AA Thoughts For Today - January

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AA Thought for the Day

January 1

Abnormally Fearful

At heart we had all been abnormally fearful. It mattered little
whether we had sat on the shore of life drinking ourselves into
forgetfulness or had plunged in recklessly and willfully beyond
our depth and ability. The result was the same—all of us had
nearly perished in a sea of alcohol. But today, in well-matured
A.A.'s, these distorted drives have been restored to something
like their true purpose and direction.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Twelve) pp. 123 - 124

Thought to Ponder . . .
Situations I fear are rarely as bad as the fear itself.

AA-related 'Alconym'
F E A R = Forgetting Everything's All Right.

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

Promises
We are going to know a new freedom
and a new happiness.
We will not regret the past
nor wish to shut the door on it.
We will comprehend the word serenity
and we will know peace.
No matter how far down the scale we have gone,
we will see how our experience can benefit others.
That feeling of uselessness and self-pity
will disappear.
Self-seeking will slip away.
Fear of people and of economic insecurity
will leave us.
We will intuitively know how to handle
situations which used to baffle us.
We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us
what we could not do for ourselves.
Are these extravagant promises?
We think not.
They are being fulfilled among us --
sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly.
They will always materialize if we work for them.
c. 1976, 2001 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 83-4

Thought to Consider . . .
It works -- it really does.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
G R A C E = Gently Releasing All Conscious Expectations.

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

Seed
Step One: We admitted we were powerless over alcohol--- that our lives had become unmanageable.
"It was then discovered that when one alcoholic had planted in the mind of another the true nature of his malady, that person could never be the same again. Following every spree, he would say to himself, 'Maybe those A.A.'s were right. . . .' After a few such experiences, often years before the onset of extreme difficulties, he would return to us convinced. He had hit bottom as truly as any of us. John Barleycorn himself had become our best advocate."
1952, AAWS, Inc.; Printed 2005; Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pgs. 23-24

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

"The first thing my sponsor told me was, 'I don't have time to help you stay sick ... but if you want to get better I'd be glad to help."
Temple, TX, October 1990
"The Man I've Always Wanted to Be,"
Emotional Sobriety

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

"We have three little mottoes which are apropos.
Here they are:
First Things First
Live and Let Live
Easy Does It."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 135~

"Remember that we deal with alcohol, cunning, baffling, powerful!
Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all
power that One is God. May you find Him now!"
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, Page 58~

In Step Eleven we saw that if a Higher Power had restored us to sanity and had enabled us to live with some peace of mind in a sorely troubled world, then such a Higher Power was worth knowing better, by as direct contact as possible.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.109

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

It has often been said of A.A. that we are interested only in alcoholism. This is not true. We have to get over drinking in order to stay alive. But anyone who knows the alcoholic personality by firsthand contact knows that no true alky ever stops drinking permanently without undergoing a profound personality change.
We thought conditions drove us to drink, and when we tried to correct these conditions and found that we couldn't do so to our entire satisfaction, our drinking went out of hand and we became alcoholics. It never occurred to us that we needed to change ourselves to meet conditions, whatever they were.

Prayer for the Day: God, I offer myself to Thee To build with me & to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy love & Thy way of life. May I do Thy will always.