Thursday May 7th reflection

 May 7—AA Thought for the Day It’s very important to keep in a grateful frame of mind, if we want to stay sober. We should be grateful that we’re living in a day and age when alcoholics aren’t treated as they often used to be treated before Alcoholics Anonymous was started. In the old days, every town had its town drunk, who was regarded with scorn and ridiculed by the rest of the townspeople. We have come into AA and found all the sympathy, understanding, and fellowship that we could ask for. There’s no other group like AA in the world. Am I grateful? Meditation for the Day God takes our efforts for good and blesses them. God needs our efforts. We need God’s blessing. Together they mean spiritual success. Our efforts are necessary. We cannot merely relax and drift with the tide. We must often direct our efforts against the tide of materialism around us. When difficulties come, our efforts are needed to surmount them. But God directs our efforts into the right channels and God’s power is necessary to help us choose the right. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may choose the right. I pray that I may have God’s blessing and direction in all my efforts for good.

Wednesday May 6th reflection

May 6—AA Thought for the Day I’ve noticed that the ones who do the most for AA are not in the habit of boasting about it. The danger of building myself up too much is that, if I do, I’m in danger of having a fall. That pattern of thought goes with drinking. If one side of a boat gets too far up out of the water, it’s liable to tip over. Building myself up and drinking go together. One leads to the other. So if I’m going to stay sober, I’ve got to keep small. Have I got the right perspective on myself? Meditation for the Day 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. Prayer for the Day 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. 

Tuesday May 5th reflection

 May 5—AA Thought for the Day I had to show off and boast so that people would think I amounted to something, when, of course, both they and I knew that I really didn’t amount to anything. I didn’t fool anybody. Although I’ve been sober for quite a while, the old habit of building myself up is still with me. I still have a tendency to think too well of myself and to pretend to be more than I really am. Am I always in danger of becoming conceited just because I’m sober? Meditation for the Day I cannot ascertain the spiritual with my intellect. I can only do it with my own faith and spiritual faculties. I must think of God more with my heart than with my head. I can breathe in God’s very spirit in the life around me. I can keep my eyes turned toward the good things in the world. I am shut up in a box of space and time, but I can open a window in that box by faith. I can empty my mind of all the limitations of material things. I can sense the Eternal. Prayer for the Day I pray that whatever is good I may have. I pray that I may leave to God the choice of what good will come to me.

Monday May 4th reflection

 May 4—AA Thought for the Day When I was drinking, I always tried to build myself up. I used to tell tall stories about myself. I told them so often that I half believe some of them now, even though I know they aren’t true. I used to hang around the lowbrow barrooms so I could feel superior to the other customers. The reason I always tried to build myself up was that I knew deep down in my heart that I really didn’t amount to anything. It was a kind of defense against my feeling of inferiority. Do I still build myself up? Meditation for the Day God thought about the universe and brought it into being. His thought brought me into being. I must think God’s thought after Him. I must often keep my mind occupied with thoughts about God and meditate on the way He wants me to live. I must train my mind constantly in quiet times of communion with God. It is the work of a lifetime to develop to full stature spiritually. This is what I am on earth for. It gives meaning to my life. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may think God’s thoughts after Him. I pray that I may live as He wants me to live.

Sunday May 3rd reflection

 May 3—AA Thought for the Day AA teaches us to take it easy. We learn how to relax and to stop worrying about the past or the future, to give up our resentments and hate and tempers, to stop being critical of people, and to try to help them instead. That’s what “Easy does it” means. So in the time that’s left to me to live, I’m going to try to take it easy, to relax and not worry, to try to be helpful to others, and to trust God. For what’s left of my life, is my motto going to be “Easy does it”? Meditation for the Day I must overcome myself before I can truly forgive other people for injuries done to me. The self in me cannot forgive injuries. The very thought of wrongs means that my self is in the foreground. Since the self cannot forgive, I must overcome my selfishness. I must cease trying to forgive those who have upset and wronged me. It is a mistake for me even to think about these injuries. I must aim at overcoming myself in my daily life, and then I will find there is nothing in me that remembers injury, because the only thing injured, my selfishness, is gone. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may hold no resentments. I pray that my mind may be washed clean of all past hate and fears.

Saturday May 2- reflection

1. vacations 2. Sleeping in bed 3. Medicine to help me rest. 4. Food. 5. my apartment.

