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Pamela7030
Moderator
800 Posts |
 Posted - 08/27/2008 : 10:35:35 PM
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August 27
"Look for a way in, not for a way out."
When I was new, I was constantly looking for a way out. I listened for the parts of your stories that didn't match up with mine, and knew you needed the program but that I didn't. When my sponsor suggested I go to a meeting a day, I knew my schedule and other commitments would never allow me to do that. When I saw the word 'God', I was finally convinced none of this was right for me.
The next time I saw my sponsor, I told him that the program worked for some people, but that it just wasn't going to work for me. He asked me how many days I had, and I told almost 30. He suggested that something was working for me, and said I might want to focus on that and start looking for a way in rather than a way out.
When I asked him how to do this, he said I might want to choose a home group and get a commitment there. He recommended I develop a regular meeting schedule and told me to share often so people would get to know me. He told me I should go out for fellowship, and that I should call other newcomers and ask them how they were doing. And it all worked.
After 12 years in recovery, I'm so grateful my sponsor showed me a way in, so that I didn't have to find the way out.
From the web site Wisdom of The Rooms
www.theWisdomoftheRooms.com
"Reach for the stars...You will at least end up among the clouds"
Share your experience, strength, and hope with another and see the miracles transform your life!
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 08/28/2008 : 07:40:36 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
August 28, 2008
Rewards
The rewards of sobriety are bountiful
and as progressive as the disease they counteract.
Certainly among these rewards for me are release from the prison of uniqueness,
and the realization that participation in the AA way of life is a blessing
and a privilege beyond estimate --
a blessing to live a life free from the pain and degradation of drinking
and filled with the joy of useful, sober living,
and a privilege to grow in sobriety one day at a time.
© 2001 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 451
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
I stood in the sunlight at last.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A Way Of Life.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 08/29/2008 : 11:52:20 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
August 29, 2008
Attitudes
One way to keep the channel open
and to improve my conscious contact with God is to maintain a grateful attitude.
On the days when I am grateful, good things seem to happen in my life.
The instant I start cursing things in my life, however, the flow of good stops.
God did not interrupt the flow; my own negativity did.
© 1990 AAWS, Daily Reflections, p. 319
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
We are in charge of our attitudes.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Attitude Adjustment.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 08/30/2008 : 09:26:55 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
August 30, 2008
A Lesson
I spent most of my life worrying about myself,
thinking that I was unwanted, that I was unloved.
I've learned since being in AA that the more I worry about me loving you,
and the less I worry about you loving me, the happier I'll be. . .
I have learned that the more I give, the more I will have;
the more I learn to give, the more I learn to live.
© 2003 AAWS, Experience, Strength and Hope, p. 218
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Heart Open; Please Enter.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2008 : 07:58:19 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
August 31, 2008
Ground Glass
The moral inventory is a cool examination of the damages
that occurred to us during life and a sincere effort to look at them
in a true perspective.
This has the effect of taking the ground glass out of us,
the emotional substance that still cuts and inhibits.
© 1967 AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 140
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
Trust God. Clean house. Help others.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2008 : 07:39:05 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
God's Will
Whatever problems confront me, large or small, they can be solved wisely.
Or they can be solved my way. The choice is mine.
If I want to know God's will, I must pause and ask,
"What would God have me do?"
I know -- though sometimes I forget -- that by myself my capabilities are nil.
I could not, now or ever, develop the most minute electron. . .
After all, when the world comes to an end some day,
it will do so without my permission.
© 1973 AAWS, Came To Believe . . ., pp. 60-1
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
The will of God will never take me where the grace of God will not protect me.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Good Orderly Direction.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Pamela7030
Moderator
800 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2008 : 11:55:50 AM
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September 1, 2008
"When you're going through hell, keep going!"
Before recovery, hell often seemed like a destination rather than a passing part of the overall journey. Whenever I found myself in an insufferable situation, I easily convinced myself that this was my new lot in life and that it would never get better. Rather than try to figure ways out of it, I often wallowed in self-pity and waited for things to get worse.
When I started working with my sponsor, I argued and debated and tried hard to convince him that I was different, and that I could never recover. After listening to me for weeks, he asked if I was willing to try a different way. "But it won't work" I whined. "Are you at least willing to try?" He repeated. When I finally said yes, my life began to change.
The freedom and recovery I have found through working the steps has shown me the way out of the hell I used to put myself through. Today I look for solutions to situations that used to baffle me, and I have learned through experience that "This, too, shall pass". Today I stay focused on the next indicated action and look for ways to move through times that seem unbearable.
Today I know that when I'm going through hell, it's important that I keep going!
From the web site Wisdom of The Rooms
www.theWisdomoftheRooms.com
"Reach for the stars...You will at least end up among the clouds"
Share your experience, strength, and hope with another and see the miracles transform your life!
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 09/02/2008 : 2:07:51 PM
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AA Thought for the Day
September 2, 2008
Turning Points
Every day I stand at turning points.
My thoughts and actions can propel me toward growth
or turn me down the road to old habits and to booze.
