Thoughts For The Day~*~Balance ^*^*^ September 20
Transitions Daily
~A.A. Thoughts
For
The Day~
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Balance
"Most of us must admit that we have loved but a few;
that we have been indifferent to the many so long as none of them gave
us trouble; and as for the remainder -- well, we have really disliked or
hated them. Although these attitudes are common enough, we AA's find we
need something much better in order to keep our balance. We can't stand
it if we hate deeply. The idea that we can be possessively loving of a few,
and can continue to fear or hate anybody, has to
be abandoned, if only a little at a time."
c. 1952AAWS
Twelve Steps and
Twelve Traditions, pp. 92-3
Thought
to Consider . . .
Bigotry
disfigures the heart.
*~*AACRONYMS*~*
F A I T H = Facing All In Trusting
Him
"In September, 1939, the
Liberty [magazine] piece hit the newsstands. It was a bit lurid,
and we thought the title, 'Alcoholics and God,' would scare off plenty of
prospects. Maybe it did, but several hundred alcoholics and their families were
not scared. Liberty magazine received 800 urgent pleas for help, which
were promptly turned over to [office manager] Ruth and me [Bill W.]. She wrote
fine personal letters to every one of them, enclosing a leaflet which described
the A.A. book. The response was wonderful [sic] Several hundred books
sold at once at full retail price of $3.50. Even more importantly, we struck up
a correspondence with alcoholics, their friends, and their families all over the
country. Ruth could at last draw a few dollars a week for herself. And all those
moving appeals for assistance had made us forget our own troubles. Looking after
all those new people by mail and relating [sic] them in some cases to
each other and in others to the groups in Akron, New York, and Cleveland became
our chief occupation until early 1940. Shortly after the Liberty article
came out, Cleveland's Plain Dealer ran its great series of pieces,
as already described. This brought in new book orders and new problems by
scores. Alcoholics Anonymous was on the march, out of its infancy into
adolescence."
2001 AAWS Inc.
Alcoholics
Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 178
H.P. AS GUIDE
See to it that your relationship with Him is right, and great events will come to pass for you and countless others. This is the Great Fact for us.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 164
Having a right relationship with God seemed to be an impossible order. My chaotic past had left me filled with guilt and remorse and I wondered how this "God business" could work. A.A. told me that I must turn my will and my life over to the care of God, as I understand Him. With nowhere else to turn, I went down on my knees and cried, "God, I can't do this. Please help me!" It was when I admitted my powerlessness that a glimmer of light began to touch my soul, and then a willingness emerged to let God control my life. With Him as my guide, great events began to happen, and I found the beginning of sobriety.
Copyright 1990
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*
Fear and Faith
The achievement of freedom from fear is a lifetime undertaking, one that can never be wholly completed. When under heavy attack, acute illness, or in other conditions of serious insecurity, we shall all react to this emotion - well or badly, as the case may be. Only the self-deceived will claim perfect freedom from fear.
<<<>>>
We finally saw that faith in some kind of God was a part of our make-up. Sometimes we had to search persistently, but He was there. He was as much a fact as we were. We found the Great Reality deep down within us.
1. GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1962
2. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 55
*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*
"Yes, there is a substitute and it is vastly more than that. It is a fellowship in Alcoholics Anonymous. There you will find release from care, boredom and worry. Your imagination will be fired. Life will mean something at last. The most satisfactory years of your existence lie ahead."
Alcoholics Anonymous 4th Edition
A Vision For You, pg. 152
*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*
A.A. Thought for the Day
Step Four is, "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves." Step Five is, "Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs." Step Six is, "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character." Step Seven is, "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." Step Ten is, "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it." In taking a personal inventory, we have to be absolutely honest with ourselves and with other people. Have I taken an honest inventory of myself?
Meditation for the Day
God is good. You can often tell whether or not a thing is of God. If it is of God, it must be good. Honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love are all good, unselfish helpfulness is good, and these things all lead to the abundant life. Leave in God's hands the present and the future, knowing only that He is good. The hand that veils the future is the hand of God. He can bring order out of chaos, good out of evil, and peace out of turmoil. We can believe that everything really good comes from God and that He shares His goodness with us.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may reach out for the good. I pray that I may try to choose the best in life.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012
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