Author Archives: jeffreypeeples

During my sixth grade year in 1975, Miss Baker [not her real name] was the P.E. teacher for our self-contained classroom.  She was an athletically stocky woman in her thirties with a soft voice and a motherly attitude.  During sunny days she took us outside to experience a variety of team sports activities.  On rainyContinue reading “Lessons on Fat Reduction or What I Did During Christmas Vacation”

When I tell people the areas that I work with in counseling, I usually say, “anxiety, mood disorders, male mentoring, and spiritual abandonment.” The last one is the area that many people don’t understand. I define spiritual abandonment as, “any action on the part of a spiritual leader or institution that leaves a member ofContinue reading “Spiritual Abandonment”

When I was a college student, I worked as a library page at a public library.  I loaded and shelved books for the Book Mobile Department, supervised by four ladies in their sixties.  These ladies could have been characters in a southern gothic novel.  One was grandmotherly and chipper, one was sarcastically witty, one wasContinue reading “Why I Love Libraries”

To me, the thing that is worse than death is betrayal. You see, I could conceive death, but I could not conceive betrayal.–Malcolm X There are a couple of things I have to make clear before I begin the story: The story is only from my perspective.  Because of this fact, I have only statedContinue reading “What (really) Happened.”

  Our bodies, in our fight or flight reactions to pain, try to protect us by avoiding difficult situations.  Physical anxiety is merely our bodies’ protection response, providing us with more energy than we need to problem solve, but enough to escape the threat.  However, most of our threats aren’t physical.  There are not animalContinue reading “Running from Pain”

For those of us with anxious tendencies, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other seasonal holidays can present their share of tensions as we deal with our own expectations and people overwhelm.  The fact that we want to enjoy these times, can make the experience even more stressful.  These are the points in life when we need toContinue reading “Happy Holidays for the Anxiety-prone”

For many of us who struggle with anxiety, spiritual references provide a more objective source of comfort during anxious times—a tool much more stable than the voices taunting us in our heads.  One Bible verse that brings us solace is from 2 Timothy 1:7: “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, butContinue reading “If He has not given us the spirit of fear, why am I still anxious?”

Relevant: adj. practical and especially socially applicable. Truth: n. that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality. Adulterate: v. render (something) poorer in quality by adding another substance, typically an inferior one. What do we mix with the truth we give our children? If the goal is to make the truth entertaining, does it remain true? IfContinue reading “Relevance”

I have just self-published a chapbook of poetry containing all of the poems I have written for Dominion Christian Schools’ seniors over the last nineteen years.  Because I’m not so keen on the whole self-publishing thing, I’ve also thrown some in that have been published by real literary journals so you don’t feel ripped off.Continue reading “Chapbook”

“Repentant tears wash out the stain of guilt.” Saint Augustine We all have insignificant things that we enjoy on earth because they bring us a certain amount of happiness.  For me, one of those things is my love for fountain pens.  I love the way the nib glides on the paper; I love the ritualContinue reading “The Parent Trap”