*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *March 7, 2014* *No Reservation* *We have seen the truth demonstrated again and again: "Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic." Commencing to drink after a period of sobriety, we are in a short time as bad as ever. If we are planning to stop drinking, there must be no reservation of any kind, nor any lurking notion that someday we will be immune to alcohol.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 33 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *If we want to quit drinking, we are goin ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *March 6, 2014* *Challenges* *There is no easier, softer way. To bring the great escape act into sobriety is to travel with a companion that led me to despair long ago. The teaching I receive in Alcoholics Anonymous about courage and love helps me to continue to grapple with the challenges of life as they are given to me, one day at a time.* /- The Best of the Grapevine/ [Vol.3], p. 320 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Life is a steady drizzle of small things -- carry an u ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *March 5, 2014 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Service to Others Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and how we may help to meet their needs.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 20 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Into service out of self.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* **H E L P** = **H**ope, **E**ncouragement, **L**ove, **P**atience. ** *A Member Shares: Hello all, I'm an alcoholic named Thomas .. thankful to be sober.  Service t ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *March 4, 2014* *Perfection* *I never have been and never can be perfect. As that realization became a part of me -- and it took time -- it brought me one of the greatest of the many blessings that have come to me from AA. I learned to accept myself as a fallible human being. I do not have to strive for perfection.  Mistakes are permissible.  I have the right to be wrong. And what a comfort that thought is to me, as I make my bemused way through life, one fo ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *March 3, 2014* *Communication* *From the beginning, communication in AA has been no ordinary transmission of helpful ideas and attitudes.  It has been unusual and sometimes unique. Because of our kinship in suffering, and because our common means of deliverance are effective for ourselves only when constantly carried to others, our channels of contact have always been charged with /the language of the heart./* /- The Language of the Heart,/ p. 243 *Thought to P ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *March 2, 2014 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Tradition Two "For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority -- a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants, they do not govern."* /- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,/ p. 132 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *The Twelve Steps tell us how it works; the Twelve Traditions tell us why it works. * *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* **T R U S T** = **T**ry **R** ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *March 1, 2014* *Step Three* "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God _as we understood Him._" *I was at one of my meetings when I suddenly realized that the pivotal word in this Step is .. care. So I looked it up.  Foremost, the word has no shame to it. There is no control, servitude, or any other form of denigration, humiliation or degradation implied by that word. But I had chosen to infer that there was.  I reali ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 28, 2014* *Happy, Joyous, and Free* *We are sure God wants us to be happy, joyous, and free. We cannot subscribe to the belief that this life is a vale of tears, though it once was just that for many of us. But it is clear that we made our own misery.  God didn't do it. Avoid then, the deliberate manufacture of misery, but if trouble comes, cheerfully capitalize it as an opportunity to demonstrate His omnipotence.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 133 *Tho ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 27, 2014* *Rallying Point* *Step Two is the rallying point for all of us. Whether agnostic, atheist, or former believer, we can stand together on this Step. True humility and an open mind can lead us to faith, and every AA meeting is an assurance that God will restore us to sanity if we rightly relate ourselves to Him.* /- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,/ p. 33 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *I sit at a meeting until the bus of sanity comes by; then, I climb ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 26, 2014 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Peace of Mind As we felt new power flow in, as we enjoyed peace of mind, as we discovered we could face life successfully, as we became conscious of His presence, we began to lose our fear of today, tomorrow or the hereafter.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 63 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Happiness and peace of mind are always here, open and free to anyone.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* **A A** = **A**lways **A**wesome. ** ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 25, 2014* *Humility First* *We who had won so handsomely in a walk turned into all-time losers. We saw that we had to reconsider or die. We found many in AA who once thought as we did. They helped us to get down to our right size. By their example they showed us that humility and intellect could be compatible, provided we placed humility first.* /- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,/ p. 30 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Learning is the very essence of humility ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 24, 2014* *A Spiritual Program* *I finally began to separate the religious aspects of my life from AA's spiritual program. Now the big difference to me is that religion is the ritual, and we all differ there, and spirituality is the way we feel about what we do. It's about my personal contact with my personal Higher Power as I understand Him.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 406 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *True religion is the life we lead, not the creed we pro ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 23, 2014 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Gratitude Gratitude should go forward, rather than backward. In other words, if you carry the message to still others, you will be making the best possible repayment for the help given to you.* /- As Bill Sees It,/ p. 29 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Grateful is a feeling.  Gratitude is an action.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* **A A** = **A**lways **A**wesome. ** *A Member Shares: Hi all, l am Kevin, an alcoholic and ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 22, 2014* *Laughter* *When my AA sponsor began to laugh and point out my self-pity and ego-feeding deceptions, I was annoyed and hurt, but it taught me to lighten up and focus on my recovery. I soon learned to laugh at myself and eventually I taught those I sponsor to laugh also. Every day I ask God to help me stop taking myself too seriously.* /- Daily Reflections,/ p. 59 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Take time to laugh -- it is the music of the soul.* *AA-r ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *February 21, 2014* *Selfishness* *Selfishness -- self-centeredness!  That, we think, is the root of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based on self which later put us in a position to be hurt.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p ...Continue Reading