Disease or Choice?

Is addiction a disease or a choice? The short answer is yes. Health expert Lorelie Rozzano writes, “Many believe addiction is not a disease because it’s caused by the person’s choice to use. That’s true. The first time is a choice.” In simple terms, we “catch” this disease in various ways, often from trauma, abuse,…

Politicians

This time next year, those of us who live in America will be going to the polls. Groucho Marx offered a world of wisdom on the subject: “Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies.” Ron Paul may have had it right: “I don’t…

Love Each Other

Mr. Jones called a pastor whom he had never met to come by his house to pray for his wife. “What’s wrong with your wife?” asked the pastor. “She is very sick and extremely contagious. Can you come pray for her now?” “Sure,” said the pastor. “But why didn’t you call your own pastor to…

Off By One Degree

If you aim at something, but are off by just one degree, will it really matter? Actually, yes. If you are off by just one degree over the course of a mile, you will miss your target by 92 feet. If you were to fly from New York to Los Angeles, and be off by…

Prison Letters

A man in prison ministry told me an alarming story at a recent conference. For Mother’s Day, he offered Mother’s Day cards to each of the inmates, which they could use to send a note to their mothers. About 700 inmates did so. For Father’s Day, just one month later, he made the same offer.…

Pardon Me

If your husband or wife has been unfaithful; if they have been caught in a web of addiction, you have a decision to make. Stay or leave? Your spouse’s infidelity has opened the door for you to pick Door #1 or Door #2 with a clear conscience. No one can fault you if you decide…

Hold Fast

In the iconic sitcom, I Love Lucy, Lucy Ricardo said to her husband Ricky, “Ever since we said ‘I do,’ there are so many things we don’t.” Nothing is easier to do than drift apart as a married couple. Other interests and responsibilities can crowd out the relationship that matters most, and we put our…

Creativity

Be creative with your recovery. Have you ever considered that before? I have embraced the basics of recovery for years, checking every box.  Go to meetings? Check. Work the steps? Check. Get a sponsor? Check. Become a sponsor? Check. Pray daily? Check. Make calls? Check.  But it can become easy to fall into a rut.…

Confident

I share the same birthday with one of baseball’s all-time colorful players – 50 years apart. Dizzy Dean played 13 seasons of Big League ball, with a WW2 mixed in. A four-time all-star, World Series champion, and league MVP, Dean amassed 150 wins to go along with a career ERA of just 3.02. But it…

False Assumptions

It happened on this date in 1964. The British Invasion continued on the Ed Sullivan Show. Following the appearance of the more clean-cut Beatles, the Rolling Stones showed up. Their loud music, heavy beat, and anti-establishment look certainly caught poor Ed off guard. They were not what he was expecting.  Life is full of false…