AA Thoughts For Today - January

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AA Thought for the Day

January 7

Controlled Drinking
We do not like to pronounce any individual as alcoholic, but you
can quickly diagnose yourself. Step over to the nearest barroom
and try some controlled drinking. Try to drink and stop abruptly.
Try it more than once. It will not take long for you to decide, if you
are honest with yourself about it. It may be worth a bad case of
jitters if you get a full knowledge of your condition.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (More About Alcoholism) pp. 31 - 32

Thought to Ponder . . .
I would rather go through life sober, believing I am an alcoholic,
than go through life drunk, trying to convince myself that I am not.

AA-related 'Alconym'
D E N I A L = Don't Even Notice It's A Lie.

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

Sponsors
Every sponsor is necessarily a leader.
The stakes are huge.
A human life, and usually the happiness of a whole family,
hangs in the balance.
What the sponsor does and says,
how well he estimates the reactions of his prospects,
how well he times and makes his presentation,
how well he handles criticisms,
and how well he leads his prospect on
by personal spiritual example ...
well, these attributes of leadership
can make all the difference,
often the difference between life and death.
Thank God that Alcoholics Anonymous is blessed
with so much leadership in each and all of its great affairs!
Bill W., April 1959
c. 1988 AA Grapevine, The Language of the Heart, p. 292

Thought to Consider . . .
A recovering alcoholic without a sponsor
is much like a ship without a rudder.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
S P O N S O R =
Sober Person Offering Newcomer Support Of Recovery

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

Eternal
From "More About Alcoholism":
"Most of us have believed that if we remained sober for a long stretch, we could thereafter drink normally. But here is a man who at fifty-five years found he was just where he had left off at thirty. We have seen the truth demonstrated again and again: 'Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic.'"
2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 33

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

"Each of us must conform reasonably well to AA's Steps and Traditions, or else we shall go mad or die of alcoholism."
AA Co-Founder, Bill W., October 1947
"Traditions Stressed in Memphis Talk
The Language of the Heart

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

"When you discover a prospect for Alcoholics Anonymous, find out all
you can about him. If he does not want to stop drinking, don't
waste time trying to persuade him. You may spoil a later opportunity."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 90

"Faith without works is dead."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, Page 76~

We sit in A.A. meetings and listen, not only to receive something ourselves, but to give the reassurance and support which our presence can bring.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.110

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

In ancient times material progress was painfully slow. The spirit of modern scientific inquiry, research, and invention was almost unknown.
In the realm of the material, men's minds were lettered by superstition, tradition, and all sorts of fixed ideas. Some of the contemporaries of Columbus thought a round earth preposterous. Others came near putting Galileo to death for his astronomical heresies.
Are not some of us just as biased and unreasonable about the realm of the spirit as were the ancients about the realm of the material?
We have found that God does not make too hard terms with those who seek Him. To us, the realm of spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive, never exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek. It is open, we believe, to all men.

Prayer for the Day: The Heart Of A Child -
Grant me, O God,
the heart of a child,
pure and transparent as a spring;
a simple heart,
which never harbours sorrows;
a heart glorious in self-giving,
tender in compassion;
a heart faithful and generous,
which will never forget any good
or bear a grudge for any evil.
Make me a heart gentle and humble,
loving without asking any return,
large-hearted and undauntable,
which no ingratitude can sour
and no indifference can weary;
a heart born to help others,
usefulness never measured.