Daily Recovery Readings - September 6

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God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
and Wisdom to know the difference.
Thy will, not mine, be done.

September 6

Daily Reflections

REMOVING THREATS TO SOBRIETY
. . . . except when to do so would injure them or others. . . .
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS , p. 59

Step Nine restores in me a feeling of belonging, not only to the
human race but also to the everyday world. First, the Step makes
me leave the safety of A.A., so that I may deal with non-A.A.
people "out there," on their terms. It is a frightening but
necessary action if I am to get back into life. Second, Step Nine
allows me to remove threats to my sobriety by healing past
relationships. Step Nine points the way to a more serene sobriety
by letting me clear away past wreckage, lest it bring me down.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Another of the mottoes of A.A. is "Live and Let Live." This, of
course, means tolerance of people who think differently than we do,
whether they are in A.A. or outside of A.A. We cannot afford the
luxury of being intolerant or critical of other people. We do not
try to impose our wills on those who differ from us. We are not
"holier than thou." We do not have all the answers. We are not better
than other good people. We live the best way we can and we allow
others to do likewise. Am I willing to live and let live?

Meditation For The Day

"And this is life eternal, that we may know Thee, the only true
God." Learning to know God as best you can draws the eternal life
nearer to you. Freed from some of the limitations of humanity, you
can grow in the things that are eternal. You can strive for what
is real and of eternal value. The more you try to live in the
consciousness of the unseen world, the gentler will be your passing
into it when the time comes for you to go. This life on earth should
be largely a preparation for the eternal life to come.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may live each day as though it were my last. I pray
that I may live my life as though it were everlasting.

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As Bill Sees It

We Need Outside Help, p.248

It was evident that a solitary self-appraisal, and the admission of
our defects based upon that alone, wouldn't be nearly enough.
We'd have to have outside help if we were surely to know and admit
the truth about ourselves--the help of God and of another human
being.

Only by discussing ourselves, holding back nothing, only by being
willing to take advice and accept direction could we set foot on the
road to straight thinking, solid honesty, and genuine humility.

********************************

If we are fooling ourselves, a competent adviser can see this quickly.
And, as he skillfully guides us away from our fantasies, we are
surprised to find that we have few of the usual urges to defend
ourselves against unpleasant truths. In no other way can fear,
pride, and ignorance be so readily melted. After a time, we realize
that we are standing firm on a brand-new foundation for integrity,
and we gratefully credit our sponsors, whose advice pointed the
way.

1. 12 & 12, p.59
2. Grapevine, August 1961

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Walk In Dry Places

Change is sometimes necessary
Improvement.
Despite the fact that many of us live turbulent, chaotic lives, we may
find in sobriety that we don't like change. This causes us to seek
our security in familiar places, rather than reach out for the unknown
that lies ahead.
This may not be real security, however, because familiar places and situations
also change. Our resistance to change may simply be the fear of trying
something new.
If we find that fear of change is causing us to put up with a situation that's
become unsatisfactory, we need to adjust our attitude toward it.
While we view change as risky, it may be the necessary route for
improvement. Let's start by simply accepting the idea that change is
sometimes necessary. After that, we can expect our Higher Power to guide
us to the new situations that are right for us.
Today I may find myself fearing change. I'll remind myself that
nothing ever stays the same, and that only change can bring the true good
I'm always seeking.

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Keep It Simple

Addiction is answering the spiritual calling inside us by going to the wrong address.
---Chris Ringer
Where can we go to feel better, to feel spiritually alive? Not to alcohol or
other drugs. Not to compulsive spending, gambling, or sex. Not to overeating
or overworking. When we turn to these things to feel better, we’re trading
one addiction for another, we’re going to the “wrong address.”
What is the right address? Our inner needs. Our Higher Power. Our recovery
program. Our friends. Soon, we become part of a network of “safe addresses.”
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, keep me on the right path. I don’t want to
go to the wrong address anymore.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll make sure I have at least three “right address”
in my wallet or purse. I’ll list names and day and evening phone numbers of
people who will love and help.

