Recovery Thoughts & Quotes 4/11

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

"We claim spiritual progress rather than
spiritual perfection.
Our description of the alcoholic,
the chapter to the agnostic,
and our personal adventures before and after
make clear three pertinent ideas:
(a) That we were alcoholic and could not
manage our own lives.
(b) That probably no human power could
have relieved our alcoholism.
(c) That God could and would if He were sought."
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 60

Thought to Consider . . .

Every recovery from alcoholism
began with one sober hour.





*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
BIG BOOK
Believing In God Beats Our Old Knowledge

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


Surrender
From "God Is Good":
"Before A.A., I could not, or would not, admit I was wrong. My pride would not let me. And yet I was ashamed of me. Caught in this conflict, I banished God from my life because I felt He asked me to adhere to a behavior pattern too high for a man of my human frailty. Somehow, I believed that there could be no forgiveness of any failure, that God required me to be all good. The moral of the story of the Prodigal Son eluded me.

"Since I thought trying was not enough, I stopped trying. That made me feel guilty. For a while, alcohol blotted out the guilt. Then alcohol became the greatest cause of my guilt. I had to be beaten to a pulp physically, mentally and emotionally, become bankrupt in all facets of my being, before I could give up my pride and admit defeat. Unfortunately, admitting was not sufficient. My situation got worse until I had to surrender completely. From the depths of my hell, I called out, "Oh God, help," and He led me to a place where I could find a way out of the maze and then sent me a group of people to lead the way."

1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg.86

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*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*


"Once more: The alcoholic at certain times has no effective mental
defense against the first drink. Except in a few rare cases, neither
he nor any other human being can provide such a defense. His defense
must come from a Higher Power."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 43~

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Misc. AA Literature - Quote




'The Spiritual Angel'

How often do we sit in A.A. meetings and hear the speaker declare, 'But I haven't yet got the spiritual angle.' Prior to this statement, he has described a miracle of transformation which has occurred in him--not only his release from alcohol, but a complete change in his whole attitude toward life and the living of it.
It is apparent to everyone else present that he has received a great gift, and that this gift is all out of proportion to anything that may be expected from simple A.A. participation. So we in the audience smile and say to ourselves, 'Well, that guy is just reeking with the spiritual angle--except that he doesn't seem to know it yet!'

GRAPEVINE, JULY 1962

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Member Submitted Quote



Don't ask, 'What is God's will for me?' Ask instead, 'Where are the instructions for the next step?' 'What do the instructions mean?' And, 'How do I do it?' ( Allen H. )

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12 x 12 Quote

"The Seventh Step is where we make the change in our attitude which
permits us, with humility as our guide, to move out from ourselves
toward others and toward God. The whole emphasis of Step Seven is on
humility. It is really saying to us that we now ought to be willing to
try humility in seeking the removal of our other shortcomings just as
we did when we admitted that we were powerless over alcohol, and came
to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to
sanity. If that degree of humility could enable us to find the grace by
which such a deadly obsession could be banished, then there must be
hope of the same result respecting any other problem we could possibly
have." (Twelve and Twelve, Step Seven, pg. 76)