Don’t turn a bad moment into a bad day…. Have you ever noticed that what you focus on influences how you feel and act? For instance, playing with children can make some older folks feel young and more alive. How about the feeling of accomplishment after completing a workout at the gym? What about the uncomfortable and unpleasant parts of our day that we all have? Have you ever noticed what happens when we focus on that? It tends to drag us into the negative mindset and bring

Where are your thoughts coming from?.. Ever have those thoughts that just won’t go away? Some are good, some can be not so good, and then there are the pesky / funny thoughts like Peyton Manning humming the Nationwide jingle that is still floating around in my head! Luckily for me and those around me I have not allowed this thought, as well as a few others to control my actions and attitudes. We eventually become what we think. It’s part of our human condition as well as a sp

What is your power source?.. Red Bull, coffee, Protein shakes, Power Bars, and all sorts of other products promise us energy. Many other products promise to enhance our power. Bodybuilders and folks into fitness and exercise routines gain physical strength and stamina, but, …. Where do we really get our POWER from? We see stories from time to time about folks doing superhuman feats to save another or help someone in danger. I bet if you take a look at the events of your lifet

Picking our battles… Perhaps it’s different for you but every now and then when I am alone with my thoughts, the quiet thought that has been with me for most of my life tries to remind me that not only am I a loser but also I am not worthy of others. Now thankfully I have enough Jesus in my heart and step work from over 30 years of sobriety to remind me quickly that this thought is not mine, it is from my disease; get it? DIS-EASE… The disease of addiction capitalizes on this

He sees everything… I love watching people. I learn so much from others. It’s interesting to me to watch folks as they interact with others. My experience has been that different situations bring different actions and behaviors. For instance, at the fast-food drive-through, the focus is on the order, as both the attendant and the customer are centered on the purchase of a pre-established menu item, pretty much a no-brainer. Then there is the grocery store and the need to be i

Trying to fill that hole in our hearts… Have you ever noticed that in certain times of trial or stress, no matter how much thought, effort, and will you give it, it just doesn’t seem enough? Or perhaps you are struggling with that empty feeling and no matter what you attempt to do or use to overcome it, the hole remains. That hole is in our hearts and no amount of food, relationships, material things, booze, drugs, or any other man-made solution will fill it. That is Jesus kn

Take off your shoes… Years ago when I was on staff at Salvation Army as a counselor, I taught a class for the men in the Adult Recovery Center in Sacramento. One of the more popular lessons I taught was called “Take off your shoes” I would post a sign outside of the chapel that served as our classroom asking all who entered to. take off their shoes. Everyone complied and no one ever had a serious problem with the request. I would then share with the men how we are always will

Another type of "Book Learnin'"... We go to school for 12 or more years to get our education. Most of us get some sort of on-the-job training from our employers. A lot of us get many educational lessons from the school of hard knocks. And a few of us get ongoing education from our Big Book and its daily 12 Step practices. But what about Spiritual learning? I have yet to see it on any applications in the working world. The lessons I am finally learning in life come from the Bi

Don't drink the Kool-Aid, just drink the water... We buy products based on our experience. I have learned the hard way that a pretty package can be misleading. It's what's inside that counts. We look for the quick fix and instant gratification because that is our cultural norm these days, but do we get the long term and permanent results? Perhaps it’s different for you, but I have only found that through seeking spiritual growth daily and working on me and my attitudes and ha

It ain't about the stuff we gain... Whoever dies with the most toys DOES NOT win. It is common practice for us to try to measure our success in ourselves and others by the size and amount of stuff we have. The problem with this standard is that it's an illusion of the truth. Whenever I find myself slipping back into this type of thinking, I tend to become less satisfied with what I already have as well as falsely base my happiness on the need to gain more stuff. Perhaps it's