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Each Day a New Beginning

We can build upon foundations anywhere if they are well and firmly laid. --Ivy Compton-Burnett
Recovery is a process, one that rebuilds our lives. And the Twelve Steps provide
the foundation to support our growth as healthy, productive women. But each Step
must be carefully and honestly worked, or the whole foundation will be weakened.
How lucky we are to have found this program and the structure it offers. We looked
for structure in our past. We searched, maybe for years, running from one panacea to
another, hoping to find ourselves. Booze--pills--food--lovers--causes; none gave us
the security we longed for. We couldn't find ourselves because we hadn't defined
ourselves. At last we've come home. Self-definition is the program's guarantee.
Not only can we discover who we are, now, but also we can change, nurture those
traits that we favor, diminish those that attract trouble.
My actions today are the key. They tell who I am at this moment. Who I become
is up to me. I will pick a Step and reflect before I move ahead. The strength of my
foundation depends on it.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

BILL'S STORY

Thus was I convinced that God is concerned with us humans when we want Him enough. At long last I saw, I felt, I believed. Scales of pride and prejudice fell from my eyes. A new world came into view.

p. 12

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

VI - HOW TO GET IN TOUCH WITH A.A.

Should you be the relative or friend of an alcoholic who shows no immediate interest in A.A., it is suggested that you write the Al-Anon Family Groups, Inc., 1600 Corporate Landing Parkway, Virginia Beach, VA 23456, USA.
This is a world clearing house for the Al-Anon Family Groups, composed largely of the wives, husbands and friends of A.A. members. This headquarters will give the location of the nearest family group and will, if you wish, correspond with you about your special problems.

p. 573

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Three - "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him."

But the moment our mental or emotional independence is in question, how differently we behave. How persistently we claim the right to decide all by ourselves just what we shall think and just how we shall act. Oh yes, we'll weigh the pros and cons of every problem. We'll listen politely to those who would advise us, but all the decisions are to be ours
alone. Nobody is going to meddle with our personal independence in such matters. Besides, we think, there is no one we can surely trust. We are certain that our intelligence, backed by willpower, can rightly control our inner lives and guarantee us success in the world we live in. This brave philosophy, wherein each man plays God, sounds good in the speaking, but it still has to meet the acid test: how well does it actually work? One good look in the mirror ought to be answer enough for any alcoholic.

p. 37

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Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an
understanding of ourselves.
--Carl Jung

During his lifetime, an individual should devote his efforts to creating
happiness and enjoy it.
--Ch'enTu-hsiu

"It takes less time to do things right than to explain why you did it
wrong."
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"Give to the world the best you have and the best will come back to
you."
--Madeline Bridges

Understanding a person does not mean condoning; it only means
that one does not accuse him as if one were God or a judge placed
above him.
--Erich Fromm

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

FEAR

"The only thing we have to fear
is fear itself."
-- Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Fear is a killer. It is a killer because it drains us of life, energy and
creativity. Fear petrifies the human spirit.

I spent a lot of yesterdays afraid. Afraid of people finding out. Afraid
of the telephone. Afraid of where it would all end. Afraid of me! I did
not realize that I was feeding the fear with my behavior. I drank
myself into fear. The day I stopped drinking alcohol was the day I
stopped giving energy to my fear.

Today I live my life without abnormal or unrealistic fears. Today I
enjoy my life. I work through my problems. I am not afraid of my
shadow. Today I love me.

Lord may I always connect my unrealistic fears with my behavior
-- and begin the change.

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"I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give
them gladness for sorrow."
Jeremiah 31:13

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love
God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28

Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out
weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying
sheaves with him.
Psalm 126:5-6

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Daily Inspiration

In everything imitate God and you will come to know Him better and better.
Lord, I ask Your help to come close to You in my thoughts and bring Your love to this earth.

If you are prepared to die, you will also be prepared to live.
Lord, You have given me life and made ready the Kingdom of Heaven. I dedicate myself to You.

