First, for those who have been commenting on these blog posts – thank you! I read each and every comment, sometimes multiple times, and they are so inspiring and uplifting to me. I probably won’t get in the habit of “liking them” or replying a whole lot, but just know your kind, encouraging voices are being heard.  For about 5 years, I was privileged to be on staff as the Worship Minister at the Church at Woodbine in Nashville. Our church was one of 8 campuses affiliated with Brentwood Baptist Church, and every two weeks each of the campus WL’s would gather together for a time of sharing (What new songs…

We’ve all watched those well-produced pharmaceutical commercials with healthy, laughing vibrant people (Are there really folks out there who are THAT happy about using a certain kind of medicine?). After you’ve had about 30 seconds of learning how you might be helped, you’re inundated with a multitude of medical disclaimers. You may hear something like this: Side effects can include nausea, diarrhea, constipation, weight loss, weight gain, headache, dizziness, fatigue, runny nose, sore throat, toes falling off, hair turning green, etc. . . . (and this is said at break-neck speed where words are an absolute blur).  As we began our journey of chemotherapy, it was a similar scenario. Dick and…

Most of you know that one of the areas Dick and I have spent our whole 45 years of marriage involved in is songwriting. We laugh about some of our earliest creations, grateful we have grown in skill, depth, and discernment! What we might have thought was “a pretty good song” back in 1980 looks a lot different in 2026. (I remember one in particular we wrote that had no real “hook”. It just meandered with a lot of rhyming thoughts. We couldn’t think of a good title, so we just called it “Prayer”. Sad.) We’ve always been committed to write about what we know about. We have crafted every…

One of my favorite parts of the story of David and Goliath is found in 1 Samuel 17:48 – “As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.” Why is the running part not brought out every time that story is taught in Sunday School? (At least I don’t remember it). What a picture of faith! Not faith in David, faith in his God. We see that expressed a few verses earlier: “But David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God…

You may have noticed the Hebrew word “Shamar” in the heading for this blog. It is truly a meaningful word to me. If you read Psalm 121 (which I highly recommend), and you look into the original Hebrew translation, you will find Shamar in 6 different places – v. 3, 4, 5, twice in verse 7, and again in verse 8. In English, the translation can sound a bit casual and unimportant – “The Lord will keep you, the Lord is your Keeper . . . ” But in reality, this word means, “The Lord will guard your life, watch over, take charge over.” The example that comes to my…

“He knows the way that I take, and when He has tested me I will come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10) Even as I title this first post, “The Beginning”, I’m so aware that though Dick and I found out about this diagnosis on Dec. 4, 2025, our loving, all-powerful, sovereign, faithful God was not made aware of it on that day. Psalm 139:16 says, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” How comforting it is to know that the Lord was not surprised by this news. One bit. Initially, I was having a few “digestive issues” and because…