AA Thoughts For Today - December

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AA Thought for the Day

December 19

A Common Solution
The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered a common solution.
We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree,
and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious action.
This is the great news this book carries to those who suffer from alcoholism.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 17

Thought to Ponder . . .
Walk softly and carry a Big Book.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H E A R T = Healing, Enjoying, And Recovering Together.

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

Miracle
And we have ceased fighting anything or anyone --
even alcohol.
For by this time sanity will have returned.
We will seldom be interested in liquor.
If tempted, we recoil from it as from a hot flame.
We react sanely and normally,
and we will find that this has happened automatically.
We will see that our new attitude toward liquor
has been given us without any thought or effort on our part.
It just comes! That is the miracle of it.
c. 1976, 2001AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 84-5

Thought to Consider . . .
Don't give up before the miracle happens.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H O W = Honest, Open, Willing.

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

Bill Undercover
AA History
Among the odd jobs that Bill cited in Bill's Story was his mention of working on a farm for a month. During 1925, Bill and
Lois took off on a trip down the east coast inspecting companies to see if their stock might be good Wall Street
investments. They camped up and down the coast and carried all of their belongings in the Harley-Davidson motorcycle
and sidecar that Bill had purchased.
At the end of April 1925, they stopped at the Goldfoot family dairy farm in Scotia, New York near Schenectady. Mr.
Goldfoot had two sons, both of whom worked for General Electric, a company that Bill was able to penetrate for
investment investigation by befriending some of their employees during that month. They also worked for the Goldfoots
to earn some money to continue on this most successful trip. Lois later acknowledged that she hadn't cared if they
earned a cent on the trip. She had been hoping the fresh air and the hobo lifestyle would help Bill slow up on his drinking.

*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"You've got one life to live. Don't screw it up with a lot of maybes, what-ifs, and could-have-beens. Focus on what you have."
Carmel Valley, Calif., August 2000
"Old Advice"

Beginner's Book: Getting and Staying Sober

~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*

"But there was always the curious mental phenomenon that parallel
with our sound reasoning there inevitably ran some insanely trivial
excuse for taking the first drink. Our sound reasoning failed to hold
us in check. The insane idea won out. Next day we would ask
ourselves, in all earnestness and sincerity, how it could have
happened."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 37~

"At the moment we are trying to put our lives in order. But this is not
an end in itself."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 77~

Nothing counted but thoroughness and honesty.
-Alcoholics Anonymous p.56

Our basic troubles are the same as everyone else’s, but when an honest effort is made ‘to practice these principles in all our affairs,’ well-grounded A.A.’s seem to have the ability, by God’s grace, to take these troubles in stride and turn them into demonstrations of faith.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.114

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Selfishness - self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt.
So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will run riot, though he usually doesn't think so. Above everything, we alcoholics must be rid of this selfishness. We must, or it kills us!

Prayer for the Day: Free Of Resentment Prayer - God, free me from my resentment toward _____ . Please bless _____ in whatever it is that You know they may be needing this day. Please give _____ everything I want for myself and may _____'s life be full of health, peace, prosperity, and ahppiness as they seek to have a closer relationship with You.~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~

Alternatives
If you are as seriously alcoholic as we were,
we believe there is no middle-of-the-road solution.
We were in a position where life was becoming impossible,
and if we had passed into the region
from which there is no return through human aid,
we had but two alternatives.
One was to go on to the bitter end,
blotting out the consciousness of our intolerable situation
as best we could, and the other,
to accept spiritual help.
This we did because we honestly wanted to,
and were willing to make the effort.
c. 1976, 2001AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 25-6

Thought to Consider . . .
If you always do what you've always done,
you will always be where you've always been.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A B C = Acceptance, Belief, Change.

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

Simple
>From "Freedom from Bondage":
"The A.A. members who sponsored me told me in the beginning that I would not only find a way to live without having a drink, but that I would find a way to live without wanting to drink, if I would do these simple things. They said if you want to know how this program works, take the first word of your question the 'H' is for honesty, the 'O' is for open-mindedness, and the 'W' is for willingness; these our Big Book calls the essentials of recovery."
2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs. 549-50

*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"When I call my sponsor, my friends, someone on my home group's phone list, or someone who scribbled their number on a napkin after a meeting, I make progress ... If we just call, we help one another stay sober, one call at a time, one connection at a time."
Morristown, N.J., May 2003
"Just Call Me"
Beginner's Book: Getting and Staying Sober

~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*

"...I humbly offered myself to God, as I then I understood Him, to do
with me as He would. I placed myself unreservedly under His care and
direction. I admitted for the first time that of myself I was
nothing; that without Him I was lost. I ruthlessly faced my sins and
became willing to have my new-found Friend take them away, root and
branch."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, pg. 13~

"We know what you are thinking. You are saying to yourself, "Im
jittery and alone. I couldnt do that." But you can. You forget that
you have just now tapped a source of power much greater than yourself.
To duplicate, with such backing, what we have accomplished is only a
matter of willingness, patience and labor."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, pg. 163~

No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles.
-Alcoholics Anonymous p.56-Alcoholics Anonymous p.60

Having been granted a perfect release from alcoholism, why then shouldn't we be able to achieve by the same means a perfect release from every other difficulty or defect?
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.64

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

We see that the sun never sets upon A.A.'s Fellowship; that more than three hundred and fifty thousand of us have now recovered from our malady; that we have everywhere begun to transcend the formidable barriers of race, creed, and nationality. This assurance that so many of us have been able to meet our responsibilities for sobriety and for growth and effectiveness in the troubled world where we live, will surely fill us with the deepest joy and satisfaction.
But, as a people who have nearly always learned the hard way, we shall certainly not congratulate ourselves. We shall perceive these assets to be God's gifts, which have been in part matched by an increasing willingness on our part to find and do His will for us.

Prayer for the Day: The Fear Prayer - God, thank you for helping me be honest enough to see this truth about myself and now that you have shown me the truth about my fears, please remove these fears from me. Lord, please help me outgrow my fears and direct my attention to what you would have me be. Father, demonstrate through me and help me become that which you would have me be. Help me do thy will always, Amen.