Twenty-Four Hours A Day - March

**yukonm** · 02-28-2010, 06:48 PM

Twenty-Four Hours A Day
March 1

A.A. Thought For The Day

When I find myself thinking about taking a drink, I say to myself.
"Don't reach out and take that problem back. You've given it to God
and there's nothing you can do about it." So I forget about the
drink. One of the most important parts of the A.A. program is to give
our drink problem to God honestly and fully and never to reach out
and take the problem back to ourselves. If we let God have it and
keep it for good and then cooperate with Him, we'll stay sober. Have
I determined not to take the drink problem back to myself?

Meditation For The Day

Constant effort is necessary if I am to grow spiritually and develop
my spiritual life. I must keep the spiritual rules persistently,
perseveringly, lovingly, patiently, and hopefully. By keeping them, every
mountain of difficulty shall be laid low, the rough places of poverty of
spirit shall be made smooth, and all who know me shall know that God is
the Lord of all my ways. To get close to the spirit of God is to find
life and healing and strength.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that God's spirit may be everything to my soul. I pray that
God's spirit may grow within me.

**yukonm** · 03-02-2010, 04:26 AM

Twenty-Four Hours A Day
March 2

A.A. Thought For The Day

Over a period of drinking years, we've proved to ourselves and to
everybody else that we can't stop drinking by our own willpower. We
have been proved helpless before the power of alcohol. So the only
way we could stop drinking was by turning to a Power greater than
ourselves. We call that Power God. The time that you really get this
program is when you get down on your knees and surrender yourself
to God, as you understand Him. Surrender means putting your life
into God's hands. Have I made a promise to God that I will try to live
the way He wants me to live?

Meditation For The Day

Spirit-power comes from communication with God in prayer and
times of quiet meditation. I must constantly seek
spirit-communicatio n with God. This is a matter directly between me
and God. Those who seek it through the medium of the church do not
always get the joy and the wonder of spirit communication with God.
>From this communication comes life, joy, peace, and healing. Many
people do not realize the power that can come to them from direct
spirit-communicatio n.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may feel that God's power is mine. I pray that I may be
able to face anything through that power.

**yukonm** · 03-03-2010, 05:43 AM

Twenty-Four Hours A Day
March 3

A.A. Thought For The Day

After we've made a surrender, the drink problem is out
of our hands and in the hands of God. The thing we have
to do is to be sure that we never reach out and take the
problem back into our own hands. Leave it in God's hands.
Whenever I'm tempted to take a drink, I must say to
myself: "I can't do that. I've made a bargain with God not
to drink. I know God doesn't want me to drink and so I
won't do it." At the same time I say a little prayer to
God for the strength needed to keep the bargain with Him.
Am I going to keep my bargain with God?

Meditation For The Day

I will try to grow in this new life. I will think of
spiritual things often and unconsciously I will grow. The
nearer I get to the new life, the more I will see my
unfitness. My sense of failure is a sure sign that I am
growing in the new life. It is only struggle that hurts.
In sloth--physical, mental or spiritual--there is no sense
of failure or discomfort. But with struggle and effort, I
am conscious not of strength but of weakness, until I am
really living the new life. But in the struggle, I can
always rely on the power of God to help me.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may see signs of my growth in the new life.
I pray that I may always keep trying to grow.

**yukonm** · 03-04-2010, 06:50 AM

Twenty-Four Hours A Day
March 4

A.A. Thought For The Day

Having surrendered our lives to God and put our drink
problem in His Hands doesn't mean that we'll never be
tempted to drink. So we must build up strength for the
time when temptation will come. In this quiet time, we
read and pray and get our minds in the right mood for
the day. Starting the day right is a great help in keeping
sober. As the days go by and we get used to the sober
life, it gets easier and easier. We begin to develop a
deep gratitude to God for saving us from that old life.
And we begin to enjoy peace and serenity and real quiet
happiness. Am I trying to live the way God wants me to live?

Meditation For The Day

The elimination of selfishness is the key to happiness
and can only be accomplished with God's help. We start
out with a spark of the Divine Spirit but a large amount
of selfishness. As we grow and come in contact with other
people, we can take one of two paths. We can become more
and more selfish and practically extinguish the Divine
Spark within us or we can become more unselfish and develop
our spirituality until it becomes the most important thing
in our lives.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may grow more and more unselfish, honest, pure
and loving. I pray that I may take the right path every day.

**yukonm** · 03-05-2010, 05:23 AM

Twenty-Four Hours A Day
March 5

A.A. Thought For The Day

Sometimes we try too hard to get this program. It is better to relax
and accept it. It will be given to us, with no effort on our part, if we
stop trying too hard to get it. Sobriety can be a free gift of God,
which he gives us by His grace when He knows we are ready for it.
But we have to be ready. Then we must relax, take it easy, and
accept the gift with gratitude and humility. We must put ourselves in
God's hands. We must say to God: "Here I am and here are all my
troubles. I've made a mess of things and can't do anything about it.
You take me and all my troubles and do anything you want with me."
Do I believe that the grace of God can do for me what I could never
do for myself?

Meditation For The Day

Fear is the curse of the world. Many are our fears. Fear is
everywhere. I must fight fear as I would a plague. I must turn it out
of my life. There is no room for fear in the heart in which God
dwells. Fear cannot exist where true love is or where faith abides.
So I must have no fear. Fear is evil, but "perfect love casteth out all
fear." Fear destroys hope and hope is necessary for all of humanity.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may have no fear. I pray that I may cast all fear out of
my life.

