On my way in this morning, men were working on a new turn lane where I get on the highway. Couldn't help myself ... I just thought this was a cool picture.
I’ll bet you’ve heard the formula of how to make God laugh: tell Him your plans. Or better yet … write a Christmas letter (for ’23) claiming no hospital stays. No sooner had those cards gone into the mail than, BINGO, hospital stay! This year you are getting an e-version of the Christmas card. After all, we can edit it on the fly if necessary! Long story short, December 12 of 2023, I had surgery for a 1-in-a-million cancer: appendiceal. Lord willing, all is now well in that department. If we were to have to choose a word to describe 2024, it might have to be two words. HEALTH (or lack of same) and TRAVEL. When we were wee ones, our parents used to discuss health concerns around the dinner table with visiting family members. Now our own kids and grandkids guess how long it will take before their parents/grandparents start discussing the latest med or malady. There is more to life than that! We began 2024 on a bittersweet note. Mark’s sister, Mary, went home to be with Jesus on Janu...
I got the sweetest texts from one of my granddaughters the other day. She and the family had been talking about "Nana's cancer." And like most of us with limited experience (or no experience) with the topic, she immediately went to the worst case scenario. "Ur (sic) one of the most healthy person (sic) I know." Yes, weird, isn't it? We seem to always hear the phrase, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." But what about the fact that sometimes we cannot even see what is killing us??? Or has the potential to, anyway. It's the hidden disease that has the most potential to harm. Disease that we don't even want to admit exists. As I've written before, "I'm an idiot!" I ignored the warning signs, attributing them to experiences with which I was more acquainted, rather than having them checked for ... breast cancer. The same holds true for spiritual disease. We don't want to admit sin and so we igno...
From Take Care of My Child…for a While by Joyce Sawyer “Mom, I need someone my age to play with. I’m the only little kid in this family.” “That’s right.” “Why don’t you adopt a brother for me?” “Just like that.” “Sure.” “It isn’t that easy.” But soon Ricky had found a picture of a cute little seven-year-old boy in the Holt newsletter from Eugene, Oregon. He seemed just right. He was a Korean/black combination. While Ricky was thinking up a name for his new brother, I was writing for more information and for the necessary forms to fill out. It was only later we realized we could not carry through with our requests. Now for a while, life was fine. Ricky began to gain weight and get his strength back. His hair grew in and he seemed like the old Ricky again. Then one afternoon in April [1975], Ricky showed me some small blisters along his ribs. It was spring and he had been rolling in the grass, so I didn’t think too much about it. But the next morning there were mor...