AA Thoughts For Today - May

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AA Thought for the Day

May 19

Remarkable and Unexpected

Almost any experienced A.A. will tell how his affairs have taken remarkable and
unexpected turns for the better as he tried to improve his conscious contact with
God. He will also report that out of every season of grief or suffering, when the
hand of God seemed heavy or even unjust, new lessons for living were learned,
new resources of courage were uncovered, and that finally, inescapably, the
conviction came that God does "move in a mysterious way His wonders to perform."
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Eleven) pp. 104 - 105

Thought to Ponder . . .
Reliance on God enables me to match calamity with serenity.

AA-related 'Alconym'
P R A Y E R = Praying Regularly Aids Your Ever-growing Recovery.

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

Attitudes
"We find that our old attitudes toward our instincts
need to undergo drastic revisions.
Our desires for emotional security and wealth,
for personal prestige and power,
for romance, and for family satisfactions -
all these have to be tempered and redirected.
If we place instincts first,
we have got the cart before the horse;
we shall be pulled backward into disillusionment.
But when we are willing to place
spiritual growth first -
then and only then do we have a real chance."
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 114

Thought to Consider . . .
I have learned that my actions are far more important than my thoughts.

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

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

Open
From "A Vision for You":
"But life among Alcoholics Anonymous is more than attending gatherings and visiting hospitals. Cleaning up old
scrapes, helping to settle family differences, explaining the disinherited son to his irate parents, lending money and
securing jobs for each other, when justified these are everyday occurrences. No one is too discredited or has sunk too
low to be welcomed cordially if he means business. Social distinctions, petty rivalries and jealousies these are laughed
out of countenance. Being wrecked in the same vessel, being restored and united under one God, with hearts and
minds attuned to the welfare of others, the things which matter so much to some people no longer signify much to
them. How could they?"
2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 161

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

"Each day I feel myself growing in recovery. I can honestly say I'm happier now than ever before in my adult life."
Palmdale, Calif., July 1992
"An Unexpected Shot at Life,"
AA Grapevine

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

"But my friend sat before me, and he made the pointblank declaration
that God had done for him what he could not do for himself. His
human will had failed. Doctors had pronounced him incurable.
Society was about to lock him up. Like myself, he had admitted
complete defeat. Then he had, in effect, been raised from the dead,
suddenly taken from the scrap heap to a level of life better than
the best he had ever known!"
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, pg. 11~

3rd Step Prayer:
"God, I offer myself to Thee—to build with me and to do with
me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better
do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may
bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy
Way of life. May I do Thy will always!"
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 63~

So, practicing these Steps, we had a spiritual awakening about which finally there was no question.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 109

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Basis of All Humility
For just so long as we were convinced that we could live exclusively by our own individual strength and intelligence, for
just that long was a working faith in a Higher Power impossible.
This was true even when we believed that God existed. We could actually have earnest religious beliefs which
remained barren because we were still trying to play God ourselves. As long as we placed self-reliance first, a genuine
reliance upon a Higher Power was out of the question.
That basic ingredient of all humility, a desire to seek and do God's will, was missing. TWELVE AND TWELVE, P. 72

Prayer For The Day: Lord our God, we thank you that we have often felt you close to us. We thank you that you are near us and that you strengthen the weak. Remember us and give each one the help he needs to be true to his calling. Remember all mankind and grant that we may go forward in spirit and in truth. Give new light to the peoples who are still in great darkness. Let your kingdom and your reign be revealed and your name at last be honored by all. Amen.