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JFT January 25 An added gift
(Preview)
"We see it happening among us every day. This miraculous turnabout is evidence of a spiritual awakening."Basic Text, p. 51=We watch them walk in to their first meeting defeated, their spirits broken. Their suffering is obvious, and their desire for help even more apparent. They coll...
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JFT January 24 From isolation to connection
(Preview)
"Our disease isolated us...Hostile, resentful, self-centered, and self-seeking, we cut ourselves off from the outside world."Basic Text, p. 4=Addiction is an isolating disease, closing us off from society, family, and self. We hid. We lied. We scorned the lives we saw others living, surel...
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JFT January 23 Serenity check
(Preview)
"Lack of daily maintenance can show up in many ways."Basic Text, p. 95=Ever had a perfect stranger remark about how great the weather was, only to reply "It stinks"? When this happens, we are probably suffering from a lack of daily maintenance in our program.In recovery, life can get pretty hectic....
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JFT January 23 Serenity check
(Preview)
January 23Serenity check"Lack of daily maintenance can show up in many ways."Basic Text, p. 95=Ever had a perfect stranger remark about how great the weather was, only to reply "It stinks"? When this happens, we are probably suffering from a lack of daily maintenance in our...
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JFT January 22 The school of recovery
(Preview)
"This is a program for learning."Basic Text, p. 16=Learning in recovery is hard work. The things we most need to know are often the hardest to learn. We study recovery to prepare ourselves for the experiences life will give us. As we listen to others share in meetings, we take mental notes we can ref...
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JFT January 20 One promise, many gifts
(Preview)
"Narcotics Anonymous offers only one promise, and that is freedom from active addiction..."Basic Text, p. 106=Imagine how it might be if we had arrived at the doors of Narcotics Anonymous, desperate, wanting to stop using drugs, only to be met by a sales pitch: "If you just work the steps and don't u...
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JFT January 19 Making molehills into mountains
(Preview)
"When we stop living in the here and now, our problems become magnified unreasonably."Basic Text, p. 99=Some of us seem to make mountains out of molehills with our problems. Even those of us who've found some measure of serenity have probably blown a problem far out of proportion at some time in our r...
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JFT January 18 The simple inventory
(Preview)
"Continuing to take a personal inventory means that we form a habit of looking at ourselves, our actions, our attitudes, and our relationships on a regular basis."Basic Text, p. 42=The daily inventory is a tool we can use to simplify our lives. The most complicated part of taking a regul...
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JFT January 17 Forgiveness
(Preview)
"As we realize our need to be forgiven, we tend to be more forgiving. At least we know that we are no longer intentionally making life miserable for people."Basic Text, pp. 39-40=In our addiction we often treated others badly, sometimes deliberately finding ways to make their lives mis...
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JFT January 16 Make that call
(Preview)
"We feared that if we ever revealed ourselves as we were, we would surely be rejected...[But] our fellow members do understand us."Basic Text, p. 32=We need our fellow NA members--their experience, their friendship, their laughter, their guidance, and much, much more. Yet many of us hesitate to...
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JFT January 15 Fear
(Preview)
"We grow to feel comfortable with our Higher Power as a source of strength. As we learn to trust this Power, we begin to overcome our fear of life."Basic Text, p. 25=Powerless as we are, living on self-will is a frightening, unmanageable experience. In recovery, we have turned our will and our lives...
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JFT January 14 A loving God
(Preview)
"Our understanding of a Higher Power is up to us...The only suggested guidelines are that this Power be loving, caring, and greater than ourselves."Basic Text, p. 24=We've been told that we can believe in any kind of Higher Power we want as long as it is loving and, of course, greater than ourselves. ...
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JFT January 13 Surrender to win
(Preview)
"Help for addicts begins only when we are able to admit complete defeat."Basic Text, p. 22=Complete defeat--what a concept! That must mean surrender. Surrender--to give up absolutely. To quit with no reservations. To put up our hands and quit fighting. Maybe to put up our hand at our first...
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JFT January 12 Spiritual awakenings
(Preview)
"Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps..."Step Twelve="How will I know when I have had a spiritual awakening?" For many of us, a spiritual awakening comes gradually. Perhaps our first spiritual awareness is as simple as a new appreciation for life. Maybe one day we'll sudden...
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JFT January 11 Faith
(Preview)
"As we develop faith in our daily lives, we find that our Higher Power supplies us with the strength and guidance that we need."Basic Text, p. 94=Some of us come into recovery very frightened and insecure. We feel weak and alone. We are uncertain of our direction and don't know where to go for answe...
