AA Thoughts For Today - April

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AA Thought for the Day

April 16

Step Four
"Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."
My Fourth Step showed me to be a liar, cheat, and thief; I was totally ruled by fear and resentment.
I thought of others only in light of my goals and cared about them only as they affected me.
It may be that my life was perfect from a transcendent perspective, but the contingencies were hell --
and it was the contingencies that had my back to the wall.
- The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 3], pp. 163-164

Thought to Ponder . . .
When I choose the behavior, I choose the consequences.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
F E A R = Face Everything And Recover.

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

Responsibility
"I Am Responsible . . .
When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help,
I want the hand of AA always to be there.
And for that:
I am responsible."
Declaration of 30th Anniversary International Convention, 1965

Thought to Consider . . .
Service is spirituality in action.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
EGO
Easing God Out

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

Healing
From "Tightrope":
"When I first came to this Fellowship, I had lost my health and sanity, my friends, much of my family, my self-respect,
and my God. In the years since, all of these have been restored to me. I no longer have the sense of impending doom. I
no longer wish for death or stare at myself in the mirror with loathing. I have come to terms with my Higher Power"
2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 368

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

"I've found a life I never knew existed. I'm so overwhelmed with gratitude that there's no room for a bad day."
Costa Mesa, Calif., December 1994
"He Gave Me the Shirt Off His Back,"
The Best of the Grapevine, Volume 3

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

"We families of Alcoholics Anonymous keep few skeletons in the
closet. Everyone knows about the others' alcoholic troubles. This
is a condition which, in ordinary life, would produce untold grief;
there might be scandalous gossip, laughter at the expense of other
people, and a tendency to take advantage of intimate information.
Among us, these are rare occurrences. We do talk about each other a
great deal, but we almost invariably temper such talk by a spirit of
love and tolerance."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 125~

"I was to test my thinking by the new God-consciousness within.
Common sense would thus become uncommon sense. I was to sit quietly
when in doubt, asking only for direction and strength to meet my
problems as He would have me. Never was I to pray for myself, except
as my requests bore on my usefulness to others. Then only might I
expect to receive. But that would be in great measure."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, Page 13

Moreover, it is usually a fact that our behavior when drinking has aggravated the defects of others.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 78

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

'Perfect' Humility
For myself, I try to seek out the truest definition of humility that I can. This will not be the perfect definition, because I
shall always be imperfect.
At this writing, I would choose one like this: 'Absolute humility would consist of a state of complete freedom from myself,
freedom from all the claims that my defects of character now lay so heavily upon me. Perfect humility would be a full
willingness, in all times and places, to find and to do the will of God.'
When I meditate upon such a vision, I need not be dismayed because I shall never attain it, nor need I swell with
presumption that one of these days its virtues shall all be mine.
I only need to dwell on the vision itself, letting it grow and ever more fill my heart. This done, I can compare it with my
last-taken personal inventory. Then I get a sane and healthy idea of where I stand on the highway to humility. I see that
my journey toward God has scarce begun.
As I thus get down to my right size and stature, my self-concern and importance become amusing. GRAPEVINE, JUNE 1961

Prayer For The Day: Dear Father, how I love thee. Thank you for this day. Allow me to see the beauty and wonder that your loving hands have created.