Did you skip Starbucks?

Smiling young woman dropping coins into a glass savings jar beside a homemade mug of coffee on a marble kitchen counter

I am not a huge fan of “Sixbucks” I mean Starbucks, but honestly some of their products are good.  But I love to joke with the folks that walk into the office with their cup of “Liquid Gold”!  So what am I talking about with skipping a cup of coffee?  On Monday we asked folks […]

To tell or not to tell?

Caring mother with her hand on her young adult son's shoulder as they talk honestly on porch steps at dusk

As we begin to address drug use and abuse among our youth it is important to recognize that drug abuse can strike our families no matter what we say or do.  We can be the perfect parents and still the “creature” can ravage our loved ones.   Over the years I have been approached with several […]

Kids and Drugs what do we do?

Uncle in a red cap talking with his young nephew as they sit with fishing rods on a sunny pond dock

I was recently asked if I recommended a parent take their child to see the pain people on drugs face.  The caller wanted to bring his nephew to a rehab or detox to talk to the patients recovering from drug abuse.  Recently the US Department of Education released a study on the effects of mandatory […]

Recovery Information

Kind female physician in a white coat explaining health information to an attentive male patient in a bright clinic

Medical Aspects of Alcohol and Alcoholism 1. Alcoholism: classified as a disease, characterized by a loss of control. 2. Hangover Effects: mini-withdrawal from a depressant drug; causes agitation upon detoxification. Symptoms include: headache, irritability, dehydration, upset stomach, anxiety, nausea, jumpiness. 3. Malnutrition: alcohol has no nutritional value; essential vitamins, minerals, proteins are missing from the […]

Recovery Information

Smiling young woman sharing with a supportive outpatient counseling group seated in a sunny room full of plants

Good Morning, The information I’ll be sharing in this blog was given to me at an outpatient drug and alcohol program I recently completed.  I found it to be very helpful.  I let Dan know all the great information I was getting, and true to Dan, he “suggested” I share it on his blog.  Today, […]

How to Stop Screwing Your Life Up! Guaranteed…

Man in a mustard sweater calmly writing a new plan in a notebook beside crumpled paper and an orange coffee mug

No matter where you go, there you are!  Due to the human condition we have the propensity to look for meaning in everything we do.  That includes our screw ups.  Unfortunately when we screw up again, and again and again, our brain searches for the reason and the reason always falls squarely in the wrong […]

We’re Not Strangers to Drastic Measures

Determined woman running on a long stone staircase in a hillside city at dawn under a coral sky

I am fortunate to have the friends I have met all across the world both face to face and via internet social websites.  Hope is a recovered lady with a wonderful family, she is committed to God, Family and Recovery, Life is Good!  I asked her to write a Blog for us and she has, […]

Happy Easter

Empty garden tomb with its round stone rolled away at sunrise, surrounded by white Easter lilies and olive trees

“Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: ‘I have seen the Lord!’ And she told them that he had said these things to her.” – John 20:18, NIV Bible I remember it like yesterday I said to my sponsor George, “I do not go to step study meetings”!  He asked me why not?   […]

Ambiguity

Laughing middle-aged couple dancing in the summer rain under a glowing street lamp on a tree-lined sidewalk at dusk

“Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity.” – Gilda Radner Life is ambiguous and filled with contradictions.  Addiction is a huge contradiction, as much as we can predict and see patterns for people that are in throws […]

Alone in a Crowded Room

Older woman placing a kind hand on a young woman's shoulder as commuters blur past in a sunlit train station

Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge […]