Last ABCs of 2018 and on into 2019
 

A is for Action. I am powerless over other people's actions, but through the program and my Higher Power, I can control my own.

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B is for Belong. When I walked through the doors of recovery, I thought I am no longer alone. It was okay to be me where I am at in today.

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C is for Change. If nothing changes, nothing changes.

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D is for Denial. We shut our feelings off, be they good, bad, or ugly and say we are just fine. Fine my way is "Frustrated, insecure, neurotic, and enjoying it Don't say you can't, say I'll try."

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E is for Easy Does It...But Do It. Do the net BEST think. Hesitate and meditate, just because you have a feeling, doesn't mean you have to act on it. Just because it feels comfortable and right in the moment, it could be an old tape and instead of acting in your best interest, you are acting out.

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F is for First. First things first, my sobriety. It is a spiritual program and I need to bed spiritually fit in order to guard against that first drug. Remember alcohol is a drug. It may not be your drug of choice, but it can take you back to your first fix.

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H is for Hope. I don't know about anyone else, but at my first meeting, my first AA one, I got hope. At my first Al-Anon meeting I got a resentment because they told me that my husband wasn't my problem. It wasn't his job to make me happy, happiness had to come from within. How dare they? It is true, no matter what fellowship you walk into.

I got hope that kept me coming back when I went to an AA meeting that was of the 12 Promises long-form. I just wanted the first one as I have said many times, but was thankful when they all started to happen in my life. That gave me more hope, the Promises do come true.

(Do a search for the 12 Promises long-form)

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I is for ISMs. ISMs of my disease I, Self, and Me. I couldn't let you do the search for yourself, I had to do it for you.

The 12 Promises of AA:

http://www.bluidkiti.com/forums/show...ises+long-form

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J is for Joy. Have a happy and joyous New Year. I am responsible for my own happiness, so I might as well enjoy my journey

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K is for K.I.S.S. KEEP IT SIMPLE for SOBRIETY. Go to meetings, do service at your home group, call your sponsor, and if necessary, call your sponsor again Call a friend from your telephone list, you help them as much as they help you.

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L is for Look. Look around you You can learn three things from going to meetings. 1) How to work your program 2) How to not work your program 3) Learn to identify not compare.

Look for what you need for your program. You can't get clean and sober on someone else's program

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M is for Move. Move away from old friends and habits, just because they have been in your life for many years, doesn't mean that they are good for you in your recovery today.

Move on with your life and let the past stay in the past.

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N is for Now. Live in the now Be still and know I am God. No one can harm you when you are in His Care.

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O is for Options. Using was never an option, it was quit or die. I have another option, work and apply the 12 Steps to my life. It sure beats that other option.

The drug is but a symptom of my disease. My dis-ease will resurface now and then, and I need the tools to handle it.

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P is for Patience. Have it if you can. Remember where you were at and how you felt in early recovery. Have patience with your own recovery. You didn't get here overnight, it takes a while to heal. Some are sicker than others, like me, I was one of the really sick ones.

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Q is for Quandary. Was told long ago, not to use a word that you don't know how to pronounce or spell. I got a red line and had to look at what I had left out or didn't put in. That sounds a lot like my recovery. I only get out of it what I put into it. If I am in a quandary about my Higher Power, all I have to do is come from a place of love. Love for my fellow man and for myself.

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Q is for Quiet. We need to take time to quiet our minds and take some time out from the world of busy. It is good to sit with yourself. It is better when you invite your God in to have a quiet little chat. Hey God, what is happening. What do I need for my own knowing in today. In the stillness say the Serenity Prayer and then listen for the answers. I will try to follow you to the best of my ability.

The frog means cleanse the old to make room for the new.

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R is for Remember. Remember to come from a place of love. It must come from within you.

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S is for Serenity. The gift of Sobriety. Soundness of mind, have it if you can.

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T is for Take. Take what you need and leave the rest has been a long time recovery saying. I heard a friend once say, Take what you need, but take what you don't need too. You may be able to pass it on to someone who does need it. Works for me.

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U is for Understanding. God as you understand God and as my Sponsor said to me, God can be anything as long as He/She isn't you. My God is as He reveals Himself to me in today. It is my understanding that He is with me at all times, I just have to remember to invite Him into my day.

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V is for Vanity. This is a defect of character. It keeps us in the almighty I and stand between us and our God. Ironically some of the most beautiful people in this program have the lowest self-esteem. We can build ourselves up without becoming vain. We can be attractive and glamorous and remember to keep it simple More is not better, especially when it comes to make up. When it becomes more, it becomes a mask. We need to let ourselves out, and enjoy the freedom of recovery.

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W is for Wait. Wait on your God, He will see your through. As the saying goes, "If He brought you to it, He will see you through it." His time, not ours. Thy Will, not mine be done. He does say yes and no.

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X is for 'Xtra. When we feel ourselves not up to par, we need to do extra meetings, talk to our sponsor Xtra long, and do some Step work. Check out the Traditions to see what you are not doing. They are applicable outside the rooms of recovery.

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Q is for Quit. Have to say I to myself.quit your bellyaching. I know it is my own carelessness that got me into this situation. My son says I am a whoose who can't stand pain and tells me to suck it up. Quit complaining, do something about it.

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Q is for Quit. Quit putting such high expectations on yourself. Quit thinking you should do and/or be more. You are exactly where you are meant to be, in the now.

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R is for Rest, Rest your body, mind, and spirit. Give them the chance to recuperate.

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S is for Sleep. Sleep his a good healer. I heard a counselor say, "Lack of sleep never killed anyone." It hasn't killed me, but it has caused me many troubled days and nights. Like all things in recovery, I have to apply the program to it. What I do get is the good orderly directions as to how to deal with it. Lack of it I mean. ;)

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T is for Try. All we are asked to do is try. Try to work the program to the best of our ability. Don't pick up (no matter what), go to meetings, get a sponsor, work the steps and apply them to your life and share your journey with others.

We don't always understand how it works, we just know that it does.

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U is for Unaware. We are often unaware of our true feelings. Anger generally covers up a multitude of sins, at least it did for me. When I quit smoking, 7 years after coming through the doors of recovery, I uncovered rejection, abandonment, hurt, grief, and a lot of other things that I hadn't dealt with in my original 4th and 5th Steps. We can't know what we have never been taught, so it was important not to beat myself up.

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V is for Vast. In the Bible and in a song, it says, "Your vast domain" and it is true, God's works wherever we go. He is only limited by our narrow outlook on life. We need to stop labelling and limiting God by our perspective and open ourselves to a vast new world.

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W is for Wake. Wake up and smell the roses. Life is for living, and the 12 Steps are a living program. Wake up to new awareness and enlightenment. Wake up to a clear mind and a new perspective.

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X is for '. No one is eXempt from this disease. Young, old, rich, poor, religious,or atheist, this disease is cunning, baffling and powerful and is just waiting for it's next victim. I don't have to be a victim, I can walk the 12 Steps to freedom.

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Y is for You. No one can change you but you. Nothing change, if nothing changes. Only yo can make the decision as to whether you are an addict/alcoholic or not.

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Z is for Zero. Something from nothing, is still nothing. I don't want to go back to being alone.

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