'Tis the season to be … gloomy? Feeling low this Christmas season?  You’re not alone.  Amid cheery songs, festive parties, gifts and good wishes, many lonely people are crying or dying on the inside.  Maybe you’re one of them.  I was. During a horrible year, my wife of 20 years divorced me, my employer of 25 years fired...

Christmas morning came early when three small children roamed our house. They are teenagers now, so we’re happy if they wake up before lunch. When they were little they pounced on me at 4 a.m., jarring me from slumber. “Let’s open the gifts,” they’d holler. Hey,” I’d say, trying to remember where I was, “It’s December 4th. Christmas...

Did you realize that the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is the time spouses and family members are most ignored? Why? We get so busy doing things for our families that we don't take the time to spend with them. So take a few moments and express your devotion to each other. Are you mutually devoted? Then declare it! There is nothing quite...

“It’s my party and I can cry if I want to.” This was my attitude when my husband, a Marine pilot, was deployed over the holidays. His four deployments have separated us over four Thanksgivings, four Christmases, and of course, four Valentine’s Days. It was hard, especially the first few times. Then I discovered the secret of not only coping,...

The holiday season is traditionally a busy time filled with happiness and good cheer. With celebrations, family gatherings and office parties, it represents the most social time of the year. The holiday-party season and the gathering of family during the holidays can produce a tremendous amount of stress and tension - two key triggers in the onset...

Christmas is loaded with expectations, isn't it? Christmas shopping, decorating and entertaining. Typically we knock ourselves out trying to make it the "perfect" Christmas. And year after year we end up with the same empty feeling, like Christmas wasn't as personally fulfilling as we'd hoped. Why is that? Let's look at a few of our expectations. ...

What is Advent? Take a lesson: Discovering advent