Your Daily Reprieve 08.31.18

Your Daily Reprieve for Friday August 31, 2018

From Waynesville, NC

"Limit your 'always' and your 'nevers.'"
– Amy Poehler

"Man only likes to count his troubles;

he doesn’t calculate his happiness."
– Fyodor Dostoyevsky

"The most difficult times for many of us

are the ones we give ourselves."
~Pema Chödrön

"The only way I ever found to displace a thought

was to put another thought in its stead."

~Grapevine: Alexandria, Virginia, August 1950

Loving God is not a religion,

it's a relationship.

~Unknown

Big Book Quote

"I was to test my thinking by the new God-consciousness within.
Common sense would thus become uncommon sense. I was to sit quietly when in doubt, asking only for direction and strength to meet my problems as He would have me. Never was I to pray for myself, except as my requests bore on my usefulness to others. Then only might I expect to receive. But that would be in great measure."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, Page 13

Daily Share!

AA Speaker of the Day

MEL T.
Big Book Step Study

Session 1

Gulfcoast Group

Stuart, FL

08.09.2018

https://bit.ly/2Ml5q9G

Wee Willie’s

Sobriety First Media

AA CD’s Literature and tapes

https://www.mediafire.com/sobrietyfirst

Celebrate Your Anniversary Here

SHOW NEWCOMERS HOW IT WORKS!!

Send your sober date to txm1@comcast.net

SOBER DATE	YOUR NAME	YOUR LOCATION	YEARS SOBER
6/10 (mo/day)	Bob S	Akron, OH	83

It will look like this :

