AA Thoughts For Today - January

[bluidkiti]

AA Thought for the Day

January 21

Fear, Faith, Courage

The verdict of the ages is that faith means courage. All men of faith
have courage. They trust their God. We never apologize for God.
Instead we let Him demonstrate, through us, what He can do. We
ask Him to remove our fear and direct our attention to what He
would have us be. At once, we commence to outgrow fear.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 68

Thought to Ponder . . .
Courage is fear in action.

AA-related 'Alconym'
F A I T H = Fear And Insecurity? Trust Him!

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

Illusion
No person likes to think he is bodily
and mentally different from his fellows.
Therefore, it is not surprising that our drinking careers
have been characterized by countless vain attempts
to prove we could drink like other people.
The idea that somehow, someday he will control
and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession
of every abnormal drinker.
The persistence of this illusion is astonishing.
Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death.
c. 1976, 2001 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 30

Thought to Consider . . . .
The two most dangerous words
in a recovering alcoholic's vocabulary are,
"I'm different."

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A A = Absolute Abstinence

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

Experience
From "More about Alcoholism":
"To us it is not far-fetched, for this kind of thinking has been characteristic of every single one of us. There was always
the curious mental phenomenon that parallel with our sound reasoning there inevitably ran some insanely trivial excuse
for taking the first drink. Our sound reasoning failed to hold us in check. The insane idea won out. Next day we would
ask ourselves, in all earnestness and sincerity, how it could have happened."
2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 37

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

"We shall always have to deal with the fearful forces which are released when the human ego runs amok -- the same forces that are shattering the world of our time. Deliver us from temptation must therefore continue to be a prime ingredient of our every attitude, practice, and prayer."
AA Co-Founder, Bill W., November 1960
"Freedom Under God: The Choice Is Ours,"
The Language of the Heart3
~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*

"'My old manner of life was by no means a bad one, but I would not
exchange its best moments for the worst I have now. I would not go
back to it even if I could.'"
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 43~

"Our liquor was but a symptom."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 64~\

The actual experience of meditation and prayer across the centuries is, of course, immense.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 98

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Each of us in turn - that is, the member who gets the most out of the program - spends a very large amount of time on
Twelfth Step work in the early years. That was my case, and perhaps I should not have stayed sober with less work.
'However, sooner or later most of us are presented with other obligations - to family, friends, and country. As you will
remember, the Twelfth Step also refers to 'practicing these principles in all our affairs.' Therefore, I think your choice of
whether to take a particular Twelfth Step job is to be found in your own conscience. No one else can tell you for certain
what you ought to do at a particular time.
'I just know that you are expected, at some point, to do more than carry the message of A.A. to other alcoholics. In A.A.
we aim not only for sobriety - we try again to become citizens of the world that we rejected, and of the world that once
rejected us. This is the ultimate demonstration toward which Twelfth Step work is the first but not the final step.

Prayer for the Day: Lord, inspire me to live in such a way that I always give of my best and be welcoming and generous
towards others. Amen.