Update 2012

Exactly one year ago yesterday, I was released from the hospital after a seven-week stint, following what was to have been a 4-day recovery from lung surgery.  It has been a challenging year in many ways.  But God, in His mercy, has supplied abundant grace and given me the strength, one day at a time, to gradually progress.  As I have spoken to many of you who read this blog, I know your prayers have been a vital part of what God has been doing.  Thank you so much for being faithful in that.

Hidden Things

During the Christmas season we often take joy in keeping secrets of the gifts we have bought for the special people in our lives.  And who doesn’t have childhood memories of trying to get a sneak peek at some highly anticipated gift that had been hidden away from them until Christmas Day?

Must We Be Pain Free?

Have we become a culture where the elimination of pain and discomfort has become a priority of our lives?  When was the last time you watched TV for any length of time without seeing a commercial for some type of pain reliever?  And when we want relief, we want it fast and easy to take.  Recently, I read a report that U. S. health care dollars spent on dealing with neck and back pain alone had exceeded $86 billion per year, and that was back in 2005.  Interestingly, the article went on to say that little improvement had resulted from this huge expenditure.

My Purpose, God's Purpose?

Do you ever stop during the day and wonder about the meaning and value of what you are doing?  I mean, do you ever think about the underlying purpose behind washing clothes, fixing meals, talking with people, balancing your checkbook, or just doing any of the countless activities that your job requires?  In the fast paced, high-pressure environment of the 21^st century, we really have (or more truthfully, are willing to take) little time for that kind of reflection, and are even less willing to change our lifestyle.

Is There Any Hope?

It’s hard to live without hope.  I even wonder if it is possible.  The poet said, “Hope springs eternal in the human breast.”  It seems that even in the darkest and most demoralizing of circumstances there remains in each one of us some ray, some vestige, of hope, however distant, that things will somehow get better.