A WORD TO DROP: "BLAME"

To see how erratic emotions victimized us often took a long time. We
could perceive them quickly in others, but only slowly in ourselves.
First of all, we had to admit that we had many of these defects, even
though such disclosures were painful and humiliating. Where other
people were concerned, we had to drop the word "blame" from our
speech and thought.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 47

When I did my Fourth Step, following the Big Book guidelines, I
noticed that my grudge list was filled with my prejudices and my
blaming others for my not being able to succeed and to live up to my
potential. I also discovered I felt different because I was black. As I
continued to work on the Step, I learned that I always had drunk to rid
myself of those feelings. It was only when I sobered up and worked on
my inventory, that I could no longer blame anyone.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

In that alcoholic world, one drink always leads to another and you
can't stop till you're paralyzed. And the next morning it begins all over
again. You eventually land in a hospital or jail. You lose your job. Your
home is broken up. You're always in a mess. You're on the
merry-go-round and you can't get off. You're in a squirrel cage and
you can't get out. Am I convinced that the alcoholic world is not a
pleasant place for me to live in?

Meditation For The Day

I must learn to accept self-discipline. I must try never to yield one
point that I have already won. I must not let myself go in resentments,
hates, fears, pride, lust, or gossip. Even if the discipline keeps me
separated from some people who are without discipline, nevertheless I
will carry on. I may have different ways and a different standard of
living than some others. I may be actuated by different motives than some
people. But I will try to live the way I believe God wants me to live, no
matter what others say.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be an example to others of a better way of living. I
pray that I may carry on in spite of hindrances.

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

As Bill Sees It

"The Spiritual Angle", p. 101

How often do we sit in A.A. meetings and hear the speaker declare,
"But I haven't yet got the spiritual angle." Prior to this statement, he
has described a miracle of transformation which has occurred in
him--not only his release from alcohol, but a complete change in his
whole attitude toward life and the living of it.

It is apparent to everyone else present that he has received a great gift,
and that this gift is all out of proportion to anything that may be
expected from simple A.A. participation. So we in the audience smile
and say to ourselves, "Well, that guy is just reeling with the spiritual
angle--except that he doesn't seem to know it yet!"

Grapevine, July 1962

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

Walk in Dry Places
 
Helping Others____Motives
It may sound selfish, but you should always help others for no reason other than your own benefit.  In giving assistance, guard against posing as an idealist or even a Good Samaritan.  We are not saints, and our spiritual progress is interrupted the moment we begin to act more saintly than we really are.
Two things happen when we help others in the full knowledge that we are really helping only ourselves.  First, we do not place the other person in a demeaning role or make him or her obligated to us.  Second, we sidestep the swollen   egotism that could arise   if we view ourselves as rescuers.
In helping others, we are only passing on the good that has come to us. Any good action will always bring rich rewards in personal well-being. People we have helped will be grateful to us when it becomes clear that we don't demand their gratitude. They will also be inspired to follow this example, which is the true AA spirit that became evident with the first Twelve Step calls.
I'll look for opportunities to help others in the same way that a businessman looks for ways to increase profits. I know that I grow as a person when I help others in the right spirit.


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

Keep It Simple

Many of us as children, were taught to hide our pain, to act as if we had none. We look for ways to hide our pain. Alcohol and other drugs helped us do this. But the pain always returned. We were ashamed that we hurt. We thought we were the only one who hurt so badly. and, worst of all, we
thought our pain meant we were bad people. Ours is a program of honesty. As we live life, there will be troubles, and there will be pain. But now we know that we don't try to hide it. If we hide our wounds, they will not heal. We will listen to others pain and ask them to listen to ours. This will help us continue our journey in recovery.
Prayer for the Day:  God, help me be honest about my pain. Help me see pain not as a personal defect, but as a part of life.
Action for the Day:  I'll share my pain with a friend, a family member, my group, or sponsor. I'll ask them to do the same with me. I'll think of pain as part of life.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

