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~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Defects

"What we must recognize now is that we exult
in some of our defects.
We really love them.
Who, for example, doesn't like to feel just a little superior
to the next fellow, or even quite a lot superior?
Isn't it true that we like to let greed
masquerade as ambition?
To think of liking lust seems impossible.
But how many men and women speak love with their lips,
and believe what they say,
so that they can hide lust in a dark corner of their minds?
And even while staying within conventional bounds,
many people admit that their imaginary sex excursions
are apt to be all dressed up as dreams of romance."
c. 1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pp. 66-7
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Thought to Consider . . .

If I want God to remove my character defects,
I'll have to stop doing them.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
T I M E = Things I Must Earn

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

Timing

Step Nine: Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

"As soon as we begin to feel confident in our new way of life and have begun, by our behavior and example, to convince those about us that we are indeed changing for the better, it is usually safe to talk in complete frankness with those who have been seriously affected, even those who may be only a little or not at all aware of what we have done to them. The only exceptions we will make will be cases where our disclosure would cause actual harm."

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
FIRST THINGS FIRST

Some of us have taken very hard knocks to learn this truth: Job or no job - wife or no wife - we simply do not stop drinking so long as we place dependence upon other people ahead of dependence on God.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 98

Before coming to A.A., I always had excuses for taking a drink: "She said. . .," "He said. . .," "I got fired yesterday," "I got a great job today." No area of my life could be good if I drank again. In sobriety my life gets better each day. I must always remember not to drink, to trust God, and to stay active in A.A. Am I putting anything before my sobriety, God, and A.A. today?

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Those Other People

"Just like you, I have often thought myself the victim of what other people say and do. Yet every time I confessed the sins of such people, especially those whose sins did not correspond exactly with my own, I found that I only increased the total damage. My own resentment, my self-pity would often render me well-nigh useless to anybody.
"So, nowadays, if anyone talks of me so as to hurt, I first ask myself if there is any truth at all in what they say. If there is none, I try to remember that I too have had my periods of speaking bitterly of others; that hurtful gossip is but a symptom of our remaining emotional illness; and consequently that I must never be angry at the unreasonableness of sick people.
"Under very trying conditions I have had, again and again, to forgive others - also myself. Have you recently tried this?"

LETTER, 1946
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"...with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a
spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely
grave. We found that it is fatal. For when harboring such feelings
we shut ourselves off from the sunlight of the Spirit. The insanity
of alcohol returns and we drink again. And with us, to drink is to
die."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 66~
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*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

Let us consider the term "spiritual experience" as given in Appendix II of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. "A spiritual experience is something that brings about a personality change. By surrendering our lives to God as we understand Him, we are changed. The nature of this change is evident in recovered alcoholics. This personality change is not necessarily in the nature of a sudden and spectacular upheaval. We do not need to acquire an immediate and overwhelming God consciousness, followed at once by a vast change in feeling and outlook. In most cases, the change is gradual." Do I see a gradual and continuing change in myself?

Meditation for the Day

"Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." For rest from the care of life, you can turn to God each day in prayer and communion. Real relaxation and serenity come from a deep sense of the fundamental goodness of the universe. God's everlasting arms are underneath all and will support you. Commune with God, not so much for petitions to be granted as for the rest that comes from relying on His will and His purposes for your life. Be sure of God's strength available to you, be conscious of His support, and wait quietly until that true rest from God fills your being.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may be conscious of God's support today. I pray that I may rest safe and sure therein.