Life

Give me an undivided heart, LORD

I’ll never forget the day I found out that my heart was not whole. It was early in the morning. I was sitting on a park bench. The sun was rising in the eastern sky of central Pennsylvania. The only thing that marred the view was two rows of concertina-topped fences patrolled by armed guards. I was [...]

Twelve steps of a relapse

                                  Twelve Steps of a Relapse   1. I decided I could handle any emotional problems if other people would just quit trying to run my life. 2. I firmly believe that there is no greater power than myself and anyone who says differently is insane. 3. I made a decision to remove my will [...]

Harvey died last Friday

Harvey Hatten died last Friday at the ripe old age of 87. In his casket were two items that signified to those of us left behind that freedom always has a price. An American flag folded at his head and a baseball cap with the words, “The Greatest Generation-World War II” , by his hand, reminded us [...]

Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem

I believe in God the Father Amighty.” That’s what the Latin text above says. I do believe. Do you? How about the rest of the Apostle’s Creed. Do you believe that also? In case you forgot, here it is. Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, Creatorem caeli et terrae, et in Iesum Christum, Filium Eius unicum, [...]

A band of brothers and sisters

   Living in the world without someone by your side is dangerous, if not downright insane. Did you ever watch one of those National Geographic specials from Africa? Maybe the ones about the big cats, or one of the other predators like the hyena or wild dog. No matter how many of the hungry beasts there are, they [...]

Are you naked?

GOT YA! Didn’t I! What a question. What a thought. Scary thought, huh? Nakedness is not something most of us, myself included, think about very often. So what do I mean when I ask you, and myself, “Are you naked?” Let’s hear what one of my favorite authors, John Eldredge, has to say about it: [...]

What’s that smell?

One of my favorite movies is The Shawshank Redemption with Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. In the climax of the movie, Andy (played by Robbins) makes his bid for freedom. All the time and effort it took to get to this point culminates in a swim through a sewer. The detritus and discards of human waste is the [...]

Who am I?

One of my favorite bands is Casting Crowns. I like their sound, who they are, their way of communicating. A couple of years ago when I started the journey of recovery, hearing the words of this song caused me to cry and confess and regret and rejoice all at the same time. It’s not ALL about me, [...]

Why I celebrate recovery

I go to a couple of different recovery programs every week. On Monday evenings I go to Celebrate Recovery. On Thursday evening I go to a local AA meeting. You could say that it is the most important part of my life. My recovery IS the most important thing in my life. If I’m not any [...]

The ivy strikes again…aaaaahhh!

I can’t seem to get away from the stuff. Every time I go outside to work now I run into this insidious noxious weed. So, what do I do? Do I stay inside, out of the reach. Do I cover up with a safe suit like someone working with bio-hazardous waste? Or, do I just [...]

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