An element of recovery is learning that we deserve success, the good things that come to us, and also that pain is a reality. We have the strength to deal with that pain without medicating, and it will pass.  --Dudley Martineau
Many of us didn't understand the changing variables in being human. Our coping skills were at a minimum until we discovered what alcohol or pills, even food, could do for us. And then, a drink or two--or six, maybe--got us through many a lonely evening.
The desire for an easy solution might still haunt us, but time, new experiences, and program friends have taught us that our past habits weren't really easy solutions. In reality, they increased our problems and led us nowhere.
The Steps and the principles of the program, if applied, guarantee success, living success. We come to believe that strength enough to handle any situation is ours for the asking. And experience with these principles shows us that when we live the way our conscience dictates, the rewards are many.
Every day, especially this one facing us, our choices and decisions will be many. But there is only one solution to any problem, and that's the one our higher power guides us to. The answer, the choice, always lies within, and the good life will accompany our thoughtful, reverent choices.
The power of the program is mine for the taking. All of today's problems can be eased, if I choose so.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Chapter 8 - TO WIVES

Let's now go back to number one. Oddly enough, he is often difficult to deal with. He enjoys drinking. It stirs his imagination. His friends feel closer over a highball. Perhaps you enjoy drinking with him yourself when he doesn't go too far. You have passed happy evenings together chatting and drinking before your fire. Perhaps you both like parties which would be dull without liquor. We have enjoyed such evenings ourselves; we had a good time. We know all about liquor as a social lubricant. Some, but not all of us, think it has its advantages when reasonably used.

p. 110

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

The Man Who Mastered Fear

He spent eighteen years in running away, and then found he didn't have to run.  So he started A.A. in Detroit.

It sounds simple, but there were obstacles and doubts to overcome.  I well remember a session I had with myself soon after I returned.  It ran something like this:  If I go around shouting from the rooftops about my alcoholism, it might very possibly prevent me from getting a good job.  But supposing that just one man died because I had, for selfish reasons, kept my mouth shut?  No, I was supposed to be doing God's will, not mine.  His road lay clear before me, and I'd better quit rationalizing myself into detours.  I could not expect to keep what I had gained unless I gave it away.

p. 253

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Eleven - "Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out."

This much could be a fragment of what is called meditation, perhaps our very first attempt at a mood, a flier into the realm of spirit, if you like. It ought to be followed by a good look at where we stand now, and a further look at what might happen in our lives were we able to move closer to the ideal we have been trying to glimpse. Meditation is something which can always be further developed. It has no boundaries, either of width or height. Aided by such instruction and example as we can find, it is essentially an individual adventure, something which each one of us works out in his own way. But its object is always the same: to improve our conscious contact with God, with His grace, wisdom, and love. And let's always remember that meditation is in reality intensely practical. One of its first fruits is emotional balance. With it we can broaden and deepen the channel between ourselves and God as we understand Him.

pp. 101-102

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

The person who sends out positive thoughts activates the world around
him positively and draws back to himself positive results.
--Norman Vincent Peale

Thoughts have power. Thoughts are energy. You can make your
world or break it by your thinking.
--Susan Taylor

When your knees knock, kneel on them.

Those who are awake live in a state of constant amazement.
--Buddha

If you woke up breathing, congratulations! You have another chance!

"We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes, but
have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers."
--Martin Luther King Jr.

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

PRINCIPLES

"Nothing can bring you peace but
the triumph of principles. "
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Slowly I am understanding what principles are in my life. I am learning
to live with code of ethics that I do not always like, but I know is good
for me and others. Although I do not always fully understand the
"spiritual principles" of life, I know that my ongoing recovery should
be based upon them.

Some of the "spiritual principles" by which I try to live are: Honesty,
Truth, Openness, Forgiveness, Acceptance, Humility and Hope.

I am also experiencing a personal satisfaction in knowing that I am
living today with a set of principles that work. They enable me to be a
feeling and loving human being. Today I am beginning to feel what I
always thought other people had. Today I am alive in my life.

May Your principles be my lifestyle.

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

"God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His
Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."
1 Corinthians 1:9

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against
the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12

The peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard
your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!"
Philippians 4:4

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

Daily Inspiration

Discover how really nice today is by taking it less for granted. Lord, thank you for my health, my friends, my abilities and the people who enrich my life and I theirs.

Not one day passes without receiving wonderful blessings from our loving and generous God. Lord, may I forget the irritations that distract me from Your happiness.

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

NA Just For Today

A Closed Mind

"A new idea cannot be grafted onto a closed mind... Open-mindedness leads us to the very insights that have eluded us during our lives."
Basic Text p. 93

We arrived in NA at the lowest point in our lives. We'd just about run out of ideas. What we needed most when we got here were new ideas, new ways of living, shared from the experience of people who'd seen those ideas work. Yet our closed minds prevented us from taking in the very ideas we needed to live.

