A.A. Thought for the Day

[francie21805]

A.A. Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)

December 22, 2008
Unchangeable Fact
We try never to lose sight of the unchangeable fact of our alcoholism,
but we learn not to brood or feel sorry for ourselves or talk about it all the time.
We accept it as a characteristic of our body
-- like our height or our need for glasses, or like any allergies we may have.
Then we can learn to live comfortably -- not bitterly -- with the knowledge
that as long as we start out by simply avoiding that first drink (remember?)
just for today.
Reprinted from Living Sober, Page 9, with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

Thought to Ponder....
The first drink has the last say.

Recovery Related Acronym
J F T = Just For Today.

[francie21805]

A.A. Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)
December 23, 2008

Abundant Hope
Hopelessness has been replaced by abundant hope and sincere faith. . .
I find joy in my daily life, in being of service, in simply being. . .
The things that I have learned from my own experience, from the Big Book,
and from my friends in AA -- patience, acceptance, honesty, humility,
and true faith in a Power greater than myself --
are the tools I use today to live my life, this precious life.
Reprinted from Alcoholics Anonymous, Page 475, with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

Thought to Ponder....
Faith is hope in things unseen.

Recovery Related Acronym
B I G B O O K = Believing In God Beats Our Old Knowledge.

[francie21805]

A.A. Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)
December 24, 2008

Rewards
The rewards of sobriety are bountiful and as progressive
as the disease they counteract.
Certainly among these rewards for me are release from the prison of uniqueness,
and the realization that participation in the AA way of life
is a blessing and a privilege beyond estimate
-- a blessing to live a life free from the pain and degradation of drinking,
and filled with the joy of useful, sober living,
and a privilege to grow in sobriety one day at a time
and bring the message of hope as it was brought to me.
Reprinted from Alcoholics Anonymous, Page 451, with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

Thought to Ponder....
I had to get sober to be amazed.

Recovery Related Acronym
T H I N K = The Happiness I Never Knew.

[francie21805]

A.A. Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)
December 25, 2008

Greetings From Bill W.
~ December 1970 ~
Gratitude is just about the finest attribute we can have,
and how deeply we of AA realize this at Christmastime.
Together, we count and ponder our blessings of life, of service, of love.
In these distraught times, we have been enabled to find an always increasing
measure of peace within ourselves.
Together with all here at AA's General Service Office,
Lois joins me in warmest greeting to each and all of you,
and we share our confident faith that the year to come
will be counted among the best that our Fellowship has ever known.
© 1988 The AA Grapevine, Inc., The Language of the Heart, p. 351 Thought to Ponder . . . When brimming with gratitude,
one's heartbeat must surely result in outgoing love,
the finest emotion that we can ever know.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .

Thought to Ponder....

Recovery Related Acronym
H O P E = Hang On! Peace Exists.

[francie21805]

A.A. Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)
December 26, 2008

Belonging
Today, I'm counting my blessings instead of my troubles.
When I walked into the friendly atmosphere of my first AA meeting
I knew I was where I belonged.
Here were people who had thought and felt as I had.
Here was the understanding I'd been searching for all my life.
These people were my friends, and I felt their sincere interest in me.
With these new and enlightening doors opening up to me,
I was able to make the eventual decision to stop drinking, a day at a time --
because I, too, was an alcoholic.

Reprinted from Experience, Strength and Hope, Page 315, with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

Thought to Ponder....
I'm not alone anymore.

Recovery Related Acronym
H E A R T = Healing, Enjoying, And Recovering Together.

[francie21805]

A.A. Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)
December 27, 2008

A Logical Idea
People of faith have a logical idea of what life is all about.
Actually, we used to have no reasonable conception whatever.
We used to amuse ourselves by cynically dissecting spiritual belief and practices
when we might have observed that many spiritual-minded persons
of all races, colors, and creeds were demonstrating a degree of stability,
happiness and usefulness which we should have sought ourselves.
Reprinted from Alcoholics Anonymous, Page 49, with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

Thought to Ponder....
Hold your face up to the Light,
even though for the moment you do not see.

Recovery Related Acronym
F A I T H = Finding Answers In The Heart.

[francie21805]

A.A. Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)

December 28, 2008

The "If" Trap
Alcoholism respects no ifs. It does not go away, not for a week, for a day,
or even for an hour, leaving us nonalcoholic and able to drink again
on some special occasion or for some extraordinary reason --
not even if it is a once-in-a-lifetime celebration, or if a big sorrow hits us,
or if it rains in Spain or the stars fall on Alabama.
Alcoholism is for us unconditional, with no dispensations available at any price.

Reprinted from Living Sober, Page 63, with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

Thought to Ponder....
The first drink has the last say.

Recovery Related Acronym
A A = Absolute Abstinence.

[annalittlebit]

AA Thought for the Day
January 5, 2009
Action
In shame and despair, I went to my first AA meeting.
By some minor miracle, I was able to suspend opinion, analysis, judgement,
and criticism, and instead to listen and hear.
I heard someone say that AA works for those who work for it,
those who put action into the program. . .
I tried it, and it worked.
The first step in the process of "coming to believe" had been taken.


Reprinted from Came to Believe, Page 42, with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.


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Thought to Ponder....
I saw, I felt, I believed.


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Recovery Related Acronym

S W A T = Surrender, Willingness, Action, Trust.

