Pass it on

[recoveringnky]

I received this today from AAOnline.net. I loved it and thought I would share with my SR friends.
Have a wonderful day....and pass it on!

Hugs,
Kym


AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)

December 9, 2008

Pass It On


I'll never forget the first time I met Bill Wilson.
I was a couple of months sober
and so excited, so thrilled to actually meet the co-founder
that I gushed all over him with what my sobriety meant to me
and my undying gratitude for his starting AA.
When I ran down, he took my hand in his and said simply,
'Pass it on.'

© 1984 AAWS, 'Pass It On,' Preface.
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.



Thought to Ponder . . .

A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.

[BillJ]

Thanks, Kym!

[toad]

Thanks for passing it on.

[Astro]

Originally Posted by recoveringnky

A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.

Thanks for carrying the light of recovery Kym!

[toad]

Grace..........getting something I didn't deserve.

Mercy..........not getting something I deserved.

[BillJ]

Originally Posted by toad

Grace..........getting something I didn't deserve.

Mercy..........not getting something I deserved.

At my original home group, Andy S. used to say "All my life I demanded justice, when what I really wanted was mercy."

Or, from singer/songwriter Mary Gauthier:

Yeah, we all could use a little mercy now
I know we don't deserve it, but we need it anyhow
We hang in the balance
Dangle 'tween hell and hallowed ground
Every single one of us could use some mercy now

(c) 2005 Mary Gauthier

[toad]

'Twas the night before Christmas, we were all in the club,
Enjoying a meeting, instead of the pub.
The ashtrays were clean, and the coffee was made,
The Big Books were out and we all had prayed.
When out in the lot, there arose such a clatter,
We all jumped up to see what was the matter.
The Chair with his Big Book, and I with my smokes,
Headed outside to find these two blokes.
They came on inside and sat at the table;
And said that they'd chair, as soon as they're able.
To start with, they said, "It's more than not drinking;
It's doing your best to fix your sick thinking."
"Think, Think, Think!" and the slogans we used,
Help keep the newcomer from getting confused.
Step 1 is a start, they said we should know,
But after Step 2, we'll be all aglow.
We make a decision when we got to Step 3;
Step 4 was real tough, we all could agree.
Step 5 is the one where we let it all out,
And after Steps 6 and 7, we're left with no doubt.
When we got to Step 8, we made our list;
And then with Step 9, we have to persist.
After Step 9, the promises ring true;
We didn't just make that up, right out of the blue.
After that, it's on with the rest;
The things we must do, to be our best.
They put on their coats and got ready to leave;
A pretty good end, for this Christmas Eve.
As to their names, we only could guess;
Must have been Bill W. and Dr. Bob S.
The two men hopped into a '35 Ford,
And as they pulled out, one of them roared:
"We leave this message, for our sisters & brothers:
trust God, clean house, and be of service to others.
And for all of you people, I just want to say:
have a nice holiday, but don't drink today!"
--
Today I know that the light at the end of the tunnel is an old-timer walking
ahead of me with a lantern. "Pass it on"

[toad]

A 12 STEP CALL FROM ST. NICHOLAS

T'was the night before Christmas When I went on a

bender, Not a creature was stirring, not even a bartender.

The empties were stacked by the chimney just fine,

In hopes that St. Nick would fill them with wine.

With Mama in her kerchief and I with my booze,

We'd just settled down for a long winter's snooze.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I put down my drink to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I crawled and then stumbled

To open the shutters where I stood and just mumbled.

Then what to my bloodshot eyes should there appear

But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.

I thought it was DT's and needed help quick!

I didn't know it was only St. Nick.

I poured myself another as the reindeer came

While he shouted and called them by name:

"Now Barfly! Now Wino! Now Boozer and Rummy!

On Drunkard! On Alky! On Dipso and Dummy!"

So up to the housetop St. Nicholas flew

While I pulled the pop-top on another brew.

I trembled with fear when I heard a new sound--

Down the chimney came St. Nick with a bound.

His cheeks were like roses, he grinned like a possum,

His eyes, how they twinkled, his nose had rum-blossoms!

I offered him a drink, step up to the bar,

"Not today," he said, "I am now so-ber."

