by Deb Kalmbach | addiction, alcoholism, blessings, comfort, compassion, difficult relationships, God's faithfulness, gratitude, hope, love, loving others, marriage, perseverance, recovery, Uncategorized
Several years ago, just before Christmas, my boss and his wife treated my co-workers and me to an afternoon of extravagance. Each of us was pampered with a massage, facial and manicure. As I lay on the massage table having the yummiest-smelling creams applied to my...
by Deb Kalmbach | Carlton Complex Fire;, encouragement, gratitude, hope
The view from our house on July 17, 2014I’ve never been so happy to turn a calendar page as I was at the end of August. I flipped the page from August to September, breathing a guarded sigh of relief. Our world has been rocked by the firestorm that blew up on...
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 | blessings, faith, friendship, grace, gratitude
When my mom had a mastectomy a couple of years ago, my dear friend Mary came to be with me. Mary arrived at the hospital after Mom came out of surgery. Seeing a familiar face felt so reassuring. I threw my arms around my friend. I knew I could walk through this...
by Deb Kalmbach | Al-Anon, alcoholism, compassion, difficult relationships, encouragement, faith, gratitude, loving others, marriage, recovery, Sheila Walsh
The half hour drive from Meridian, Idaho to Boise seemed like the longest of my life. Late one night, I packed our 10 and 7-year old sons in the car with me to escape the turmoil at home. My husband Randy had been drinking again. I suspected that he was an alcoholic....
by Deb Kalmbach | aging parents, encouragement, God's faithfulness, gratitude, Thanksgiving
We’ve come to the end of another Thanksgiving weekend–the first Thanksgiving in many years that we’ve stayed home for the holiday. Usually we travel over the mountains, through the woods, and on the ferry to my parents’ home on...