In AA we often hear the slogan “Easy does it.” It's my sponsors favorite saying. OR it's the saying she is constantly reminding me of. so i must need today message! the writer talks about how we are just "too much"  I can identify with this. slowing down and right sizing things fixes alot of the ways I'm broken. todays meditation- You must be before you can do. so amazing. :-)

 May 2—AA Thought for the Day In AA we often hear the slogan “Easy does it.” Alcoholics always do everything to excess. They drink too much. They worry too much. They have too many resentments. They hurt themselves physically and mentally by too much of everything. So when they come into AA, they have to learn to take it easy. None of us knows how much longer we have to live. It’s probable that we wouldn’t have lived very long if we had continued to drink the way we used to. By stopping drinking, we have increased our chances of living for a while longer. Have I learned to take it easy? Meditation for the Day You must be before you can do. To accomplish much, be much. In all cases, the doing must be the expression of the being. It is foolish to think that we can accomplish much in personal relationships without first preparing ourselves by being honest, pure, unselfish, and loving. We must choose the good and keep choosing it, before we are ready to be used by God to accomplish anything worthwhile. We will not be given the opportunities until we are ready for them. Quiet times of communion with our Higher Power are good preparation for creative action. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may constantly prepare myself for better things to come. I pray that I may only have opportunities when I am ready for them.

Friday May 1st Reflection

1. the internet 2. Clean water, 3. Toilets 4. hot showers 5. Today.

AA program is one of charity. We try to help others always. Whether we succeed or not is not really the point. we try and try and try. It's even, dare i  say, a chance to be holy. we want to get spiritually fit and help others as well. Meditation for the Day: All material things are God's thought. DEEP. :-)  

 May 1—AA Thought for the Day The AA program is one of charity because the real meaning of the word charity is to care enough about other people to really want to help them. To get the full benefit of the program, we must try to help other alcoholics. We may try to help somebody and think we have failed, but the seed we have planted may bear fruit sometime. We never know the results even a word of ours might have. But the main thing is to have charity for others, a real desire to help them, whether we succeed or not. Do I have real charity? Meditation for the Day All material things—the universe, the world, even our bodies—may be Eternal Thought expressed in time and space. The more the physicists and astronomers reduce matter, the more it becomes a mathematical formula, which is thought. In the final analysis, matter is thought. When Eternal Thought expresses itself within the framework of space and time, it becomes matter. Our thoughts, within the box of space and time, cannot know anything firsthand, except material things. But we can deduce that outside the box of space and time is Eternal Thought, which we can call God. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may be a true expression of Eternal Thought. I pray that God’s thoughts may work through my thoughts.

Thursday April 30th reflection

1. Access to food 2. A steady Paycheck 3. Paying bills on time 4. weekends 5. weekdays to work and sleep.

The AA program is one of faith because we find that we must have faith in a Power greater than ourselves if we are going to get sober. God, is the essential part of the AA program. God made me on purpose, god is concerned about me. Meditation for the Day Each one of us is a child of God. AMEN! 

 APRIL 30—AA Thought for the Day The AA program is one of faith because we find that we must have faith in a Power greater than ourselves if we are going to get sober. We’re helpless before alcohol, but when we turn our drinking problem over to God and have faith that He can give us all the strength we need, then we have the drinking problem licked. Faith in that Divine Principle in the universe, which we call God, is the essential part of the AA program. Is faith still strong in me? Meditation for the Day Each one of us is a child of God, and as such, we are full of the promise of spiritual growth. A young person is like the springtime of the year. The full time of the fruit is not yet, but there is promise of the blossom. There is a spark of the Divine in every one of us. Each has some of God’s spirit that can be developed by spiritual exercise. Know that your life is full of glad promise. Such blessings can be yours, such joys, such wonders, as long as you develop in the sunshine of God’s love. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may develop the divine spark within me. I pray that by so doing I may fulfill the promise of a more abundant life.

Wednesday April 29th reflection

1. Music that helps  me feel 2. Poetry that makes me love 3. Art that mesmerizes 4. Quiet times to reflect 5. the ability to that god for the creativity around me

The AA program is one of faith. one of the first things we get is HOPE. it's beautiful. the mediation today is about how god's kingdom is perfectly aligned. it's in perfect order, and perfect harmony.

 APRIL 29—AA Thought for the Day The AA program is one of faith, hope, and charity. It’s a program of hope because when new members come into AA, the first thing they get is hope. They hear older members tell how they had been through the same kind of hell that they have and how they found the way out through AA. And this gives them hope that if others can do it, they can do it. Is hope still strong in me? Meditation for the Day The rule of God’s kingdom is perfect order, perfect harmony, perfect supply, perfect love, perfect honesty, perfect obedience. There is no discord in God’s kingdom, only some things still unconquered in God’s children. The difficulties of life are caused by disharmony in the individual man or woman. People lack power because they lack harmony with God and with each other. They think that God fails because power is not manifested in their lives. God does not fail. People fail because they are out of harmony with Him. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may be in harmony with God and with other people. I pray that this harmony will result in strength and success.

Tuesday April 28th reflection

1.Ability to talk. 2. Ability to read 3. Ability to comprehend 4. Ability to strategize 5. Ability to make judgments. 

We are glad to be free from liquor still today. We go out to help other alcoholics. we go to meetings regularly. in a spirit to be grateful we get into action.  Question: have I gotten into Action. I'm working my steps, I'm seeing my sponsor, and I'm reflecting every day.  I'm accepting live on life's terms. so i think the answer is yes. Today meditaion: Go where God leads you. 

