AA Thoughts For Today - January

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AA Thought for the Day

January 20

A.A.'s Message

To watch the eyes of men and women open with wonder as they move from
darkness into light, to see their lives quickly fill with new purpose and meaning,
to see whole families reassembled, to see the alcoholic outcast received back
into his community in full citizenship, and above all to watch these people awaken
to the presence of a loving God in their lives—these things are the substance of
what we receive as we carry A.A.'s message to the next alcoholic.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Twelve) p. 110

Thought to Ponder . . .
In AA we carry the message ... not the mess.

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

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

Communication
From the beginning,
communication in AA has been
no ordinary transmission of helpful ideas and attitudes.
Because of our kinship in suffering,
and because our common means of deliverance
are effective for ourselves only when constantly
carried to others,
our channels of contact have always been charged
with the language of the heart.
c. 1967 AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 195

Thought to Consider . . .
Listening feeds the spirit.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
C A R E = Comforting And Reassuring Each other

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

Obedience
Tradition One: Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity.
"Every newcomer, every friend who looks at A.A. for the first time is greatly puzzled. They see liberty verging on license,
yet they recognize at once that A.A. has an irresistible strength of purpose and action....The A.A. member has to
conform to the principles of recovery. His life depends upon obedience to spiritual principles."
1981, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pages 129-30

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

"The language of AA is the language of self-discovery, of speculation, of wonder. It has a dual reality: While it describes
experience, it also creates experience, and allows each member to grow in the search for personal meaning."
Thornbury, Ontario, August 1984
"The Language of AA"
AA Grapevine

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

"If, when you honestly want to, you find you cannot quit entirely,
or if when drinking, you have little control over the amount you take,
you are probably alcoholic. If that be the case, you may be
suffering from an illness which only a spiritual experience will
conquer."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 44~

"We think it no concern of ours what religious bodies our members
identify themselves with as individuals. This should be an entirely
personal affair which each one decides for himself in the light of
past associations, or his present choice."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 28

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.'
We treasure our 'Serenity Prayer' because it brings a new light to us that can dissipate our oldtime and nearly fatal habit of fooling ourselves.
In the radiance of this prayer we see that defeat, rightly accepted, need be no disaster. We now know that we do not have to run away, nor ought we again try to overcome adversity by still another bulldozing power drive that can only push up obstacles before us faster than they can be taken down.

Prayer for the Day: I've Found A Reason - Dear God, As long as my life was preoccupied with my own problems, my own unwillingness and dark moods, I was critical, insensitive, rigid, and defiant. But when I honestly faced my defects and failures and the worst was known and surrendered to You, the whole nature of living changed. I am no longer the emotional center of all things and no longer take everything as personal to myself. I've found a reason for all the suffering through which I have passed. It is to be used in understanding and helping others. Out of the darkness comes light.