Thoughts For The Day~*~Responsibility^*^*^ August 2

[Transitions Daily]

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Responsibility
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"Our spiritual way of life is safe for future generations if, as a Society, we resist the temptation to receive money from the outside world. But this leaves us with a responsibility - one that every member ought to understand. We cannot skimp when the treasurer of our group passes the hat. Our groups, our areas, and AA as a whole will not function unless our services are sufficient and their bills are paid. When we meet and defeat the temptation to take large gifts, we are only being prudent. But when we are generous with the hat we give a token that we are grateful for our blessings and evidence that we are eager to share what we have found with all those who still suffer."
Bill W., November 1957
1988AAGrapevine, The Language of the Heart, p. 221
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Thought to Consider . . .

The manner of giving is worth more than the gift.

*~*AACRONYMS*~*

H O P E  =  Happy Our Program Exists

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

Name

From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":

"The Akron and New York groups had been voting for months on possible titles [for the Big Book]. This had become an after-the-meeting form of amusement and interest. The title 'Alcoholics Anonymous' had appeared very early in the discussion, probably in October, 1938. We do not know who first used these words. After we New Yorkers had left the Oxford Groups in 1937 we often described ourselves as a 'nameless bunch of alcoholics.' From this phrase it was only a step to the idea of 'Alcoholics Anonymous.' This was its actual derivation."
2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 165

*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*

WE BECOME WILLING. . .

At the moment we are trying to put our lives in order. But this is not an end in itself.                        
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 77

How easily I can become misdirected in approaching the Eighth Step!  I wish to be free, somehow transformed by my Sixth and Seventh Step work.  Now, more than ever, I am vulnerable to my own self-interest and hidden agenda.  I am careful to remember that self-satisfaction, which sometimes comes through the spoken forgiveness of those I have harmed, is not my true objective.  I become willing to make amends, knowing that through this process I am mended and made fit to move forward, to know and desire God's will for me.
Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*

Only Try

In my teens, I had to be an athlete because I was not an athlete. I had to be a musician because I could not carry a tune. I had to be the president of my class in boarding school. I had to be first in everything because m my perverse heart I felt myself the least of God's creatures. I could not accept my deep sense of inferiority, and so I strove to become captain of the baseball team, and I did learn to play the fiddle. Lead I must -- or else. This was the "all or nothing" kind of demand that later did me in.
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"I'm glad you are going to try that new job. But make sure that you are only going to 'try.' If you approach the project in the attitude that 'I must succeed, I must not fail, I cannot fail,' then you practically guarantee the flop which in turn will guarantee a drinking relapse. But if you look at the venture as a constructive experiment only, then all should go well."
1. A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 53 - 2. LETTER, 1958

*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*

"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~

*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*

A.A. Thought for the Day

Alcoholics Anonymous has no quarrel with medicine, psychiatry, or religion. We have great respect for the methods of each.  And we are glad for any success they may have had with alcoholics. We are desirous always of cooperating with them in every way. The more doctors, the more psychiatrists, the more clergy and rabbis we can get to work with us, the better we like it. We have many who take a real interest in our program and we would like many more. Am I ready to cooperate with those who take a sincere interest in A.A.?

Meditation for the Day

God is always ready to pour His blessings into our hearts in generous measure. But like the seed-sowing, the ground must be prepared before the seed is dropped in. It is our task to prepare the soil. It is God's to drop the seed. This preparation of the soil means many days of right living, choosing the right and avoiding the wrong. As you go along, each day you are better prepared for God's planting, until you reach the time of harvest. Then you share the harvest with God -- the harvest of a useful and more abundant life.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that my way of living may be properly prepared day by day. I pray that I may strive to make myself ready for the harvest which God has planted in my heart.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012