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JFT January 10 Gratitude
(Preview)
"I'm very grateful to have come to believe."IP No. 21, The Loner=Belief in a Higher Power can make all the difference when the going gets tough! When things don't go our way in recovery, our sponsor may direct us to make a gratitude list. When we do, we should include our faith in a Power greater than o...
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JFT January 9 Returning our sponsor's kindness
(Preview)
"Our earliest involvements with others often begin with our sponsor."Basic Text, p. 57=Our sponsors can be abundant sources of recovery information, wisdom, and loving words. They've done so much for us. From the late night telephone calls to the hours spent listening to our recovery writing...
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JFT January 8 Growing up
(Preview)
"Our spiritual condition is the basis for a successful recovery that offers unlimited growth."Basic Text, p. 44=When our members celebrate their recovery anniversaries, they often say that they've "grown up" in NA. Well, then, we think, what does that mean? We start to wonder if were grownu...
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JFT January 7 Recovery
(Preview)
"Narcotics Anonymous offers addicts a program of recovery that is more than just a life without drugs. Not only is this way of life better than the hell we lived, it is better than any life that we have ever known."Basic Text, p. 107=Few of us have any interest in "recovering" what we had before we start...
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JFT January 6 "How does it work?"
(Preview)
"I used to think that I had all the answers, but today I am glad that I don't." =What are the two favorite words of most addicts? "I know!" Unfortunately, many of us arrive in NA thinking we have all the answers. We have a lot of knowledge about whats wrong with us. But in and of itself, knowledge neve...
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JFT January 5 Recovery at home
(Preview)
"We can enjoy our families in a new way and may become a credit to them instead of an embarrassment or a burden."Basic Text, p. 104=We're doing great in recovery, aren't we? We go to a meeting every day, we spend every evening with our friends in the fellowship, and every weekend we dash off to a service w...
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Cleaned up?
(Preview)
So I guess someone lost posting privileges?
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JFT January 4 The love of the fellowship
(Preview)
"Today, secure in the love of the fellowship, we can finally look another human being in the eye and be grateful for who we are."Basic Text, p. 92=When we were using, few of us could tolerate looking someone in the eye--we were ashamed of who we were. Our minds were not occupied with anything decent or he...
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JFT January 3 Our greatest need
(Preview)
"We eventually redefine our beliefs and understanding to the point where we see that our greatest need is for knowledge of God's will for us and the strength to carry that out."Basic Text, p. 48=When we first arrived in NA, we had all kinds of ideas of what we needed. Some of us set our sight...
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JFT January 2 Take a deep breath and talk to God
(Preview)
January 2Take a deep breath and talk to GodSometimes when we pray, a remarkable thing happens: We find the means, ways, and energies to perform tasks far beyond our capacities.Basic Text, p. 46=Coping successfully with lifes minor annoyances and frustrations is sometimes the most difficult ski...
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JFT January 1 Vigilance
(Preview)
We keep what we have only with vigilance... Basic Text, p. 60 = How do we remain vigilant about our recovery? First, by realizing that we have a disease we will always have. No matter how long weve been clean, no matter how much better our lives have become, no matter what the extent of our spiritual h...
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JFT December 31 Being or service
(Preview)
"Working with others is only the beginning of service work."Basic Text, p. 59=We're in recovery now. Through living the program, we've attained some stability in our lives. Our faith in a Higher Power has grown. Our individual spiritual awakening is progressing comfortably. So now what? Do...
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JFT December 30 Action and prayer
(Preview)
"..growth is not the result of wishing but of action and prayer."Basic Text, p. 37=Sometimes it seems as if our recovery is growing much too slowly. We struggle with the steps; we wrestle with the same problems; we labor under the same uncomfortable feelings day after day. We wish that recovery wou...
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JFT December 29 Through others' eyes
(Preview)
"When someone points out a shortcoming, our first reaction may be defensive....[But] if we truly want to be free, we will take a good look at input from fellow addicts."Basic Text, p. 36=At some point in our recovery, we come to the awkward realization that the way we see ourselves is not ne...
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JFT December 28 Depression
(Preview)
We are no longer fighting fear, anger, guilt, self-pity, or depression. Basic Text, p. 27 = As addicts, many of us experience depression from time to time. When we feel depressed, we may be tempted to isolate ourselves. However, if we do this, our depression may turn to despair. We can't afford to...
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