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 …
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 …
Mar 13
A diagnosis of cancer or any difficult trial brings with it many responses, but “Hallelujah!” is not usually one of them. When I found out my cells had gone awry and allowed cancer to grow inside me, gratefulness was pretty much the last thing I felt. But I kept thinking about the admonition in the Bible to …
Feb 13
As I watch the occupational therapist move along the table working on the hands of all of us seated there, I can’t help but be confused by the different ways he handles our injured extremities. Seated next to me is a young woman less than half my age with a scar on top of her …
Jan 23
For weeks I planned this photo of my grandkids in their new, matching Mickey and Minnie jammies we were giving them for Christmas. I envisioned them sitting in order from 8-year-old Bauer down to 1-year-old Mathis, but knew that wasn’t realistic. So I opted for girls on one side (the three of them are definitely …
Dec 12
Guest blog by Brian Jones Our goal as disciples of Jesus shouldn’t be to eliminate pain. Our goal should be to craft the kind of life that is invincible to pain. Those who learn how to be invincible to pain–“incapable of being conquered, overcome or subdued”–are an unstoppable force. This is what Jesus meant when …
Dec 05
Everybody feels homesick once in a while. Even our older daughter, a very independent, self-sufficient young woman, admitted she was homesick when she first went away to college “It was in the fall of my freshman year,” Danielle recalls. “I remember I was homesick for a couple of hours…but it went away.” (I told you …
Oct 31
May 8, 1977. Mother’s Day. The day before I had been excitedly opening” mother-to-be” cards and looking longingly at the maternity clothes I would soon need to wear. Now I was lying in a hospital bed with an empty womb. Really, Lord? A miscarriage on Mother’s Day? This would be awful on any day, but …
Oct 10
By Chris Tiegreen “Our Bible is full of miracles. Sometimes, it feels as if our lives are not. The difference between the two can be disheartening, especially when a miracle is the only thing that can help us through a time of need. We pray to God and hope that He will answer, wondering …
