~*~A

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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(   \ (AA)/   )
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Flimsy Reed

"We sought escape with all the desperation
of drowning men.
What seemed at first a flimsy reed,
has proved to be the loving and powerful hand of God.
A new life has been given us or, if you prefer,
a 'design for living' that really works."
c.1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 28
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Thought to Consider . . .

The task ahead of us is never as great
as the Power behind us.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
P R O G R A M = People Relying On God Relay A Message

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

Discovery

From "A Vision for You":

"Next day found the prospect more receptive. He had been thinking it over. 'Maybe you're right,' he said. 'God ought to be able to do anything.' Then he added, 'He sure didn't do much for me when I was trying to fight this booze racket alone.'

"On the third day the lawyer gave his life to the care and direction of his Creator, and said he was perfectly willing to do anything necessary. … He had begun to have a spiritual experience.

"That afternoon he put on his clothes and walked from the hospital a free man. … [H]e had found God – and in finding God had found himself."

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
LEST WE BECOME COMPLACENT

It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 85

When I am in pain it is easy to stay close to the friends I have found in the program. Relief from that pain is provided in the solutions contained in A.A.'s Twelve Steps. But when I am feeling good and things are going well, I can become complacent. To put it simply, I become lazy and turn into the problem instead of the solution. I need to get into action, to take stock: where am I and where am I going? A daily inventory will tell me what I must change to regain spiritual balance. Admitting what I find within myself, to God and to another human being, keeps me honest and humble.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Going It Alone

Going it alone in spiritual matters is dangerous. How many times have we heard well-intentioned people claim the guidance of God when it was plain that they were mistaken? Lacking both practice and humility, they had deluded themselves and so were able to justify the most arrant nonsense on the ground that this was what God had told them.
People of very high spiritual development almost always insist on checking with friends or spiritual advisers the guidance they feel they have received from God. Surely, then, a novice ought not lay himself open to the chance of making foolish, perhaps tragic, blunders. While the comment or advice of others may not be infallible, it is likely to be far more specific than any direct guidance we may receive while we are still inexperienced in establishing contact with a Power greater than ourselves.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 60
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
" I had always believed in a Power greater that myself. I had often
pondered these things. I was not an atheist. Few people really are, for
that means blind faith in the strange proposition that this universe
originated in a cipher and aimlessly rushes no where."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, pg. 10~

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

A.A. will lose some of its effectiveness if I do not do my share. Where am I failing? Are there some things I do not feel like doing? Am I held back by self-consciousness or fear? Self-consciousness is a form of pride. It is a fear that something may happen to you. What happens to you is not very important. The impression you make on others does not depend so much on the kind of a job you do as on your sincerity and honesty of purpose. Am I holding back because I am afraid of not making a good impression?

Meditation for the Day

Look to God for the true power that will make you effective. See no other wholly dependable supply of strength. That is the secret of a truly effective life. And you, in your turn, will be used to help many others find effectiveness. Whatever spiritual help you need, whatever spiritual help you desire for others, look to God. Seek that God's will be done in your life and seek that your will conforms to His. Failures come from depending too much on your own strength.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may feel that nothing good is too much for me if I look to God for help. I pray that I may be effective through His guidance.