Sunday, March 9, 2014

The Dick B. Pages: Stick with the Winners! Dr. Bob's wife, Anne Smith, "Mother of A.A." Was a Winner


Stick with the Winners! Who Were They?

Anne Ripley Smith (Dr. Bob’s wife] – called the “Mother of A.A.”-- Was a Winner

Dick B.

© 2014 Anonymous. All rights reserved

Anne Ripley Smith was Dr. Bob’s wife. She welcomed alcoholics into the Smith home in Akron. She loved them, fed them, counseled them, read the Bible to them, was their nurse, evangelist, housekeeper, and cook.

Her contributions to early Akron A.A.’s Christian Fellowship were many and touched the lives of newcomers and their wives in a needed way. She kept a journal from 1933-1939 and made special use of it each morning at the Quiet Time she led each morning for AAs and their families. Page references are to Anne Smith’s Journal 1933-1939, 3rd ed.

Here are some key statements Anne read to them and invited them to discuss:

Familiar to many is this language about the unmanageable life: “What do you do when you pray? O, Lord manage me, for I cannot manage myself,” page 20.

“Paul speaks of a wish toward good, but power to carry it out is lacking. A stronger power than his was needed. God provided the power through Christ, so that we could find a new kind of relationship with God. Christ gives the power, we appropriate it.” page 22.

“Test your thoughts. . . . Check your thoughts by the four standards of Christ,” page 32.

“Principles of Sharing. All sharing must be under guidance. You do not tell everybody everything every time but you are ready to tell anybody anything at any time under guidance,” page 37.

“Have you a Christ that can rid you of your sins and send you on your way rejoicing?” page 43.

Bible study and reading: “Let all your reading be guided. . . . Of course, the Bible ought to be the main Source Book of all. No day ought to pass without reading it,” page 60.

“We do not go into the quiet time to get guidance but to realize a Presence and     the mighty love of God.,” page 66.

dickb@dickb.com

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