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NA Just For Today

Regular Meeting Attendance

"We have learned from our group experience that those who keep coming to our meetings regularly stay clean."
Basic Text p.9

The NA program gives us a new pattern of living. One of the basic elements of that new pattern is regular meeting attendance. For the newcomer, living clean is a brand new experience. All that once was familiar is changed. The old people, places, and things that served as props on the stage of our lives are gone. New stresses appear, no longer masked or deadened by drugs. That's why we often suggest that newcomers attend a meeting every day. No matter what comes up, no matter how crazy the day gets, we know that our daily meeting awaits us. There, we can renew contact with other recovering addicts, people who know what we're going through because they've been through it themselves. No day needs to go by without the relief we get only from such fellowship.

As we mature in recovery, we get the same kinds of benefits from regular meeting attendance. Regardless of how long we've been clean, we never stop being addicts. True, we probably won't immediately start using mass quantities of drugs if we miss our meetings for a few days. But the more regularly we attend NA meetings, the more we reinforce our identity as recovering addicts. And each meeting helps put us that much further from becoming using addicts again.

Just for today: I will make a commitment to include regular meeting attendance as a part of my new pattern of living.
pg. 260

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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
I never lose sight of the fact that just being is fun. --Katharine Hepburn
The first good news each day is that we wake up. We are breathing. Our heats are beating, our minds working. The adventure of living begins. What does the day hold in store? We have no way of knowing what surprises lie in wait for us today.
We may look forward, not just to the expected, but to the unexpected. Whom shall we meet? What will we see? What will we learn? How will we be entertained? What changes to help others will come our way? What chances to love and be loved?
Now that our eyes are opened to today's beauty, let us remain alert for new sights. Let us cry when sad, smile when touched, and laugh at what is funny in a whole new lifetime before us.
What can I be thankful for today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
I learned to listen to my body with an inner concentration like meditation, to get guidance as to when to exercise and when to rest. I learned that healing and cure are active processes in which I myself needed to participate. --Rollo May
In our spiritual growth, one of our movements is from passive to active, from helpless to responsive. For example, we are passive if we don't take responsibility for our bodies and don't care for our wellness and conditioning. Do we passively leave our health in the doctor's hands?
Do we take responsibility for our relationships? Are we active in nurturing them? We could add our own interests and positive energy to enrich them.
Our Higher Power speaks to us in a quiet, subtle voice, which can easily be ignored until we learn to listen. It takes courage to listen to this inner voice. When we listen, we develop a relationship that is a strong force moving us into recovery. We are still powerless over many things, but we can make active choices in how we will grow and how we will respond.
I will be guided in my choices by my inner voice.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
We can build upon foundations anywhere if they are well and firmly laid. --Ivy Compton-Burnett
Recovery is a process, one that rebuilds our lives. And the Twelve Steps provide the foundation to support our growth as healthy, productive women. But each Step must be carefully and honestly worked, or the whole foundation will be weakened.
How lucky we are to have found this program and the structure it offers. We looked for structure in our past. We searched, maybe for years, running from one panacea to another, hoping to find ourselves. Booze--pills--food--lovers--causes; none gave us the security we longed for. We couldn't find ourselves because we hadn't defined ourselves. At last we've come home. Self-definition is the program's guarantee. Not only can we discover who we are, now, but also we can change, nurture those traits that we favor, diminish those that attract trouble.
My actions today are the key. They tell who I am at this moment. Who I become is up to me. I will pick a Step and reflect before I move ahead. The strength of my foundation depends on it.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
The Good in Step Ten
Step Ten says: "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it." It does not suggest that we ignore what is right in our life. It says we continue to take a personal inventory and keep a focus on ourselves.
When we take an inventory, we will want to look for many things. We can search out feelings that need our attention. We can look for low self-esteem creeping back in. We can look for old ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving. We can look for mistakes that need correcting.
But a critical part of our inventory can focus on what we're doing right and on all that is good around us.
Part of our codependency is an obsessive focus on what's wrong and what we might be doing wrong - real or imagined. In recovery we're learning to focus on what's right.
Look fearlessly, with a loving, positive eye. What did you do right today? Did you behave differently today than you would have a year ago? Did you reach out to someone and allow yourself to be vulnerable? You can compliment yourself for that.
Did you have a bad day but dealt effectively with it? Did you practice gratitude or acceptance? Did you take a risk, own your power, or set a boundary? Did you take responsibility for yourself in a way that you might not have before?
Did you take time for prayer or meditation? Did you trust God? Did you let someone do something for you?
Even on our worst days, we can find one thing we did right. We can find something to feel hopeful about. We can find something to look forward to. We can focus realistically on visions of what can be.
God, help me let go of my need to stay immersed in negativity. I can change the energy in my environment and myself from negative to positive. I will affirm the good until it sinks in and feels real. I will also strive to find one quality that I like about someone else who's important to me, and I will take the risk of telling him or her that.

