1. GOD’S ABC’S FOR HOLDING THINGS TOGETHER IN TOUGH TIMES
Below is a list of attitudes, beliefs and actions arranged in alphabetical order that
can be a skill resource for each one of us to better cope with tough times. As we
all know, a little rain must fall in our lives from time to time(tough times). This is
all part of being human. It is our constructive response to extended hardship that is
a measure of our strength and ultimate happiness, as individuals, partners, families,
businesses and/or society.
We are going to take some time today to discuss some of God’s ABC’s. This
material comes from a book called Courage To Change(One Day At A Time
In Al-Anon) which can be obtained at your local Borders bookstore or any other
local national chain. Let’s get started.
Directions: 1.) Choose one life challenge: Divorce, homelessness, unemployment, raising
a teenager, overwhelming debt, health problems, death, addiction(s), or
legal problems etc.
2.) Choose three letters from the below A through Z list. Determine how the
words following these three letters represent feelings associated with the
life challenge or are solutions to or coping mechanisms for dealing with
the life challenge.
3.) Repeat this process with as many different life challenges as you desire.
Try this exercise with groups of your family and friends.
4.) At the end of this training are some “Suggested Readings.” These are
books that have helped Michael Tibbetts, with God’s Guidance, manage
his own “Tough Times.” If there are 1-3 books of interest to you, please
e-mail Michael at: patriarch@woh.rr.com with the phrase “Tough
Times Books” in the subject of your e-mail, and he will mail you a short
summary of the book(s).
A (Awareness,acceptance,action), anger, anxiety, asking for help
B Balance, belonging, boundaries
C Character assets and defects, choices, commitment, communication,
compassion, conflict, confusion, controlling, courage
D Decision-making, denial, depression, detachment, doubt
E Enabling, envy, expectations
F Faith, fear, feelings, footwork, forgiveness, frustration
G Gratitude, giving and receiving, God, grief, guilt
H Happiness, honesty, hope, humility, human being/human doing, humor
2. I Intimacy, isolation
J Joy, judgment
K Kindness, kinship
L Letting go, living fully in the present, loneliness, love
M Manipulation, maturity, meditation, memories, mistakes
N Neighbors, nutrition
O Openness, opinions, opportunities
P Pain, passion, patience, perspective, pleasure, powerlessness, prayer,
priorities, problems, procrastination, progress
Q Quiet time
R Reaching out, relationships, relaxing, resentment, responsibility, risk
S Sanity, secrets, self acceptance, self knowledge, self will, serenity, service,
Shame, sharing, silence, surrender
T Taking care of ourselves, this too shall pass, tolerance, trust
U Unacceptable behavior, understanding
V Victim, violence, vitality
W Waiting, wonder, worry
X X-tra effort
Y Yearning, yielding to a Higher Power,
Z Zealousness
3. SUGGESTED READINGS
1. “A Quiet Strength (Meditations On The Masculine Soul),” Wayne Kritsberg,
John Leo and Shepherd Bliss
2. “Allies In Healing,” Laura Davis
3. “Conscious Living,” Gay Henricks
4. “Do What You Love And The Money Will Follow,” Marsha Sinetar
5. “Driving Fear Out Of The Workplace,” Kathleen Ryan and Daniel Oestreich
6. “First Things First,” Stephen Covey
7.“The Divine Center,” Stephen Covey
8. “God Is My CEO,” Larry Julian
9. “Life And Work,” James A; Autry
10. “Meditations For Parents Who Do Too Much,” Jonathon and Wendy Lazear
11. “One Day My Soul Just Opened Up,” Iyanla Vanzant
12.“Rules For Aging,” Roger Rosenblatt
13. “Sabbath-Restoring The Sacred Rhythm Of Rest,” Wayne Muller
14. “Sacred Contracts,” Caroline Myss
15. “Spirituality of Imperfection,” Ernest Kuntz and Katherine Ketcham
16. “If Life Is A Game, These Are The Rules,” Cherie Carter-Scott, Ph.D.
17. “The Broken Hearth,” William Bennett
18. “The Language Of Letting Go,” Melody Beattie
19. “The Road Less Traveled,” M. Scott Peck
20. “The Shelter Of Each Other,” Mary Pipher, Ph.D.
21. “When Love Meets Fear,” David Richo, Ph.D.
22. “ The 5 Love Languages,” Gary Chapman
4. 23. “The 4 Seasons Of Marriage,” Gary Chapman
24. “Loving Someone With Bi-Polar Disorders,” Julie A. Fast
25. “Healthy Aging,” Andrew Weil, M.D.
26. “Excuse Me, Your Life Is Waiting,” Lynn Grabhorn
27. “Keeping The Love You Find,” Harville Hendrix, Ph.D.
28. “Loving What Is,” Byron Katie
29. “The Power Of Now,” Eckhart Tolle
30. “Love Must Be Tough,” Dr. James Dobson
31. “Love Is A Decision,” Dr. Gary Smalley
32. “The DNA Of Relationships,” Dr. Gary Smalley
33. “The Language Of Letting Go,” Melodie Beattie
34. Any book by Dr. Wayne Dyer
35. “Awakening Intuition,” Mona Lisa Schultz
36. “The Purpose Driven Life,” Rick Warren
37. “I Thought We’d Never Talk Again,” Laura Davis
38. “After The Ecstasy, The Laundry, “Jack Kornfield
39. “People Of The Lie,” M. Scott Peck
40. “The Jesus Path,” Vicki Thompson
41. "Now You're Speaking My Language," Gary Chapman
42. "When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough," Harold Kushner
43. "Mastering Life's Energies," Maria Nemeth, Ph.D.
44. "Trust Your Vibes," Sonia Choquette
45. "The Death Of The Grown-Up," Diana West
46. “Covenant Marriage, Gary Chapman, Ph.D.
47. “Patience: The Art Of Peaceful Living”, Allan Lokos
5. 48. “The Five Things We Cannot Change, “ David Richo, Ph.D.
49. “Radical Acts Of Love,” Susan Skogg
50. “Radical Self-Forgiveness,” Colin Tipping
51. “The Angel Therapy Handbook,” Doreen Virtue, Ph.D.
52. “The Divine Name,” Jonathan Goldman
53. “Frequency- The Power Of Personal Vibration,” Penny Peirce
54. “ The Secret Of Quantum Living,” Dr. Frank J. Kinslow
55. “Healing Traumatized Churches, “ Ronald H. Wean
56. “The 7 Divine Lessons Of Family Healing,” Michael C. Tibbetts
57. “ 4 Revelations On Love,” Michael Tibbetts
58. "When Bad Things Happen To Good People," Harold Kushner
59. “ABBA Calling,” Charles Slagle
60. “The Four Purposes of Life,” Dan Millman
61. “7 Things He'll Never Tell You,” Dr. Kevin Leman
62. “Unbound,” Neal Lozano
63. “One Nation,” Dr. Ben Carson
63. “The Cost Of Discipleship,” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
64. “God Loves You,” Dr. David Jeremiah
65. “Your Legacy,” Dr. James Dobson
66. “Co-Dependent No More,” Melodie Beattie
