Americans love Christmas trees. We see them everywhere now that Thanksgiving is over – on cars, in homes, yards, stores, offices and lobbies.
One enthusiast in Massachusetts got pulled over by state police for transporting a tree almost big enough to hide his car. Larry Spiekermeier considered his chance to drive a 79′ Montana fir 3500 miles to our nation’s Capitol Building the capstone of his career. Continue reading
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
The holidays usher in a wonderful time of celebration and togetherness. They also bring extra work, worry and strong emotions. We need ways to stay focused on what’s right and keep inner peace.
It can help to take in simple pleasures. One simple pleasure my husband Charlie and I enjoy is Continue reading
Holidays are joyful, right? Not always. We enjoy gathering, giving and celebrating but there’s another side to the story. Continue reading
Do you enjoy your marriage? I hope so. I still remember hearing my friend’s grandmother say when I was young, “There’s nothing better than a good marriage and nothing worse than a bad one.”
Kansas resident Lawrence Ripple apparently agreed. He robbed a bank in hopes of going to jail just to escape his bad marriage. His plan backfired when Continue reading
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
Life is hard and dangerous. Reports of devastating hurricanes and now mass murder break our hearts. Disasters dominate national news while private catastrophes unfold around us.
A steady diet of bad news and trouble causes discouragement. Compassion fatigue desensitizes us to other’s pain. Even worse, we can start to feel helpless. Helplessness gives trouble the last word. Continue reading
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
Unwanted and upsetting conflicts happen. They’re as old as human history.
A client of mine named Christine encountered a difficult conflict one time. She didn’t know what to do until she came to counseling and got some ideas. Perhaps you can relate to her story: Continue reading
It’s awful to think of Hurricane Irma approaching our shores on the heels of Harvey. Folks in Irma’s way are preparing for trouble. They’re fleeing homes they may never see again. Normal changed fast for these people (and they will need our help).
Last night, my husband said, “If we had to evacuate due to a storm, what would we take?” I didn’t know. I hadn’t thought about it. Continue reading
Historic rainfall brought disaster to Houston last week. America looked on with compassion then pitched in to help. I’ve done something to help. Have you?
As epic tragedy befell Texas, smaller catastrophes rocked the private worlds of people living elsewhere. Continue reading
This picture shows me enjoying Monday’s TOTAL solar eclipse with husband Charlie and others not shown. Everyone present marveled to see the sun hidden by the moon’s silhouette and experience midday darkness.
We all said “Awesome!” Continue reading
Last week I described my friend’s pain after she suffered a setback and thought of herself as a failure. Her suffering caused me to think how badly we need to know and remember the truth about failing. I discussed five related truths in last week’s post, which you can read here.
Today’s post builds on that discussion Continue reading
