*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 5, 2013 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ 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 that we can ever know.* /- As Bill Sees It,/ p. 37 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . **A A** = **A***lways **A**live. ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 4, 2013* *Today* *Today is the day. Doing our best to the fullest is the art of living. Yesterday is gone, and we don't know whether we will be here tomorrow. If we do a good job of living today, and if tomorrow comes for us, then the chances are we will do a good job when it arrives -- so why worry about it?* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 357 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *What have I been given today? Am I willing to reach out and grasp it?* *AA-related 'Alconym' ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 3, 2013* *Footprints* *Stepping into the first footprint that led from the dismal swamp of alcoholism toward the sunlight of sobriety would not take me far enough. Would I muddle along on some little trail of my own in the weeds, vaguely paralleling the clearly marked AA trail? Or would I choose to follow in the exact footsteps of the AA's who had preceded? The choice was up to me. I could do either, but I had to cover the whole trail if I wanted to get where the ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 2, 2013* *Step Five* */"Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs."/ 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 Ponder . . .* *Trust God. Clean house. Help others.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *H O P E* = **H**eart **O**pen; **P**lease **E**nter. Thanks to all of you for sharing so ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 1, 2013 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Step One Who cares to admit complete defeat? Practically no one, of course. Every natural instinct cries out against the idea of personal powerlessness. It is truly awful to admit that, glass in hand, we have warped our minds into such an obsession for destructive drinking that only an act of Providence can remove it from us.* /- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,/ p. 21 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *If I think I a ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 30, 2013* *Choice* *The compulsion among most of us to survive and to grow soon becomes far stronger than the temptation to drink or to misbehave. Literally, we must "do or die." So we make the choice to live. This, in turn, means the choice of AA principles, practices, and attitudes that can salvage us from total disaster by insuring our sobriety. This is our first great and critical choice.* /- As Bill Sees It,/ pp. 301-302 *Thought to Ponder . . . ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 29, 2013* *Selfishness* *So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will run riot, though he usually doesn't think so. Above everything, we alcoholics must be rid of this selfishness. We must, or it kills us! God makes that possible.* /Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 62 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Into action, out of self.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *N O W* = **N**o **O* ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 28, 2013 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Solitude There is no more aloneness, with that awful ache, so deep in the heart of every alcoholic that nothing, before, could ever reach it. That ache is gone and never need return again.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 276 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *The stillness of God speaks louder than a choir of voices. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . **Y A N A** = **Y***ou **A**re ***N***ot **A**lone. * * * A Member Shares: ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 27, 2013* *Solution* *The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered a common solution. We have a way out on which we an absolutely agree, and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious action. This is the great news this book carries to those who suffer from alcoholism.* /Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 17 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Walk softly and carry a Big Book.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *S T E P S* = **S**olutions **T**hrough * ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 26, 2013* *Action* *I heard someone say that AA works for those who work for it, those who put /action/ into the program. . . I heard that I should forget about yesterday and instead concentrate on today and staying away from the first drink today -- now. I tried it and it worked.* /Came To Believe . . .,/ p. 42 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *I must walk into darkness to find the light.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *A A* = **A**lways **A**wesome. Thanks to all ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 25, 2013* *Pickles* *We are also convinced, after countless attempts to prove otherwise, that alcoholism is incurable -- just like some other illnesses. It cannot be "cured" in this sense: We cannot change our body chemistry and go back to being the normal, moderate social drinkers lots of us seemed to be in our youth. As some of us put it, we can no more make that change than a pickle can change itself back into a cucumber.* /Living Sober,/ p. 8 *Th ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 24, 2013 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Powerless We found that we were totally unable to be rid of the alcohol obsession until we first admitted that we were powerless over it.* /- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,/ p. 107 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *When I drink, my past becomes my future. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . **S W A T** = **S***urrender, **W**illingness, ***A***ction, **T**rust. * * * A Member Shares: Hi, I'm Christine, and I'm an alcohol ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 23, 2013* *Fear* *At heart we had all been abnormally fearful. It mattered little whether we had sat on the shore of life drinking ourselves into forgetfulness or had plunged in recklessly and willfully beyond our depth and ability. The result was the same -- all of us had nearly perished in a sea of alcohol.* /Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,/ pp. 123-124 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Situations I fear are rarely as bad as the fear itself.* *AA-related 'Alco ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 22, 2013* *Apples* *At a meeting, I had my first awakening in AA. The speaker said, "If you're an apple, you can be the best apple you can be, but you can never be an orange." I was an apple all right, and for the first time I understood that I had spent my life trying to be an orange. I looked around at a room filled with apples and, if I was understanding the speaker, most of them were no longer trying to be oranges.* /Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 327 ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 21, 2013 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ The Promises Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us -- sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 84 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *The joy is in the journey, so enjoy the ride. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . **H O W** = **H***onesty, **O**pen-mindedness, ***W***illingness. * * * A Member Shares: My nam ...Continue Reading