Denial keeps us from appreciating just how badly we really need new ideas and new direction. By admitting our powerlessness and recognizing how truly unmanageable our lives have become, we allow ourselves to see how much we need what NA has to offer.

Self-dependence and self-will can keep us from admitting even the possibility of the existence of a Power greater than ourselves. However, when we admit the sorry state self-will has gotten us into, we open our eyes and our minds to new possibilities. When others tell us of a Power that has brought sanity to their lives, we begin to believe that such a Power may do the same for us.

A tree stripped of its branches will die unless new branches can be grafted onto its trunk. In the same way, addiction stripped us' of whatever direction we had. To grow or even to survive, we must open our minds and allow new ideas to be grafted onto our lives.

Just for today: I will ask my Higher Power to open my mind to the new ideas of recovery.

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

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Listen to your feelings. They tell you when you need to take care of yourself, like finding a friend if you feel lonely, crying if you feel sad, singing and smiling if you feel happy, and acting frisky if you feel good. --Pat Palmer
When we get too much of anything--too much fun or too much work--we may feel really crummy when it's over.
One way to listen to our crummy feelings is to say, "Here comes the letdown after all that fun." We can imagine a spaceship falling to earth, floating on the ocean. Coming down to earth is as much a part of the adventure as the countdown and blastoff.
A letdown for us means we need to let our bodies and minds rest, just like the spaceship, bobbing around without any special direction. We need to take it easy, do nothing, put off making plans.
Then we can ask God to help us let go of the crummy feelings that come along with a letdown. We can ask the spirit within us to guide us through this time of change. Then we will let down and let go.
What are some things I can do to take it easy the next time I feel down?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
I have learned this: it is not what one does that is wrong, but what one becomes as a consequence of it. --Oscar Wilde
There are countless ways to take shortcuts in life or to grab for pleasures. We could cheat on our income taxes, excuse a food binge, or lie to a loved one about where we've been. We say, "It won't hurt anyone!" "I wouldn't do it if it weren't for the other guy." Or, "Everyone does it." But if we are to like and respect ourselves, we need to live by the rules we believe in. Whether we get caught or not isn't the point. We cannot hold values and then repeatedly justify breaking them.
What does it do to us if we constantly fudge on our values? It undermines our self-esteem and damages the faith we have in ourselves. We do not expect to be perfect, but we must be accountable. If we are honest with ourselves, we admit our wrongs and reestablish our self-respect.
Today, I will take care to make choices that match my values.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
An element of recovery is learning that we deserve success, the good things that come to us, and also that pain is a reality. We have the strength to deal with that pain without medicating, and it will pass. --Dudley Martineau
Many of us didn't understand the changing variables in being human. Our coping skills were at a minimum until we discovered what alcohol or pills, even food, could do for us. And then, a drink or two--or six, maybe--got us through many a lonely evening.
The desire for an easy solution might still haunt us, but time, new experiences, and program friends have taught us that our past habits weren't really easy solutions. In reality, they increased our problems and led us nowhere.
The Steps and the principles of the program, if applied, guarantee success, living success. We come to believe that strength enough to handle any situation is ours for the asking. And experience with these principles shows us that when we live the way our conscience dictates, the rewards are many.
Every day, especially this one facing us, our choices and decisions will be many. But there is only one solution to any problem, and that's the one our higher power guides us to. The answer, the choice, always lies within, and the good life will accompany our thoughtful, reverent choices.
The power of the program is mine for the taking. All of today's problems can be eased, if I choose so.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Financial Goals
Taking responsibility for our financial affairs will improve our self-esteem and lessen anxiety.
Each of us, today, has a present set of financial circumstances. We have a certain amount of money in hand, and money due to us. We have a pile of bills that we owe. We have taxes to pay. Those are our present financial circumstances. No matter what the details are, acceptance, gratitude, and self-responsibility will lessen the stress.
Each of us, today, has a financial future. There are few future aspects of our life we can control, but one part we can play to assist our future is setting goals.
We don't have to obsess about our goals. We don't have to constantly watch and mark our progress toward them. But it is beneficial to think about our goals and write them down. What do we want to happen in our financial future? What financial problems would we like to solve? What bills would we like to be rid of? What would we like to be earning at the end of this year? The end of next year? Five years from now?
Are we willing to work for our goals and trust our Higher Power to guide us?
Pay bills on time. Contact creditors. Make arrangements. Do your best, today, to take responsibility for your finances. Set goals for the future. Then, let go of money and concentrate on loving. Taking responsibility for our financial affairs does not mean making money our focus. Taking responsibility for our finances enables us to take our focus off money. It frees us to do our work and live the life we want.
We deserve to have the self-esteem and peace that accompanies financial responsibility.
Today, I will take the time necessary to be responsible for myself financially. If it is time to pay bills or talk to creditors, I will do that. If it is time to set goals, I will do that. Once I have done my part, I will let the rest go.


