Smokebriety and Sobriety

[katheen]

Well I went to the Dr. yesterday and he said that he is going to give me acuputure so it'll help me out a little more.

[jv_]

AA Thought for the Day
  (courtesy AAOnline.net))

  August 20, 2009

  Honesty
  Having trouble with the First Step? Relax.
  All the program asks is enough honesty to get started --
  just what we are capable of at the moment.
  At the beginning, that's very little honesty. Each day, there will be a little more.
  It will come. Because, you see, the AA program works for anyone who wants it.
  - The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 2], p. 34


  Thought to Ponder . . .

  Honesty isn't an event -- it's a process.


  AA-related 'Alconym' . . .

  H O W = Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.

[jv_]

AA Thought for the Day
  (courtesy AAOnline.net)

  August 21, 2009

  Resources
  The things I thought I needed for so many years no longer seem important,
  now that I have become aware of the spiritual resources God has given me.
  With these, I don't need alcohol to function.
  What a joy to stay sober on love instead of fear.
  - Came To Believe . . ., p. 35


  Thought to Ponder . . .

  The joy is in the journey, so enjoy the ride.


  AA-related 'Alconym' . . .

  A A = Always Aware.

[jv_]

AA Thought for the Day
  (courtesy AAOnline.net)

  August 22, 2009

  Guidance
  The Big Book guided me in resolving all my problems.
  It didn't happen overnight
  -- and certainly not automatically -- with no effort on my part.
  I need always to recognize God's mercy and blessings
  that shine through any problems I have to face.
  - Daily Reflections., p. 21


  Thought to Ponder . . .

  Walk softly and carry a Big Book.


  AA-related 'Alconym' . . .

  B I G B O O K = Believing In God Beats Our Old Knowledge.

[jv_]

AA Thought for the Day
  (courtesy AAOnline.net)

  ~ Scroll down for share ~

  August 23, 2009

  A Design for Living

  What seemed at first a flimsy reed, has proved to be the loving and powerful hand of God.
  A new life has been given us or, if you prefer,"a design for living" that really works.
  - Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 28

  Thought to Ponder . . .

  It works -- it really does.

  AA-related 'Alconym' . . .

  S T E P S = Solutions Through Each Positive Step.

  A Member Shares:
  I'm Mikey, just an alcoholic. AA is a design for living in the Steps. It has given me a solution to life's problems. I no longer have to be the victim I was when I was drinking. I used to blame everyone for my issues and problems, "It was all your fault. If this had not happened, if that had not happened." Fact is, I drank, and the reasons were just excuses. What AA has given me and us, if we use it, is solutions. That's the design for living. To live in today and let go of the crap from the past. To get well with what the Steps do for me if I work them, to not blame others for my problems any more, and for me not to be a victim. Wow! What a design! It should win an award with the Design Council! Mikey loves you all. God Bless!
  To respond to the sharer, please email DTShare@aaonline.net 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@verizon.net
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[jv_]

AA Thought for the Day
  (courtesy AAOnline.net)

  August 24, 2009

  The First One
  The first thing I learned that day was that if I never took another drink
  I would never have another problem with alcohol. . .
  I had never thought about the first drink.
  I had schemed and stolen drinks, but it was never the first one.
  And here I had a very simple problem -- one drink,
  and that's all I was able to understand.
  - Experience, Strength and Hope, p. 216


  Thought to Ponder . . .

  The first drink has the last say.


  AA-related 'Alconym' . . .

  A A = Absolute Abstinence.

[jv_]

AA Thought for the Day
  (courtesy AAOnline.net)

  August 25, 2009

  Making a List
  We can spend hours thinking of reasons we want or need or intend to take a drink.
  Or we can spend the same time listing reasons that drinking is not good for us
  and abstaining is more healthful,
  and listing things we can do instead of drinking.
  Each of us makes that choice in his or her own way.
  - Living Sober, p. 50


  Thought to Ponder . . .

  Just for today, I choose not to drink.


  AA-related 'Alconym' . . .

  J F T = Just For Today.

[jv_]

AA Thought for the Day
  (courtesy AAOnline.net)

  ~ Scroll down for share ~

  August 26, 2009

  Helping Others

  Life will take on new meaning. To watch people recover,
  to see a fellowship grow up about you,
  to have a host of friends -- this is an experience you must not miss.
  - Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 89

  Thought to Ponder . . .

  A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.

  AA-related 'Alconym' . . .

  H E L P = Hope, Encouragement, Love, Patience.

  A Member Shares:
  Mab here, alcoholic. Helping others has always returned to me threefold, when I have done so in the spirit of humility and within God's grace. I seldom found intellectualizing or logic to be of any help in relating to those newcomers who could hardly put two sentences together. I seldom discuss my religious foundations or training, or how many years I have, nor quote from the Big Book ... it is that old adage, "no one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care." However, AA is not therapy, nor is it friendship, nor is it counselling, nor coercion. If we read the Big Book and follow it, then that is the purest and kindest form of singleness of purpose. But when we speak with our heart, that is even better. I love that newcomer wherein I see myself, and the best thing I can do sometimes is just to hug them and let them know that they have found a safe haven, and that without minimizing their suffering, let them know that we have all walked that dark valley and are trudging up the mountain of life freely and happily. As a newcomer, the greatest, most healing, feeling for me came from the concerned gentle care of my sponsor. Long before I could hear WHAT she said, I heard how she said and DID it. From her, I learned that no matter who you are, you are loved as God's child. With loving care, kindness, and respect for self is the best way to help others . . . therein we help ourselves into joyful sobriety.

[jv_]

AA Thought for the Day
  (courtesy AAOnline.net)

  August 27, 2009

  A New Beginning
  I knew I had to have a new beginning, and this beginning had to be here.
  I could not start anywhere else. I had to let go of the past and forget the future.
  As long as I held on to the past with one hand
  and grabbed at the future with the other hand,
  I had nothing to hold on to today with. So I had to begin here, now.
  - Came To Believe . . ., p. 46


  Thought to Ponder . . .

  If I have the courage to begin, I have the courage to succeed.


  AA-related 'Alconym' . . .

  O D A A T = One Day At A Time.

[jv_]

AA Thought for the Day
  (courtesy AAOnline.net)

  August 28, 2009

  Faith

  Today faith is as natural to me, a former agnostic,
  as breathing, eating and sleeping.
  The Twelve Steps have helped to change my life in many ways,
  but none is more effective
  than the acquisition of a Higher Power.
  - Daily Reflections, p. 194


  Thought to Ponder . . .

  Faith dares the soul to go beyond what the eyes can see.


  AA-related 'Alconym' . . .

  F A I T H = Finding Answers In The Heart.

[jv_]

AA Thought for the Day
  (courtesy AAOnline.net)

  August 29, 2009

  Paradox #1
  We SURRENDER TO WIN.
  On the face of it, surrendering does not seem like winning. . .
  Only after we have come to the end of our rope,
  hit a stone wall in some aspect of our lives beyond which we can go no further;
  only when we hit "bottom" in despair and surrender,
  can we accomplish sobriety, which we could never accomplish before.
  We must, and we do, surrender in order to win.
  - Experience, Strength and Hope, pp. 155-56


  Thought to Ponder . . .
  We surrender to win; we give away to keep;
  we suffer to get well; we die to live.


  AA-related 'Alconym' . . .

  K I S S = Keep It Simple, Surrender.