Today I'm listening to my self-talk with a non-judgemental ear. It is okay to make mistakes today. I'm giving myself positive messages with permission to accept both my victories and defeats. --Ruth Fishel

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Journey To The Heart

Imagine All the Possibilities

Think of all the possibilities for your life– for love, for work, for growth. Think of all the possibilities for adventure, for fun, and for service. This day, this week, this month, this year abounds with possibilities. Each task you have to do, each problem you encounter and need to solve abounds with possibilities. Your life abounds with possibilities.

For a long time, we only saw some of the possibilities life held. We’d look at a situation and see the possibilities for guilt, victimization, sadness, and despair. We’d tell ourselves there was only one choice, or no choice, or that something had to be done in a particular way– the hardest and dreariest way possible. We’d neglect to envision the other option– the choices for joy, for making my event more fun, more pleasant, more enjoyable.

You don’t need to limit yourself anymore. You’ve opened your heart. Now open your mind. Look around. See all the possibilities. The universe is teaming with them. It will lead and guide you into this abundance if you ask it for help and them allow that to happen.

Open to life’s abundance. Open to all its possibilities. The more open you become, the more creative you’ll be– in work, in play, in love, in life. The more creative you are, the more possibilities you’ll see.

*****

more language of letting go
Stand up to your fear of abandonment

"I'm in a relationship with someone who isn't good for me," a woman said to me one day. "My boyfriend manipulates me, and he often doesn't tell me the truth. But every time I get ready to kick him to the curb, my fear of abandonment sets in."

Many of us have a fear of abandonment. Some of us let it rule our lives. We'll do anything just so that person doesn't walk out and leave us alone.

I spent many years letting fear of abandonment control me. After a while, I finally wore out that belief. I just got sick and tired of worrying about whether I was good enough for that person.

Then a new thought set me free. If you don't want to be my friend or my lover, or my employer, I don't want you in my life.

No more emotional blackmail. No more stress. No more having to second-guess what that other person is feeling.

Are you spending your time worried about someone leaving you? Does your fear of being abandoned leave you feeling like an underdog in your relationship? Let it go. Stand fast. And listen to what I'm about to tell you. If that person doesn't want to be in your life, just let him or her leave. Do you want someone in your life who really doesn't want to be there? Of course not. Let him or her go.

Once you adopt this belief, it's easy to send the bad relationships packing, and the good people want to stay.

God, help me believe that I deserve only the best of relationships.

*****

A Matter of Significance
Recognizing Your Value by Madisyn Taylor

Change your thinking to knowing that your life matters and that you are important.

It can be easy sometimes to buy into the illusion of our own insignificance. We may see large corporations or institutions, celebrities or successful people in our community, and compare ourselves to them, thinking that their fame or material power affirm how little our own lives amount to. But nothing could be further from the truth. Every single one of us matters—tremendously. Our very existence affects countless people in countless ways. And because we are each essentially a microcosm of the larger universe, our internal experiences affect the whole of life more than we could ever imagine. The world simply could not exist as it does now if you, or any one of us, were not in it.

Perhaps you are aware that on some level you believe your life does not matter. If this thought resonates within you, maybe it is time to explore why you feel this way. You may have formed self-rejecting or belittling beliefs as a child to keep yourself safe or to help you make sense of confusing situations. You may have felt unseen or unheard and decided that there was something wrong with you, rather than with the attention span of the people around you. Spend some time looking into where these feelings of insignificance first took root, and see what changes you might be able to make in your life and in your heart.

