~*~A

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
^*^*^*^*^
(\ ~~~ /)
( \(AA)/ )
(_ /AA\ _)
/AA\
^*^*^*^*^

Coping

God willing, we members of AA may never again have to deal with drinking,
but we have to deal with sobriety every day. How do we do it?
By learning -- through practicing the Twelve Steps and through sharing at meetings -- how to cope with
the problems that we looked to booze to solve, back in our drinking days. . .
We learn how to level out the emotional swings that got us into trouble
both when we were up and when we were down.
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 160
c. 2001AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 558-9
^*^*^*^*^

Thought to Consider . . .

The peaks and valleys of my life
have become gentle rolling hills.
* * *

*~*~*AKRONYMS*~*~*
C A R D S =

                                                                                           Call your sponsor,
                                                                                           Ask for help from your Higher Power,
                                                                                           Read the Big Book,
                                                                                           Do the Twelve Steps,

Stay active in your group.

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*

Influence

From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":

"We saw that the more A.A. minded its own business the greater its general influence would become. Medicine and religion and psychiatry began to borrow some of our ideas and experience. So did research, rehabilitation, and education. All sorts of therapeutic groups began to spring up. They dealt with gambling, divorce, delinquency, dope addiction, mental illness, and the like. They, too, borrowed from A.A., but they made their own adaptations. They worked their own fields, and we did not have to endorse them or tell them how to live." (Written in 1959)

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
BEGIN WHERE YOU ARE

We feel that elimination of our drinking is but a beginning. A much more important demonstration of our principles lies before US in our respective homes, occupations and affairs.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 19

It's usually pretty easy for me to be pleasant to the people in an A.A. setting. While I'm working to stay sober, I'm celebrating with my fellow A.A.'s our common release from the hell of drinking. It's often not so hard to spread glad tidings to my old and new friends in the program. At home or at work, though, it can be a different story. It is in situations arising in both of those areas that the little day-to-day frustrations are most evident, and where it can be tough to smile or reach out with a kind word or an attentive ear. It's outside of the A.A. rooms that I face the real test of the effectiveness of my walk through A.A.'s Twelve Steps.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Can We Choose?

We must never be blinded by the futile philosophy that we are just the hapless victims of our inheritance, of our life experience, and of our surroundings - that these are the sole forces that make our decisions for us. This is not the road to freedom. We have to believe that we can really choose.

<<<>>>

"As active alcoholics, we lost our ability to choose whether we would drink. We were the victims of a compulsion which seemed to decree that we must go on with our own destruction.
"Yet we finally did make choices that brought about our recovery. We came to believe that alone we were powerless over alcohol. This was surely a choice, and a most difficult one. We came to believe that a Higher Power could restore us to sanity when we became willing to practice A.A.'s Twelve Steps.
"In short, we chose to "become willing," and no better choice did we ever make."

1. GRAPEVINE, NOVEMBER 1960 - 2. LETTER, 1966
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Faith without works was dead, he said. And how appallingly true for
the alcoholic! For if an alcoholic failed to perfect and enlarge his
spiritual life through work and self-sacrifice for others, he could
not survive the certain trials and low spots ahead. If he did not
work, he would surely drink again, and if he drank, he would surely
die. Then faith would be dead indeed. With us it is just like that."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, pg. 14~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

In Alcoholics Anonymous there is no thought of individual profit. No greed or gain. No membership fees, no dues. Only voluntary contributions of our money and ourselves. All that we hope for is sobriety and regeneration, so that we can live normal, respectable lives and can be recognized by others as men and women willing to do unto others as we would be done by. These things we accomplish by the help of each other, by following the Twelve Steps, and by the grace of God. Am I willing to work for A.A. without material gain to myself?

Meditation for the Day

What is sometimes called a conversion by religion is often only the discovery of God as a friend in need, What is sometimes called religion is often only the experiencing of the help and strength of God's power in our lives. What is sometimes called holiness is often only the invitation of God to be our Friend. As God becomes your friend, you become a friend to others. We experience true human friendship and from this experience we can imagine what kind of a Great Friend God can be. We believe Him to be a tireless, selfless, all conquering, miracle-working Friend. We can reach out to the Great Friend and figuratively take His hand in ours.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may think of God as a Great Friend in need.

I pray that I may go along with Him