He had a clear face and a little beer belly,

That shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly.

This was too much, it increased my thirst.

"Hold it!" said St. Nick, "First things first.

You don't have to drink, easy does it,

Now that wasn't too hard, was it?"

He reached in his sack and with a great fuss

He gave me the book "Alcoholics Anonymous."

"Read this 'Big Book' for a life sublime,

Follow the principles one day at a time.

"This is the best present I can give,

Twelve steps--a new way to live.

The AA program keeps me sober, it's true."

Then giving a nod, up the chimney he flew.

Then I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight,

"You now have a choice, starting tonight.

So Merry Christmas to all and to all Season's Greetings,

Don't pick up that first drink, and go to A.A. meetings!"


Alan from AA in the Philippines

[toad]

'Twas the night before Christmas & out on the ranch

The pond was froze over & so was the branch.

The snow was piled up belly-deep to a mule.

The kids were all home on vacation from school,

And happier young folks you never did see-

Just all sprawled around a-watchin' TV.

Then suddenly, some time around 8 o'clock,

There came a surprise that gave them a shock!

The power went off, the TV went dead!

When Grandpa came in from out in the shed

With an armload of wood, the house was all dark.

"Just what I expected," they heard him remark.

"Them power line wires must be down from the snow.

Seems sorter like times on the ranch long ago."

"I'll hunt up some candles," said Mom. "With their light,

And the fireplace, I reckon we'll make out all right."

The teen-ager s all seemed enveloped in gloom.

Then Grandpa came back from a trip to his room,

Uncased his old fiddle & started to play

That old Christmas song about bells on a sleigh.

Mom started to sing, & 1st thing they knew

Both Pop & the kids were all singing it, too.

They sang Christmas carols, they sang "Holy Night,"

Their eyes all a-shine in the ruddy firelight.

They played some charades Mom recalled from her youth,

And Pop read a passage from God's Book of Truth.

They stayed up till midnight-and, would you believe,

The youngsters agreed 'twas a fine Christmas Eve.

Grandpa rose early, some time before dawn;

And when the kids wakened, the power was on.

"The power company sure got the line repaired quick,"

Said Grandpa - & no one suspected his trick.

Last night, for the sake of some old-fashioned fun,

He had pulled the main switch - the old Son-of-a-Gun!



-anonymous

[toad]

I posted this in the Christians in Recovery Forum and wanted to share it here.....

“A man who has friends must himself be friendly. But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
PROVERBS 18:24 NKJV

The birth of Jesus was known through out the Mid-east and the East in the early childhood days of Jesus. Wise men, how many it really doesn’t say, saw a sign in a star and came to Jerusalem from the East. They inquired of the Jewish king Harod, and he did not know of Jesus so they continued to follow the star to the home of Joseph and Mary. Jesus could have been two years old at the time. After the appearance of the wise men, King Harod in some insane act had all the male children of two years and younger killed. The wise men brought gifts one of which was gold. I am sure that the gold helped finance the family in their trip to Egypt to save the life of their child, Jesus. Just as the birth of Jesus was acknowledged by many then, today His birth is still acknowledged through out the world.
I remember the first time I realized that Christmas was not just an American celebration. It was the fall of 1954 and my father who was in the Army received orders to be stationed in Paris France. I was eight years old at the time and my sister had just turned three. Just so happened the date of our departure was Christmas eve. We left New York City, in a military plane for Paris. We arrived in Paris on Christmas Day. We went to a hotel and our parents had my sister and I go into the bathroom and stay while Santa, who was in a suitcase, could visit. I remember taking some toy I got and going outside the hotel to the street and playing. There I met a French boy about my same age, and even though we couldn’t speak each others language, we still communicated as children do without words. One thing we both knew and communicated was the fact that it was Christmas. Christmas all over the world. Whether you believe it or not, one fact remains, and that is that the birth of Jesus changed the whole world. Search the Word, find this greater Love for yourself. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………..toad

“For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we reglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him.”
HEBREWS 2:2-3 NKJV

[The_Hammer]

Right on Kym, as usual.

[recoveringnky]

Originally Posted by The_Hammer

Right on Kym, as usual.

Love ya much, my brother!!!