**yukonm** · 03-05-2010, 09:19 PM

Twenty-Four Hours A Day
March 6

A.A. Thought For The Day

In A.A., we must surrender, give up, admit that we're
helpless. We surrender our lives to God and ask Him for
help. When He knows that we're ready, He gives us
by His grace the free gift of sobriety. And we can't take
any credit for having stopped drinking, because we didn't
do it by our own willpower. There's no place for pride or
boasting. We can only be grateful to God for doing for us
what we could never do for ourselves. Do I believe that
God has made me a free gift of the strength to stay sober?

Meditation For The Day

I must work for God, with God and through God's help. By
doing all I can to bring about a true fellowship of human beings,
I am working for God. I am also working with God, because
this is the way God works, and He is with me when I am
doing such work. I cannot do good work, however, without
God's help. In the final analysis, it is through the
grace of God that any real change in human personality
takes place. I have to rely on God's power and anything
I accomplish is through His help.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may work for God and with God. I pray that
I may be used to change human personalities through
God's help.

**yukonm** · 03-07-2010, 06:36 AM

Twenty-Four Hours A Day
March 7

A.A. Thought For The Day

There are two important things we have to do if we want
to get sober and stay sober. First, having admitted that
we are helpless before alcohol, we have to turn our
alcoholic problem over to God and trust Him to take care
of it for us. This means asking Him every morning for the
strength to stay sober for that day and thanking Him
every night. It means really leaving the problem in God's
hands and not reaching out and getting the problem back
to ourselves. Second, having given our drink problem to
God, we must cooperate with Him by doing something about
it ourselves. Am I doing these two things?

Meditation For The Day

I must prepare myself by doing each day what I can to
develop spiritually and to help others to do so. God tests
me and trains me and bends me to His will. If I am not
properly trained, I cannot meet the test when it comes. I
must want God's will for me above all else. I must expect
to have what I am not prepared for. This preparation
consists of quiet communion with God every day and
gradually gaining the strength I need.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may really try to do God's will in all my
affairs. I pray that I may do all I can to help others
find God's will for them.

**yukonm** · 03-08-2010, 05:47 AM

Twenty-Four Hours A Day
March 8

A.A. Thought For The Day

We must go to A.A. meetings regularly. We must learn to think
differently. We must change from alcoholic thinking to sober
thinking. We must reeducate our minds. We must try to help other
alcoholics. We must cooperate with God by spending at least as much
time and energy on the A.A. program as we did on drinking. We must
follow the A.A. program to the best of our ability. Have I turned my
alcoholic problem over to God and am I cooperating with Him?

Meditation For The Day

The joy of true fellowship shall be mine in full measure. I will revel in
the joy of real fellowship. There will come back a wonderful joy, if I
share in fellowship now. Fellowship among spiritually minded people
is the embodiment of God's purpose for this world. To realize this will
bring me a new life-joy. If I share in humanity's joy and travail, a
great blessing will be mine. I can truly live a life not of earth, but a
heaven-life here and now.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be helped and healed by true spiritual fellowship. I
pray that I may sense His presence in spiritual fellowship with His
children.

**yukonm** · 03-09-2010, 06:13 AM

Twenty-Four Hours A Day
March 9

A.A. Thought For The Day

If we had absolute faith in the power of God to keep us
from drinking and if we turned our drink problem entirely
over to God without reservations, we wouldn't have to do
anything more about it. We'd be free from drink once and
for all. But since our faith is apt to be weak, we have
to strengthen and build up this faith. We do this in
several ways. One way is by going to meetings and
listening to others tell how they have found all the
strength they need to overcome drink. Is my faith being
strengthened by this personal witness of other alcoholics?

Meditation For The Day

It is the quality of my life that determines its value.
In order to judge the value of a man's life, we must set
up a standard. The most valuable life is one of honesty,
purity, unselfishness, and love. All men's lives must be
judged by this standard in order to determine their value
to the world. By this standard, most of the so-called
heroes of history were not great men. "What shall it profit
a man if he gain the whole world, if he loseth his own
soul?"

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be honest, pure, unselfish and loving.
I pray that I may make the quality of my life good by
these standards.

**yukonm** · 03-10-2010, 06:02 AM

Twenty-Four Hours A Day
March 10

A.A. Thought For The Day

We also strengthen our faith by working with other
alcoholics and finding that we can do nothing ourselves
to help them, except to tell them our own story of how
we found the way out. If the person is helped, it's by
the grace of God and not by what we do or say. Our own
faith is strengthened when we see another alcoholic find
sobriety by turning to God. And finally we strengthen our
faith by having quiet times every morning. Do I ask God
in this quiet time for the strength to stay sober this day?

Meditation For The Day

My five senses are my means of communication with the
material world. They are the links between my physical
life and the material manifestations around me. But I
must sever all connections with the material world when
I wish to hold communion with the Great Spirit of the
universe. I have to hush my mind and bid all my senses
be still, before I can become attuned to receive the
music of the heavenly spheres.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may get my spirit in tune with the Spirit
of the universe. I pray that through faith and communion
with Him I may receive the strength I need.

