Just before Christmas, I led a retreat at Ignatius House in Atlanta, GA. One of the participants offered this compliment for my book, “It’s all in there.” she said holding it up. “There’s Father Ed Dowling and Greg Boyle and Sister Ignatia…” She continued listing many of my teachers on this journey. When I wrote […]
Bill Wilson, a co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), often told the story of his spiritual awakening. It is an inspiring account that you should read if you haven’t. But, I want to focus on what came before. I want to emphasize the bad period of his life for the purpose of reflection. You see Bill […]
My husband and I, often go to open AA speaker meetings. As usual when the speaker finishes, the chairperson goes through the litany of days of continuous sobriety. A chip honors the number of days achieved. The chip system starts with a ‘desire chip’. A desire chip is exactly what it says it is: if […]
I always dreamed of writing a book. Granted, this wasn’t the topic that I had in mind as a young girl sitting in front of my old Royal typewriter with my favorite paper: lilac or sour-apple green wide-ruled notebook paper, tucked into the roller. It seems that God always has his own ideas. The thing […]
You either get bitter or you get better. It’s that simple. You either take what has been dealt to you and allow it to make you a better person, or you allow it to tear you down. The choice does not belong to fate. It belongs to you. Robert McKinnon A few weeks back, I […]
Until recently, I’ve always thought that hurricanes don’t affect us here in middle Tennessee. Let me be clear, I am not saying that we have the same life-threatening concerns as our friends in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi or Louisiana, but we are touched by those outer bands. We are still affected by the storm. For the […]
Out of boredom, I decided to watch the first episode of the show “Ted Lasso” found on the streaming service, Apple TV. It was odd. It took most of the episode to wrap my mind around it. Curious, I watched the second and then the third. Then I stopped. It was so good that I […]
Whenever I speak to anyone in the Church about my ministry, two very distinct things usually happen. The first is that I am offered whatever I need to carry out this ministry. This could be offering a room for a 12-step meeting, allowing me to speak to those in pastoral care or sponsoring an event. […]
Good afternoon! I hope you are preparing for a fun and hopefully long weekend. I’ve been working on new materials to bring to retreats that I’m hosting in various locations. Because I’ve started booking retreats, we needed an efficient way to get the information out to you. Over the next few weeks, the website will […]
I finished my walk with the dogs as I always do. I headed into the garage from the sidewalk and unleashed each dog, putting their harnesses into the cabinet drawer with all of their other accessories, all the while talking to them about getting a drink once inside. Usually, they are excited to find their […]