Sometimes turning points are beginnings, as when I decide to start praising,
instead of condemning someone.
At other times turning points are endings, such as when I see clearly the need
to stop festering resentments or crippling self-seeking.
© 1990 AAWS, Daily Reflections, p. 15
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
Into action, out of self.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Accountable Actions.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 09/03/2008 : 08:58:07 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
September 3, 2008
Membership
You are an AA member if you say so.
You can declare yourself in; nobody can keep you out.
No matter who you are, no matter how low you've gone,
no matter how grave your emotional complications -- even your crimes --
we still can't deny you AA. We don't want to keep you out. . .
We just want to be sure that you get the same great chance for sobriety
that we've had.
So you're an AA member the minute you declare yourself.
© 1953 AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 139
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
If you think you are an alcoholic, chances are you are.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
All Accepted.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2008 : 08:11:54 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
September 4, 2008
Opening New Doors
My Higher Power has always worked for me.
Again and again in times of trouble, He's opened new doors for me.
I have to remember to surrender, ask for help, and have faith.
Since the first day of my sobriety, I have had only blessed days,
helping-another-drunk days, and -- hardest of all for me --
allowing-another-drunk-to-help-me days.
The AA Grapevine, September 2008, Vol. 65, No. 4, p. 21
Thought to Ponder . . .
It works -- it really does.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Found Always In Trusting Him.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 09/05/2008 : 12:42:51 PM
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AA Thought for the Day
September 5, 2008
Anger
The hardest thing I had to deal with in sobriety was my own anger
and the violence I lived through in my childhood.
I had forgiven those involved as best I could, but the mind seems never to forget.
I had gratefully received years of outside help
because I was told that my drinking was only the symptom of deeper troubles.
Yet despite the help of many professionals, I know I would never have recovered
from violence and alcoholism without AA's Twelve Steps,
which are uniquely tailored for people like me.
© 2001 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 397
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
Forgiveness of others is a gift to yourself.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Any New Grudge Endangers Recovery.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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| Information in this forum is not monitored or provided by a medical professional. The information reflects member opinions only. Do not act on advice from these forums without first consulting a qualified medical professional. All content is copyrighted and protected by Aelius Group. |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2008 : 08:06:29 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
September 7, 2008
The Here-and-Now
The non drinking alcoholic discovers in AA that you cannot Get Ahead
until you learn to be Here.
We discover from our Serenity Prayer
that one of the things we cannot change is time.
The Here-and-Now is the only reality,
whereas in the unreal world of the drinking alcoholic
there was only yesterday-and-tomorrow.
The grace of sobriety lies in accepting the fact that the past is nonexistent,
and the future exists only in the present.
© 1973 AAWS, Came To Believe . . ., p. 112
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
When I live in the past, it costs me the present.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Stay In Today.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Pamela7030
Moderator
800 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2008 : 09:25:35 AM
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September 10, 2008
"God's rejection is God's protection."
Recently I had an opportunity that I was really excited about fall through unexpectedly. At first I was disappointed, then I grew angry, and then I began to examine my part. After determining, with the help of my sponsor, that my side of the street was clean, I began to feel like the Universe was against me and that I might never get what I wanted. And that's when I heard this quote.
This quote immediately reminded me that I had turned my will and my life over to the care of a God of my understanding, and that after I took the appropriate actions, the results were no longer up to me. Despite my expectations, or hopes or desires, I was reminded that turning it over meant accepting God's will for me, even if (and maybe especially if) things didn't turn out the way I thought they should.
This realization soon brought about a surrender. And for me, at this stage of my recovery, I generally find that what I am surrendering is my limited vision for one that is grander, more fulfilling and more appropriate for the person God intends for me to become. God always has a better idea for me than any I can think up for myself.
Today, I have real faith that God's rejection is God's protection.
From the web site Wisdom of The Rooms
www.theWisdomoftheRooms.com
"Reach for the stars...You will at least end up among the clouds"
Share your experience, strength, and hope with another and see the miracles transform your life!
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2008 : 2:55:40 PM
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AA Thought for the Day
September 10, 2008
Progress
On studying the Twelve Steps, many of us exclaimed,
"What an order! I can't go through with it."
Do not be discouraged.
No one among us has been able to maintain
anything like perfect adherence to these principles.
We are not saints.
The point is that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines.
The principles we have set down are guides to progress.
We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection.
© 1967 AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 167
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional,
growing spiritually is up to you.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 09/11/2008 : 09:55:29 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
September 11, 2008
Resentment
This business of resentment is infinitely grave. We found that it is fatal.
For when harboring such feelings we shut ourselves off
from the sunlight of the Spirit.
The insanity of alcohol returns and we drink again. And with us, to drink is to die.
If we were to live, we had to be free of anger.
The grouch and the brainstorm were not for us.
They may be the dubious luxury of normal men, but for alcoholics
these things are poison.
© 2001 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 66
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
I stood in the sunlight at last.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Avoid Anger.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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