On this day in history, June 14, 1789, a preacher named Elijah Craig introduced bourbon to America. The high reverend was the first to distill whiskey from maize. He named his concoction “bourbon” because he lived in Bourbon Country, Kentucky. If you google “Elijah Craig sermons” you will come up dry. But if you google…
Passion is everything. It trumps intelligence, talent, and organization. You will never get far without passion. Steve Jobs was right: “People with passion can change the world for the better.” Those who knew Jobs well will tell you that his passion was not about computers, but the impact that personal computers could have on the…
“Lose your dream, you lose your mind.” – Rolling Stones, Ruby Tuesday We all need to dream big dreams. Here are a few of my dreams: What are your dreams? God is into dreams. He wants you to have great dreams, dreams that fit his plan for your life of recovery. My prayer for you…
Let me offer you the best advice you may get all day: Do something today that tomorrow will thank you for. Whatever you do today will have future consequences. You make your decisions, then your decisions make you. You can bank on that. The prophet warned, “You have borne the penalty of your lewdness and…
Accountability – you can’t stay sober without it. But what makes good accountability good? Peter Bregman, executive coach, and best-selling author, wrote an enlightening article, “The Right Way to Hold People Accountable.” He suggests five keys to effective accountability: You need to be accountable to someone else. And as you grow in your recovery, you…
Frank Lloyd Wright wrote, “Early in my career, I had to choose between an honest arrogance and a hypocritical humility. I deliberately choose an honest arrogance, and I’ve never been sorry.” It’s okay to know you are good at something. But is it really necessary to tell everyone how good you are? With all due…
The 12th Step tells us to help others find recovery. Ben Franklin tells us how: “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” In order to secure our own recovery, we must help others to secure theirs. We do that by example, not lectures. It is by walking…
We are all familiar with Amber alerts, in America. These are alerts that go out over everyone’s smartphones, notifying us that someone has suddenly gone missing. But where did Amber alerts begin? The girl behind the Amber alerts was Amber Hagerman, a nine-year-old Girl Scout from Arlington, Texas. She was kidnapped while riding her bike…
Erma Bombeck described her relationship with her mother: “When my mother asked, ‘Can I give you a piece of advice?’ it was a mere formality. Regardless of my response, I was going to get a piece of Mother’s advice.” Now, we may not always want wise counsel. But we always need wise counsel. The Bible…
Bob asked Jerry, “Describe your perfect date.” Jerry responded, “I’d have to say April 25. It’s not too hot and it’s not too cold.” I think Jerry missed the point of Bob’s question. The fact is, those who are single are always on a search for that elusive person we call “the perfect date.” Unfortunately,…