~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Growth
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"It seems to me that the primary object of
any human being is to grow, as God intended,
that being the nature of all growing
things. Our search must
be for what reality we can find,
which includes the best definition and
feeling of love that we
can acquire.
If the capability of loving is in the
human being, then it
must surely be in his Creator.
Theology helps me in that many of its
concepts cause me to
believe that I live in a rational universe
under a loving God, and that my own irrationality can be chipped away,
little by little.
This is, I suppose, the process of
growth for which we are
intended."
Bill
W., Letter, 1958
c. 1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p.
295
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Thought to Consider . . .
All you have to do to change your life
is change your mind.
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
C H A N G E = Choosing Honesty Allows New Growth Every day
*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
Response
From "A Small
White Card":
"Yet I had a spiritual experience
the night I called A.A., though I didn’t realize it until later. Two angels came, carrying a real
message of hope, and told me about A.A. My sponsor laughed when I denied that I
had prayed for help. I told him that the only time I had mentioned God was
when, in my despair at being unable to get either drunk or sober, I had cried
out, 'God! What am I going to do?'
"He replied, 'I believe that
prayer was a pretty good one for a first one from an atheist. It got an answer,
too.'
� 1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to
Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 25
*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
STEPPING INTO THE SUNLIGHT
But first of all we shall want
sunlight; nothing much can grow in the dark. Meditation is our step out
into the sun.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 10
Sometimes,
I think I don't have time for prayer and meditation, forgetting that I always
found the time to drink. It is possible to make time for anything I want
to do if I want it badly enough. When I start the routine of prayer and
meditation, it's a good idea to plan to devote a small amount of time to
it. I read a page from our Fellowship's books in the morning, and say
"Thank You, God," when I go to bed at night. As prayer becomes
a habit, I will increase the time spent on it, without even noticing the foray
it makes into my busy day. If I have trouble praying, I just repeat the
Lord's Prayer because it really covers everything. Then I think of what I can
be grateful for and say a word of thanks.
I don't need to shut myself in a closet to pray. It can be done even in a room
full of people. I just remove myself mentally for an instant. As
the practice of prayer continues, I will find I don't need words, for God can,
and does, hear my thoughts through silence.
�Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS
ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.�
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
In the Sunlight at Last
When the
thought was expressed that there might be a God personal to me, I didn't like the
idea. So my friend Ebby made what then seemed a novel
suggestion. He said, "Why don't you choose your own conception of
God?" That statement hit me hard. It melted the icy
intellectual mountain in whose shadow I had lived and shivered many years. I
stood in the sunlight at last.
<<<>>>
It may be
possible to find explanations of spiritual experiences such as ours, but I have
often tried to explain my own and have succeeded only in giving the story of
it. I know the feeling it gave me and the results it has brought, but I realize
I may never fully understand its deeper why and how.
1.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 12 - 2. A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 45
*~*~*~*~*^ 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
I have
lost much of my inferiority complex. I was always trying to escape from life. I
did not want to face reality. I was full of self-pity. I was constantly sorry
for myself. I tried to avoid all responsibilities. I did not feel that I would
handle the responsibilities of my family or my work. Owing to my inferiority
complex, I was eager to be free of all responsibilities. I wanted to drift; I
wanted to be "on the beach." A.A. showed me how to get over my
feeling of inferiority. It made me want to accept responsibility again. Have I
lost my inferiority complex?
Meditation For the Day
"One thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things that are before,
I press onward toward the goal. " We should
forget those things which are behind us and press onward toward something
better. We can believe that God has forgiven us for all our past sins, provided
we are honestly trying to live today the way we believe He wants us to live. We
can wipe clean the slate of the past. We can start today with a clean slate and
go forward with confidence toward the goal that has been set before us.
Prayer for the
Day
I pray that I may drop off the load of
the past.
I pray that I may start today with a light heart and a new confidence.