There are things in life that are non-negotiable to me: Family. Health. Faith. Integrity. It is hard for me to think about how every time I drank, I negotiated them in some way shape or form. All of those things are precious and good, but the devil loves to go after what is good and twist and turn these things until they are ugly beyond recognition. What we intend for good the devil goes after and makes it bad. His biggest tool? His favorite? ADDICTION It robs us of the momen

I subscribe to the verse of the day on my phone. Every day I get a text with a verse. What a great idea! Right? It was a Monday morning when I noticed what I was doing... I had just answered three texts in a row and felt my Apple watch vibrate again. I was a bit annoyed, I had been trying to concentrate on some writing and wasn’t getting very much done. Mondays are my get ‘er done day. It sets the tone of the rest of the week for me. Anyway, I glanced at my watch to see who

Something big happened last weekend. Our baby got engaged. Like most Sunday mornings we walked to church together, the three of us chatting on the way. She had no idea that while we walked, I hardly dared open my mouth for fear of giving anything away. While we sang and worshipped, the Hoppen elves went to work (longest church service ever.) Her sisters decorated the area where the ask was going to happen. They dressed our little guys in bowties and blazers and things were s

I’m telling my age and so are you, if you remember the commercial for Highland Appliance. In the 80’s, a guy named Ollie did these commercials announcing a sale because he overbought. As we pack up our home of 25 years, I feel like Ollie. Over the years, I have definitely overbought. It’s been a constant in my life of never having enough. Or so I thought. As we pack up, and even before this, my awareness on this topic has been increasing. I have this thought pop up often. I a

I had a colonoscopy. It’s one of those things you start to hear about in your 40’s from your older friends and you store it away in the “that’s a long time away for me yet” category. You turn 50; your doctor tells you to make an appointment. You come back at 51 and they schedule it while you're standing there. You cancel the first one and are then told canceling again is not a good idea. You block it out of your mind until a few days before and then figure you'd better read

I had a different blog written for this week and then I had a change of heart. Two things happened this morning that made me change my mind: I woke up. My daughter texted me. I woke up early, in a sweat. I was frantically trying to recover from a nightmare. I don’t have them often, but when I do these are the kind I hate. The kind of dream that isn’t real, but it could be. This nightmare could happen in real life. Not like the kind that are horrific but they end with an alie

One of the books I am reading right now is The Seven Decisions by Andy Andrews. I always have two books going at the same time. I call them the teaching book and the getaway book. The teaching book is full of highlights and notes in my journal, I usually read out of this one in the morning or at sometime during the day when I need a pick me up or feel stressed and in need of some down time. Works every time. There is always something new to learn and relate to. The getaway b