The more I let go of my own suffering and self-pity, I can see those around me with the eyes of love and compassion. I am becoming more aware of other people's pain and unhappiness today and I will reach out to them in loving ways that heal me while helping them to heal. --Ruth Fishel

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

Journey To The Heart

Learn to Listen to Silence

Driving into Yellowstone Park, I switched off the radio. The sun was setting. The mountains on either side of the road framed my view. Snowcapped mountains, their peaks touching the clouds, reflected the peach, pink, and orange of the setting sun. The clouds were beginning to change color, the way they do at twilight. Evergreens lined the road. Some stood tall. Some stooped. Some bent, as if peeking at or beckoning the travelers on the road. The smell of pine gently filled the car.

Because I’d been driving all day, I had kept the radio on to keep me alert and entertained. Now, I shut it off. As I drove, I let the silence fill the car, fill my mind, fill my soul. Before long, the colors of the sunset began to almost sing. The trees, the mountains filled me with their energy, rhythm, vibration.

Certain sounds can be healing– music, the voice of a friend, the laughter of a child. But there are other times when we need to turn down the sound and listen to silence. Silence can be healing,too.

As the sun set and I drove through the gates of Yellowstone Park, I realized this: the sounds of silence aren’t silent. Each creation that lives sings its own song. It takes a quiet mind, a quiet soul, a quiet heart to hear these songs.

Learn to listen to silence. Listen to the world around you. And the silence will sing you a beautiful song.

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

More Language Of Letting Go

Let yourself change and grow

There are lots of hermit crabs in the tide pools near my house. They’re interesting little creatures. A hermit crab will find a shell that fits him, put it on, and live in it. After a while, he grows and the shell no longer fits, so the crab scurries along the sea floor and finds another shell to live in. He crawls out of his first shell and into the shell that fits his new needs. This scene repeats itself again and again throughout his life.

Learn a lesson from the hermit crabs.

Just because a decision was right for you yesterday, doesn’t mean it meets your needs today. People grow. People change. And sometimes we have to let our safe little places go, in order to grow and change.

Are you holding on to something that doesn’t work anymore, just because it’s safe and what you know? It could be a behavior pattern– such as feeling victimized in all your relationships or wearing yourself out trying to control what you can’t.

Thank the lessons, people, and places of the past for all they’ve taught you. Thank your survival behaviors for helping you cope. There’s nothing wrong with feeling comfortable and safe– having lifetime friends and a career that serves us well. But don’t get so comfortable that you can’t let go and move on when it’s time. If the walls are too confining and limiting and you’re feeling stuck and bored, maybe it’s time to get out and find a new shell. There’s another shell waiting that will fit you better, but you can’t move into it until you leave this one behind.

God, show me the behaviors, things, people, and places that I’ve outgrown. Then give me the faith to let go.

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

Choosing Not to Be a Target
Emotional Attacks

by Madisyn Taylor

It is important to remember that if you are being attacked emotionally, it is more than likely not about you at all.


Hurtful confrontations often leave us feeling drained and confused. When someone attacks us emotionally, we may wonder what we did to rouse their anger, and we take their actions personally. We may ask ourselves what we could have done to compel them to behave or speak that way toward us. It’s important to remember that there are no real targets in an emotional attack and that it is usually a way for the attacker to redirect their uncomfortable feelings away from themselves. When people are overcome by strong emotions, like hurt or anguish, they may see themselves as victims and lash out at others as a means of protection or to make themselves feel better. You may be able to shield yourself from an emotional attack by not taking the behavior personally. First, however, it is good to cultivate a state of detachment that can provide you with some protection from the person who is attacking you. This will allow you to feel compassion for this person and remember that their beha! vior isn’t as much about you as it is about their need to vent their emotions.

