AA Thoughts For Today - August

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AA Thought for the Day

August 23

A Family Disease
It is important for me to realize that, as an alcoholic, I not only hurt myself, but also those around me.
Making amends to my family, and to the families of alcoholics still suffering, will always be important.
Understanding the havoc I created and trying to repair the destruction, will be a lifelong endeavor.
The example of my sobriety may give others hope, and faith to help themselves.
- Daily Reflections, p. 173

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

AA-related 'Alconym' . .
A A = Always Alive

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

Solution
"There is a solution.
Almost none of us liked the self-searching, the leveling
of our pride, the confessions of shortcomings
which the process requires for its successful
consummation.
But we saw that it really worked in others,
and we had come to believe in the
hopelessness and futility of life as we had been living it.
When, therefore, we were approached by those
in whom the problem had been solved,
there was nothing left for us but to pick up
the simple kit of spiritual tools laid at our feet.
We have found much of heaven
and we have been rocketed into a fourth dimension
of existence of which we had not even dreamed."
1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 25

Thought to Consider . . .
The solution is simple.
The solution is spiritual.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H O P E = Heart Open; Please Enter.

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

Serenity
>From "Happiness":
"The second tenet of the Serenity Prayer is too frequently slurred over. I am constantly amazed at the number of so-called obstacles I have overcome after giving them a second look, mustering what meager resources I have, then taking the hoe in hand.
"Serenity to me, therefore, is the absence of insoluble conflict. And it is up to me first to determine whether, after an honest look at myself, I can cope with the problem, then to decide whether it is to be tackled, passed over to another day, or dismissed forever. "New Hartford, New York, USA"
1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 111

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

"It surely may be said that the future looks bright. Much more hospitalization, based on the certainty that we are a sick people and that plenty can be done about it, is now on the way. We ought gratefully to acknowledge the work of those agencies outside AA who are strenuously helping this life-redeeming trend along."
AA Co-Founder, Bill W., May 1947
"Adequate Hospitalization: One Great Need"
The Language of the Heart

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

"On awakening let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead. We
consider our plans for the day. Before we begin, we ask God to
direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-
pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives. Under these conditions we
can employ our mental faculties with assurance, for after all God
gave us brains to use. Our thought-life will be placed on a much
higher plane when our thinking is cleared of wrong motives."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 86~

"Besides a seeming inability to accept much on faith, we often found
ourselves handicapped by obstinacy, sensitiveness, and unreasoning
prejudice. Many of us have been so touchy that even casual reference
to spiritual things make us bristle with antagonism. This sort of
thinking had to be abandoned. Though some of us resisted, we found
no great difficulty in casting aside such feelings. Faced with
alcoholic destruction, we soon became as open minded on spiritual
matters as we had tried to be on other questions. In this respect
alcohol was a great persuader. It finally beat us into a state of
reasonableness."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 47~

“We alcoholics are undisciplined. So we let God discipline us in the simple way we have just outlined.”
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 88

“So, practicing these Steps, we had a spiritual awakening about which finally there was no question.”
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 109

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Any number of A.A.'s can say, 'We were diverted from our childhood faith. As material success began to come, we felt we were winning at the game of life. This was exhilarating, and it made us happy.
'Why should we be bothered with theological abstractions and religious duties, or with the state of our souls, here or hereafter? The will to win should carry us through.
'But then alcohol began to have its way with us. Finally, when all our score cards read 'zero,' and we saw that one more strike would put us out of the game forever, we had to look for our lost faith. It was in A.A. that we rediscovered it.

Prayer for the Day: Dear Heavenly Father, Where I have done wrong, help me do right. I have done enough harm, and I ask Your help, so that I may do no more. I'll need more courage than I've got, help me be strong. I've been selfish, help me be selfless. Come what may, help me bear it. As I have in past harmed completely, help me to finish this, completely. I have been willful and hurtful; please grant me humility and humanity. Lord, help me be better. Better for You. Amen.