Are you still counting calories? It’s holiday time and there should be no calories during the holidays. Or are you making lists of the things that you don’t have any more, including your loved one? Handling the holidays is not deciding how to eliminate the fat, the pain, the memories from our lives, but rather, learning how to count our blessings instead of listing our losses. Join me this week as we visit some friends who will share their blessings with us. It is truly the GIFT OF...

It only takes a moment for it all to be gone. A phone call, a knock on the door, a text, a few words and our world can come crashing down around us. What do you do when grief comes calling? Kris Munsch, of Hays, Kansas, builds and renovates things: houses, businesses, stores, things. No matter how run down or dilapidated it was, he saw potential. A professional craftsman and woodworker, there was never a project too big for Kris. He was a master “fixer of things” but he couldn’t figure out...

NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP I PRAY THE LORD MY SOUL TO KEEP IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE I PRAY THE LORD MY SOUL TO TAKE A universal child’s prayer, meant to give comfort, it may, instead, inspire FEAR. Although many parents refuse to give voice to a child’s fears and concerns about death, they sponsor the utterance of these few words each night. Is this our only introduction to Death? For many children, it is the sum total of a family’s communications about death, loss and grief. While...

NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP I PRAY THE LORD MY SOUL TO KEEP IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE I PRAY THE LORD MY SOUL TO TAKE A universal child’s prayer, meant to give comfort, it may, instead, inspire FEAR. Although many parents refuse to give voice to a child’s fears and […] The post Good Mourning: The Many Faces of Grief – Talking to Children About Death and Grief appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

I've decided to spend January in my basement. After all, basements are often dark and gloomy (suits my mood), in need of organization (describes my life perfectly) and could use a good cleaning (similar to shaking the cobwebs out of my brain.) January is a let down from the hustle and bustle of the Holidays. It is a month to "get through." January is a month to SURVIVE. It’s sometimes a depressing month, just like grief is sometimes depressing. But how do we know when it being “down” is OK...

I’ve decided to spend January in my basement. After all, basements are often dark and gloomy (suits my mood), in need of organization (describes my life perfectly) and could use a good cleaning (similar to shaking the cobwebs out of my brain.) January is a let down from the hustle and bustle of the Holidays. […] The post Good Mourning: The Many Faces of Grief – SURVIVING THE POST HOLIDAY LETDOWN: DEPRESSION AND GRIEF appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

I’ve always wondered why the new year begins buried in snow, frozen in ice or blanketed in mud. It always seems harder to begin when my feet are encased in leaden boots or stuck in frozen mud. Wouldn’t it be easier to begin a new journey if the weather were warmer and my feet were strapped into sandals or even bare? The beginning of the new year is a time for me to take stock, to rearrange and reorganize. And I thought it might be nice to check back in with my very first guest: Alan...

I’ve always wondered why the new year begins buried in snow, frozen in ice or blanketed in mud. It always seems harder to begin when my feet are encased in leaden boots or stuck in frozen mud. Wouldn’t it be easier to begin a new journey if the weather were warmer and my feet were […] The post Good Mourning: The Many Faces of Grief – THE END OF THE YEAR AND GRIEF IS STILL HERE: WHAT WE’VE LEARNED FROM OUR JOURNEY appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

It’s the holiday season and no matter which holiday it is for you, it’s time to celebrate and to give and receive gifts. But when your holiday may only be seasoned with grief, exchanging gifts may seem especially painful. Yet, there is one gift exchange that is so incredible, so profound that we need to share it. Today we are going to talk about organ donation and visit with some very special guests: a couple whose son died in a horrific car crash and became an organ donor and a young,...

It’s the holiday season and no matter which holiday it is for you, it’s time to celebrate and to give and receive gifts. But when your holiday may only be seasoned with grief, exchanging gifts may seem especially painful. Yet, there is one gift exchange that is so incredible, so profound that we need to […] The post Good Mourning: The Many Faces of Grief – A PRICELESS GIFT EXCHANGE: ORGAN DONATION appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

This is not your typical holiday show, yet it is a story of despair and hope woven together as one family struggles to find joy again after the death of their precious child. For years we struggled with the belief that the divorce rate was as high as 80%. Fortunately, new studies strongly suggest this to be a myth. We can put that 80% number to rest. The actual number is closer to a 12-16% failure rate. Join me as we talk with John and Suzanne Henkels, bereaved parents of Sammy, and discover...

