*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

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 1, 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 . . .* *The peaks and valleys of my life have become gentle r ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *June 30, 2014* *Radical Formula* *We AA's tried out a radical and old-time formula, one rather out of fashion nowadays, and it had worked.  "We admitted we were powerless -- that our lives had become unmanageable." and "we made a decision to turn our wills and our lives over to God /as we understood Him."/ Every one of us who could make and fairly well maintain this humbling admission and sweeping decision had found relief from obsession and ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *June 29, 2014 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Meditation Aided by such instruction and example as we can find, it is essentially an individual adventure, something which each one of us works out in his own way. But its object is always the same: to improve our conscious contact with God, with His grace, wisdom, and love. And let's always remember that meditation is in reality intensely practical. One of the first fruits is emotional balance.* /- Twelve Steps and Twelve Tr ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *June 29, 2014 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Meditation Aided by such instruction and example as we can find, it is essentially an individual adventure, something which each one of us works out in his own way. But its object is always the same: to improve our conscious contact with God, with His grace, wisdom, and love. And let's always remember that meditation is in reality intensely practical. One of the first fruits is emotional balance.* /- Twelve Steps and Twelve Tr ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *June 28, 2014* *Progress* *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 than anything we could have planned.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 100 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Walk softly and carry a Big Book.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *G O D* = **G**ood **O**rderly **D**irection. Thanks to all of ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *June 27, 2014* *New Friends* *I had found friends -- understanding friends who often knew what I was thinking and feeling better than I knew myself -- and who didn't allow me to retreat into my prison of loneliness and fear over a fancied slight or hurt. Talking things over with them, great floods of enlightenment showed me myself as I really was -- and I was like them.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ pp. 206-207 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *A friend is one who sees throu ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *June 26, 2014* *Now* *Now is the time, the only time there is. And if we are not kind to ourselves right now, we certainly cannot rightfully expect respect or consideration from others. We have found we can enjoy, sober, every good thing we enjoyed while drinking -- and many, many more. It takes a little practice, but the rewards more than make up for the effort. . . Unless we cherish our own recovery, we cannot survive to become unselfish, ethical, and socially resp ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *June 25, 2014 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Willingness 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 . . .* *What have I been given today Am I willing to reach out and grasp it?* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* **W H O** = **W**illingness, **H**onesty, **O**pen-mindedness. ** *A Member Shares: Hi all, Claudia here, ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *June 24, 2014* *24-hour Plan* *Getting away from the pull of the first drink is like putting a space vehicle in orbit. It takes a lot of thrust to overcome the pull of gravity and get the vehicle off the ground. But once it gets in orbit, all that's required is a small correction from time to time. That's how the 24-hour plan works -- a small daily checkup and correction to keep us away from the pull of that first drink. The 24-hour plan is a discipline whose yield i ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *June 23, 2014* *Inner Resource* *I promise to watch for every opportunity to turn toward my Higher Power for guidance. I know where this power is: it resides within me, as clear as a mountain brook, hidden in the hills -- it is the un-suspected Inner Resource. . . I trust it today and hope it trusts me to make all effort to find the right thought or action today.* /- Daily Reflections,/ p. 28 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *I asked from the heart, and I received.* *AA- ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *June 22, 2014* *Rewards* *The rewards of sobriety are bountiful and as progressive as the disease they counteract. Certainly among these rewards for me are the release from the prison of uniqueness, and the realization that participation in the AA way of life is a blessing and a privilege beyond estimate -- a blessing to live a life free from the pain and degradation of drinking and filled with the joy of useful, sober living, and a privilege to grow in sobriety one ...Continue Reading