*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

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 11, 2013* *Bankruptcy* *No other kind of bankruptcy is like this one. Alcohol, now become the rapacious creditor, bleeds us of all self-sufficiency and all will to resist its demands. Once this stark fact is accepted, our bankruptcy as going human concerns is complete. But upon entering AA we soon take quite another view of this absolute humiliation. We perceive that only through utter defeat are we able to take our first steps toward liberation and strength.* / ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 10, 2013 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Getting Involved I understand that service is a vital part of recovery but I often wonder, "What can I do?" I look around to see where there is a need. . . Suddenly, I'm involved! The best speaker may make the worst coffee; the member who's best with newcomers may be unable to read; the one willing to clean up may make a mess of the bank account -- these people and jobs are essential to an active gr ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 9, 2013* *Pride* *We alcoholics return to drink far more often because of petty difficulties than because of life's serious setbacks and tragedies. For God to remove our shortcomings, we need to identify the defect for what it is. Thus we attain the humility required by Step Seven. And certainly the most difficult fault to see in ourselves is pride, aptly termed the first deadly sin.* /The Best of the Grapevine/ [Vol. 3], p. 208 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Swall ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 8, 2013* *Humility* *Where humility had formerly stood for a forced feeding on humble pie, it now begins to mean the nourishing ingredient which can give us serenity. This improved perception of humility starts another revolutionary change in our outlook. Our eyes begin to open to the immense values which have come straight out of painful ego-puncturing.* /Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,/ p. 74 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Humility is not a station we arrive ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 7, 2013 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Surrender 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 . . .* *Avoidance is not the key; surrender opens the door.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* **S W A T** = **S**urrender, **W**illingness, **A**ction, **T**rust. * A Member Shares: My name is Lance and I ...Continue Reading