**yukonm** · 03-11-2010, 06:32 AM

Twenty-Four Hours A Day
March 11

A.A. Thought For The Day

By having quiet times each morning, we come to depend on
God's help during the day, especially if we should be
tempted to take a drink. And we can honestly thank Him
each night for the strength He has given us. So our faith
is strengthened by these quiet times of prayer. By
listening to other members, by working with other
alcoholics, by times of quiet meditation, our faith in
God gradually becomes strong. Have I turned my drink
problem entirely over to God, without reservations?

Meditation For The Day

It seems as though, when God wants to express to men what
He is like, He makes a very beautiful character. Think of
a personality as God's expression of character attributes.
Be as fit an expression of Godlike character as you can.
When the beauty of a person's character is impressed upon us,
it leaves an image which in turn reflects through our own
actions. So look for beauty of character in those around
you.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may look at great beauty of souls until their
beauty of character becomes a part of my soul. I pray that I
may reflect this character in my own life.

**yukonm** · 03-12-2010, 06:29 AM

Twenty-Four Hours A Day
March 12

A.A. Thought For The Day

The Prodigal Son "took his journey into a far country
and wasted his substance on riotous living." That's what
we alcoholics do. We waste our substance with riotous
living. "When he came to himself, he said: I will arise
and go to my father." That's what an alcoholic does in
A.A. He comes to himself. His alcoholic self is not his
real self. His sane, sober, respectable self is his real
self. That's why we're so happy in A.A. Have I come to
myself?

Meditation For The Day

Simplicity is the keynote of a good life. Choose the
simple things always. Life can become complicated if you
let it be so. You can be swamped by difficulties if you
let them take up too much of your time. Every difficulty
can be either solved or ignored and something better
substituted for it. Love the humble things of life.
Reverence the simple things. Your standard must never
be the world's standard of wealth and power.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may love the simple things of life.
I pray that I may keep my life uncomplicated and free.

**yukonm** · 03-13-2010, 06:23 AM

Twenty-Four Hours A Day
March 13

A.A. Thought For The Day

We've got rid of our false, drinking selves and found our
real, sober selves. And we turn to God, our Father, for
help, just as the Prodigal Son arose and went to his
father. At the end of the story, the father of the
Prodigal Son says: "He was dead and is alive again, he
was lost and he is found." We alcoholics who have found
sobriety in A.A. were certainly dead and are alive again.
We were lost and are found. Am I alive again?

Meditation For The Day

Gently breathe in God's spirit, that spirit which, if not
barred out of selfishness, will enable you to do good works.
This means rather that God will be enabled to do good works
through you. You can become a channel for God's spirit to
flow through you and into the lives of others. The works
that you can do will only be limited by your spiritual
development. Let your spirit be in harmony with God's spirit
and there is no limit to what you can do in the realm of
human relationships.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may become a channel for God's spirit.
I pray that God's spirit may flow through me and into the
lives of others.

**yukonm** · 03-14-2010, 06:27 AM

Twenty-Four Hours A Day
March 14

A.A. Thought For The Day

Can I get well? If I mean: "Can I ever drink normally
again," the answer is no. But if I mean, "Can I stay sober?"
the answer is definitely yes. I can get well by turning
my drink problem over to a Power greater than myself, that
Divine Principle in the universe which we call God, and
by asking that Power each morning to give me the strength
to stay sober for the next twenty-four hours. I know from
the experience of thousands of people that if I honestly
want to get well, I can get well. Am I faithfully following the
A.A. program?

Meditation For The Day

Persevere in all that God's guidance moves you to do.
The persistent carrying out of what seems right and good
will bring you to that place where you would be. If you
look back over God's guidance, you will see that His
leading has been very gradual and that only as you have
carried out His wishes, as far as you can understand them,
has God been able to give you more clear and definite
leading. Man is led by God's touch on a quickened
responsive mind.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may persevere in what seems right. I pray
that I may carry out all of God's leading, as far as I
can understand it.

**yukonm** · 03-14-2010, 04:41 PM

Twenty-Four Hours A Day
March 15

A.A. Thought For The Day

We alcoholics were on a merry-go-round, going round and
round, and we couldn't get off. That merry-go-round is a
kind of hell on earth. In A.A. I got off that merry-go-round
by learning to stay sober. I pray to that Higher Power every
morning to help me to keep sober. And I get the strength
from that Power to do what I could never do with my own
strength. I do not doubt the existence of that Power. We're not
speaking into a vacuum when we pray. That Power is there,
if we will use it. Am I off the merry-go-round of drinking for good?

Meditation For The Day

I must remember that in spiritual matters I am only an
instrument. It is not mine to decide how or when I am to
act. God plans all spiritual matters. It is up to me to
make myself fit to do God's work. All that hinders my
spiritual activity must be eliminated. I can depend on God
for all the strength I need to overcome those faults which
are blocks. I must keep myself fit, so that God can use me
as a channel for His spirit.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that my selfishness may not hinder my progress in
spiritual matters. I pray that I may be a good instrument
for God to work with.

**yukonm** · 03-16-2010, 06:54 AM

Twenty-Four Hours A Day
March 16

A.A. Thought For The Day

Before we decide to quit drinking, most of us have come up against a
blank wall. We see that we're licked, that we have to quit. But we
don't know which way to turn for help. There seems to be no door in
that blank wall. A.A. opens the door that leads to sobriety. By
encouraging us to honestly admit that we're alcoholics and to realize
that we can't take even one drink, and by showing us which way to
turn for help, A.A. opens the door in that blank wall. Have I gone
through that door to sobriety?

