by Deb Kalmbach | change, courage, home, hope, letting go, life, personal growth
Starting a new chapter in my life has always been difficult. About twenty-three years ago, we put our house on the market in Auburn, Washington where we’d lived for more than a decade. I remember the ache I felt when I saw the “for sale” sign in our...
by Deb Kalmbach | alcoholism, be yourself, courage, difficult relationships, marriage
What seems like a lifetime ago, I started attending Al-Anon because I was struggling to cope with my husband Randy’s excessive drinking. I didn’t know where to turn. Finally, I realized I needed help. At Al-Anon, I met a compassionate young woman who...
by Deb Kalmbach | Billy Graham, children, encouragement, faith, God's love, grace, gratitude, hope, Jesus Christ, legacy, personal growth
“We all have a Billy Graham story,” one of his daughters said at his funeral last Friday. It’s true. The Reverend Billy Graham touched countless lives during his decades of ministry, including mine. In 1979, I attended the Billy Graham Crusade on...
by Deb Kalmbach | addiction, alcoholism, comfort, compassion, difficult relationships, encouragement, faith, forgiveness, friendship, gratitude, hope, life, love, loving others, marriage, perseverance, personal growth, reconciliation, recovery, substance abuse, women
God still sends angels: ones with skin, hair and belly laughs. Angels like our friend, Jim. I met him at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting where I was the speaker for Al-Anon. I remember feeling at a loss for encouraging words. My situation with Randy and his alcoholism...
by Deb Kalmbach | alcoholism, difficult relationships, letting go, marriage, recovery
In my previous article about surviving your spouse’s alcoholism, I compared the struggle with alcoholism to an intense battle. It certainly is a battle on multiple levels: spiritual, physical, emotional. At first, I didn’t have a clue how to...
by Deb Kalmbach | Christmas, encouragement, faith
It’s Christmas Eve and all through the house, not a creature is stirring–I hope not even a mouse! Our stockings are still hung up and since we celebrated Christmas on the 22nd, everything is way too quiet! But we had a wonderful celebration with our...
by Deb Kalmbach | comfort, dogs, grief, Jack Russell Terrier, life, loss, love, picture book
We said good-bye recently to sweet little Kosmo, our 14-year old Jack Russell Terrier. It’s still hard to believe he’s gone. I keep looking for him everywhere. I’m certain that noises I hear are Kosmo. He’s letting us know he’s at the door or jumping down...
by Deb Kalmbach | addiction, Al-Anon, alcohol, alcoholism, compassion, courage, difficult relationships, encouragement, hope, letting go, love, loving others, marriage, perseverance, recovery, substance abuse, surrender
Cunning…baffling… powerful... Alcoholics Anonymous uses those words to describe alcoholism. It’s true. I’ve never felt more confused and powerless than when dealing with my husband Randy’s alcoholism. It’s an intense battle—one most of us are ill-equipped...
by Deb Kalmbach | comfort, compassion, courage, encouragement, faith, grief, life, loss, natural diasters, suffering
Courage is something I’ve thought about often during the past month–a commodity sorely needed by victims of Hurricane Harvey and Irma. Like many of us, I’ve witnessed the heartbreaking devastation of these storms as news channels have broadcast...
by Deb Kalmbach | faith, God's faithfulness, God's love, hope, life, love, loving others, marriage
If you could wave a magic wand and make your marriage more of what you want it to be, what would you see? How would you and your spouse be interacting, communicating and relating? Our focus is so often on what is not working, we fail to consider what is working and...