This is not your typical holiday show, yet it is a story of despair and hope woven together as one family struggles to find joy again after the death of their precious child. For years we struggled with the belief that the divorce rate was as high as 80%. Fortunately, new studies strongly suggest this […] The post Good Mourning: The Many Faces of Grief – RECONNECTING A MARRIAGE AFTER THE DEATH OF A CHILD appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

Life is a little different in small town America. Here the pace is the slower and the people seem to be closer to each other. Minneapolis, Kansas is alive and well and thriving…held together by the compassionate caring of its residents. It is rural America at its best and it is the home of a first generation funeral service family. I want you to meet the Wilsons: Todd, Shelly, Landon 12 and Reece, 8. It is one family, united around an old wooden kitchen table, heads bowed in prayer, counting...

Life is a little different in small town America. Here the pace is the slower and the people seem to be closer to each other. Minneapolis, Kansas is alive and well and thriving…held together by the compassionate caring of its residents. It is rural America at its best and it is the home of a […] The post Good Mourning: The Many Faces of Grief – A FAMILY FUNERAL HOME IN RURAL AMERICA appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

Holiday cards. Gifts. Singing. Decorating. Pretending to be happy. Fruitcake? It’s holiday time and the world is filled with music, tinsel and glitter. It is a festive time of year, filled with joyous occasions and family gatherings. But when your family circle has been broken by death, the only things that sparkle this season may be tears. The holidays may only serve to remind you of the empty space at the table, the hole in your heart. While most of the world seems to be addressing holiday...

Holiday cards. Gifts. Singing. Decorating. Pretending to be happy. Fruitcake? It’s holiday time and the world is filled with music, tinsel and glitter. It is a festive time of year, filled with joyous occasions and family gatherings. But when your family circle has been broken by death, the only things that sparkle this season may […] The post Good Mourning: The Many Faces of Grief – THE HOLIDAYS ARE COMING AND I’M NOT READY! appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

A single sigh and she left. She left us, not with anguish or pain, but in the quietness of a sunlit room, in the peace of her own home, under the guardianship of a hospice program. My mom was able to die the way she wished…at home, surrounded by her favorite things, with her family close by. We were only a breath away, not sitting in some cold, impersonal waiting room. November is National Hospice Month and today I want to say thank you to the men and women who work every day to help the...

A single sigh and she left. She left us, not with anguish or pain, but in the quietness of a sunlit room, in the peace of her own home, under the guardianship of a hospice program. My mom was able to die the way she wished…at home, surrounded by her favorite things, with her family […] The post Good Mourning: The Many Faces of Grief – HOSPICE: A PLACE OF CARING COMPASSION FOR THE FINAL JOURNEY appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

Somewhere in the world, an American soldier, sailor, airmen, Marine or Coastguardsmen stands guard. Throughout history, there have been men and women who have always stood guard…ready to protect their families, homes, their very lives. Sometimes armed with sticks and stones, bows and arrows, long guns and pistols, sophisticated weapons and sometimes only with ideals and rhetoric, Man has stood guard, protecting what he believes in. And somewhere else, a mother, a wife, a father, a husband, a...

Somewhere in the world, an American soldier, sailor, airmen, Marine or Coastguardsmen stands guard. Throughout history, there have been men and women who have always stood guard…ready to protect their families, homes, their very lives. Sometimes armed with sticks and stones, bows and arrows, long guns and pistols, sophisticated weapons and sometimes only with ideals […] The post Good Mourning: The Many Faces of Grief – A SALUTE TO VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES ON VETERANS DAY appeared first on...

How do you breathe when the air has just been swept away with the words, “We regret to inform you…”? These are the words that have changed the course of lives for hundreds of thousands of families throughout history as they learned of their loved one’s death in the military. Today we’re going to talk about making choices in our grief journey and how one bereaved mom made the choice to create a sanctuary of hope and healing for our returning warriors and families of the fallen. My guest today...

How do you breathe when the air has just been swept away with the words, “We regret to inform you…”? These are the words that have changed the course of lives for hundreds of thousands of families throughout history as they learned of their loved one’s death in the military. Today we’re going to talk […] The post Good Mourning: The Many Faces of Grief – MY WARRIORS’ PLACE: A SANCTURY FOR HEALING THE HURTS OF WAR appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.