AA Book Club

Thoughts for the week: February 27  Consistent Building During prayer, many people build up the new mental structure, but as soon as their time of prayer is over, instead of faithfully preserving that structure intact they promptly knock it down again by negative thinking. Obviously, a bricklayer could work hard in this fashion year after year without ever accomplishing anything. Around the Year with Emmet Fox (Excerpt) February 28 No work is of value without preparation. Every spiritual work must have behind it much spiritual preparation. Cut short times of prayer and times of spiritual preparation and many hours of work may be profitless. From the point of view of God, one poor tool working all the time, but doing bad work because of lack of preparation, is of small value compared with the sharp, keen, perfect instrument working for only a short time, but that turns out perfect work because of long hours of spiritual preparation.  24 Hours a Day March 2  CONFUSION OF DUTIES  It canno

 This week's speaker link - Louis R., the African-American experience in A.A.: ** If you like this post, please consider following AA Book Club Blog by clicking the icon in the upper left corner of the homepage, then clicking the blue 'follow' button. We feature new posts every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and will never have ads or give out user info. Check out our AA literature guide at AABookClub.org **

  This week's Throwback Thursday history link - a talk by Eve M, early A.A. member and GSO staff member: https://www.recoveryaudio.org/aa-speaker-tapes/eve-m-early-member-and-gso-staff ** If you like this post, please consider following AA Book Club Blog by clicking the icon in the upper left corner of the homepage, then clicking the blue 'follow' button. We feature new posts every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and will never have ads or give out user info. Check out our AA literature guide at AABookClub.org **

  In honor of Black History Month, today's literature link is to the official A.A. pamphlet A.A. for the Black and African-American Alcoholic:    https://www.aa.org/assets/en_US/p-51_CanAAHelpMeToo.pdf     ** If you like this post, please consider following AA Book Club Blog by clicking the icon in the upper left corner of the homepage, then clicking the blue 'follow' button. We feature new posts every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and will never have ads or give out user info. Check out our AA literature guide at AABookClub.org **  

 Thoughts for the week: February 21 I will be more afraid of spirit-unrest, of soul-disturbance, of any ruffling of the mind, than of earthquake or fire. When I feel the calm of my spirit has been broken by emotional upset, then I must steal away alone with God, until my heart sings and all is strong and calm again. Uncalm times are the only times when evil can find an entrance. I will beware of unguarded spots of unrest. I will try to keep calm, no matter what turmoil surrounds me. 24 Hours a Day February 22 Change From Within Man is a mental being, and to know this is the first step on the road to freedom and  prosperity, for as long as you believe yourself to be primarily a superior kind of animal, you will remain in bondage - in bondage, that is to say, to your own habits of thought, for there is no other bondage. Since you are a mental being, you will see how foolish it is for you to endeavor to improve your conditions by altering your environment while leaving your mind unchanged

  This week's speaker link - Joan R., the African-American experience in A.A.: ** If you like this post, please consider following AA Book Club Blog by clicking the icon in the upper left corner of the homepage, then clicking the blue 'follow' button. We feature new posts every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and will never have ads or give out user info. Check out our AA literature guide at AABookClub.org **

  In honor of Black History Month, this week's Throwback Thursday history link is to a Recovery Speakers.com presentation on carrying the message to African-Americans: https://www.recoveryspeakers.com/carrying-the-message-to-black-african-american-alcoholics-a-historical-perspective-presented-by-jackie-b-and-vera-f-1-22-2021/ ** If you like this post, please consider following AA Book Club Blog by clicking the icon in the upper left corner of the homepage, then clicking the blue 'follow' button. We feature new posts every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and will never have ads or give out user info. Check out our AA literature guide at AABookClub.org **

   Bill W's original Grapevine article introducing Tradition Two:                        Tradition Two                   Sooner or later, every AA comes to depend upon a Power greater                    than himself. He finds that the God of his understanding is                    not only a source of strength, but also a source of positive                    direction. Realizing that some fraction of that infinite                    resource is now available, his life takes on and entirely                    different complexion. He experiences a new inner security                    together with such a sense of destiny and purpose as he has                    never known before. As each day passes, our AA reviews his                    mistakes and vicissitudes. He learns from daily experience                    what his remaining character defects are and becomes ever more                    willing that they be removed. In this fashion he improves his                    consci

Thoughts for the week: February 13 In a race, it is when the goal is in sight that heart and nerves and muscles and courage are strained almost to the breaking point. So with us. The goal of the spiritual life is in sight. All we need is the final effort. The saddest records are made by people who ran well, with brave, stout hearts, until the sight of the goal and then some weakness or self-indulgence held them back. They never knew how near the goal they were or how near they were to victory. 24 Hours a Day February 15 Demonstrating Forgiveness The forgiveness of others is the vestibule of Heaven. You have to get rid of all resentment and condemnation of others and, not least, of self-condemnation and remorse. You have to forgive yourself, but you cannot forgive yourself until you have forgiven others first... Search and see if you are not really holding a grudge against some idividual, or some group. If so, you have an act of forgiveness to preform, and when this is done, you will pr

  This week's speaker link - Sandy B on Step Two: https://www.recoveryaudio.org/aa-speaker-tapes/2-01-sandy-saturdaymorninglive93s2-1  

In honor of Black History Month, today's Throwback Thursday history link is to Jim S, author of Jim's story in the Big Book and founder of the first Black group in the country, speaking at the 1955 International Convention:  https://www.recoveryspeakers.com/jim-s-author-of-big-book-story-jims-story-speaking-at-1955-aa-international-convention-in-st-louis/   Here is one side of a 1947 Washington, DC Where & When (meeting guide) for DC and surrounding suburbs. In the lower right is listed the 'Negro Group', which appears to be the group Jim started in 1945:    

        This week's literature link - a presentation by William Schaberg, author of Writing the Big Book:

Thoughts for the week: February 8 I will wait for guidance on each important decision. I will meet the test of waiting until a thing seems right before I do it. Every work for God must meet this test of time. The guidance will come, if I wait for it.  24 Hours a Day February 8 Thy Will Be Done Now we often choose to use our free will in a negative way; allowing ourselves to think selfishly, and this wrong thinking brings upon us all our troubles. Instead of understanding that it is our essential nature to express God, to be ever about our Father's business, we try to set up our own account. Around the Year with Emmet Fox (Excerpt) February 10 Like a tree, I must be pruned of a lot of dead branches before I will be ready to bear good fruit. Think of changed people as trees that have been stripped of their old branches, pruned, cut, and bare. But through the dark, seemingly dead branches flows silently, secretly, the new sap, until with the sun of spring comes new life. There are new

 In honor of Black History Month, today's Saturday speaker link is to "Big Black" James:       ** If you like this post, please consider following AA Book Club Blog by clicking the icon in the upper left corner of the homepage, then clicking the blue 'follow' button. We feature new posts every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and will never have ads or give out user info. Check out our AA literature guide at AABookClub.org **

  This week's Throwback Thursday A.A. History link - Joe and Charlie on Ebby meeting with Bill: https://www.recoveryaudio.org/aa-speaker-tapes/joe-charlies-big-book-study-1

An analysis of the Big Book, Chapter Two, from our   AA Book Club   online study guide: Chapter Two - There Is A Solution (aabookclub.org)   ** If you like this post, please consider following AA Book Club Blog by clicking the icon in the upper left corner of the homepage, then clicking the blue 'follow' button. We feature new posts every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and will never have ads or give out user info. Check out our AA literature guide at AABookClub.org **