A Bit of Christmas

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Merry Christmas ’24 and Happy New Year ’25!

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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...
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Hidden

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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...
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Memories of Mary

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Prior to the very clear Gospel message giving the reasons why Mary had the hope of heaven, three speakers gave eulogies/memories of their relationship with Mary Alyce (Elfstrand) Wavinak. They all brought laughs and tears. But only one made me have to stifle sobs at the end. The one by her brother Mark.  You can find the video of his remarks HERE .  When we learned of Mary’s stage 4 cancer at the end of October 2023, we did not know she would be gone within 3 months. Please, if you don’t know that you will be in heaven after your last day on earth … talk with someone who knows! 
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