[annalittlebit]

AA Thought for the Day
January 6, 2009
The Gift
AA has filled my days with friends, laughter, growth,
and the feeling of worth that is rooted in constructive activity.
My faith in, and contact with, my Higher Power shines more brightly
than I dreamed it could.
Those promises I thought were impossible are a viable force in my life.
I am free to laugh all my laughter, free to trust and be trusted,
free to both give and receive help.
I am free from shame and regret, free to learn and grow and work.
I have left that lonely, frightening, painful express train through hell.
I have accepted the gift of a safer, happier journey through life.


Reprinted from Alcoholics Anonymous, Page 543, with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.


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Thought to Ponder....
Sobriety is a gift.


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Recovery Related Acronym

G I F T S = Getting It From The Steps.

[annalittlebit]

AA Thought for the Day
January 7, 2009
A Plate of Fudge
I was born under the shadow of a mountain called Mount Aeolus.
An early recollection is one of looking up and seeing
that vast and mysterious mountain and wondering what it was
and whether I would ever climb that high,
But I was presently distracted by my aunt who, as a fourth birthday present,
made me a plate of fudge.
For the next thirty-five years I pursued the fudge of life
and quite forgot about the mountain.
- Bill W.


Reprinted from Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pp.52-53, with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.


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Thought to Ponder....
If I don't know where I'm going, I'll probably end up somewhere else.


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Recovery Related Acronym

A A = Altered Attitudes.

[annalittlebit]

AA Thought for the Day
January 8, 2009
Footprints of Hope
Going the whole route looked too hard -- until someone said to me,
"One step at a time."
So I looked ahead, along the path marked by the footprints of hope,
commitment, and action.
All around me were many happy, sober people who had walked that path.
Listening intently to their stories, I heard some more horrifying than mine . . .
It was plain that all these alcoholics had once felt the same hopelessness,
fear, pain, and anger I had experienced.
It was also obvious that people with drinking troubles like mine
could come out of them and -- unbelievable as it seemed at first -- laugh at them!


Reprinted from The Best of the Grapevine (Vol. 2), Page 136, from the Grapevine. Reprinted with permission of The A.A. Grapevine, Inc.


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Thought to Ponder....
Take the first step in faith.
You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.


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Recovery Related Acronym

S T E P S = Solutions To Every Problem in Sobriety.

[annalittlebit]

AA Thought for the Day
January 9, 2009
(Scroll down for share)
Gratitude
I try hard to hold fast to the truth that a full and thankful heart
cannot entertain great conceits.
When brimming with gratitude,
one's heartbeat must surely result in ongoing love,
the finest emotion that we can ever know.


Reprinted from As Bill Sees It, Page 37, with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.


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Thought to Ponder....
I am grateful for this minute. My eternity may be in it.


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Recovery Related Acronym

T G I F = Thank God I'm Forgiven.


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A Member Shares...
Hi everyone, I'm Lou and I'm an alcoholic.

I'm usually grateful, not necessarily because I'm an alcoholic, but nearly always because I'm in recovery. Of course, even if I weren't an alcoholic I'd probably still be a drunk, so maybe I am grateful that I am one. At least I know it and know what I can do about it. In early recovery, I really hated gratitude meetings. The truth is, although I put together a few months, in the back of my mind, I really believed that I was going to go out again. Then one day when I had four, five or six months, I was chairing a Beginners Meeting and, sure enough, someone brings up the topic of gratitude. Gosh darn, I thought, in slightly different language, here we go. I didn't have much to share on the subject; just that I knew that I should be grateful, but well, I wasn't. Turns out the guy who brought up the topic had been drinking again and I guess he was grateful just to have a place to go. He probably only had a few hours where I had a few months. It sort of put things in perspective for me. Since then, I've learned that gratitude is much more than a feeling. It's more like, as one person said, "Don't tell me. Show me." And although I wasn't out to show anyone, I was and continued to do a lot of elementary service work, be it making coffee, set up meetings, or unsetting, etc., and then went on to chairing meetings and all sorts of service positions. And guess what? For some reason, I stayed sober. I'm truly grateful that I have AA. Thanks for letting me share.

[annalittlebit]

AA Thought for the Day
January 10, 2009
Happiness
The simplicity of the AA program teaches me
that happiness isn't something I can "demand."
It comes upon me quietly, while I serve others.
In offering my hand to the newcomer or to someone who has relapsed,
I find that my own sobriety has been recharged
with indescribable gratitude and happiness.


Reprinted from Daily Reflections, Page 25, with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.


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Thought to Ponder....
Happiness is part of the journey, not some distant destination.


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Recovery Related Acronym

H E A R T S = Helping Each Alcoholic Reach Their Sobriety.

[annalittlebit]

AA Thought for the Day
January 11, 2009

Tradition One
"Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends on AA unity."
We stay whole, or AA dies. Without unity, the heart of AA would cease to beat . . .
Back again in their caves, alcoholics would reproach us and say,
"What a great thing AA might have been!"


Reprinted from Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Page 129, with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.


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Thought to Ponder....
The Twelve Steps tell us how it works; the Twelve Traditions tell us why it works.


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Recovery Related Acronym

T R U S T = Try Relying Upon Steps and Traditions.

[annalittlebit]

AA Thought for the Day
January 12, 2009
Reprieve
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.
What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent upon our spiritual condition.
Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will
into all of our activities.
"How can I best serve Thee -- Thy will (not mine) be done."


Reprinted from Alcoholics Anonymous, Page 85, with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.


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Thought to Ponder....
The will of God will never take me where the grace of God will not protect me.


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Recovery Related Acronym

H O W = Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.