APRIL 28—AA Thought for the Day We’re so glad to be free from liquor that we do something about it. We get into action. We come to meetings regularly. We go out and try to help other alcoholics. We pass on the good news whenever we get a chance. In a spirit of thankfulness to God, we get into action. The AA program is simple. Submit yourself to God, find release from liquor, and get into action. Do these things and keep doing them and you’re all set for the rest of your life. Have I gotten into action? Meditation for the Day God’s eternal quest must be the tracking down of souls. You should join Him in His quest. Through briars, through wastes, through glades, up mountain heights, down into valleys. God leads you. But ever with His leadership goes your helping hand. It is glorious to follow where the Leader goes. You are seeking lost sheep. You are bringing the good news into places where it has not been known before. You may not know which soul you will help, but you can leave all results to God. Just go with Him in His eternal quest for souls. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may follow God in His eternal quest for souls. I pray that I may offer God my helping hand.

Monday April 27th reflection

1. a body that works. 2. Arms 3. Legs 4. heart 5. Skin ALL functioning great!

We are released from the power of liquor. Hallelujah. We are free to live a new life.  I went to a meeting that where younger people were having anxiety about this. but it's true the release of the drink gives us freedom to grow outside my comfort zone.  today Meditaition is about how we exprience God. not in our senses but spiritually.

APRIL 27—AA Thought for the Day By submitting to God, we’re released from the power of liquor. It has no more hold on us. We’re also released from the things that were holding us down: pride, selfishness, and fear. And we’re free to grow into a new life, which is so much better than the old life that there’s no comparison. This release gives us serenity and peace with the world. Have I been released from the power of alcohol? Meditation for the Day We know God by spiritual vision. We feel that He is beside us. We feel His presence. Contact with God is not made by the senses. Spirit-consciousness replaces sight. Since we cannot see God, we have to perceive Him by spiritual perception. God has to span the physical and the spiritual with the gift to us of spiritual vision. Many persons, though they cannot see God, have had a clear spiritual consciousness of Him. We are inside a box of space and time, but we know there must be something outside of that box—limitless space, eternity of time, and God. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may have a consciousness of God’s presence. I pray that God will give me spiritual vision.

Sunday April 26th reflection

1.  family who loves me 2. Serena 3. Natalie 4. Michael 5. Auntie Merna

Today we're talking submission, release, and action. Our own wills are of no use when it comes to alcohol. ONE drink and we're sunk. we switch our surrender from alcohol to a power greater than ourselves. Have i submitted myself to a higher power?  Oh yeah. and it's the most powerful thing I've ever done.  Meditation for the Day Ceaseless activity is not God’s plan for your life. Times of withdrawal for renewed strength are always necessary. AMEN!  AMEN!  I will learn to rest. to relax and wait for the universe to act. 

APRIL 26—AA Thought for the Day The AA program is one of submission, release, and action. When we’re drinking, we’re submitting to a power greater than ourselves— liquor. Our own wills are no use against the power of liquor. One drink and we’re sunk. In AA we stop submitting to the power of liquor. Instead, we submit to a Power, also greater than ourselves, which we call God. Have I submitted myself to my Higher Power? Meditation for the Day Ceaseless activity is not God’s plan for your life. Times of withdrawal for renewed strength are always necessary. Wait for the faintest tremor of fear and stop all work, everything, and rest before God until you are strong again. Deal in the same way with all tired feelings. Then you need rest of body and renewal of spirit-force. Saint Paul said: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” This does not mean that you are to do all things and then rely on God to find strength. It means that you are to do the things you believe God wants you to do and only then can you rely on His supply of power. Prayer for the Day I pray that God’s spirit will always guide me. I pray that I may learn how to rest and listen, as well as how to work.

Saturday April 25th reflection

1. choices 2. Cute Boyfriend 3. Airplanes 4. Newcomers 5. New York City

More on seeing people getting sober. It's easier to see the development in others, right?  I'm careful not to compare, we're identifying when we listen to folks stories. Do I see AA work every day? Sobriety and recovery are all around me. and I feel comfortable around sober people it's soooo nice. The meditation of the day is practice saying God bless whoever you have friction with.

APRIL 25—AA Thought for the Day I don’t believe that AA works because I read it in a book or because I hear people say so. I believe it because I see people getting sober and staying sober. An actual demonstration is what convinces me. When I see the change in people, I can’t help believing that AA works. We could listen to talk about AA all day and still not believe it, but when we see it work, we have to believe it. Seeing is believing. Do I see AA work every day? Meditation for the Day Try saying “God bless her (or him)” of anyone who is in disharmony with you. Also say it of those who are in trouble through their own fault. Say it, willing that showers of blessings may fall upon them. Let God do the blessing. Leave to God the necessary correcting or disciplining. You should only desire blessing for them. Leave God’s work to God. Occupy yourself with the task that He gives you to do. God’s blessing will also break down all your own difficulties and build up all your successes. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may use God’s goodness so that it will be a blessing to others. I pray that I may accept God’s blessing so that I will have harmony, beauty, joy, and happiness.

