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

July 27, 2025January 31, 2026Posted 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

LA Wildfires: 3 Recovery Principles That Last Beyond Disaster

January 13, 2025July 28, 2026Posted by Steve Blaising4 Comments

Wildfires require extreme recovery tips.

Folks in LA were shocked at the speed of destruction.

Thousands of homes were destroyed, and entire communities were forever changed.

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

Faulty airbag: 3 rules to avoid auto accidents forever

August 5, 2024August 14, 2024Posted by Steve Blaising2 Comments

I have avoided auto accidents and faulty airbags all of my life, until last week.

On my way to the gym, I enter an intersection I’ve driven a thousand times.

A black Mazda abruptly turns into me delivering a crashing blow.

Upon impact, airbags from the steering wheel and driver’s door exploded, pulverizing my left arm with abrasions, cuts, and hematomas.

I get out fast.

Tags: tragedy

Free-falling grief in the holidays? Embrace the warmth that heals

December 3, 2023March 24, 2026Posted by Steve Blaising2 Comments

Grief piles up for many in the holidays.

Recently, our senior pastor at Highland Park Presbyterian Church, Bryan Dunagan, died at age 44. His wife, Ali, and three children grieve a sudden loss as the holidays begin.

Just a few weeks later, another rising star, Jack Gibbons, age 36, co-founder of Bandera Ventures, died in a neighborhood auto accident, leaving behind his wife, Sarah, and their two-year-old daughter.

Sudden tragedies are like free-falling.

Free-falling sorrow — Free-falling grief/Oliver Furrer/Getty images

How do family members survive?

Tags: Grief, sorrow, tragedy

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