AA Thoughts For Today - September

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AA Thought for the Day

September 9

Faith Without Works

Faith without works was dead, he said. And how appallingly true for the alcoholic!
For if an alcoholic failed to perfect and enlarge his spiritual life through work and
self-sacrifice for others, he could not survive the certain trials and low spots ahead.
If he did not work, he would surely drink again, and if he drank, he would surely die.
Then faith would be dead indeed. With us it is just like that.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Bill's Story) pp. 14 - 15

Thought to Ponder . . .
Spiritual progress isn't what gets us sober, it's what keeps us sober.

AA-related 'Alconym'
S O B E R = Spiritually On Beam; Everything's Right.

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

Delusion
"We learned that we had to fully concede
to our innermost selves that we were alcoholics.
This is the first step in recovery.
The delusion that we were like other people,
or presently may be, has to be smashed."
1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 17

Thought to Consider . . .
There is no such thing as being 'a little bit alcoholic.'

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
D E N I A L = Don't Even Notice I Am Lying

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

Condemn
Tradition Three: The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.
Why did A.A. finally drop all its membership regulations? Why did we leave it to each newcomer to decide himself
whether he was an alcoholic and whether he should join us? Why did we dare say, contrary to the experience of
society and government everywhere, that we would neither punish nor deprive any A.A. of membership, believe
anything, or conform to anything?
The answer, now seen in Tradition Three, was simplicity itself. At last experience taught us that to take away any
alcoholic's full chance was sometimes to pronounce his death sentence, and often to condemn him to endless
misery. Who dared to be judge, jury, and executioner of his own sick brother?
1981, AAWS, Inc., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 141

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

"When I'm willing to pay the price for top-shelf sobriety, 'action' is still the magic word."
Craig, Colo., January 1997
"Paying the Price for Improvement"
Emotional Sobriety II

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

"Life will take on new meaning. To watch people recover, to see them
help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up
about you, to have a host of friends, this is an experience you
must not miss."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 89~

Whether the family has spiritual convictions or not, they may do
well to examine the principles by which the alcoholic member is
trying to live. They can hardly fail to approve these simple
principles, though the head of the house still fails somewhat in
practicing them. Nothing will help the man who is off on a
spiritual tangent so much as the wife who adopts a sane spiritual program,
making a better practical use of it.
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 130~

"Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely."
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 58

"And as we grow spiritually, we find that our old attitudes toward our instincts need to undergo drastic revisions."
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 114

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Alcoholism was a lonely business, even though we were surrounded by people who loved us. But when our self-will
had driven everybody away and our isolation became complete, we commenced to play the big shot in cheap
barrooms. Failing even in this, we had to fare forth alone on the street to depend upon the charity of passers-by.
We were trying to find emotional security either by dominating or by being dependent upon others. Even when our
fortunes had not totally ebbed, we nevertheless found ourselves alone in the world. We still vainly tried to be secure by
some unhealthy sort of domination or dependence.
For those of us who were like that, A.A. has a very special meaning. In this Fellowship we begin to learn right relations
with people who understand us; we don't have to be alone any more.

Prayer for the Day: God, please forgive me for my failings today. I know that because of my failings, I was not able to be as effective as I could have been for you. Please forgive me and help me live thy will better today. I ask you now to show me how to correct the errors I have just outlined. Guide me and direct me. Please remove my arrogance and my fear. Show me how to make my relationships right and grant me the humility and strength to do thy will.