Friday April 24th reflection

A.  health B. working body parts C. healthy mind  D.  creativity E.  being able to work on problems

APRIL 24—AA Thought for the Day It’s been proved that we alcoholics can’t get sober by our willpower. We’ve failed again and again. Therefore I believe there must be a Higher Power which helps me. I think of that power as the grace of God. And I pray to God every morning for the strength to stay sober today. I know that power is there because it never fails to help me. Do I believe that AA works through the grace of God? Meditation for the Day Once I am “born of the spirit,” that is my life’s breath. Within me is the life of life, so that I can never perish. The life that down the ages has kept God’s children through peril, adversity, and sorrow. I must try never to doubt or worry, but follow where the life of the spirit leads. How often, when little I know it, God goes before me to prepare the way, to soften a heart, or to overrule a resentment. As the life of the spirit grows, natural wants become less important. Prayer for the Day I pray that my life may become centered in God more than in self. I pray that my will may be directed toward doing His will.

Thursday April 23rd reflection

A. good nights sleep B. end to the nightmares I've been having  C. the stamina to make it through the week  D. nice weather   E. the train  

More on seeing people coming in one way and growing. it convinces us that AA works. Moreover I convinces us that they are changing because of a power greater than ourselves. Question: Am I convinced that my Higher Power can help me to change? YES. God is working on me. I pause now, instead of reaction. We meditate on Cooperation with God. 

APRIL 23—AA Thought for the Day Men and women keep coming into AA, defeated by alcohol, often given up by doctors as hopeless cases, they themselves admitting they’re helpless to stop drinking. When I see these men and women get sober and stay sober over a period of months and years, I know that AA works. The change I see in people who come into AA not only convinces me that AA works, but it also convinces me that there must be a Power greater than ourselves which helps us to make that change. Am I convinced that my Higher Power can help me to change? Meditation for the Day Cooperation with God is the great necessity for our lives. All else follows naturally. Cooperation with God is the result of our consciousness of His presence. Guidance is bound to come to us as we live more and more with God, as our consciousness becomes more and more attuned to the Great Consciousness of the universe. We must have many quiet times when we not so much ask to be shown and led by God, as to feel and realize His presence. New spiritual growth comes naturally from cooperation with God. Prayer for the Day I pray that God may supply me with strength and show me the direction in which He wants me to grow. I pray that these things may come naturally from my cooperation with Him.

Wednesday April 22 reflection

A. having safety  B.  having enough to eat and drink C.  Shelter D.  employment  E.  family...

People believe in work they see. it's fine to read in books, and to hear people speak. Question: have I seen the change in people who come into AA? yes. but in the begining I did listen and read and hope what I was reading and hearing was true. I held onto that. then as I came back over and over. I saw people grow. Moreover I grew. there came a time when I needed others words less and watch god work in me. I didn't see myself change that much though... but others did. and when they shared that with me I was grateful. The meditation today talks about SURRENDER.

APRIL 22—AA Thought for the Day People believe in AA when they see it work. An actual demonstration is what convinces them. What they read in books, what they hear people say, doesn’t always convince them. But when they see a real honest-to-goodness change take place in a person, a change from a truly sick person to a sober, useful citizen, that’s something they can believe because they can see it. There’s really only one thing that proves to me that AA works. Have I seen the change in people who come into AA? Meditation for the Day Surrender and trust in God are the only conditions necessary for a spiritual life. Divine control means absolute faith and trust in God, a belief that God is the divine principle in the universe and that He is the intelligence and the love that controls the universe. Unquestioning obedience to God means living each day the way you believe God wants you to live, constantly seeking the guidance of God in every situation and being willing to do the right thing at all times. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may always be under Divine Control and always practice unquestioning obedience to God. I pray that I may be always ready to serve Him.

Tuesday April 21- reflection

A. having smart people in my life B. advice from my sponsor C. talking to my bestie Tarolyn D. laughing with Adam  E. the gift of time.  

Today the writer has a great illustration of humility. She lists examples of when we get humble. Moreover gratitude to god is a great way to practice humility. Question: Am I grateful and humble? Not enough, but god has changed me. I am more humble, but am a work in progress. My favorite people in the fellowship are humble. My sponsor is the best example of it. She is humble but at the same time knows her worth. I envy that about her. She also shows it in her interactions with people. Cori sees ALL people. it's so cool. The meditation suggests that we must arise from the death of sin, all the old sins and temptations must be laid to rest. 

