Two sisters modeled the art of living well before dying in Texas floods

July 27, 2025August 16, 2025Posted by Steve Blaising2 Comments

Two sisters, Brooke Harber, 13, and Blair Harber, 11, were swept away in the July Fourth Texas floods.

Rescuers found the girls a day later, with hands clasped together and clutching rosary beads.

“I love you,” texted Blair in her last words to her father and grandparents at 3:30 AM.

RJ Harber, their father, who was staying in a separate cabin, tried a kayak, but he couldn’t get there.

Their school, St. Rita Catholic Community School in Dallas, highlighted how the sisters led vibrant lives.

Did Brooke and Blair leave us clues on how to face tragedy?

I think they left three.

Tags: tragedy

Guadalupe River Flood: How to Transform Your Loss into Life-Changing Redemption

July 13, 2025July 13, 2025Posted by Steve Blaising4 Comments

A natural disaster like the July 4 Guadalupe River flood inflicts painful loss for years.

At least 129 people were killed.

Over 160 remain missing.

The Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in less than an hour at dawn on July 4, 2025.

This is worse than a 100-year flood event, according to experts.

Approximately 100 billion gallons of rain fell on Kerr County, more than the daily flow of Niagara Falls.

Guadalupe River loss — The cabin where 20 girls went missing on July 5, 2025, in the Guadalupe River flood/Ronaldo Schemidt/gettyimages

Is it possible to storm-proof the future?

And later, loss?

Some folks say it’s never wise to camp by a river, especially one in the middle of “Flash Flood Alley,” where a historic flood in August 1978 and another in July 1987 caused multiple fatalities.

But I think it’s fair to say there’s no place in the world to camp without risks.

An old Spanish proverb says, “There is no home which does not at some time know its hush.”

Three decisive steps may set a healing course for anyone drowning in tragedy.

Tags: Anxiety, Fear, loss

LA wildfires: 3 best recovery tips to survive any disaster

January 13, 2025January 13, 2025Posted by Steve Blaising4 Comments

Wildfires require extreme recovery tips.

Folks in LA are shocked at the speed of destruction.

Over 12,000 properties obliterated
24 found dead, more missing, and many injured
Roughly 180,000 forced from their homes

Recovery from LA wildfires — Night-long exposure photo of LA wildfire 2025/FrozenShutter/GettyImages

Could you survive if you were ambushed by a natural or unnatural disaster?

Three parachutes make the difference between recovery and death.

Tags: tragedy, Wildfires

Mastering Life’s Challenges: How to Win the 5-Second Game

September 11, 2024September 12, 2024Posted by Steve Blaising6 Comments

Ask Cowboys Defensive Coordinator Mike Zimmer, who unexpectedly lost his beautiful wife to natural causes in 2009 at age 50, how to master challenges like the sudden death of a spouse.

Life challenges Cowboys coach — Cowboys Head Defensive Coach Mike Zimmer faces family losses/Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Ask him how he coped when he got a phone call that his son and best friend, a talented NFL coach himself, was found dead on his couch alone in his apartment at age 38.

The sudden death of a spouse or a child ranks number one as life’s most significant stressor.

Ask Coach Zimmer how football, the game he loves, knows, and coaches is a metaphor for handling life’s toughest challenges.

Tags: Grief, tragedy