Page 13 - AA NEWS JUNE 2020

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Step Twelve, page 124
"Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs."
"Service, gladly rendered, obligations squarely met, troubles well accepted or solved with God's help, the knowledge that at home or in the world outside we are partners in a common effort, the well-understood fact that in God's sight all human beings are important, the proof that love freely given surely brings a full return, the certainty that we are no longer isolated and alone in self-constructed prisons, the surety that we need no longer be square pegs in round holes but can fit in God's scheme of things - these are the permanent and legitimate satisfactions of right living for which no amount of pomp and circumstance, no heap of material possessions, could possibly be substitutes. True ambition is not what we thought it was. True ambition is the deep desire to live usefully and walk humbly under the grace of God."
Reprinted with permission from A.A.W.S.
The "God" Word, P-86, page 13
"My higher power is very much the love and wisdom I find in the rooms of A.A., and the beautiful things I see while walking in nature. I have no problem in using the word "God" with or without a capital G. My role now in A.A. is to carry the A.A. message to the still-suffering alcoholic, and that includes my journey in finding a God that works for me."
Reprinted with permission from A.A.W.S.
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Step Eleven,
page 104
"Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out."
"In A.A. we have found that the actual good results of prayer are beyond question. They are matters of knowledge and experience. All those who have persisted have found strength not ordinarily their own. They have found wisdom beyond their usual capacity. And they have increasingly found a peace of mind which can stand firm in the face of difficult circumstances."
Reprinted with permission from A.A.W.S.
Big Book; "It Might Have Been Worse", page 358 "When I joined A.A., I did so for the sole purpose of getting sober and staying sober. I didn't realize I would find so much more, but a new and different outlook on life started opening up almost immediately. Each day seems to be so much more productive and satisfying. I get so much more enjoyment out of living. I find an inner pleasure in simple things. Living just for today is a pleasant adventure."
Reprinted with permission from A.A.W.S.
Big Book page 25
"There is a solution." Reprinted with permission from A.A.W.S.
Big Book; "Because I'm an Alcoholic", page 346
"Alcoholics Anonymous, I was told, is a spiritual program, not a religious one. Through my years of darkness, some spark of spirit remained in me, helped me survive until I found my way into A.A. Then, nurtured by the program, that inner spirit grew, deepened, until it filled the emptiness I had so long felt inside. Step by step I moved to a spiritual awaking. Step by step I cleared up the past and got on with the present."
Reprinted with permission from A.A.W.S.
Big Book; "Acceptance Was The Answer",
page 417
"And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation - some fact of my life - unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God's world by mistake."
Reprinted with permission from A.A.W.S.
Big Book page 60
"We are not saints. The point is that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines. The principles we have set down are guides to progress. We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection."
Reprinted with permission from A.A.W.S.
Big Book; "My Chance to Live", page 316
"I don't believe I was smarter than anyone else, as I'm often told by those who came in at a later age. It was my time, my chance to live, and I took it."
Reprinted with permission from A.A.W.S.