APRIL 21—AA Thought for the Day After we’ve been in AA for a while, we find out that if we’re going to stay sober, we have to be humble people. The men and women in AA who have achieved sobriety are all humble people. When I stop to think that, “But for the grace of God,” I might be drunk right now, can’t help feeling humble. Gratitude to God for His grace makes me humble. When I think of the kind of person I was not so long ago, when I think of the person I left behind me, I have nothing to be proud of. Am I grateful and humble? Meditation for the Day I must arise from the death of sin and selfishness and put on a new life of integrity. All the old sins and temptations must be laid in the grave and a new existence rise from the ashes. Yesterday is gone. All my sins are forgiven if I am honestly trying to do God’s will today. Today is here, the time of resurrection and renewal. I must start now, today, to build a new life of complete faith and trust in God and a determination to do His will in all things. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may share in making the world a better place to live in. I pray that I may do what I can to bring goodness a little nearer to the earth.

Sunday April 19 reflection

A. the internet  B. good books  C. newspapers to read  D. celebrity gossip   E. being able to giggle  

We have the ambition to do things we didn’t feel like doing when we were drinking. Question: Am I getting satisfaction out of living a sober life? Yes. I'm learning to slow down. I clock stuff i would have otherwise ignored. Im looking for joy instead of anticipating pain. Today's Meditation focuses on a  glorious, upward way.

APRIL 19—AA Thought for the Day Since I’ve been putting sobriety into my life, I’ve been getting a lot of good things. I can describe it best as a kind of quiet satisfaction. I feel good. I feel right with the world—on the right side of the fence. As long as I put sobriety into my life, almost everything I take out is good. The satisfaction you get out of living a sober life is made up of a lot of little things. You have the ambition to do things you didn’t feel like doing when you were drinking. Am I getting satisfaction out of living a sober life? Meditation for the Day It is a glorious way—the upward way. There are wonderful discoveries in the realm of the spirit. There are tender intimacies in the quiet times of communion with God. There is an amazing, almost incomprehensible understanding of the other person. On the upward way, you can have all the strength you need from that Higher Power. You cannot make too many demands on Him for strength. He gives you all the power you need, as long as you are moving along the upward way. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may see the beautiful horizons ahead on the upward way. I pray that I may keep going forward to the more abundant life.

Monday April 20th reflection

A.  feeling safe B. My housmate  C. food D. water   E. medication 

APRIL 20—AA Thought for the Day The satisfaction you get out of living a sober life is made up of a lot of little things, but they add up to a satisfactory and happy life. You take out of life what you put into it. So I’d say to people coming into AA: “Don’t worry about what life will be like without liquor. Just hang in there and a lot of good things will happen to you. And you’ll have that feeling of quiet satisfaction and peace and serenity and gratitude for the grace of God.” Is my life becoming really worth living? Meditation for the Day There are two paths, one up and one down. We have been given free will to choose either path. We are captains of our souls to this extent only. We can choose the good or the bad. Once we have chosen the wrong path, we go down and down, eventually to death. But if we choose the right path, we go up and up, until we come to the resurrection day. On the wrong path, we have no power for good because we do not choose to ask for it. But on the right path, we are on the side of good and we have all the power of God’s spirit behind us. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may be in the stream of goodness. I pray that I may be on the right side, on the side of all good in the universe.

Saturday April 18th- reflection

 A.  beautiful weather B.early morning meetngs  C. my sponsor  D. AA   E. the big book 

Truth. Like most things in life you get what you put into it. I have lived this truth. School, family, friends, and omg yes. Booze. The beautiful part about this is it's soooo true about AA. When, like now. I'm doing things constantly, the gift of sobriety keeps on giving. It's kinda actually more true about AA than anything else. My Rockstar's contribute is when more than mine so there is this multiplying effect. Thanks to God AA has given more than I have. I'm grateful.  Today's meditation is about friendliness and kindness. And how they can spread just through interactions with others. 

APRIL 18 —AA Thought for the Day As I look back over my drinking career, have I learned that you take out of life what you put into it? When I put drinking into my life, did I take out a lot of bad things? Time in the hospital with the DTs? Jail sentences for drunken driving? Loss of job? Loss of home and family? When I put drinking into my life, was almost everything I took out bad? Meditation for the Day I should strive for a friendliness and helpfulness that may affect all who come near to me. I should try to see something to love in them. I should welcome them, bestow little courtesies and understandings on them, and help them if they ask for help. I must send no one away without a word of cheer, a feeling that I really care about them. God may have put the impulse in some despairing person’s mind to come to me. I must not fail God by repulsing that person. They may not want to communicate with me unless they are sure of a warm welcome. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may warmly welcome all who come to me for help. I pray that I may make them feel that I really care.

friday April 17th 2026- reflection

A. funny jokes B. sweet strangers on the train C. taking the dog for a walk  D. technology   E. writing things down 

More on the insurance as sobrierty and out actions as payments on our insurance. the question today follows by asking if we are putting enough in an endowment.... no it's a 24-day program. 

