*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 26, 2013* *Truth* *As I began to look more closely, I noticed serious flaws: I was an alcoholic; I was neurotic; I was brimful of character defects. But these were things that, in time and with help, could be dealt with. No longer did I have to run with nightmarish terror from an inner monster. I had seen the truth, and the truth had freed me to do less hiding and more seeking.* /- The Best of the Grapevine/ [Vol. 1], p. 134 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *The effor ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 25, 2013* *Self-centeredness* *A whole lifetime geared to self-centeredness cannot be set in reverse all at once. Rebellion dogs our every step at first. When we have finally admitted without reservation that we are powerless over alcohol, we are apt to breathe a great sigh of relief, saying, "Well, thank God that's over! I'll never have to go through /that/ again!" Then we learn, often to our consternation, that this is only the first milestone on the ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 24, 2013 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Expectations How amazing the revelation that the world, and everyone in it, can get along just fine with or without me. What a relief to know that people, places and things will be perfectly okay without my control and direction.* /- Daily Reflections,/ p. 51 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Expectations are premeditated resentments.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* **S I T** = **S**tay **I**n **T**oday. * A Membe ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 23, 2013* *Relationships* *I have learned how to be a friend, a gentleman, be honest, communicate, go on dates, and not take myself too seriously. I thought the whole time I was on a search to find the perfect lover or relationship. What I have found is a deeper relationship with myself and my Higher Power. I see I am not the unworthy, inferior, awkward teenager I once felt I was. I am a sober man, a child of God. And each day I get the opportunity to show mysel ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 22, 2013* *Changing* *Alcoholics Anonymous must be changing. Yet the process and direction in which we are moving is the same. The more it changes, the more it stays the same. . . There are always parts of the first five chapters in the Big Book that seem new to me. This Fellowship is like a diamond whose message flashes toward me every time I hold it up to the light and turn it around.* /- Thank You For Sharing,/ p. 182 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *When I change ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 21, 2013 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Spiritual Fitness I know when I am spiritually fit because at such times I have no desire to escape life, but feel strengthened to deal with everything I am called upon to face.* - The AA Grapevine, June 1960 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Smile! It's a free facelift.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* **A A** = **A**ltered **A**ttitudes. * A Member Shares: My name is Hope, alcoholic. Sometimes I feel "in the g ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 20, 2013* *Fear* *When I face a fear, I am given courage; when I support a brother or sister, my capacity to love myself is increased; when I accept pain as part of the growing experience of life, I realize a greater happiness; when I look at my dark side, I am brought into new light; when I accept my vulnerability and surrender to a Higher Power, I am graced with unforeseen strength.* /- Daily Reflections,/ p. 62 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *A fear faced is a fe ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 19, 2013* *Honesty* *I always thought honesty had something to do with telling other people the truth. I spent most of my life worrying about myself, thinking that I was unwanted, unloved. I've learned since being in AA that the more I worry about me loving you, and the less I worry about you loving me, the happier I will be. . . I have learned that the more I give, the more I will have; the more I learn to give, the more I learn to live.* /- Experience, Strengt ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 18, 2013* *Responsibility* *Newcomers are approaching AA at the rate of tens of thousands yearly. They represent almost every belief and attitude imaginable. We have atheists and agnostics. We have people of nearly every race, culture and religion. In AA we are supposed to be bound together in the kinship of a common suffering. . . . Let us not, therefore, pressure anyone with our individual or even our collective views. Let us instead accord each other the resp ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 17, 2013 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ House Cleaning Somehow, being alone with God doesn't seem as embarrassing as facing up to another person. Until we actually sit down and talk aloud about what we have so long hidden, our willingness to clean house is still largely theoretical. When we are honest with another person, it confirms that we have been honest with ourselves and with God.* /- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,/ p. 60 *Thought to P ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 16, 2013* *Forgiveness* *Forgiving and condemnation are God's business, not mine. Only He has the mercy to judge and to accept at the same time. My job is to achieve enough humility to see myself and others, by identifying. The willingness to make amends will grow from this act of love. When I become "willing to make amends to them all" I am saying to them, "your pain is my pain; when I hurt you, I hurt myself; I will try not to hurt you anymore.& ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 15, 2013* *Highway to Humility* *As I get down to my right size and stature, my self-concern and importance become amusing. Then faith grows that I do have a place on this Highway; that I can advance upon it with deepening peace and confidence. Once more I know that God is good; that I fear no evil. This is a great gift, this knowledge that I do have a destiny.* /- The Language of the Heart,/ p. 259 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Humility is not a station we arrive ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 14, 2013 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Rigorous Honesty Who wishes to be rigorously honest and tolerant? Who wants to confess his faults to another and make restitution for harm done? Who cares anything about a Higher Power, let alone meditation and prayer? . . . . . . No, the average alcoholic, self-centered in the extreme, doesn't care for this prospect -- unless he has to do these things in order to stay alive himself.* /- Twelve Steps and Twel ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 13, 2013* *Fallible* *I have never 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 foot in a bucket ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 12, 2013* *The Lesson* *Within the Fellowship, I could learn about myself and be prepared to accept what I found. I learned in the Fellowship that if others could accept me and love me as I was, then I should love myself as I was -- not for what I was, but for what I could become.* /- Came To Believe . . .,/ p. 3 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *I have learned how a heart full of gratitude feels.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *A A* = **A**lways **A**ware. Thanks to ...Continue Reading