Because of the nature of my work, many of my Facebook friends are addicts or recovering addicts. I’ve never been addicted to drugs or alcohol, but we’re all in the same boat. We all get addicted to a substitute for love or an escape from feeling unlovable. There is neither pride nor shame in finding a way to survive the pain. Let’s not attach a stigma to addiction. And let’s not attach any permanency to it, either.

When we try to fill a void with something that only love can fill, we can’t get enough. All we can get is a fix. But when we satisfy our need for love with the real thing, we don’t need another fix. We’re free!

I don’t want to disparage the pain, the struggle, or the courage required to face the truth. Holding on to the security blanket–no matter what it is–can feel like a matter of life or death. But I don’t want to disparage love, either!

LOVE Is Enough! … More

It doesn’t matter if we’ve “failed” one time or one thousand times, it’s never, ever, ever too late to start again! And it’s not about the result; it’s about learning that it’s not! It’s about being true to yourself, regardless of the results! … More

Dear Friends,

You know that indignation we sometimes feel when somebody’s disrespectful? We can’t feel it, unless we’re judging them.

I was recently reminded of this … again.

Some people are easy to love. For me, they’re the respectful, unassuming, gracious ones. But they are not the barometer for how well we love.

If we want to know how well we love, we must look at how much we struggle to consistently and whole-heartedly love those who are repeatedly disrespectful, the ones who conspicuously don’t love us.

They are the ones who have something to teach us as well as something to learn from us.

I want to love them the way I love those who love me so well.

Forever a student of love,

Jan … More