District 9

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - December 16, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

December 16, 2015

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A New Meaning
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.
We know you won't want to miss it.
Frequent contact with newcomers and with each other is the bright spot of our lives.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 89

Thought to Ponder . . .
I'm not alone anymore.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H O W = Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.

A Member Shares:
Hi family, I'm Joanna, an alcoholic. I never for a minute thought I could measure up. At that first meeting, everyone had clean hair and fingernails and even pressed clothes. I wasn't at all sure I belonged. People started hugging me, as smelly and awful as I was. Their eyes were shining with love. They were smiling and saying, "Keep coming back!" I couldn't believe it. I hadn't been hugged in years. They seemed genuinely interested in me; caring, even. After a few 24's, I began to realize that they had all been where I'd been, and they knew exactly how I was feeling. I broke down in tears. Here I was, loved by people I'd never met and yet, they knew me as well as I began to know them. By God's grace, it was at that very first meeting when I compared myself with others and began to find myself. And I haven't looked back since. AA saved my life -- and still does each day. By the way, today's date marks my 86th birthday as well as my 38th AA anniversary. It’s a double celebration. My heart overflows with gratitude. Thank God for AA -- He has blessed us each and every one. Thanks for letting me share.
To respond to the sharer, please email DTShare@aa-alive.org and it will be forwarded to them.
(All shares are reproduced with the kind permission of the person sharing)

Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope in carrying the AA message.
Blessings in sobriety to all,
In love and service,
joanna b
dailythought@aa-alive.org

For further information about AA-Alive, including:

Meeting Schedule
The Daily Thought Discussion Board
Service Opportunities
AA Birthday Signups
Helpful links and much more
Please go to our Website
http://aa-alive.net …
G.S.O. Registration Number: 712515

** Trademarks and Disclaimer: **
Alcoholics Anonymous, AA, and the Big Book are registered trademarks of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. The AA Daily Thought is neither endorsed by, approved by, associated nor affiliated with, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., or The AA Grapevine, Inc.
Disclaimer: The Daily Thought is meant for domestic distribution only and for countries where it is in public domain.

Monday, December 14, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - December 15, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

December 15, 2015

Staying Flexible
During active alcoholism, many of us led pretty disorganized lives,
and the confusion often made us feel unsettled or even desperate.
Learning not to drink is facilitated, we have discovered, by introducing some order into each day --
but being realistic and keeping our plan flexible.
The rhythm of our own special routine has a soothing effect, and an apt principle around which to organize some orderliness is
-- yes, "First Things First."
- Living Sober, p. 32

Thought to Ponder . . .
Flexible people do not get bent out of shape.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
O D A A T = One Day At A Time.

Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope in carrying the AA message.
Blessings in sobriety to all,
In love and service,
joanna b
dailythought@aa-alive.org

For further information about AA-Alive, including:

AA Thought for the Day - December 14, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

December 14, 2015

Rewards
Even the newest of newcomers finds undreamed rewards as he tries to help his brother alcoholic,
the one who is even blinder than he.
This is the kind of giving that actually demands nothing. He does not expect his brother to pay him, or even to love him.
And then he discovers that by the divine paradox of this kind of giving he has found his own reward,
whether his brother has yet received anything or not.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 109

Thought to Ponder . . .
In AA, we discover that it is impossible to give without receiving, or receive without giving.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
C A R E = Comforting And Reassuring Each other.

Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope in carrying the AA message.
Blessings in sobriety to all,
In love and service,
joanna b
dailythought@aa-alive.org

For further information about AA-Alive, including:

Meeting Schedule
The Daily Thought Discussion Board
Service Opportunities
AA Birthday Signups
Helpful links and much more
Please go to our Website
http://aa-alive.net …
G.S.O. Registration Number: 712515

** Trademarks and Disclaimer: **
Alcoholics Anonymous, AA, and the Big Book are registered trademarks of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. The AA Daily Thought is neither endorsed by, approved by, associated nor affiliated with, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., or The AA Grapevine, Inc.
Disclaimer: The Daily Thought is meant for domestic distribution only and for countries where it is in public domain.

Sunday, December 13, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - December 13, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

December 13, 2015

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All-inclusive
We found that God does not make too hard terms with those who seek Him.
To us, the Realm of the Spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive;
never exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek. It is open, we believe, to all men.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 46

Thought to Ponder . . .
Happiness and peace of mind are always here, open and free to anyone.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A = All Accepted.

A Member Shares:
I'm Dave, an alcoholic. I could spend all afternoon on this topic, but I'll spare you. I guess that what I have discovered on the bottom line in my own very hard-fought journey to find my own sense of a Higher Power is that I have found to be what the Big Book says is true. Grace is extended no matter what you believe as long as you remain willing to do the work and seek truth... truth being nothing more than reality if need be, which it is for me. I look for an honest way to live in an honest reality. That seems to me to be all that is required. Thanks.
To respond to the sharer, please email DTShare@aa-alive.org and it will be forwarded to them.
(All shares are reproduced with the kind permission of the person sharing)

Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope in carrying the AA message.
Blessings in sobriety to all,
In love and service,
joanna b
dailythought@aa-alive.org

For further information about AA-Alive, including:

Friday, December 11, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - December 12, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

December 12, 2015

Facing Challenges
I know now I have a lot of work to do. There are more amends to be made, letters to be sent, Twelfth Step work to do,
responsibilities to be assumed, and honest talks to be had with loved ones.
Life is meant to be lived by facing the challenges it brings. Otherwise, I'm not living, just existing.
God didn't give me this gift of sobriety to sit in a rocking chair,
imagining myself as some wise old woman who has arrived somewhere.
- The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 3], p. 320

Thought to Ponder . . .
There is no easier, softer way.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A = Always Alive.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - February 23, 2013

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

February 23, 2013

Easier, Softer Way

When I couldn't find an easier, softer way,
I looked for a person with the magic wand, the one person in AA
who could make me all better, right now. This was a frustrating task . . .
I finally realized that if I wanted this life,
I was going to have to do what the others had done.
No one made me drink, and no one was going to make me sober.
This program is for people who want it, not people who need it.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 315

Thought to Ponder . . .
While it isn't always easy, if I keep it simple, it works.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
S W A T = Surrender, Willingness, Action, Trust.

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - December 9, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

December 9, 2015

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Insanity
It is not surprising that our drinking careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts
to prove we could drink like other people.
The idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker.
The persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 30

Thought to Ponder . . .
The problem with alcoholism is that people die. And it's not always the alcoholic.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A = Absolute Abstinence.

A Member Shares:
Hello folks. Welcome to you if you are new or are coming back to AA. I'm Charlie J., and I still have Alcoholism. That statement maybe the only thing I get right today. For me it is the most important thing. I would just like to add that there are far worse things to live with than the thought of an Alcoholic death from drinking again. That is the real insanity of Alcoholism. I have witnessed many who have suffered in ways that they could not have foreseen before picking up the first drink, whether it was a resentment that sent them back to drinking or not. There were broken backs from falls down stairs, paralyzed from the neck down from a car wreck, burned up falling asleep with a lit cigarette, living with the fact of having caused the death of others in car wrecks, health destroyed. I could go on for a long time of the things I have seen others have to endure after drinking again. It is a fact that resentment is the number one offender. But it's the first drink that sets it all in motion. One other big problem with the insane thinking is, "I can recover any time I want to." Thank you.
To respond to the sharer, please email DTShare@aa-alive.org and it will be forwarded to them.
(All shares are reproduced with the kind permission of the person sharing)

For further information about AA-Alive, including: