AA Thoughts For Today - September

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AA Thought for the Day

September 3

Misuse of Willpower

All of the Twelve Steps require sustained and personal exertion to conform
to their principles and so, we trust, to God's will. It is when we try to make
our will conform with God's that we begin to use it rightly. To all of us, this
was a most wonderful revelation. Our whole trouble had been the misuse
of willpower. We had tried to bombard our problems with it instead
of attempting to bring it into agreement with God's intention for us.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Three) p. 40

Thought to Ponder . . .
Willpower ... our will-ingness to use a Higher Power.

AA-related 'Alconym'
W O W = Willingness Over Willpower.

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

Dry
"Sometimes, we become depressed.
I ought to know;
I have been a champion dry-bender case myself.
While the surface causes were a part of the picture -
trigger-events that precipitated depression -
the underlying causes, I am satisfied, ran much deeper.
Intellectually, I could accept my situation.
Emotionally, I could not.
To those problems, there are certainly no pat answers.
But part of the answer lies in the constant effort
to practice all of AA's Twelve Steps."
Bill W., Letter, 1954
1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 30

Thought to Consider . . .
The Twelve Steps are but suggestions,
as is pulling the rip cord on a parachute.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
D R Y = Doing Recovery Yourself

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

At Peace
From: "On the Move"
Like everyone else I have good days and bad days. Unlike my attitude while I was still drinking, however, I rarely dread
what is going to happen to me today. I have even had the chance to see my father come into A.A. We have been to
numerous A.A. conventions together and have shared more with each other in the past few years than we ever had
before. I think we are both at peace with our pasts and comfortable with the present.
2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 493

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

"AA's message promises healing and wholeness for any alcoholic who will pay the price. The price is simply to accept
the help that will save our lives."
Riverside, Illinois, August 1977
"Turning On the Power,"
Spiritual Awakenings

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

"Much to our relief, we discovered we did not need to consider
another's conception of God. Our own conception, however inadequate,
was sufficient to make the approach and to effect a contact with
Him. As soon as we admitted the possible existence of a Creative
Intelligence, a Spirit of the Universe underlying the totality of
things, we began to be possessed of a new sense of power and
direction, provided we took other simple steps."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 46~

Unless one's family expresses a desire to live upon spiritual
principles we think we ought not to urge them. We should not talk
incessantly to them about spiritual matters. They will change in
time. Our behavior will convince them more than our words. We must
remember that ten or twenty years of drunkenness would make a
skeptic out of anyone.
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 83~

"This we did because we honestly wanted to, and were willing to make the effort."
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 26

"Without a willing and persistent effort to do this, there can be little sobriety or contentment for us."
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 43

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

When men and women pour so much alcohol into themselves that they destroy their lives, they commit a most
unnatural act. Defying their instinctive desire for self-preservation, they seem bent upon self-destruction. They work
against their own deepest instinct. As they are progressively humbled by the terrific beating administered by alcohol,
the grace of God can enter them and expel their obsession. Here their powerful instinct to live can cooperate fully with
their Creator's desire to give them new life.
'The central characteristic of the spiritual experience is that it gives the recipient a new and better motivation out of all
proportion to any process of discipline, belief, or faith.
'These experiences cannot make us whole at once; they are a rebirth to a fresh and certain opportunity.

Prayer for the Day: A Beginner's Prayer - Lord, I want to love You, yet I am not sure. I want to trust You, yet I am afraid of being taken in. I know I need You, but I am ashamed of the need. I want to pray, but I am afraid of being a hypocrite. I need my independence, yet I fear to be alone. I want to belong, yet I must be myself. Take me, Lord, yet leave me alone. Lord, I believe; help me with my unbelief. O Lord, if You are there, You do understand, don’t You? Give me what I need, but leave me free to choose. Help me work it out my own way, but don’t let me go. Let me understand myself, but don’t let me despair. Come unto me, O Lord, I want You there. Lighten my darkness, but don’t dazzle me. Help me to see what I need to do, and give me strength to do it. O lord, I believe; help me with my unbelief.