Meditation For The Day

I must have a singleness of purpose to do my part in God's work. I
must not let material distractions interfere with my job of improving
personal relationships. It is easy to become distracted by material
affairs, so that I lose my singleness of purpose. I do not have time to
be concerned about the multifarious concerns of the world. I must
concentrate and specialize on what I can do best.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not become distracted by material affairs. I pray that
I may concentrate on doing what I can do best.

**yukonm** · 03-17-2010, 04:31 AM

Twenty-Four Hours A Day
March 17

A.A. Thought For The Day

A. A. also helps us to hang onto sobriety. By having
regular meetings so that we can associate with other
alcoholics who have come through that same door in the
wall, by encouraging us to tell the story of our own
sad experiences with alcohol, and by showing us how to
help other alcoholics. A.A. keeps us sober. Our attitude
toward life changes from one of pride and selfishness to
one of humility and gratitude. Am I going to step back
through that door in the wall to my old helpless,
hopeless, drunken life?

Meditation For The Day

Withdraw into the calm of communion with God. Rest in that
calm and peace. When the soul finds its home of rest in
God, then it is that real life begins. Only when you are
calm and serene can you do good work. Emotional upsets
make you useless. The eternal life is calmness and when a
man enters into that, then he lives as an eternal being.
Calmness is based on complete trust in God. Nothing in
this world can separate you from the love of God.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may wear the world like a loose garment.
I pray that I may keep serene at the center of my being.

**yukonm** · 03-17-2010, 08:58 PM

Twenty-Four Hours A Day
March 18

A.A. Thought For The Day

When alcoholics first come into A.A. and we face the fact
that we must spend the rest of our life without liquor, it
often seems like an impossibility for us. So A.A. tells us to
forget about the future and take it one day at a time.
All we really have is now. We have no past time and no
future time. As the saying goes: "Yesterday is gone,
forget it; tomorrow never comes, don't worry; today is
here, get busy." All we have is the present. The past is
gone forever and the future never comes. When
tomorrow gets here, it will be today. Am I living one day
at a time?

Meditation For The Day

Persistence is necessary if you are to advance in
spiritual things. By persistent prayer, persistent firm
and simple trust, you achieve the treasures of the spirit.
By persistent practice, you can eventually obtain joy,
peace, assurance, security, health, happiness and serenity.
Nothing is too great, in the spiritual realm, for you to
obtain, if you persistently prepare yourself for it.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may persistently carry out my spiritual
exercises every day. I pray that I may strive for peace
and serenity.

**yukonm** · 03-19-2010, 01:13 AM

Twenty-Four Hours A Day
March 19

A.A. Thought For The Day

When we were drinking, we used to be ashamed of the past. Remorse
is terrible mental punishment: ashamed of ourselves for the things
we've said and done, afraid to face people because of what they might
think of us, afraid of the consequences of what we did when we were
drunk. In A.A. we forget about the past. Do I believe that God has
forgiven me for everything I've done in the past, no matter how black
it was, provided I'm honestly trying to do the right thing today?

Meditation For The Day

God's spirit is all about you all day long. You have no thoughts, no
plans, no impulses, no emotions, that He does not know about. You can
hide nothing from Him. Do not make your conduct conform only to
that of the world and do not depend on the approval or disapproval of
others. God sees in secret, but He rewards openly. If you are in
harmony with the Divine Spirit, doing your best to live the way you
believe God wants you to live, you will be at peace.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may always feel God's presence. I pray that I may realize
this Presence constantly all through the day.

**yukonm** · 03-20-2010, 06:45 AM

Twenty-Four Hours A Day
March 20

A.A. Thought For The Day

When we were drinking, we used to worry about the future.
Worry is terrible mental punishment. What's going to
become of me? Where will I end up? In the gutter or the
sanitarium? We can see ourselves slipping, getting worse
and worse, and we wonder what the finish will be.
Sometimes we get so discouraged in thinking about the
future that we toy with the idea of suicide. In A.A.
have I stopped worrying about the future?

Meditation For The Day

Functioning on a material plane alone takes me away from
God. I must also try to function on a spiritual plane.
Functioning on a spiritual plane as well as on a material
plane will make life what it should be. All material
activities are valueless in themselves alone. But all
activities, seemingly trivial or of seemingly great moment,
are all alike if directed by God's guidance. I must try to
obey God as I would expect a faithful, willing servant to
carry out directions.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that the flow of God's spirit may come to me through
many channels. I pray that I may function on a spiritual
plane as well as on a material plane.

02-28-2010, 06:48 PM	#1
yukonm Senior Moderator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 3,380 Thanks: 3,285 Thanked 4,471 Times in 2,833 Posts My Mood:	Twenty-Four Hours A Day - March Twenty-Four Hours A Day March 1 A.A. Thought For The Day When I find myself thinking about taking a drink, I say to myself. "Don't reach out and take that problem back. You've given it to God and there's nothing you can do about it." So I forget about the drink. One of the most important parts of the A.A. program is to give our drink problem to God honestly and fully and never to reach out and take the problem back to ourselves. If we let God have it and keep it for good and then cooperate with Him, we'll stay sober. Have I determined not to take the drink problem back to myself? Meditation For The Day Constant effort is necessary if I am to grow spiritually and develop my spiritual life. I must keep the spiritual rules persistently, perseveringly, lovingly, patiently, and hopefully. By keeping them, every mountain of difficulty shall be laid low, the rough places of poverty of spirit shall be made smooth, and all who know me shall know that God is the Lord of all my ways. To get close to the spirit of God is to find life and healing and strength. Prayer For The Day I pray that God's spirit may be everything to my soul. I pray that God's spirit may grow within me.