This one belief in your own unimportance could be limiting you and impacting your life in enormous ways. When you shift your perceptions around your own ability to affect your life and impact the world, you may discover wonderful parts of yourself that you had long ago forgotten. There may even be exciting new parts that you never even knew existed. When you gain awareness of how much your life really does matter, new sources of energy can emerge and your sense of connection with the world is renewed. Published with permission from Daily OM

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A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

“During acute depression,” wrote A.A. co-founder Bill W., “avoid trying to set your whole life in order at once. If you take on assignments so heavy that you are sure to fail in them at the moment, then you are allowing yourself to be tricked by your unconscious. Thus you will continue to make sure of yo8ur failure, and when it comes you will have another alibi for still more retreat into depression. In short, the ‘all or nothing’ attitude is a most destructive one. It is best to begin with whatever the irreducible minimums of activity are. Then work for an enlargement of these — day by day”. When I’m discouraged by setbacks, am I willing to start over?

Today I Pray

When I am immobilized by depression, may I set small, reasonable goals — as miniature perhaps as saying hello to a child, washing my own coffee cup, neatening my desk, offering a short prayer. May I scrap my own script for failure, which sets me up for deeper depression.

Today I Will Remember

Goals set too high set me back.

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One More Day

Lie down and listen to the crabgrass grow, the faucet leak, and learn to leave them so.
– Marya Mannes

Sometimes we are driven by a need to get everything done. We have an inner sense of what we should be, and we work toward meeting that expectation. But we may strive beyond those goals because of what we believe our friends, our coworkers, and even the advertising media expect of us.

Only we decide which expectations to satisfy. But first, we must be sure that the things we strive for are really our needs and goals. If an alphabetized spice rack or an organized workbench gives us no satisfaction, why should we alphabetize or organize? If an imperfect lawn doesn’t bother us, we can let go of our concern and let the crabgrass grow.

Today, I will hold on only to my goals and expectations. I will let go of those which give me no joy.

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Food For Thought

The Pause that Refreshes

For strength, we are learning to lean on our Higher Power instead of food. We have undoubtedly taken many “breaks” which involved ingesting one or another addictive substance. Instead of making us stronger, those substances eventually made us weaker. Thanks to OA, we are finding a dependable source of refreshment.

Starting the day with a few minutes of contact with God enables us to draw from His strength that which we need. Throughout the day, when we become weary or perplexed or pressured, we can pause to renew that contact. It is a constant source of Power whenever we open ourselves to it.

Allowing ourselves to become too busy is asking for trouble. We can concentrate actively for only so long without a period of rest and relaxation. Frequent time out each day to consult with our Higher Power makes our work more effective and our leisure more creative.

I seek Your presence, Lord.

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One Day At A Time

RISK
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in the bud
was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
Anais Nin

I think that many people, like myself, come into Twelve Step Programs out of desperation. I had just begun to realize that the price I was paying to continue eating compulsively was way too high. For me, I noticed I was a very distracted and impatient mother. I saw my children getting more and more out of control because I had neither the time nor the energy to discipline myself, let alone them. I started to wonder what kind of lives I was training them to live. I saw my husband disappear more and more into books and work, and retreating from me. My body was beginning to rebel against what I was doing to it. I was sleeping in a recliner because I could not breathe well enough to sleep in my bed. My knees and my feet were beginning to hurt. I was unable to do even routine housework and shopping without great effort and discomfort.

I began to realize this was no way to live. I was consumed with both the fear of living and the fear of dying. I had a friend who was in a similar condition, and together we gathered up the courage to attend a few program meetings. I also discovered a wonderful community of program members online and here is where I found the courage to move forward and to begin my recovery journey. It was also online I found the fellow sufferer in recovery who became my sponsor.

I am so thankful my Higher Power made me realize that I could move through the fear I had about living. With the help of my program and my Higher Power, I became a blossoming flower who did not die in the bud.

