by Deb Kalmbach | addiction, alcoholism, difficult relationships, encouragement, faith, forgiveness, grace, hope, legacy, love, loving others, marriage, perseverance, prayer, reconciliation, substance abuse
I heard the news that a young couple in our community is getting a divorce after only one year of marriage. What went wrong? All I know is this is a tragedy. I remember the wedding announcement we received with their bright smiling faces, their eyes so filled with...
by Deb Kalmbach | Advent, Christmas, devotional, faith
It’s an early morning in December, still dark outside. I curl up into the overstuffed couch, wrapped in my pink fleece robe. Efforts to get up and be productive are more of a challenge these days with cold, gray mornings and frigid temperatures icing the...
by Deb Kalmbach | compassion, difficult relationships, encouragement, faith, friendship
When I was 33-years old, I slipped on an icy sidewalk and fractured my knee cap. Ouch! I never dreamed how much something that looked like a simple “skinned knee” could impact my life. In an instant, I had been sidelined. It was as if God had grabbed me...
by Deb Kalmbach | encouragement, faith, God's faithfulness, grace, hope, love, marriage, perseverance
My husband Randy and I recently celebrated 44 years of marriage. Our anniversary celebration at Steak ‘N Shake Wow–how can that be possible when we’re only 30+ years old? Well… we haven’t been that age for a long time, but it’s...
by Deb Kalmbach | faith, freedom, gratitude, patriotism, United States
In the late 1970s, Randy and I and our two sons spent three years stationed on Okinawa, Japan with the Air Force. On our first 4thof July overseas, we gathered with other families of the 15thTactical Reconnaissance Squadron to celebrate the freedoms I had often taken...
by Deb Kalmbach | addiction, alcoholism, difficult relationships, faith, letting go, mental illness, prayer
This post seems like deja vu. I’ve written about my “little” brother several times. Yesterday was his birthday. I called him to tell him I was thinking about him. His mental confusion seemed more pronounced. He admitted to using meth “so he...