*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 12, 2013* *Responsible* *Being responsible is my way of expressing my gratefulness to God for what He has given me. When we have new friends at our meeting, I do everything I can to make them feel wanted. Another pleasure that I receive is seeing newcomers return the following week and watching them slowly grow in the Fellowship and embrace a host of new friends who care. I once heard this definition at a meeting: "AA is people helping people." I'm ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 11, 2013 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Going to Any Length If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it -- then you are ready to take certain steps.  At some of these we balked. We thought we could find an easier, softer way.  But we could not. With all the earnestness at our command, we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 58 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *L ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 10, 2013* *Miracle* *Then the miracle happened -- to /me!/  It isn't always so sudden with everyone, but I ran into a personal crisis that filled me with a raging and righteous anger. And as I fumed helplessly and planned to get good and drunk and /show them,/ my eye caught a sentence in the book lying open on my bed: "We cannot live with anger." The walls crumpled -- and the light streamed in.  I wasn't trapped.  I wasn't helpless. ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 9, 2013* *A Simple Program* *You are free to disagree or disregard any or all portions of this simple program.  That's your choice. But if you cannot stay sober or have not found happiness, joy, and freedom outlined in chapter five of the Big Book, I offer this suggestion: "Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple prog ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 8, 2013 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Step Three* /"Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him."/ *To every worldly and practical beginner, this Step looks hard, even impossible. No matter how much one wishes to try, exactly how /can/ he turn his own will and his own life over to the care of whatever God he thinks there is? Fortunately, we who have tried it, and with equal misgivings, can testify that a ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 7, 2013* *Faith* *When I was driven to my knees by alcohol, I was made ready to ask for the gift of faith. And all was changed. Never again, my pains and problems notwithstanding, would I experience my former desolation. I saw the universe to be lighted by God's love; I was alone no more.* /- As Bill Sees It,/ p. 51 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Faith dares the soul to go beyond what the eyes can see.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *F A I T H* = **F**ear **A** ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 6, 2013* *Ecstatic* *I now know that what is involved in taking the AA program entire, as the early AA's gave it to us, is not the prospect of turning into some sort of repulsive goody-goody. It's the threat of being truly alive, aware, and even perhaps /ecstatic./ I'm coming to believe that if I do not accept all of what this program offers (demands?), but instead walk away from it as somehow more than I bargained for, I might get drunk.* /- Came To Believe ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 5, 2013* *Suggestions* *I remember my sponsor's answer when I told him that the Steps were "suggested." He replied that they are "suggested" in the same way that, if you were to jump out of an airplane with a parachute, it is "suggested" that you pull the ripcord to save your life. So I try to remember daily that I have a whole program of recovery based on all Twelve of the "suggested" Steps.* /- Daily Reflections,/ p. ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 4, 2013 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Turning Point Remember that we deal with alcohol -- cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help, it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power -- that One is God.  May you find Him now! Half measure availed us nothing.  We stood at the turning point. We asked His care and protection with complete abandon.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ pp. 58-59 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *We were at the jumping-off place.* ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 3, 2013* *Smile!* *I smile because in my organization I am unorganized. I smile because I need not be a professional who has opinions he must cram down your throat. I smile because I can at last be myself, and if I don't attract anyone, at least I won't promote anyone. But mainly I smile because you -- all of you in AA -- have given me the opportunity to fight for your principles rather than my personality.* /-The Best of the Grapevine/ [Vol. 1], p. 104 *Th ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 2, 2013* *"Pass It On"* *I'll never forget the first time I met Bill Wilson.  I was a couple of months sober and so excited, so thrilled to actually meet the co-founder that I gushed all over him with what my sobriety meant to me and my undying gratitude for his starting AA. When I ran down, he took my hand in his and said simply, "Pass it on."* /- 'Pass It On,' The Story of Bill Wilson and How the AA Message Reached the World,/ Pref ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *December 1, 2013 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Fellowship Life will take on new meaning. To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up about you, to have a host of friends, -- this is an experience you must not miss. We know you will not want to miss it.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 89 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Life will take on new meaning.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* **T L C** = **T**ears, **L**aughter ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *November 30, 2013* *An Unshakable Foundation* *There is a direct link among self-examination, meditation, and prayer. Taken separately, these practices can bring much relief and benefit. But when they are logically related and interwoven, the result is an unshakable foundation for life.* /- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,/ p. 98 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Meditation is our step out into the sun.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *A A* = **A**lways **A**wesome. Tha ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *November 29, 2013* *Meditating* *I've heard more silence than messages from God while praying or meditating. At this stage in my development, I think God is trying to teach me something I could not learn otherwise about patience and trust. . . Whatever I learn during meditation applies to me in my life, not necessarily to anyone else. The messages are usually what I need to hear at a particular time, whether I agree or not.* /- The Best Of The Grapevine/ [Vol. 3], p. ...Continue Reading

*~~~* Holiday Alkathon! *~~~* Come celebrate with us! http://www.aa-alive.net/thanksgiving-alkathon.html November 28 Thanksgiving Day Alkathon Meeting Times (Eastern Time) 5:00am, 8:00am,11:00am, 2:00pm, 5:00pm, 8:00pm,11:00pm. *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* *AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *November 28, 2013* *Gratitude* *I am grateful not only for sobriety, but the quality of life my sobriety has brought. God has been gracious enough to give me sober days /and/ a life blessed with peace and c ...Continue Reading