One day at a time...
I accept that fear may be in my life and that my Higher Power is stronger than anything I fear. I move forward today trusting my Higher Power to draw me to my highest good. I know that growth comes with action and I am willing to risk moving through the fear into positive action.
~ Janet H.

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

For faith in a Power greater than ourselves, and miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives, are facts as old as man himself.
We finally saw that faith in some kind of God was a part of our make-up, just as much as the feeling we have for a friend. Sometimes we had to search fearlessly, but He was there. He was as much a fact as we were. We found the Great Reality deep down within us. In the last analysis it is only there that He may be found. It was so with us. - Pg. 55 - We Agnostics

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Your Divine Source will always answer your prayers. Sometimes the answer is 'no' but we say, 'My Creator didn't give me what I wanted so my Creator doesn't listen to me.''The Divine listens, maybe you don't.

As I learn more about Divine will, help me not to interpret internal conflict as a God who doesn't care.

Home

I will value my home today. I will take time for those I love. I know that my time is the most valuable thing I have to give. Our world runs at a fast pace, we are all on a track to get somewhere but, at the end of the day, where are we all going in such a rush? What am I looking for so hard in the future that makes it worth running right by my present?

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Anger can be a source of personal power for people. When you get angry at God or others, even yourself, you feel the energy and you feel strong, not the helplessness of tears. Anger is a form of emotional denial.

Anger 'may be the dubious luxury of normal men' but it is not for me. (P 66, AA Big Book)

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

A sponsor's prayer: Whether I call them Baby or Pigeon or Squirrel - please don't let them become parrots.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I am listening to my self-talk with a gentle non-judgemental ear.

It is okay to make mistakes today. I am giving myself positive messages with permission to accept both my victories and defeats.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Being a little bit alcoholic is like being a little bit pregnant. ( And the longer you go, the more it shows. ) - Unknown origin.

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AA Thought for the Day

September 6

Habits
Our drinking was connected with many habits -- big and little.
Some of them were thinking habits, or things we felt inside ourselves.
Others were doing habits -- things we did, actions we took.
In getting used to not drinking, we have found that we needed new habits to take the place of those old ones. . .
After we spent a few months practicing these new, sober habits or ways of acting and thinking,
they became almost second nature to most of us, as drinking used to be.
- Living Sober, Preface

Thought to Ponder . . .
Habits are like cork or lead -- they tend to keep you up or hold you down.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
B A T H = Behavior, Attitude, Thinking, Habits.

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

Belonging
"Today, I'm counting my blessings instead of my troubles.
When I walked into the friendly atmosphere of my first
AA meeting, I knew I was where I belonged.
Here were people who had thought and felt as I had.
Here was the understanding I'd been searching for
all my life."
1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 355

Thought to Consider . . .
I stood in the sunlight at last.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
T H I N K = The Happiness I Never Knew

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

Nickname
From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":
"We directed Mr. Blackwell [the printer] to do the job on the thickest paper in his shop. The original volume proved to be
so bulky that it became known as the 'Big Book.' Of course the idea was to convince the alcoholic purchaser that he
was indeed getting his money's worth!"
2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 170

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

"I felt myself move with a new power, courage, and faith that, by the grace of God, I have acquired as a result of
working the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous."
Conn., June 2005
"Life and Taxes"
Spiritual Awakenings II

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

"We alcoholics are sensitive people. It takes some of us a long time
to outgrow that serious handicap."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 125~

Psychologists are inclined to agree with us. We have spent
thousands of dollars for examinations. We know but few instances
where we have given these doctors a fair break. We have seldom
told them the whole truth nor have we followed their advice. Unwilling
to be honest with these sympathetic men, we were honest with no one
else. Small wonder many in the medical profession have a low
opinion of alcoholics and their chance for recovery.
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 73~

"When resentful thoughts come, try to pause and count your blessings."
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 119

"This to the end that our great blessings may never spoil us; that we shall forever live in thankful contemplation of Him

who presides over us all."
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 192

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: God, please show me how to find the way of Patience, Tolerance, Kindness and Love in my heart, my Mind and my Soul. Lord, show me how to demonstrate these principles to my family and all those about me. Amen.