How you can help keep your kids drug-free. by Christy Heitger-Casbon The statistics are startling. According to the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug among America’s youth. Focus Adolescent Services reports that the average age of first marijuana use is 14, and each year more teens enter…
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Saving Ophelia
A woman discovers how God works from the inside out. by Kimberly Davidson Ophelia, in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, illustrates the destructive forces affecting young women. Ophelia is a typical girl, footloose and fancy-free. But she loses herself in adolescence. She falls in love with Hamlet and lives only for his approval. She doesn’t have a…
Read moreThe Gambling Trap
Hard lessons from easy money. by Jeri Darby While scanning the newspaper, my eyes rested on a short story about a crumbling marriage. Nothing out of the ordinary. Then laughter rose inside me as I read further. The distraught husband was divorcing his wife because she refused to give up bingo. Bingo? I silently…
Read moreThe Truth About Anorexia
Facts that lead to freedom, with the help of God. by Laurie Glass Are you afraid to eat? Afraid of getting fat? Do you restrict what you eat when something in your life feels out of control? Do you regularly criticize yourself? Do you expect perfection from yourself? Do painful events haunt you that you’ve never been able to…
Read moreThe Truth About Bulimia
How to break the bonds of an eating disorder. by Laurie Glass Do you panic after you eat? Do you sometimes binge and then feel a strong urge to get rid of what you’ve eaten in one way or another? Is it difficult for you to find healthy ways to express your emotions? Is…
Read moreThe Unhappy Hooker
by Phyllis Nicholas The rumble of traffic was deafening. Dust and exhaust fumes stung my eyes as I leaned against a telephone pole. Four o’clock on Tuesday afternoon; I hadn’t had a bath in days. If I don’t get a trick soon, I thought, I’ll be a dead duck. At age 19, I was…
Read moreWhat Sets Us Free
Sometimes victory over addictions occursover time, as we mature in faith. by Nancy Slack I sat at the kitchen table, staring at a pack of cigarettes. I took one out of the pack and lit it. After tomorrow, I thought, I will never light a cigarette again. Tomorrow I’m going to quit smoking. I…
Read moreUnderstanding Gambling
The facts about a hazardous addiction. by Jeri Darby Gambling will consume your last cent and leave you frantically seeking new sources of cash. It has an insatiable appetite, demanding more and more. It is a vice, or a bad habit. But while everyone has vices in a general sense, not all vices are…
Read moreHealing from Co-Dependency
Going to the depths to find connection with God. by Julie Guirguis Tears stung my red, puffy eyes. My heart felt like a thousand daggers had been thrust into it. As I watched Paul walk away, the knot in my stomach told me it was over. I struggled with the urge to run after…
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