Recovery. Sobriety. Living Wise.
“A crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” Isaiah 61:3 Such as it is to find family. Marsha and I were sick over Thanksgiving this year and spent the weekend wrapped in cozy blankets, reading, listening to music, and musing over the importance of family in our lives. … Continue reading Inventing A Family When We Need It
Neil Vance remembers Floyd Stanley… His voice was unmistakable. Although we hadn’t talked in several years, I was sure it was him immediately. After establishing that it was really me, he said, “I need a favor.” Oh no, I thought. They’re foreclosing on the shopping center and he wants my help in arranging another loan. I made my decision before his sentence was even finished. I … Continue reading A Sacred Friend Remembered (by Neil)
Occasionally, we experience transformational moments in our lives when everything changes. Sometimes these moments are big, sometimes they are small, but either way they forever get locked in our memory. I had such a moment twenty years ago when Marsha and I were on a cross-country road trip. The new century had just arrived and we both were emerging from a time that felt like a … Continue reading Recovery of a Marriage
As an early member of the Baby Boomer generation, I took pride in dreaming big. I was preoccupied with a yet unborn future and found it easy to escape into the dream world of my longings. I remember Robert Kennedy sharing these words from George Bernard Shaw at a rally at the University of Washington six weeks before his assassination: “You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But … Continue reading Grateful Right Now
A new guy recently showed up at our Snohomish County Jail meeting. He looked in pretty rough shape and toward the end of the meeting I asked him if he’d like to share. “Sure,” he said. He began by standing up, lifting his shirt, and letting us all examine the three huge bullet scars on either side of his spine. He then sat down and … Continue reading Looking For God In a Jail Cell