AA Thoughts For Today - December

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AA Thought for the Day

December 23

Reliance

"Belief meant reliance, not defiance. In A.A. we saw the fruits of
this belief: men and women spared from alcohol's final catastrophe.
We saw them meet and transcend their other pains and trials. We
saw them calmly accept impossible situations, seeking neither to
run nor to recriminate. This was not only faith; it was faith that
worked under all conditions."
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Two) p. 31

Thought to Ponder . . .
Reliance on God enables me to match calamity with serenity.

AA-related 'Alconym'
F R O G = Fully Rely On God.

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

Letting Go
Letting go of everything at once
was both painful and terrifying.
I could never have accomplished this alone.
It took the help, understanding
and wonderful companionship
that was given so freely to me by my ex-alkie friends.
This and the program of recovery
embodied in the Twelve Steps.
In learning to practice these steps in my daily living,
I began to acquire faith and a philosophy to live by.
Whole new vistas were opened up for me,
new avenues of experience to be explored,
and life began to take on color and interest.
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 311
c. 2001AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 275

Thought to Consider . . .
The peaks and valleys of my life
have become gentle rolling hills.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
F A I T H = Finding Answers In The Heart.

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

Sharing
From "Aspects of Spirituality:"
"Among A.A.'s there is still a vast amount of
mix-up respecting what is material and what
is spiritual. I prefer to believe that it is
all a matter of motive. If we use our worldly
possessions too selfishly, then we are materialists.
But if we share these possessions in helpfulness
to others, then the material aids the spiritual."
c. 1967, As Bill Sees It, page 287

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

"If faith without works is dead, willingness without action is fantasy."
Cheverly, Md., February 1985
"Short Takes"
AA Grapevine

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

"...we were at Step Three, which is that we decided to turn our will
and our life over to God as we understood Him. Just what do we mean
by that, and just what do we do?
The first requirement is that we be convinced that any life run on
self-will can hardly be a success. On that basis we are almost
always in collision with something or somebody, even though our
motives are good. Most people try to live by self-propulsion."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 60~

"Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live in
a new and wonderful world, no matter what your present circumstances!"
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 100

At once, we commence to outgrow fear.
-Alcoholics Anonymous p.68

Then fear, in turn, generates more character defects.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.49

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

We can be grateful for every agency or method that tries to solve the problem of alcoholism--whether of medicine, religion, education, or research. We can be open-minded toward all such efforts and we can be sympathetic when the ill-advised ones fail. We can remember that A.A. itself ran for years on 'trial and error.'
As individuals, we can and should work with those that promise success - even a little success.
Every one of the pioneers in the total field of alcoholism will generously say that had it not been for the living proof of recovery in A.A., they could not have gone on. A.A. was the lodestar of hope and help that kept them at it.

Prayer for the Day: Right Living -
From the cowardice that dare not face new truth,
From the laziness that is contented with half truth,
From the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth,
Good Lord, deliver me.