STEP TWO: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.



"’As psychiatrists have often observed, defiance is the outstanding characteristic of many an alcoholic.





"’When we encountered A.A., the fallacy of our defiance was revealed. At no time had we asked what God’s will was for us; instead we had been telling Him what it ought to be. No man, we saw, could believe in God and defy Him, too. Belief meant reliance, not defiance. In A.A. we saw the fruits of this belief: men and women spared from alcohol’s final catastrophe.’"



c. 1981, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 31





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AA Thought for the Day

(courtesy AAOnline.net)



January 6, 2010



Expectations



For so many years my life revolved solely around myself.

I was consumed by self in all forms -- self-centeredness,

self-pity, self-seeking, all of which stemmed from pride. . .

Until I could honestly look at myself

and see that I was the problem in many situations

and react appropriately inside and out;

until I could discard my expectations

and understand that my serenity was directly proportional to them,

I could not experience serenity and sound sobriety.

c. 1990 AAWS, Daily Reflections, p. 71

With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.



Thought to Ponder . . .



My disappointments are equal to my expectations.



AA-related ’Alconym’ . . .



G R A C E = Gently Releasing All Conscious Expectations.





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Today’s Meditation:

The way sometimes seems long and weary. So many people today are weary.

The weariness of others must often be shared by me. The weary and the

heavy-laden, when they come to me, should be helped to find the rest that I

have found. There is only one sure cure for world-weariness and that is

turning to spiritual things. In order to help bring about the turning of

the weary world to God, I must dare to suffer, dare to conquer selfishness

in myself, and dare to be filled with spiritual peace in the face of all the

weariness of the world.



Today’s Prayer:

I pray that I may be a help to discouraged people. I pray that I may have

the courage to help bring about what the weary world needs but does not know

how to get.



Today’s Quotable:

If worrying has solved your problem, you didn’t have a problem.





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Today’s Tool







Today’s tool is: who is my source? God

What is my primary purpose? To fit myself to be of maximum service to God and those around me (aka, stay sober and carry the message to other alcoholics)



P. 98 of the BB says:

"...we simply do not stop drinking so long as we place dependence upon other people ahead of dependence on God."



and in my life this goes for my happiness as well. Something that happens in my life sometimes is that i find myself irritated because someone just aint actin’ right. it gets me all bothered, and can ruin my day. i have had experiences lately where i find myself upset, only to find that what happened was that i let someone else’s actions dictate what kind of day i was going to have.







There are lots of things i can do about that, and one of them is for me to notice that what i do sometimes is wait for the world to make me happy. just like i waited for someone else to get me sober, to hand it to me. It wasn’t until i stepped up and asked for help, and said i was willing to do whatever my sponsor said to do, that i was able to find any lasting sobriety. And its not until i take responsibility for myself, and add a good helping of acceptance, that i can truly be happy regardless of outside circumstances or behaviors.







This is not to say that other peoples actions don’t bother me, because that’s just not true. I get to have and feel whatever it is that i have and feel. the difference today is that i can look at what i believe is "the truth," and choose (most of the time) what i act on. Its hard. and i pray about it a lot. but it does work, it really does.



I hope you all have a good Wednesday.

Peace,

Maggie





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STEP ONE: We admitted we were powerless over alcohol -- that our lives had become unmanageable.



"We know that little good can come to any alcoholic who joins A.A. unless he has first accepted his devastating weakness and all its consequences. Until he so humbles himself, his sobriety -- if any -- will be precarious."





c. 1981, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 21





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AA Thought for the Day

(courtesy AAOnline.net)



January 5, 2010



Happiness



Happiness happens when results

exceed expectations.

Maybe this is working after all.

Deep down, there is also a warm, small ball of faith,

always there, never dimmed, unexplainable,

asking nothing, but giving much.

To define it or try to bounce it

would distort or destroy it.

It just is, that’s all.

c. 1985 The AA Grapevine, Inc., The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 1], pp. 1878



Thought to Ponder . . .



I had to get sober to be amazed.



AA-related ’Alconym’ . . .



A A = Always Awesome.





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Today’s Meditation:

Refilling with the spirit is something you need every day. For this refilling with the spirit, you need these times of quiet communion, away, alone, without noise, without activity. You need this dwelling apart, this shutting yourself away in the very secret place of your being, away alone with your Maker. From these times of communion you came forth with new power. This refilling is the best preparation for effective work. When you are spiritually filled, there is no work too hard for you.







Today’s Prayer:

I pray that I may be daily refilled with the right spirit. I pray that I may be full of the joy of true living.