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03-02-2010, 04:26 AM	#2
yukonm Senior Moderator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 3,380 Thanks: 3,285 Thanked 4,471 Times in 2,833 Posts My Mood:	Twenty-Four Hours A Day March 2 A.A. Thought For The Day Over a period of drinking years, we've proved to ourselves and to everybody else that we can't stop drinking by our own willpower. We have been proved helpless before the power of alcohol. So the only way we could stop drinking was by turning to a Power greater than ourselves. We call that Power God. The time that you really get this program is when you get down on your knees and surrender yourself to God, as you understand Him. Surrender means putting your life into God's hands. Have I made a promise to God that I will try to live the way He wants me to live? Meditation For The Day Spirit-power comes from communication with God in prayer and times of quiet meditation. I must constantly seek spirit-communicatio n with God. This is a matter directly between me and God. Those who seek it through the medium of the church do not always get the joy and the wonder of spirit communication with God. >From this communication comes life, joy, peace, and healing. Many people do not realize the power that can come to them from direct spirit-communicatio n. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may feel that God's power is mine. I pray that I may be able to face anything through that power.

03-03-2010, 05:43 AM	#3
yukonm Senior Moderator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 3,380 Thanks: 3,285 Thanked 4,471 Times in 2,833 Posts My Mood:	Twenty-Four Hours A Day March 3 A.A. Thought For The Day After we've made a surrender, the drink problem is out of our hands and in the hands of God. The thing we have to do is to be sure that we never reach out and take the problem back into our own hands. Leave it in God's hands. Whenever I'm tempted to take a drink, I must say to myself: "I can't do that. I've made a bargain with God not to drink. I know God doesn't want me to drink and so I won't do it." At the same time I say a little prayer to God for the strength needed to keep the bargain with Him. Am I going to keep my bargain with God? Meditation For The Day I will try to grow in this new life. I will think of spiritual things often and unconsciously I will grow. The nearer I get to the new life, the more I will see my unfitness. My sense of failure is a sure sign that I am growing in the new life. It is only struggle that hurts. In sloth--physical, mental or spiritual--there is no sense of failure or discomfort. But with struggle and effort, I am conscious not of strength but of weakness, until I am really living the new life. But in the struggle, I can always rely on the power of God to help me. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may see signs of my growth in the new life. I pray that I may always keep trying to grow.

03-04-2010, 06:50 AM	#4
yukonm Senior Moderator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 3,380 Thanks: 3,285 Thanked 4,471 Times in 2,833 Posts My Mood:	Twenty-Four Hours A Day March 4 A.A. Thought For The Day Having surrendered our lives to God and put our drink problem in His Hands doesn't mean that we'll never be tempted to drink. So we must build up strength for the time when temptation will come. In this quiet time, we read and pray and get our minds in the right mood for the day. Starting the day right is a great help in keeping sober. As the days go by and we get used to the sober life, it gets easier and easier. We begin to develop a deep gratitude to God for saving us from that old life. And we begin to enjoy peace and serenity and real quiet happiness. Am I trying to live the way God wants me to live? Meditation For The Day The elimination of selfishness is the key to happiness and can only be accomplished with God's help. We start out with a spark of the Divine Spirit but a large amount of selfishness. As we grow and come in contact with other people, we can take one of two paths. We can become more and more selfish and practically extinguish the Divine Spark within us or we can become more unselfish and develop our spirituality until it becomes the most important thing in our lives. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may grow more and more unselfish, honest, pure and loving. I pray that I may take the right path every day.

03-05-2010, 05:23 AM	#5
yukonm Senior Moderator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 3,380 Thanks: 3,285 Thanked 4,471 Times in 2,833 Posts My Mood:	Twenty-Four Hours A Day March 5 A.A. Thought For The Day Sometimes we try too hard to get this program. It is better to relax and accept it. It will be given to us, with no effort on our part, if we stop trying too hard to get it. Sobriety can be a free gift of God, which he gives us by His grace when He knows we are ready for it. But we have to be ready. Then we must relax, take it easy, and accept the gift with gratitude and humility. We must put ourselves in God's hands. We must say to God: "Here I am and here are all my troubles. I've made a mess of things and can't do anything about it. You take me and all my troubles and do anything you want with me." Do I believe that the grace of God can do for me what I could never do for myself? Meditation For The Day Fear is the curse of the world. Many are our fears. Fear is everywhere. I must fight fear as I would a plague. I must turn it out of my life. There is no room for fear in the heart in which God dwells. Fear cannot exist where true love is or where faith abides. So I must have no fear. Fear is evil, but "perfect love casteth out all fear." Fear destroys hope and hope is necessary for all of humanity. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may have no fear. I pray that I may cast all fear out of my life.

