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 | 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 | 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 | aging parents, children, comfort, compassion, dads, encouragement, gratitude, loss, sandwich generation
It won’t be long ’til we say hello to our baby granddaughter! I learned today that I’m part of the Club Sandwich generation. According to Wikipedia, we’re typically in our 50’s or 60’s sandwiched between aging parents, adult...
by Deb Kalmbach | addiction, alcoholism, comfort, Easter, encouragement, faith, forgiveness, freedom, God's faithfulness, grace, hope, love, peace, reconciliation, recovery, substance abuse, surrender, Uncategorized
In 1992, artist Thomas Blackshear II, painted a picture titled Forgiven. It took my breath away the first time I saw it. The image is a contemporary man wearing a T-shirt and dirty jeans, holding a mallet in one hand and a nail in the other. The expression on his face...
by Deb Kalmbach | comfort, encouragement, faith, fear, God's faithfulness, hope, life, Uncategorized
This past week, the topic of conversation nearly everywhere I went, was the tragic terrorist attacks in Paris. The horror of what happened there and in other places–Lebanon, Nigeria, and now Mali, is beyond belief. How can this happen? How can a group of people...