APRIL 17—AA Thought for the Day Every time we go to an AA meeting, every time we say the Lord’s Prayer, whenever we have quiet time before breakfast, we’re paying a premium on our insurance against taking that first drink. And every time we help another alcoholic, we’re making a large payment on our drink insurance. We’re making sure that our policy doesn’t lapse. Am I building up an endowment in serenity, peace, and happiness that will put me on easy street for the rest of my life? Meditation for the Day I gain faith by my own experience of God’s power in my life. The constant recognition of God’s spirit in all my personal relationships, the ever-accumulating weight of evidence in support of God’s guidance, the numberless instances in which seeming chance or wonderful coincidence can be traced to God’s purpose in my life. All these things gradually engender a feeling of wonder, humility, and gratitude to God. These in turn are followed by a more sure and abiding faith in God and His purposes. Prayer for the Day I pray that my faith may be strengthened every day. I pray that I may find confirmation of my life in the good things that have come into my life.

Thursday April 16th 2026

A. Colors B. Sunrises  C. NYC teenagers  D. people to laugh with  E. falling in love  

the writer uses an insurance analogy to describe God's role in our drinking. not a good analogy but I understand what the writer is saying. question: Am I paying my AA insurance premiums regularly? um I dn't buy into the analogy, but I do rely on God to fill in my gaps and keep me safe. I can't earn sobriety, but I can play my position and together a sober life can be a reality. todays' Meditation explores how we love, we must try to love all humanity. 

APRIL 16—AA Thought for the Day In AA we have insurance. Our faith in God is a kind of insurance against the terrible things that might happen to us if we ever drink again. By putting our drinking problem in the hands of God, we’ve taken out a sort of insurance policy, which insures us against the ravages of drink, as our homes are insured against destruction by fire. Am I paying my AA insurance premiums regularly? Meditation for the Day I must try to love all humanity. Love comes from thinking of every man or woman as your brother or sister, because they are children of God. This way of thinking makes me care enough about them to really want to help them. I must put this kind of love into action by serving others. Love means no severe judging, no resentments, no malicious gossip, and no destructive criticism. It means understanding, compassion, and helpfulness. Prayer for the Day patience, I pray that I may realize that God loves me, since He is the Father of us all. I pray that I in turn may have love for all of His children.

Wednesday April 15- reflection

A. Poetry B. living in a big  city  C. employment  D. sobriety   E. God  

The possible consequences are the topic of todays reading. possible deadly consequences. that we didn't are about before. Question: Do I believe that in AA we have something more effective than fear? YES. fear alone doesn't work to deter an addict. desperation, love, awareness, connectedness, all the stuff we didn't think we have have to be added to our fear. the meditation today expresses the value of stillness.

APRIL 15—AA Thought for the Day Terrible things could have happened to any one of us. We never will know what might have happened to us when we were drunk. We usually thought: “That couldn’t happen to me.” But any one of us could have killed somebody or have been killed ourselves, if we were drunk enough. But fear of these things never kept us from drinking. Do I believe that in AA we have something more effective than fear? Meditation for the Day I must keep calm and unmoved in the vicissitudes of life. I must go back into the silence of communion with God to recover this calm when it is lost even for one moment. I will accomplish more by this calmness than by all the activities of a long day. At all cost I will keep calm. I can solve nothing when I am agitated. I should keep away from things that are upsetting emotionally. I should run on an even keel and not get tipped over by emotional upsets. I should seek for things that are calm and good and true and stick to those things. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may not argue nor contend, but merely state calmly what I believe to be true. I pray that I may keep myself in that state of calmness that comes from faith in God’s purpose for the world.

Tuesday April 14th reflection

A.  long walks B.living in NYC  C. fellowship of other drunks D. My Sponsor  E.  modern medicine 

Today has such a great description of how balance looks.  Keeping materialistic things in perspective and enlarge spirituality to the center of my life.  This is where i can be aspiration in my identification. I hope it's okay with God that I minimize the material and grow the spiritual. I'm immediately in love with this prospect. I've never seen it articulated before. but it's making me happy to consider it.  It gives me permission to ignore the well meaning people around me that care about materialistic stuff. I've been feeling pressured by folks saying i need new clothes, need a new apartment, dissing my job.  I will pray that this will become my mantra.

 APRIL 14—AA Thought for the Day A police captain once told about certain cases he had come across in his police work. The cause of the tragedy in each case was drunkenness. He told his audience about a man who got into an argument with his wife while he was drunk and beat her to death. Then he went out and drank some more. The police captain also told about a woman who got too near the edge of an old quarry hole when she was drunk and fell one hundred and fifty feet to her death. When I read or hear these stories, do I think about our motto: “But for the grace of God”? Meditation for the Day I must keep balance by keeping spiritual things at the center of my life. God will give me this poise and balance if I pray for it. This poise will give me power in dealing with the lives of others. This balance will manifest itself more and more in my own life. I should keep material things in their proper place and keep spiritual things at the center of my life. Then I will be at peace amid the distractions of everyday living. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may dwell with God at the center of my life. pray that I may keep that inner peace at the center of my being.