03-05-2010, 09:19 PM	#6
yukonm Senior Moderator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 3,380 Thanks: 3,285 Thanked 4,471 Times in 2,833 Posts My Mood:	Twenty-Four Hours A Day March 6 A.A. Thought For The Day In A.A., we must surrender, give up, admit that we're helpless. We surrender our lives to God and ask Him for help. When He knows that we're ready, He gives us by His grace the free gift of sobriety. And we can't take any credit for having stopped drinking, because we didn't do it by our own willpower. There's no place for pride or boasting. We can only be grateful to God for doing for us what we could never do for ourselves. Do I believe that God has made me a free gift of the strength to stay sober? Meditation For The Day I must work for God, with God and through God's help. By doing all I can to bring about a true fellowship of human beings, I am working for God. I am also working with God, because this is the way God works, and He is with me when I am doing such work. I cannot do good work, however, without God's help. In the final analysis, it is through the grace of God that any real change in human personality takes place. I have to rely on God's power and anything I accomplish is through His help. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may work for God and with God. I pray that I may be used to change human personalities through God's help.

03-07-2010, 06:36 AM	#7
yukonm Senior Moderator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 3,380 Thanks: 3,285 Thanked 4,471 Times in 2,833 Posts My Mood:	Twenty-Four Hours A Day March 7 A.A. Thought For The Day There are two important things we have to do if we want to get sober and stay sober. First, having admitted that we are helpless before alcohol, we have to turn our alcoholic problem over to God and trust Him to take care of it for us. This means asking Him every morning for the strength to stay sober for that day and thanking Him every night. It means really leaving the problem in God's hands and not reaching out and getting the problem back to ourselves. Second, having given our drink problem to God, we must cooperate with Him by doing something about it ourselves. Am I doing these two things? Meditation For The Day I must prepare myself by doing each day what I can to develop spiritually and to help others to do so. God tests me and trains me and bends me to His will. If I am not properly trained, I cannot meet the test when it comes. I must want God's will for me above all else. I must expect to have what I am not prepared for. This preparation consists of quiet communion with God every day and gradually gaining the strength I need. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may really try to do God's will in all my affairs. I pray that I may do all I can to help others find God's will for them.

03-08-2010, 05:47 AM	#8
yukonm Senior Moderator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 3,380 Thanks: 3,285 Thanked 4,471 Times in 2,833 Posts My Mood:	Twenty-Four Hours A Day March 8 A.A. Thought For The Day We must go to A.A. meetings regularly. We must learn to think differently. We must change from alcoholic thinking to sober thinking. We must reeducate our minds. We must try to help other alcoholics. We must cooperate with God by spending at least as much time and energy on the A.A. program as we did on drinking. We must follow the A.A. program to the best of our ability. Have I turned my alcoholic problem over to God and am I cooperating with Him? Meditation For The Day The joy of true fellowship shall be mine in full measure. I will revel in the joy of real fellowship. There will come back a wonderful joy, if I share in fellowship now. Fellowship among spiritually minded people is the embodiment of God's purpose for this world. To realize this will bring me a new life-joy. If I share in humanity's joy and travail, a great blessing will be mine. I can truly live a life not of earth, but a heaven-life here and now. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may be helped and healed by true spiritual fellowship. I pray that I may sense His presence in spiritual fellowship with His children.

03-09-2010, 06:13 AM	#9
yukonm Senior Moderator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 3,380 Thanks: 3,285 Thanked 4,471 Times in 2,833 Posts My Mood:	Twenty-Four Hours A Day March 9 A.A. Thought For The Day If we had absolute faith in the power of God to keep us from drinking and if we turned our drink problem entirely over to God without reservations, we wouldn't have to do anything more about it. We'd be free from drink once and for all. But since our faith is apt to be weak, we have to strengthen and build up this faith. We do this in several ways. One way is by going to meetings and listening to others tell how they have found all the strength they need to overcome drink. Is my faith being strengthened by this personal witness of other alcoholics? Meditation For The Day It is the quality of my life that determines its value. In order to judge the value of a man's life, we must set up a standard. The most valuable life is one of honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love. All men's lives must be judged by this standard in order to determine their value to the world. By this standard, most of the so-called heroes of history were not great men. "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world, if he loseth his own soul?" Prayer For The Day I pray that I may be honest, pure, unselfish and loving. I pray that I may make the quality of my life good by these standards.

03-10-2010, 06:02 AM	#10
yukonm Senior Moderator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 3,380 Thanks: 3,285 Thanked 4,471 Times in 2,833 Posts My Mood:	Twenty-Four Hours A Day March 10 A.A. Thought For The Day We also strengthen our faith by working with other alcoholics and finding that we can do nothing ourselves to help them, except to tell them our own story of how we found the way out. If the person is helped, it's by the grace of God and not by what we do or say. Our own faith is strengthened when we see another alcoholic find sobriety by turning to God. And finally we strengthen our faith by having quiet times every morning. Do I ask God in this quiet time for the strength to stay sober this day? Meditation For The Day My five senses are my means of communication with the material world. They are the links between my physical life and the material manifestations around me. But I must sever all connections with the material world when I wish to hold communion with the Great Spirit of the universe. I have to hush my mind and bid all my senses be still, before I can become attuned to receive the music of the heavenly spheres. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may get my spirit in tune with the Spirit of the universe. I pray that through faith and communion with Him I may receive the strength I need.