Today’s Quotable:

Every exit is an entrance somewhere else. Tom Stoppard





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Today’s Tool:







Today’s tool: have an attitude of gratitude



When I came to the rooms, I only had a vague idea of what the word gratitude meant and I certainly did not have much of it. The first time I was at a meeting where the chairperson said the discussion topic was gratitude, I thought “what a cheesy topic. I should just leave the meeting now”. But I stayed for the meeting. And by the end of it, I felt different. Listening to everyone share their gratitude for sobriety and the good stuff that comes with it, I started feeling gratitude for my sobriety and the good life it was giving me. Now I love gratitude meetings because they always connect me spiritually. Before I go to bed, I write down the good things that happened during the day. This reminds me that each day, I received a lot of gifts. I can even find some good things on days where real bad things are happening. For me, being grateful is a sign of spiritual health because I’m acknowledging that I have received gifts from outside myself, in other words from other people, from God.



David

From "Lighting the Way:"



"Someone once observed: ’He who carries a lantern on a dark road at night sees only one step ahead. When he takes that step, the lamp moves forward and another step is made plain. He finally reaches his destination in safety without once walking in darkness. All the way was lighted, but only a single step at a time. This is the method of God’s guidance.’"



c. AA Grapevine, February 2000, page 8









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AA Thought for the Day

(courtesy AAOnline.net)



January 7, 2010



Reality



Above all, we reject fantasizing and accept reality.

The more I drank, the more I fantasized everything.

I imagined getting even for hurts and rejections.

In my mind’s eye I played and replayed scenes in which

I was plucked magically from the bar where I stood nursing a drink

and was instantly exalted to some position of power and prestige.

I lived in a dream world.

AA led me gently from this fantasizing to embrace reality with open arms.

And I found it beautiful!

For, at last, I was at peace with myself. And with others.

And with God.

c. 2001 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 559

With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.



Thought to Ponder . . .



New ideals and new attitudes bring a new life.



AA-related ’Alconym’ . . .



S O B E R = Son Of A Basket, Everything’s Real.





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Today’s Meditation:

Faith is the bridge between you and God. It is the bridge which God has

ordained. If all were seen and known, there would be no merit in doing

right. Therefore God has ordained that we do not see or know directly. But

we can experience the power of His spirit through our faith. It is the

bridge between us and Him, which we take or not, as we will. There could be

no morality without free will. We must make the choice ourselves. We must

make the venture of belief.



Today’s Prayer:

I pray that I may choose and decide to cross the bridge of faith. I pray

that by crossing this bridge I may receive the spiritual power I need.



Today’s Quotable:

Argue for your limitations and sure enough, they’re yours! Richard Bach





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Today’s Tool:







Gratitude



God works in mysterious ways, when the new Tools schedule was made he

scheduled me to be the tool guy on the week on my three year AA birthday,

cool huh? I woke up this morning starting another one day, but today I get

to pick up a three year chip. Three years ago yesterday I had my last drink

and drug. For that I am grateful. I couldn’t have done it without AA and all

the tools y’all have taught me which I use on a daily basis. When I’m

feeling like s**t I can do a gratitude list and realize how good I really

have it.



The problem: feeling like the grass is greener on the other side, or that I

don’t have enough or that I should be further along in life

The solution: try and see how I should be grateful for what I have

The steps to the solution: meditate, pray about it then write out a

gratitude list of the things that are good in my life, all the things that I

have going for me and all the people that help me and are helped by me.



If I do this it is almost impossible to feel like I’m not good enough or

that what I have going for me isn’t enough. Thanks for letting me be the

tool guy this week it was a tremendous help.



Keith M.

Sobriety Date June 7th 1999



Please post your storys and issues to the group.

We keep this thread open for the AA program.



Remember

everyone KEEP COMING BACK IT WORKS

stay

Anonymous

"Little by little I can change my world-

not by escaping to a new one with the

same old me, but by making a new me

out of the old one." - One Day At A Time In AL-ANON





"With the help of my God, I shall leap over

the wall." - Book of Common Prayer

K. Leaping over it seems a much more peaceful

way of doing it is all.

You’re too funny, Ms. K2.



I was only thinking figuratively.

Leaping seems airy. Light like flying.



Of course there’s always TNT.

K. Constructive determination is good.

John 13



34"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Hi Steve,

Put your sword away for a second.

I wanted to wish you a happy new year and wish the best for you and yours.

OK.

Peace, Beads and On Guard !!!

Prairie Doc

I guess you forgot to ignore him then.