Monday- April 13 reflection

A. Formula 1. B. new boyfriends C. Harlem D. beautiful weather E. Fellowship

Again the sober world is so pleasant... still with this fiction this week. Meditation continues on a thread started this month. God sees opportunity is our struggles. I like this idea that god looks at my character defects as a chance to shine. this narrative just makes me fell okay about lacking. i would love this to be true. I've matured enough to know there's a difference between program i believe. and program I'd like to believe.  Giving things a fair shake requires independent questioning. But I'd sure like to believe it's true.

 APRIL 12—AA Thought for the Day This sober world is a pleasant place for an alcoholic to live in. Once you’ve gotten out of your alcoholic fog, you find that the world looks good. You find real friends in AA. You get a job. You feel good in the morning. You eat a good breakfast and you do a good day’s work at home or outside. And your family loves you and welcomes you because you’re sober. Am I convinced that this sober world is a pleasant place for an alcoholic to live in? Meditation for the Day Our need is God’s opportunity. First we must recognize our need. Often this means helplessness before some weakness or sickness and an admission of our need for help. Next comes faith in the power of God’s spirit, available to us to meet that need. Before any need can be met, our faith must find expression. That expression of faith is all God needs to manifest His power in our lives. Faith is the key that unlocks the storehouse of God’s resources. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may first admit my needs. I pray that then I may have faith that God will meet those needs, in the way which is best for me.

Sunday April 12th reflection

The writer describes an ideal, calm world. where everyone has a puppy and a boyfriend.  The meditation refers to our need as God's opportunity. THIS tracks. God made me and is concerned about me. Where I have gaps God sees a place to move and help me grow. I love this about god. It makes me feel valuable. Often I don't feel good about myself, but God loves me regardless of what I think. I'm a work in progress. God understands me and wants me to be better. 

APRIL 12—AA Thought for the Day This sober world is a pleasant place for an alcoholic to live in. Once you’ve gotten out of your alcoholic fog, you find that the world looks good. You find real friends in AA. You get a job. You feel good in the morning. You eat a good breakfast and you do a good day’s work at home or outside. And your family loves you and welcomes you because you’re sober. Am I convinced that this sober world is a pleasant place for an alcoholic to live in? Meditation for the Day Our need is God’s opportunity. First we must recognize our need. Often this means helplessness before some weakness or sickness and an admission of our need for help. Next comes faith in the power of God’s spirit, available to us to meet that need. Before any need can be met, our faith must find expression. That expression of faith is all God needs to manifest His power in our lives. Faith is the key that unlocks the storehouse of God’s resources. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may first admit my needs. I pray that then I may have faith that God will meet those needs, in the way which is best for me.

Saturday 4/11 reflection

The writer continues on the alcoholic world. I've reflected on that earlier. Today the good stuff is in the meditation:  I must learn to accept self-discipline. I must try never to yield one point that I have already won. HOLY MOLY. I'm gonna have to sit in that this morning. I'm so undisciplined. Sometimes I fear it's going to be my downfall. Self discipline. even though it's "self"  the only way I'm getting some is if I pray  and work for it. These are the days when you just add being small to the gratitude list.

APRIL 11—AA Thought for the Day In the alcoholic world, one drink always leads to another, and you can’t stop until you’re paralyzed. And the next morning it begins all over again. You eventually land in a hospital or jail. You lose your job. Your home is broken up. You’re always in a mess. You’re on the merry go-round, and you can’t get off. You’re in a squirrel cage and you can’t get out. Am I convinced that the alcoholic world is not a pleasant place for me to live in? Meditation for the Day I must learn to accept self-discipline. I must try never to yield one point that I have already won. I must not let myself go in resentments, hate, fears, pride, lust, or gossip. Even if the discipline keeps me separated from some people who are without discipline, nevertheless I will carry on. I may have different ways and a different standard of living than some others. I may be moved to act by different motives than some people. But I will try to live the way I believe God wants me to live, no matter what others say. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may be an example to others of a better way of living. I pray that I may carry on in spite of hindrances.

Friday April 10th reflection

AA opens up a new world. But ONE drink wrecks it all.  Question: Do I want to go back to that world?  Sometimes I do. Life on life's terms isn't simple and uncomplicated. Sometimes even though it will kill me. I would go back. That's why I need this so much.

I get where the writer is coming from. and I hear it all over the rooms. but if I was that organized and logical I wouldn't be here in the first place. so there's that. The meditation today opines that pride shuts the door to God love.

