Dec 01
Those are the words penned by author-pastor John Piper on the eve of his surgery for prostate cancer in 2006. My cancer prayer support group often discussed one of Piper’s ten ways we can “waste” cancer by allowing it—instead of God—to be foremost in our lives.* Probably the cancer survivor who most often expressed …
Nov 17
It’s pretty easy to thank God when everything’s going well. When you feel happy. When you have your health. When your loved ones are doing fine. It’s a lot harder when some things—maybe most things—are not going well. In those first dark days after my cancer diagnosis in 1990, I literally could not pray. Sentences simply …
Nov 03
I’ve always been fascinated by the bald eagle, our country’s national symbol. But about a decade ago these once-endangered creatures came to symbolize something even more special for me. My women’s group was reading a book by husband-wife duo John and Stasi Eldredge in which they shared an amazing story. While John was on a …
Oct 13
I haven’t posted anything since March about my oncologist/former boss/dear friend, Dr. Marc Hirsh, who was diagnosed 16 months ago with an extremely rare, large cancerous tumor behind his heart. Last month at his 6-month checkup with his Hershey Medical oncologist, Marc and his wife Elizabeth braced themselves for bad news, still clinging to hope …
Sep 29
I don’t know if your family ever had a cross country athlete, but our middle daughter Bethany was one in high school. She didn’t excel at the long-distance event, but decided running would help keep her in shape for her favorite sports of basketball, and track and field. What I initially didn’t realize was that …
Sep 15
I miss my dad. It’s been a decade since he took his last breath on this earth and I still miss him. Especially during college football season as I’m frantically cheering on my Ohio State Buckeyes (with apologies to all my friends in that state up north!) My dad was an incredible multi-sport athlete, as …
Jul 21
When you believe in God, it can be hard to come to terms with the fact that He has allowed adversity to come into your or your loved one’s life. Author David Biebel talks about this fact in his book If God Is So Good, Why Do I Hurt So Bad? He says there are …
Jul 07
Perhaps you feel a little like a pigeon-covered statue these days or maybe you simply would like to experience a measure of calm in your harried life. Either way, here are some words to the weary taken from “leftover” quotes (including the blog title), which I ended up not using when writing my last …
Jun 23
Today I’d like to introduce you to “Crash,” a red-tailed hawk, who had the misfortune of colliding with a car this spring in Mercer County, PA, and had to be extricated from the front bumper. The good news is that Crash survived his ordeal, was rescued and then taken to a wildlife rehab center. However, …
Jun 09
Raise your hand if you have never been in the military, but you have flown in a C-5 cargo plane? I’m guessing I may be the only one wildly waving my arm. Perhaps at an air show, some of you have had the pleasure of walking around inside the cargo section of the largest U.S. …
