Sep 11
I distinctly remember the last time my family and I went tent camping…and why we never did again after that experience. It was the summer of 1983 and my pastor-husband convinced me that it would be fun for our daughters and me to join him on the youth group camping trip. So I packed up …
Aug 28
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 life or your loved one’s. Author David Biebel talks about this fact in his book If God Is So Good, Why Do I Hurt So Bad? Biebel says there are …
Jul 31
In those nerve-wracking few days between my diagnosis and my surgery, I announced to my husband, “We need a pastor—and I don’t mean you!” I think he could tell by the distraught look on my face that I was serious, so he called our good friend David Dunn, pastor of a sister church in …
Jul 03
Twenty-nine years ago if I had heeded this quote from the creator of Peanuts, I could have saved myself many sleepless nights. I was pretty consumed back then with trying to figure out how a healthy-eating-and-exercising-mom in her thirties could get cancer. Especially colon cancer for crying out loud! Colonoscopies aren’t even recommended for the …
Jun 19
Over the years this quote from author Norman Cousins became a sort of rallying cry for my cancer support group members who were facing especially difficult circumstances. These are the kind of folks who realize shock and disbelief—although understandable reactions to a diagnosis—can’t really do anything to change the situation. So they decide to take the …
May 08
Have you ever prayed a desperate prayer? You know, the kind where you cry out to God because there is absolutely nothing you can do to “fix” the situation? I’ve prayed plenty of those. I remember a time I was trying to get to the grocery store for some needed supplies before a snowstorm hit. …
Apr 24
This has to be one of the most difficult questions we can ask. Why do children get cancer? Why does a young woman fight for her life while an elderly woman prays to die? Why do brilliant minds get dementia? Why does one person walk away from an accident unhurt and another is paralyzed for …
Apr 10
My grandchildren never seem to tire of playing hide ‘n’ seek. They love scurrying around to find a “a really good place” while admonishing my husband and me to “keep your eyes closed!” Eventually 4-year-old Abby yells out “Ready!” which makes it pretty easy to follow the sound of her voice to her not-so-hidden special …
Mar 20
I’ve been thinking a lot about odds–good odds, bad odds, no odds–because as soon as I finish writing this blog I’m filling out my bracket for the NCAA basketball championship as I attempt to predict all 67 game winners. The odds I will do that correctly are rather slim: 1 in 9.2 quintillion, according to …
Feb 06
I had to smile when I read this, considering the incredibly stressful months my husband and I recently have faced with one health crisis after another. How about you? Does it feel as if God may have overestimated your ability to handle problems? Are you pretty sure that what you’re facing is too much? Well, …
