~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~*
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(   \ (AA)/   )
(_   /AA\ _)
  /AA\
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Surrender
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"We surrender to win.  On the face of it, surrendering certainly does not
seem like winning. But it is in AA. Only after we have come to the end of our rope,
hit a stone wall in some aspect of our lives beyond which we can go no further;
only when we hit "bottom" in despair and surrender, can we accomplish sobriety
which we could never accomplish before. We must, and we do, surrender in order to win."
1955AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, 2nd Edition, p. 341
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Thought to Consider . . .

Acceptance is not submission;
it is acknowledgment of the facts of a situation,
then deciding what you're going to do about it.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H O W =  Honest, Open, and Willing

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

Bottom

From Medicine Looks at Alcoholics Anonymous":

"I heard of the need to hit bottom, of the necessity for accepting a higher Power, of the indispensability of humility. These were ideas which had never crossed my professional horizon and certainly had never influenced my nonprofessional thinking or attitudes. Revolutionary as they were, they nevertheless made sense, and I found myself embarked on a tour of discovery. …

"The individual alcoholic was always fighting an admission of being licked, of admitting that he was powerless. If and when he surrendered, he quit fighting, admitted he was licked, and accepted the fact that he was powerless and needed help. If he did not surrender, a thousand crises could hit him and nothing constructive would happen. The need to induce surrender became a new therapeutic goal. The miracle of A.A. was now a little clearer, though the reason was still obscure why the program and the fellowship of A.A. could induce a surrender which could in turn lead to a period of no drinking." -- Dr. Harry Tiebout, 1955

2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 247

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflectionsns^*~*~*~*~*
A GIFT THAT GROWS WITH TIME

For most normal folks, drinking means conviviality, companionship and colorful imagination. It means release from care, boredom and worry. It is joyous intimacy with friends and a feeling that life is good.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 151

The longer I chased these elusive feelings with alcohol, the more out of reach they were.  However, by applying this passage to my sobriety, I found that it described the magnificent new life made available to me by the A.A. program.  It "truly does get better" one day at a time.  The warmth, the love and the joy so simply expressed in these words grow in breadth and depth each time I read it.  Sobriety is a gift that grows with time.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~~*~*~*
Money--Before and After

In our drinking time, we acted as if the money supply were inexhaustible,
though between binges we'd sometimes go to the other extreme and become miserly.

Without realizing it, we were just accumulating funds for the next spree. Money was the symbol

of pleasure and self-importance. As our drinking became worse, money was only an urgent

requirement which could supply us with the next drink and the temporary comfort of oblivion it brought.
<<<>>>
Although financial recovery is on the way for many of us, we find we cannot
place money first. For us, material well-being always follows spiritual progress; it never precedes.

1. TWELVE AND TWELVE, P.120
2. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, P. 127
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to
Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give
freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the
Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you
trudge the Road of Happy Destiny."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, pg. 164~


*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

We must know the nature of our weakness before we can
determine how to deal with it. When we are honest about its
presence, we may discover that it is imaginary and can be
overcome by a change of thinking. We admit that we are
alcoholics and we would be foolish if we refused to accept
our handicap and do something about it. So by honestly facing
our weakness and keeping ever present the knowledge that for
us alcoholism is a disease with which we are afflicted, we
can take the necessary steps to arrest it. Have I fully
accepted my handicap?

Meditation for the Day

There is a proper time for everything. I must learn not to
do things at the wrong time, that is, before I am ready or
before conditions are right. It is always a temptation to do
something at once, instead of waiting until the proper time.
Timing is important. I must learn, in the little daily
situations of life, to delay action until I am sure that I
am doing the right thing at the right time. So many lives
lack balance and timing. In the momentous decisions and
crises of life, they may ask God's guidance, but into the
small situations of life, they rush alone.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may delay action until I feel that I am doing the right thing.

I pray that I may not rush in alone.