APRIL 10—AA Thought for the Day When I came into AA, I came into a new world. A sober world. A world of sobriety, peace, serenity, and happiness. But I know that if I take just one drink, I’ll go right back into that old world. That alcoholic world. That world of drunkenness, conflict, and misery. That alcoholic world is not a pleasant place for an alcoholic to live in. Looking at the world through the bottom of a whiskey glass is no fun after you’ve become an alcoholic. Do I want to go back to that alcoholic world? Meditation for the Day Pride stands sentinel at the door of the heart and shuts out the love of God. God can only dwell with the humble and the obedient. Obedience to God’s will is the key unlocking the door to God’s kingdom. You cannot obey God to the best of your ability without in time realizing God’s love and responding to that love. The rough stone steps of obedience lead up to where the mosaic floor of love and joy is laid. Where God’s spirit is, there is your home. There is heaven for you. Prayer for the Day I pray that God may make His home in my humble and obedient heart. I pray that I may obey His guidance to the best of my ability.

Thursday April 9th daily reflection

Today the writer describes the social life of someone who is well adjusted and sober. They spend their time in service and have good relationships with people to the point they are no longer lonely. WOW. Question: Is my drinking problem solved as long as my personality problem is solved? i guess the answer is supposed to be yes. I have a long way to go. my personality apparently is very problematic. 

Meditation for the Day All that depresses you, all that you fear, is really powerless to harm you. These things are but phantoms. As someone who deals with depression. I could no disagree more. Depression is real. we are not making this up. mental challenges have to be taken seriously.

 APRIL 9—AA Thought for the Day proper Third, alcoholics recover their relationship with other people. They think less about themselves and more about others. They try to help other alcoholics. They make new friends so that they’re no longer lonely. They try to live a life of service instead of selfishness. All their relationships with other people are improved. They solve their personality problems by recovering their personal integrity, their faith in a Higher Power, and their way of fellowship and service to others. Is my drinking problem solved as long as my personality problem is solved? Meditation for the Day All that depresses you, all that you fear, is really powerless to harm you. These things are but phantoms. So arise from earth’s bonds—from depression, distrust, fear, and all that hinders your new life. Arise to beauty, joy, peace, and work inspired by love. Arise from death to life. You do not even need to fear death. All past sins are forgiven if you live and love and work with God. Let nothing hinder your new life. Seek to know more and more of that new way of living. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may let God live in me as I work for Him. I pray that I may go out into the sunlight and work with God.

Wednesday April 8th daily reflection

Today the writer discusses recovering faith, the place for surrender, and placing the drinking problem in god's hands. Question: Have I recovered my faith? I don't know. it's impossible for me to articulate where i am with that regard. Do i believe more than i used to? Yes. Do I believe as much as i used to? No. I think it's a good rhetorical question. I don't know how much utility there is in having an answer. Surely my brain is better used quantifying something else.  The Meditation tasks me with taking a stand for god. Being willing to be a fool for faith, forgoing custom and fashion.  I find this to be a very middle class meditation.  If one has the luxury of not caring what people think. They have a luxurious life. 

APRIL 8—AA Thought for the Day Second, alcoholics recover their faith in a Power greater than themselves. They admit that they’re helpless by themselves and they call on their Higher Power for help. They surrender their lives to God, as they understand Him. They put their drinking problem in God’s hands and leave it there. They recover their faith in a Higher Power that can help them. Have I recovered my faith? 

Meditation for the Day You must make a stand for God. Believers in God are considered by some as peculiar people. You must even be willing to be deemed a fool for the sake of your faith. You must be ready to stand aside and let the fashions and customs of the world go by if it means that God’s plans are thereby forwarded. Be known by the marks that distinguish a believer in God. These are honesty, purity, unselfishness, love, gratitude, and humility. 

 Prayer for the Day I pray that I may be ready to profess my belief in God before others. I pray that I may not be turned aside by the skepticism and cynicism of unbelievers.

Tuesday April 7th daily reflection-

me- Today the writer focuses on our personality problem. she points out three areas- integrity, honesty, and facing facts. Question: have I recovered my integrity? Yes.  I no longer live dirty. i know it's all relative, but it's more difficult to live honestly and feels entirely different.  Today's meditation deals with how to encounter trouble. instead of "Why should this happen to me?" attempt to leave myself out of the picture entirely. Practice thinking of others.  

APRIL 7—AA Thought for the Day In AA alcoholics find a way to solve their personality problems. They do this by recovering three things. First, they recover their personal integrity. They pull themselves together. They get honest with themselves and with other people. They face themselves and their problems honestly, instead of running away. They take a personal inventory of themselves to see where they really stand. Then they face the facts instead of making excuses for themselves. Have I recovered my integrity? 

 Meditation for the Day When trouble comes, do not say: “Why should this happen to me?” Leave yourself out of the picture. Think of other people and their troubles and you will forget about your own. Gradually get away from yourself and you will know the consolation of unselfish service to others. After a while, it will not matter so much what happens to you. It is not so important anymore, except as your experience can be used to help others who are in the same kind of trouble. 

 Prayer for the Day I pray that I may become more unselfish. I pray that I may not be thrown off track by letting the old selfishness creep back into my life.