If you have difficulty remaining unaffected by someone’s behavior, take a moment to breathe deeply and remind yourself that you didn’t do anything wrong, and you aren’t responsible for people’s feelings. If you can see that this person is indirectly expressing a need to you—whether they are reaching out for help or wanting to be heard—you may be able to diffuse the attack by getting them to talk about what is really bothering them.

You cannot control other people’s emotions, but you can control your own. If you sense yourself responding to their negativity, try not to let yourself. Keep your heart open to them, and they may let go of their defensiveness and yield to your compassion and openness. Published with permission from Daily OM

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

A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

I came; I came to; I came to believe. The Program has enabled me tolearn that deep down in every man, woman and child is the fundamental idea of a God. It may be obscured by pomp, by calamity, 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 the Power in human lives are facts as old as man himself. How well do I share my free gifts?

Today I Pray

I pray that I may continue to look for — and find — that Godliness that is in me and in every other person, no matter how it is obscured. May I be aware that the consciousness of a Higher Power has been present in man since he was first given the power to reason, no matter what name he gave to it or how he sought to reach it. May my own faith in a Higher Power be reinforced by the experience of all mankind — and by the working of His gracious miracles in my own life.

Today I Will Remember

God is in us all.

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

One More Day

When you get into a tight place, and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a moment longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.
– Harriet Beecher Stowe

Sometimes we push ourselves too fast, too far, too often. Even though we are cognizant of that exact moment when we just cannot, physically or emotionally, go on any longer, we still persevere.

When we finally do acknowledge that again we have gone too far, it may be time to take a nap or exercise to release our emotions. Or we may choose to be with friends or family. We begin to understand that the bad times pass.

If we can just make it through one more moment, then the tables will turn in our favor.

I am able to make it through even the hardest hard day.

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

Food For Thought

Deliverance

OA is here to say that compulsive overeaters have been delivered from compulsive overeating! We have found a way of eating that delivers us from fat and, even more important, we have found a way of living that delivers us from fear.

The price is high. We find that in order for the program to work, we need to give ourselves completely to it. We have proven over and over that half measures do not succeed. Unless we keep our will and our lives entirely in the hands of our Higher Power, we will fall back into the trap of compulsive overeating and compulsiveness in other areas.

Every day when we wake up, we give thanks for another day of abstinence, and we put ourselves under God's care and direction. We ask that we be guided in all our activities and that we may follow His will for us in all that we do. Then, whatever happens during the day, we accept it as part of God's plan, and we play our part as He directs us. The outcome and results belong to Him. We are delivered from self-centeredness and freed from compulsion.

We celebrate our deliverance.

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

One Day At A Time

~ Meditation ~
When you are with others, be with them wholeheartedly.
But when you are by yourself, be alone with God.
Paramahansa Yogananda

When I pray to the God of my understanding, I am able to share my thoughts, to vent my feelings, to express my gratitude. But it isn't enough for me to speak to God. I also need to listen. That's where meditation comes in.

Sometimes I select a passage from program literature to meditate on. I read the passage, and then sit quietly and allow my Higher Power to help me make connections between what I've read and the life I'm leading.

Other times, I will pick a word or phrase, like "love" or "peace" and repeat it, over and over, in my mind. I allow myself to align with the feeling of that word.

I may picture a serene place, and mentally go there, to rest and regroup from the pressures of the day.

I also will sometimes sit quietly, "in the silence," as the Quakers say. I listen to my breath moving in and out of my body, and I allow my Higher Power to speak to my heart.

No matter which meditation practice I select, the important thing for me is to do it faithfully, every day, and to totally give myself to it. I figure, if God can give to me, then I can give a little of myself back to the One who has blessed me with this program.

One Day at a Time . . .
I will spend some quiet time alone with my Higher Power, and listen to that still, small voice within.
~ Jeff ~

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

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Helping others is the foundation stone of your recovery. - Pg. 97 - Working With Others

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

To want a fix, pill, drink, smoke, or snort is not bad, it is a perfectly normal state of being for an addict. But each hour we stay clean eventually makes a day. Each day brings us closer to health of body, mind, and spirit. Eventually 'craving' our chemicals will not be normal, but a thing of our diseased past.