6/10 Bob S. (Akron, OH).....83

AUGUST 2018 Anniversaries

8/1 Bill H. (Wells, ME/Melbourne, F).....9

8/1 Phil A. (Long Island, NY).....8

8/1 Chrissy D. (Bernardsville, NJ).....29

8/2 Garry K. (Kelowna, BC).....49

8/2 Melissa S. (Long Island, NY).....3

8/3 Dan S. (Glen Rock, NJ).....3

8/3 Rosemary B. (Bernardsville, NJ).....30

8/4 Dan M. (Nantucket/Woodstock, CT).....16

8/4 Paul B. Sr. (NY, NY).....12

8/4 Bob M. (NY, NY).....30

8/4 Christine K. (Charlotte, NC).....8

8/5 Andre de (Bracknell, UK).....16

8/5 Linda D. (Newbury Park, CA).....6

8/5 Johnny P. (Nashville, TN).....6

8/5 Mary OO (Mountain Brook, AL).....38

8/6 Jason J. (Maggie Valley, NC).....6

8/6 Christina W. (Boston, MA).....7

8/6 William L. ().....14

8/7 Nancy H. (Stratham, NH).....31

8/7 John D. (Natick, MA).....10

8/7 James A. ().....1

8/8 Chris G. (Heathrow, FL).....14

8/8 Leslie N. (Rumson, NJ).....30

8/8 David T. (Newmarket, NH).....36

8/8 Louise M. (Wareham/Nantucket, MA).....8

8/10 Doug W. (Houston, TX).....7

8/11 Jeremy F. (NYC,NY).....22

8/11 Jeff B. (Ft. Pierce, FL).....11

8/12 Cathy S. (Wilmington, NC).....20

8/12 Chip D. (Nantucket, MA).....13

8/13 Tom O’C. (Sunny Isles Beach, FL).....33

8/13 Gerry S. (Basking Ridge, NJ).....13

8/13 Matt K. (Westboro, MA).....29

8/13 Lynn H. ().....28

8/14 Dottie Lou W. (St Simon’s Island, GA).....33

8/14 Spence B. (Gambier, OH).....24

8/14 Tim D. (Newburyport, MA).....25

8/15 Tracey F. (Amenia, NY).....9

8/15 Mark C. (Mineola, NY).....27

8/15 Siobhan M. (NYC, NY).....19

8/15 Ann W. (Darien, CT).....33

8/15 Michael C. (Sarasota, FL).....30

8/15 Steve S. (New York, NY).....5

8/16 Charlotte C. (New York, NY).....9

8/16 Tracy N. (Stuart, FL).....12

8/16 Madeline V. (Bozeman, MT).....31

8/16 Rachel F. (Brooklyn, NY).....3

8/16 Dan W. (New York, NY).....3

8/17 Charlie K. (Bay Village, OH).....20

8/17 Brien W. (Portsmouth, RI).....21

8/17 Sher R. (Long Beach., WA ).....39

8/18 Carolyn D. (Palm City, FL).....5

8/18 Susan O. (Fort Lauderdale, FL).....12

8/18 Sue R. (Eureka, CA).....24

8/18 Melissa K. (New York, NY).....11

8/19 Carol B. (Nantucket, MA).....10

8/19 Marc C. (Stamford, CT).....33

8/20 Brad R. (Kissimmee, FL).....2

8/20 Yogi F. (Lake City, CO).....35

8/20 Joey P. (Summit, NJ).....9

8/20 Bill W. (Sarasota, FL).....26

8/20 Larry B. (Kansas City, KS).....17

8/20 Jamie R. (Nantucket, MA).....1

8/21 Ariel H. (Jerusalem).....2

8/21 Tony L. (Mahwah, NJ).....3

8/21 Todd R. (Brooklyn, NY).....12

8/21 Cheryl N. (Leucadia, CA).....6

8/22 Mike T. (New York, NY).....32

8/22 Michael B. ().....2

8/23 Vickie P. (Waynesville, NC).....2

8/23 John B. (North Port FL).....26

8/23 Tom S. (Murrell’s Inlet, SC ).....28

8/24 Claire S. (Garnerville, NY).....31

8/25 Matthew B. (NYC).....11

8/25 Phillipp C. (Vienna, Austria).....1

8/26 Mike C. (Columbus, OH).....20

8/26 Jane R. (Green Brook, NJ).....34

8/26 Paul M. (Charlestown, MA).....2

8/26 Dow S. (St. Augustine, FL).....29

8/26 Ulla A. (Bielefeld, Germany).....37

8/27 Stuart W. (Old Tappan, NJ).....17

8/27 Greg R. (New York, NY).....11

8/27 Steve R. Dummerston, VT).....37

8/27 JC V. (Houston, TX).....3

8/27 Mark J. (New York, NY).....6

8/28 Rockie C. (Stella, NC).....24

8/28 Greg H. (Huntington, WV).....1

8/29 Hannah T. (Berkhamstead, UK).....1

8/29 Lynn H. (San Diego, CA).....4

8/29 Mary O. (Maynard, MA).....6

8/30 Chris B. (Sandwich, NH).....26

8/30 Britt F. (McKinney, TX).....13

8/30 Jeff G. (Warren, NJ).....5

8/30 Kris L. (Marblehead, MA).....29

8/31 Sarah M. (Hollywood Hills, CA).....10

8/31 Paul C. (NY, NY).....15

1597 Total Years of Sobriety

12&12

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. Of real happiness he will find none at all. Proved beyond doubt by an immense experience, this is one of the facts of A.A. life. The principle that we shall find no enduring strength until we first admit complete defeat is the main taproot from which our whole Society has sprung and flowered.

pp. 21-22

Twenty-Four Hours

A.A. Thought For The Day

"Call on new prospects while they are still jittery. They may be
more receptive when depressed. See them alone if possible. Tell
them enough about your drinking habits and experiences to
encourage them to speak of themselves. If they wish to talk, let
them do so. If they are not communicative, talk about the troubles
liquor has caused you, being careful not to moralize or lecture.
When they see you know all about the drinking game, commence to
describe yourself as an alcoholic and tell them how you learned
you were sick." Am I ready to talk about myself to new prospects?

Meditation For The Day

Try not to give way to criticism, blame, scorn, or judgment of
others, when you are trying to help them. Effectiveness in helping
others depends on controlling yourself. You may be swept away by
a temporary natural urge to criticize or blame, unless you keep a
tight rein on your emotions. You should have a firm foundation of
spiritual living which makes you truly humble, if you are going to
really help other people. Go easy on them and be hard on yourself.
That is the way you can be used most to uplift a despairing spirit.
And seek no personal recognition for what you are used by God to
accomplish.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may try to avoid judgment and criticism. I pray that I
may always try to build up others instead of tearing them down.

Daily Thought

^*^*^*^*^

(\ ~~ /)

( \(AA)/ )

(_ /AA\ _)

/ AA \

^*^*^*^*^

Defiance

"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."
1952 AAWS
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 31

Thought to Consider . . .

God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.

*~*AACRONYMS*~*

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

Daily Reflection

A UNIQUE PROGRAM

Alcoholics Anonymous will never have a professional class.

We have gained some understanding of the ancient words

"Freely ye have received, freely give." We have discovered

that at the point of professionalism, money and spirituality

do not mix.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 166

I believe that Alcoholics Anonymous stands alone in the

treatment of alcoholism because it is based solely on the

principle of one alcoholic sharing with another alcoholic.

This is what makes the program unique. When I decided

that I wanted to stay sober, I called a woman who I knew

was a sober member of A.A., and she carried the message

of Alcoholics Anonymous to me. She received no monetary

compensation, but rather was paid by staying sober another

day herself. Today I could ask for no payment other than

another day free from alcohol, so in that respect, I am

generously paid for my labor.

Pot Luck

Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. --Joseph Addison

Having someone to bestow our love on - a child, friend, or lover, perhaps a pet - will provide us with a time each day for intimacy, a time for sharing affection, a time, which assures us our presence is counted on.

But having someone to love is not all we need for happiness. We must have dreams for the future, reasons for getting out of bed in the present, and the well-earned glow that accompanies past achievements. Dreams lose their glamour if that's all we have. If the reasons for rising don't excite us any longer, or the achievements ring hollow, we'll not come to know the happiness for which we've been created.

Happiness is our birthright so long as we live fully and love truly.

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