AA Thought For Today - November

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AA Thought for the Day

November 23

Riddle
Opinions vary considerably as to why the alcoholic reacts differently from normal people.
We are not sure why, once a certain point is reached, little can be done for him.
We cannot answer the riddle. We know that while the alcoholic keeps away from drink,
as he may do for months or years, he reacts much like other men.
We are equally positive that once he takes any alcohol whatever into his system,
something happens, both in the bodily and mental sense,
which makes it virtually impossible for him to stop.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 22-23

Thought to Ponder . . .
If we want to quit drinking, we are going to have to quit drinking.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
S T O P = Sobriety Tops Our Priorities.

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

Faith

"We had seen spiritual release,
but liked to tell ourselves it wasn't true.
Actually we were fooling ourselves,
for deep down in every man, woman, and child,
is the fundamental idea of God.
It may be obscured by calamity, by pomp,
by worship of other things,
but in some form or other it is there.
For faith in a Power greater than ourselves,
and miraculous demonstrations
of that power in human lives,
are facts as old as man himself."
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 55

Thought to Consider . . .
Faith is putting all your eggs in God's basket,
then counting your blessings before they hatch.

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

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

Reliable
>From "God Is Good":
"Each day, God gives us a new challenge. Sometimes, it is prosperity; sometimes, adversity. Prosperity can lead to complacency; adversity, to self-pity. Either one of these reactions is a luxury I cannot afford. I do not always fully accept my adversities as good while I am going through them, but the mere fact that I am now able to write these words proves the logic in my faith that God is good."
1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 87

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

"The Twelve Steps are deceptively simple but provide limitless spiritual growth for anyone with the patience to stay the course."
Riverside, Ill., September 2007
"It Works for Me,"
Voices of Long-Term Sobriety

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

3rd Step Prayer:
"God, I offer myself to Thee to build with me and 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, and Thy
Way of life. May I do Thy will always!"
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 63~

"I earnestly advise every alcoholic to read this book through , and though perhaps he came to scoff , he may remain to pray" Dr. W.D. Silkworth M.D.
Alcoholics Anonymous p.xxx

For if an alcoholic failed to perfect and enlarge his spiritual life through work and self-sacrifice for others, he could not survive the certain trials and low spots ahead.
-Alcoholics Anonymous p.15

When, with God's help, we calmly accepted our lot, then we found we could live at peace with ourselves and show others who still suffered the same fears that they could get over them, too.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.122

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

The immediate object of our quest is sobriety-freedom from alcohol and from all its baleful consequences. Without this freedom, we have nothing at all.
Paradoxically, though, we can achieve no liberation from the alcohol obsession until we become willing to deal with those character defects which have landed us in that helpless condition. In this freedom quest, we are always given three choices.
A rebellious refusal to work upon our glaring defects can be an almost certain ticket to destruction. Or, perhaps for a time, we can stay sober with a minimum of self-improvement and settle ourselves into a comfortable but often dangerous mediocrity. Or, finally, we can continuously try hard for those sterling qualities that can add up to fineness of spirit and action - true and lasting freedom under God.

Prayer for the Day: Teach Me -
Teach me, God, so that I might know
The way to change and the way to grow.
Give me the words to ask You how
To handle the here and live in the now.
Tempt me not with valleys of death,
Give me freedom from fear in every breath.
And though mistakes I make in my daily life,
Deliver me from aiding strife.
Understand me, God, as I am now
And show me the furrows I need to plow
To reach my goal as a ripening food,
So I might feed others all that is good.
Fill me with energy known as the Power,
Until I come to rest at the midnight hour.