03-11-2010, 06:32 AM	#11
yukonm Senior Moderator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 3,380 Thanks: 3,285 Thanked 4,471 Times in 2,833 Posts My Mood:	Twenty-Four Hours A Day March 11 A.A. Thought For The Day By having quiet times each morning, we come to depend on God's help during the day, especially if we should be tempted to take a drink. And we can honestly thank Him each night for the strength He has given us. So our faith is strengthened by these quiet times of prayer. By listening to other members, by working with other alcoholics, by times of quiet meditation, our faith in God gradually becomes strong. Have I turned my drink problem entirely over to God, without reservations? Meditation For The Day It seems as though, when God wants to express to men what He is like, He makes a very beautiful character. Think of a personality as God's expression of character attributes. Be as fit an expression of Godlike character as you can. When the beauty of a person's character is impressed upon us, it leaves an image which in turn reflects through our own actions. So look for beauty of character in those around you. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may look at great beauty of souls until their beauty of character becomes a part of my soul. I pray that I may reflect this character in my own life.

03-12-2010, 06:29 AM	#12
yukonm Senior Moderator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 3,380 Thanks: 3,285 Thanked 4,471 Times in 2,833 Posts My Mood:	Twenty-Four Hours A Day March 12 A.A. Thought For The Day The Prodigal Son "took his journey into a far country and wasted his substance on riotous living." That's what we alcoholics do. We waste our substance with riotous living. "When he came to himself, he said: I will arise and go to my father." That's what an alcoholic does in A.A. He comes to himself. His alcoholic self is not his real self. His sane, sober, respectable self is his real self. That's why we're so happy in A.A. Have I come to myself? Meditation For The Day Simplicity is the keynote of a good life. Choose the simple things always. Life can become complicated if you let it be so. You can be swamped by difficulties if you let them take up too much of your time. Every difficulty can be either solved or ignored and something better substituted for it. Love the humble things of life. Reverence the simple things. Your standard must never be the world's standard of wealth and power. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may love the simple things of life. I pray that I may keep my life uncomplicated and free.

03-13-2010, 06:23 AM	#13
yukonm Senior Moderator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 3,380 Thanks: 3,285 Thanked 4,471 Times in 2,833 Posts My Mood:	Twenty-Four Hours A Day March 13 A.A. Thought For The Day We've got rid of our false, drinking selves and found our real, sober selves. And we turn to God, our Father, for help, just as the Prodigal Son arose and went to his father. At the end of the story, the father of the Prodigal Son says: "He was dead and is alive again, he was lost and he is found." We alcoholics who have found sobriety in A.A. were certainly dead and are alive again. We were lost and are found. Am I alive again? Meditation For The Day Gently breathe in God's spirit, that spirit which, if not barred out of selfishness, will enable you to do good works. This means rather that God will be enabled to do good works through you. You can become a channel for God's spirit to flow through you and into the lives of others. The works that you can do will only be limited by your spiritual development. Let your spirit be in harmony with God's spirit and there is no limit to what you can do in the realm of human relationships. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may become a channel for God's spirit. I pray that God's spirit may flow through me and into the lives of others.

03-14-2010, 06:27 AM	#14
yukonm Senior Moderator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 3,380 Thanks: 3,285 Thanked 4,471 Times in 2,833 Posts My Mood:	Twenty-Four Hours A Day March 14 A.A. Thought For The Day Can I get well? If I mean: "Can I ever drink normally again," the answer is no. But if I mean, "Can I stay sober?" the answer is definitely yes. I can get well by turning my drink problem over to a Power greater than myself, that Divine Principle in the universe which we call God, and by asking that Power each morning to give me the strength to stay sober for the next twenty-four hours. I know from the experience of thousands of people that if I honestly want to get well, I can get well. Am I faithfully following the A.A. program? Meditation For The Day Persevere in all that God's guidance moves you to do. The persistent carrying out of what seems right and good will bring you to that place where you would be. If you look back over God's guidance, you will see that His leading has been very gradual and that only as you have carried out His wishes, as far as you can understand them, has God been able to give you more clear and definite leading. Man is led by God's touch on a quickened responsive mind. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may persevere in what seems right. I pray that I may carry out all of God's leading, as far as I can understand it.

03-14-2010, 04:41 PM	#15
yukonm Senior Moderator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 3,380 Thanks: 3,285 Thanked 4,471 Times in 2,833 Posts My Mood:	Twenty-Four Hours A Day March 15 A.A. Thought For The Day We alcoholics were on a merry-go-round, going round and round, and we couldn't get off. That merry-go-round is a kind of hell on earth. In A.A. I got off that merry-go-round by learning to stay sober. I pray to that Higher Power every morning to help me to keep sober. And I get the strength from that Power to do what I could never do with my own strength. I do not doubt the existence of that Power. We're not speaking into a vacuum when we pray. That Power is there, if we will use it. Am I off the merry-go-round of drinking for good? Meditation For The Day I must remember that in spiritual matters I am only an instrument. It is not mine to decide how or when I am to act. God plans all spiritual matters. It is up to me to make myself fit to do God's work. All that hinders my spiritual activity must be eliminated. I can depend on God for all the strength I need to overcome those faults which are blocks. I must keep myself fit, so that God can use me as a channel for His spirit. Prayer For The Day I pray that my selfishness may not hinder my progress in spiritual matters. I pray that I may be a good instrument for God to work with.

