Preface Recovery is about acknowledging, coming to believe, learning to trust, remembering, thinking through, seeking perspective, taking time to review, becoming willing to let go, gathering courage to do hard things, growing in our ability to live by revelation, serving our fellows–and all this ... Read More
Lessons From the Stable All Year Long
Now that we’re on the “other side” of Christmas I thought I would write a little piece about taking Christmas into the new year. My latest post is called “Lessons From the Stable All Year Long.” It’s highlighted on my daughters Kendra’s wonderful Blog “The Things I Love Most” as part of her “25 ... Read More
The 12 Steps – God’s Rx for Pain – Introduction
My ears suddenly perked up as I heard the teacher say, “Sometimes we refer to addiction as self-medication.” I’ll never forget the moment I was introduced to that concept. I was sitting in a graduate level class for students desiring to become addiction recovery counselors. I remember thinking, ... Read More
“Mom, Don’t You Think I’d Be Like One of Those Guys?” – Patience with the Process
Before we get too far into October I have a thought that was inspired by ten words spoken this year, by a little boy, on September 11th. My four young grandchildren woke up and got going on the day, like it was the same as any other. They busied around taking care of the standard daily kind of ... Read More
Humility, It’s About US
We often talk about the need to “be” humble. Today I want to speak of humility as something we can “do” something about. I’m not sure I was ever very acquainted with real humility until receiving understanding through recovery from addiction. Humility was always something pretty nebulous. I was ... Read More
Practice Makes Progress – Principles For a Lifetime
I can’t remember when I took my first piano lesson, but as far back as I can remember, practicing the piano daily was a part of my routine. In my elementary school years my teacher was the traveling variety. She came highly recommended, gray haired, thick-rimmed glasses, and very old. Once a week I ... Read More
“You’re Excited About My Tonsillectomy?” – All Steps
I called my granddaughter, Eliza, today to see if everything was finalized for her surgery. Apparently all is in order and tomorrow she will have her tonsils and adenoids removed. Her poor little throat is so full of tonsils the size of marbles she can hardly breathe. “I’m so excited for you ... Read More
“Mommy, I Just Wanted To Get A Violin, Ya Know, Just Have One!”
Helping children with music lessons is definitely upper division training for parents. I can’t even imagine how many hours I’ve spent tutoring at the piano, encouraging from the kitchen sink, and sitting through lessons. My biggest adventure into the unknown came when my youngest daughter asked if ... Read More