How to Support Our Officers in this Crisis*

Whatever crises our officers undergo, they need us, and they need us to be strong. Depending on the circumstances, we could be the ones who are there for them to talk out some of the emotion. But when it’s too big for us, we can come alongside and love them enough to get them the…

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Hello, My Name is Victoria

My daughter and I were watching TV together the other night. She asked me a question about the show, and I started to tear up. She gave me that teenage-are-you-really-getting-emotional-about-HGTV-Mom?-look. It’s a smirk – and from time to time I have to bare my soul and explain my thought process for things I do that…

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Chp 10: Little Future Cops-Gun Safety

When our oldest son was little, we got a kick out the way he tied his cuddle blanket around his neck, made guns out of whatever was around, and ran off to fight the bad guys. When Brent’s leather holders for badges and guns were retired, our son appointed himself heir to them. Then as…

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Chp 9: Silver Bullets-Money & Your Marriage-How to talk

Money Talks Ted and Sarah have difficulty talking about money, as it is a constant source of conflict. Ted gets frustrated that he works hard to bring in the money and they never seem to get ahead. Sarah naturally avoids conflict, so she inadvertently sabotages their efforts by not communicating with Ted about upcoming bills.…

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Chp 8: Stuff Happens – How do you spell relief

How Do You Spell Relief? Whether the issues that you face in your marriage are a result of his job or relational differences or other outside pressures, there is a likelihood that at some point you will want to give up. Even the best marriages have occasional long winter seasons, and we are human. For…

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Chp 8: Stuff Happens: Suicide

Fifteen Is Enough! A few years back, Brent and I were getting ready for bed at the end of the day when he checked his Blackberry one last time. Another suicide. It was number fifteen for our department in a period of four years. I cried out, “Another one?! What are we doing?!” I didn’t…

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Chp 8: Stuff Happens – Substance Abuse

Alcohol and drug dependence are coping mechanisms. Something is up, and they have developed a crutch to lean on. Here are some symptoms of a drinking problem, adapted from Alcoholics Anonymous: 1. You have tried to stop drinking for a set amount of time and couldn’t go the distance. 2. You want people to quit…

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Chp 7: Your Support System-But Girls are Mean

You need a support system, but can you trust women? I ran into an acquaintance recently who I hadn’t seen in a while. We quickly caught each other up on our families, and she mentioned that her nine-year-old daughter was giving her fits. I nodded, knowingly. “That’s when their hormones start up,” I shared. “I…

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Chp 6: Short vs. Long Term Thinking-The Whole You

I’ve talked about motivation, foundations, problems, and trust. These are some deep parts of yourself you may never have thought about in this context. But I come back to them because it is so important to know who you are. When we know who we are, then we are much better equipped to deal with…

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Chp 6: Short v. Long Term Thinking

Short-Term vs. Long-Term Thinking Pursuing happiness is short-term thinking. It concentrates on right now. Right now I’d be very happy if I had a big piece of German chocolate cake. And then after I eat that very large piece of German chocolate cake, I’d be happy if I had just a little more. So I’ll…

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