Let me know that the state of craving my drug of choice will one day be replaced with feeling my true emotions.

I Thank You God

For most this amazing day, for the leafy, greenly spirits of trees, and everything which is infinite, which is beautiful, which is yes. I who have died am alive again today and this is the sun's birthday.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Sobriety is a grant, not a gift. A gift is something we get to keep forever. A grant is contingent on us doing something to keep it.

I work steps because my recovery is 'contingent on the maintenance of {my} spiritual program.' (P 85, AA Book)

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Enforce the 'Respect-me rules'

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

The more I let go of my own suffering and self-pity, I can see those around me with the eyes of love and compassion. I am becoming more aware of other people's pain and unhappiness today and I will reach out to them in loving ways that heal me while helping them to heal.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I remember that first drink and feeling so surprised and amazed and delighted. And I think of how many alcoholics are dying right now trying somehow, some way to re-create that moment. - Charlie C.

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

AA Thought for the Day

April 11

Turn It Over
Any of us can handle just one day;
all each of us has to try at is our own job, our own family life.
We don't have to try fixing up the whole world or understanding
what no theologian of any faith has ever understood.
We simply stop messing in God's business. . .
when we stop messing and worrying, we have turned our will
and our lives over to God (or Good) as we understand (or don't understand) Him.
- Came To Believe . . ., p. 116

Thought to Ponder . . .
God seldom becomes a reality until God becomes a necessity.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
G O D = Good Orderly Direction.

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

Progress
"We claim spiritual progress rather than
spiritual perfection.
Our description of the alcoholic,
the chapter to the agnostic,
and our personal adventures before and after
make clear three pertinent ideas:
(a) That we were alcoholic and could not
manage our own lives.
(b) That probably no human power could
have relieved our alcoholism.
(c) That God could and would if He were sought."
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 60

Thought to Consider . . .
Every recovery from alcoholism
began with one sober hour.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
BIG BOOK
Believing In God Beats Our Old Knowledge

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

Surrender
From "God Is Good":
"Before A.A., I could not, or would not, admit I was wrong. My pride would not let me. And yet I was ashamed of me.
Caught in this conflict, I banished God from my life because I felt He asked me to adhere to a behavior pattern too high
for a man of my human frailty. Somehow, I believed that there could be no forgiveness of any failure, that God required
me to be all good. The moral of the story of the Prodigal Son eluded me.
"Since I thought trying was not enough, I stopped trying. That made me feel guilty. For a while, alcohol blotted out the
guilt. Then alcohol became the greatest cause of my guilt. I had to be beaten to a pulp physically, mentally and
emotionally, become bankrupt in all facets of my being, before I could give up my pride and admit defeat. Unfortunately,
admitting was not sufficient. My situation got worse until I had to surrender completely. From the depths of my hell, I
called out, "Oh God, help," and He led me to a place where I could find a way out of the maze and then sent me a group
of people to lead the way."
1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg.86

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

"I cannot afford to take sobriety for granted ... I count my blessings and enjoy them all, large and small."
Green Valley, Arizona, February 1978
"Summer of Discontent,"
Spiritual Awakenings II

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

"Once more: The alcoholic at certain times has no effective mental
defense against the first drink. Except in a few rare cases, neither
he nor any other human being can provide such a defense. His defense
must come from a Higher Power."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 43~

"We feel that elimination of our drinking is but a beginning. A much
more important demonstration of our principles lies before us in our
respective homes, occupations and affairs."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 19

To those of us who have hitherto known only excitement, depression, or anxiety – in other words, to all of us – this
newfound peace is a priceless gift.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 74

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

'The Spiritual Angel'
How often do we sit in A.A. meetings and hear the speaker declare, 'But I haven't yet got the spiritual angle.' Prior to this
statement, he has described a miracle of transformation which has occurred in him--not only his release from alcohol,
but a complete change in his whole attitude toward life and the living of it.
It is apparent to everyone else present that he has received a great gift, and that this gift is all out of proportion to
anything that may be expected from simple A.A. participation. So we in the audience smile and say to ourselves, 'Well,
that guy is just reeking with the spiritual angle--except that he doesn't seem to know it yet!' GRAPEVINE, JULY 1962

Prayer For The Day: Lord help me to remember that nothing is going to happen to me today that You and I together can't handle. Amen.