~*~A

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

"The alcoholic is like a tornado roaring his way through the lives of others. Hearts are broken. Sweet relationships are dead.
Affections have been uprooted. Selfish and inconsiderate habits have kept the home in turmoil. We feel a man is unthinking
when he says that sobriety is enough. He is like the farmer who came up out of his cyclone cellar to find his home ruined.
To his wife, he remarked, 'Don't see anything the matter here, Ma. Ain't it grand the wind stopped blowin'?'"
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 82

Thought to Consider . . .

"We alcoholics are undisciplined.
So we let God discipline us..."

Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 88

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
BUT
Being Unconvinced Totally

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

Deadly

From "The Perpetual Quest":

"Within a dozen years, three of these five promising lawyers were dead from alcoholism, struck down at the peak of their careers. The judge is still and always has been a sober judge. And I somehow unwittingly, and even while drinking, turned into a corporate counsel and later, thankfully, became a member of Alcoholics Anonymous. The professor's kidneys gave out from one too many martinis; the exporting lawyer kept drinking until he died, despite a liver transplant; my ex-husband died in a fire on what was to be, he had said, his last drunk before doing to A.A. again, when I was ten years sober. I have been to too many premature funerals due to our good friend alcohol."

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
RESPECT FOR OTHERS

Such parts of our story we tell to someone who will understand, yet be unaffected.

The rule is we must be hard on our self, but always considerate of others.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 74

Respect for others is the lesson that I take out of this passage. I must go to any lengths to free myself if I wish to find that peace of mind that I have sought for so long. However, none of this must be done at another's expense. Selfishness has no place in the A.A. way of life.

When I take the Fifth Step it's wiser to choose a person with whom I share common aims because if that person does not understand me, my spiritual progress may be delayed and I could be in danger of a relapse. So I ask for divine guidance before choosing the man or woman whom I take into my confidence.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Persistence in Prayer

We often tend to slight serious meditation and prayer as something not really necessary. To be sure, we feel it is something that might help us to meet an occasional emergency, but at first many of us are apt to regard it as a somewhat mysterious skill of clergymen, from which we may hope to get a secondhand benefit.
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In A.A. we have found that the actual good results of prayer are beyond question. They are matters of knowledge and experience. All those who have persisted have found strength not ordinarily their own. They have found wisdom beyond their usual capability. And they have increasingly found a peace of mind which can stand in the face of difficult circumstances.

TWELVE AND TWELVE
1. P. 96 2. P. 104

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Let no alcoholic say he cannot recover unless he has his family
back. This just isn't so. In some cases the wife will never come
back for one reason or another. Remind the prospect that his
recovery is not dependent upon people. It is dependent upon his
relationship with God. We have seen men get well whose families have not

returned at all. We have seen others slip when the family came back too soon."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 99~

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

It's very important to keep in a grateful frame of mind, if we want to stay sober. We should be grateful that we're living in a day and age when alcoholics aren't treated as they often used to be treated before Alcoholics Anonymous was started. In the old days, every town had its town drunk who was regarded with scorn and ridiculed by the rest of the townspeople. We have come into A.A. and found all the sympathy, understanding, and fellowship that we could ask for. There's no other group like A.A. in the world. Am I grateful?

Meditation for the Day

God takes our efforts for good and blesses them. God needs our efforts. We need God's blessing. Together, they mean spiritual success. Our efforts are necessary. We cannot merely relax and drift with the tide. We must often direct our efforts against the tide of materialism around us. When difficulties come, our efforts are needed to surmount them. But God directs our efforts into the right channels and God's power is necessary to help us choose the right.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may choose the right.

I pray that I may have God's blessing and direction in all my efforts for good.