off has won. I view each of these as learning opportunities.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 317 ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 14, 2014* *Turning Points* *Every day I stand at turning points. My thoughts and actions can propel me toward growth or turn me down the road to old habits and to booze. Sometimes turning points are beginnings, as when I decide to start praising, instead of condemning someone. . . At other times turning points are endings, such as when I see clearly the need to stop festering resentments or crippling self-seeking.* /- Daily Reflections,/ p. 15 *Thought to Pond ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 13, 2014 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Step Seven* /"Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."/ *To get completely away from our aversion to the idea of being humble, to gain a vision of humility as the avenue to true freedom of the human spirit, to be willing to work for humility as something to be desired for itself, takes most of us a long, long time.* /- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,/ p. 73 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Humility is not thinkin ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 12, 2014* *Anonymity* *It should be a privilege, even the right, of each member or group to handle anonymity as they wish. . . Each individual will have to decide where he ought to draw the line -- how far he ought to carry the principle in his own affairs, how far he may go in dropping his own anonymity without injury to Alcoholics Anonymous as a whole.* /- The Language of the Heart,/ p. 15 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Anonymity is real humility at work.* *AA- ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 11, 2014* *Here-and-Now* *The nondrinking alcoholic discovers in AA that you cannot Get Ahead until you learn to be Here. We discover from our Serenity Prayer that one of the things we cannot change is time. The Here-and-Now is the only reality, whereas in the unreal world of the drinking alcoholic there was only yesterday-and-tomorrow.* /- Came To Believe . . .,/ p. 113 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Tomorrow, and all the tomorrows to come, are but extensions of ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 10, 2014* *Ego* *I am still arrogant, egocentric, self-righteous, with no humility, even phony at times, but I'm trying to be a better person and help my fellowman. Guess I'll never be a saint, but whatever I am, I want to be sober and in AA. The word "alcoholic" does not turn me off any more; in fact, it is music to my ears when it applies to me.* /- Experience, Strength and Hope,/ p. 382 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *The ego seeks the destination; the ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 9, 2014 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Acceptance And acceptance is the answer to /all/ my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation -- some fact of my life -- unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 417 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *My serenity is directly prop ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 8, 2014* *Humility* *On his desk, Dr. Bob had a plaque defining humility: "Perpetual quietness of heart. It is to have no trouble.  It is never to be fretted or vexed, irritable or sore; to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised, it is to have a blessed home in myself where I can go in and shut the door and kneel to my Father in secret and be at ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 7, 2014* *"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.* /- Living ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 6, 2014 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Higher Power Walk day by day in the path of spiritual progress.  If you persist, remarkable things will happen. When we look back, we realize that the things which came to us when we put ourselves in God's hands were better that anything we could have planned. Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live in a new and wonderful world, no matter your present circumstances.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 1 ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 5, 2014* *Character-building* *Whenever we had to choose between character and comfort, the character-building was lost in the dust of our chase after what we thought was happiness. Seldom did we look at character-building as something desirable in itself, something we would like to strive for whether our instinctual needs were met or not. We never thought of making honesty, tolerance, and true love of man and God the daily basis of living.* /- Twelve Steps and ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 4, 2014* *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 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' . . .* *T H I N K* = **T**he **H**appiness **I** **N**ever **K**new. Thanks to all of you for ...Continue Reading

a *AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 3, 2014* *Choice* *Like so many, I do not always surrender completely; I allow the cares and worries of the day to distort my thinking. But as soon as I get back on the right track, I realize I have everything I need. Whatever problems confront me, large or small, they can be solved wisely. Or they can be solved my way.  The choice is mine.* /- Came To Believe . . .,/ p. 60 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *The solution is simple.  The solution is spiritua ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 2, 2014 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Self-esteem In most cases it was found that our self-esteem, our pocketbooks, our ambitions, our personal relationships (including sex) were hurt or threatened. So we were "burned up." . . .  Was it our self-esteem, our security, our ambitions, our personal, or sex relations, which had been interfered with? . . . We went back through our lives.  Nothing counted but thoroughness and honesty.* /- Alcoholics An ...Continue Reading