03-16-2010, 06:54 AM	#16
yukonm Senior Moderator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 3,380 Thanks: 3,285 Thanked 4,471 Times in 2,833 Posts My Mood:	Twenty-Four Hours A Day March 16 A.A. Thought For The Day Before we decide to quit drinking, most of us have come up against a blank wall. We see that we're licked, that we have to quit. But we don't know which way to turn for help. There seems to be no door in that blank wall. A.A. opens the door that leads to sobriety. By encouraging us to honestly admit that we're alcoholics and to realize that we can't take even one drink, and by showing us which way to turn for help, A.A. opens the door in that blank wall. Have I gone through that door to sobriety? Meditation For The Day I must have a singleness of purpose to do my part in God's work. I must not let material distractions interfere with my job of improving personal relationships. It is easy to become distracted by material affairs, so that I lose my singleness of purpose. I do not have time to be concerned about the multifarious concerns of the world. I must concentrate and specialize on what I can do best. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may not become distracted by material affairs. I pray that I may concentrate on doing what I can do best.

03-17-2010, 04:31 AM	#17
yukonm Senior Moderator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 3,380 Thanks: 3,285 Thanked 4,471 Times in 2,833 Posts My Mood:	Twenty-Four Hours A Day March 17 A.A. Thought For The Day A. A. also helps us to hang onto sobriety. By having regular meetings so that we can associate with other alcoholics who have come through that same door in the wall, by encouraging us to tell the story of our own sad experiences with alcohol, and by showing us how to help other alcoholics. A.A. keeps us sober. Our attitude toward life changes from one of pride and selfishness to one of humility and gratitude. Am I going to step back through that door in the wall to my old helpless, hopeless, drunken life? Meditation For The Day Withdraw into the calm of communion with God. Rest in that calm and peace. When the soul finds its home of rest in God, then it is that real life begins. Only when you are calm and serene can you do good work. Emotional upsets make you useless. The eternal life is calmness and when a man enters into that, then he lives as an eternal being. Calmness is based on complete trust in God. Nothing in this world can separate you from the love of God. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may wear the world like a loose garment. I pray that I may keep serene at the center of my being.

03-17-2010, 08:58 PM	#18
yukonm Senior Moderator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 3,380 Thanks: 3,285 Thanked 4,471 Times in 2,833 Posts My Mood:	Twenty-Four Hours A Day March 18 A.A. Thought For The Day When alcoholics first come into A.A. and we face the fact that we must spend the rest of our life without liquor, it often seems like an impossibility for us. So A.A. tells us to forget about the future and take it one day at a time. All we really have is now. We have no past time and no future time. As the saying goes: "Yesterday is gone, forget it; tomorrow never comes, don't worry; today is here, get busy." All we have is the present. The past is gone forever and the future never comes. When tomorrow gets here, it will be today. Am I living one day at a time? Meditation For The Day Persistence is necessary if you are to advance in spiritual things. By persistent prayer, persistent firm and simple trust, you achieve the treasures of the spirit. By persistent practice, you can eventually obtain joy, peace, assurance, security, health, happiness and serenity. Nothing is too great, in the spiritual realm, for you to obtain, if you persistently prepare yourself for it. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may persistently carry out my spiritual exercises every day. I pray that I may strive for peace and serenity.

03-19-2010, 01:13 AM	#19
yukonm Senior Moderator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 3,380 Thanks: 3,285 Thanked 4,471 Times in 2,833 Posts My Mood:	Twenty-Four Hours A Day March 19 A.A. Thought For The Day When we were drinking, we used to be ashamed of the past. Remorse is terrible mental punishment: ashamed of ourselves for the things we've said and done, afraid to face people because of what they might think of us, afraid of the consequences of what we did when we were drunk. In A.A. we forget about the past. Do I believe that God has forgiven me for everything I've done in the past, no matter how black it was, provided I'm honestly trying to do the right thing today? Meditation For The Day God's spirit is all about you all day long. You have no thoughts, no plans, no impulses, no emotions, that He does not know about. You can hide nothing from Him. Do not make your conduct conform only to that of the world and do not depend on the approval or disapproval of others. God sees in secret, but He rewards openly. If you are in harmony with the Divine Spirit, doing your best to live the way you believe God wants you to live, you will be at peace. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may always feel God's presence. I pray that I may realize this Presence constantly all through the day.

03-20-2010, 06:45 AM	#20
yukonm Senior Moderator Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 3,380 Thanks: 3,285 Thanked 4,471 Times in 2,833 Posts My Mood:	Twenty-Four Hours A Day March 20 A.A. Thought For The Day When we were drinking, we used to worry about the future. Worry is terrible mental punishment. What's going to become of me? Where will I end up? In the gutter or the sanitarium? We can see ourselves slipping, getting worse and worse, and we wonder what the finish will be. Sometimes we get so discouraged in thinking about the future that we toy with the idea of suicide. In A.A. have I stopped worrying about the future? Meditation For The Day Functioning on a material plane alone takes me away from God. I must also try to function on a spiritual plane. Functioning on a spiritual plane as well as on a material plane will make life what it should be. All material activities are valueless in themselves alone. But all activities, seemingly trivial or of seemingly great moment, are all alike if directed by God's guidance. I must try to obey God as I would expect a faithful, willing servant to carry out directions. Prayer For The Day I pray that the flow of God's spirit may come to me through many channels. I pray that I may function on a spiritual plane as well as on a material plane.

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