AA Thought for the Day:

AA members will tell you that they can look back and clearly see that they were out of control long before they finally admitted it. Every one of us has gone through that stage when we wouldn’t admit that we were alcoholics. It takes a lot of punishment to convince us. But one thing is certain: we all know from actual experience that when it comes to dishing out punishment, John Barleycorn* has no equal. Have I any reservations as to my status as an alcoholic?

Meditation for the Day:

There is a force for good in the world and when you are cooperating with that force for good, good things happen to you. You have free will, the choice to be on the side of right or on the side of wrong. This force for good we call God’s will. God has a purpose for the world and He has a purpose for your life. He wants you to bring all your desires into oneness with His desires. He can only work through people. If you try to make God’s will your will, you will be guided by Him. You will be in the stream of goodness, carried along by everything that is right. You will be on God’s side.

Prayer for the Day:

I pray that I may try to make God’s will my will. I pray that I may keep in the stream of goodness in the world.

* John Barleycorn was a British folk song that detailed the crops used in the production of some alcoholic beverages, as well as the effects of regular alcohol consumption. Author Jack London also published in 1914 an autobiographical novel called John Barleycorn, which detailed his struggle with alcoholism. As a result, the name became a way of presenting the disease of alcoholism.

From “The Little Black Book – Twenty-Four Hours a Day”. Copyright 1975 by Hazelden Foundation.