I want to begin by apologizing for the length of time it has taken me to write an update. I know that many people are very interested in Dan’s progress and how we are handling things. We have so many things to be thankful for; but there are the realities of how long and difficult the road has been and is. The best news of all is that Dan is alive and improving. He fell ill 50 weeks ago, and as you probably know, almost no one believed he...

It’s hard to believe that weeks have gone by without me writing much about our “new normal” life. I want to focus on the positive and give glory to God for all the ways He generously provides for us. But, if the Sermon on the Mount’s lesson that we shouldn’t worry and that God will give us what we need is true (and it is!), it teaches me that the extraordinary blessings we have received are a match for the otherwise-overwhelming...

I must confess that I have begun a new blog entry in my mind for weeks now. The truth is that so many things have happened since our move that the best I can manage is a digest. I also have some insights to share but will probably cover them in a separate post. I begin with a sense of indebtedness. Since Dan and I have always been the contributors, the givers, the donors to others with the resources that God has generously provided to us, this...

Yesterday morning as I paused and looked around my office before pressing a very important “send” button, I acknowledged before God that He had helped me complete the very involving book I have been writing since the end of December. Quite to the contrary of what medical personnel told us, Dan is improving, and that thanks to God as well. We have so much to be thankful for. On Monday Dan underwent his third procedure (during this siege of...

The text under consideration in this lesson is Psalm 105. Read the psalm repeatedly during the week before the lesson. You must also be familiar with the life of Joseph as depicted in the book of Genesis. The point is to be able to see in this psalm three main issues. · *First*, God’s words and His actions are congruent: When He speaks or commands, reality takes the shape that He says. · *Secondly,* we must deal with the fact...

Other people may chart the progress of their lives on Facebook timelines, or by anniversary dates. I wonder if we won’t chart Dan’s illnesses by the dates that he had tubes or cords removed. So far he’s had the PICC line removed, the plasmapheresis port on his neck removed, the ventilator tube removed from down his throat and then the one which was inserted just above his collarbone, the nasal cannula removed, the telemetry unit that was...

Dear friends, This update is unusual– it will be in Dan’s own words, dictated from his hospital bed. Today was a banner day, a day I’ve dreamed about. Ryan went to Chik fil A and bought me my favorite sandwich. Ryan has become a giant in helping me recover. For all he has done, and all he is doing, he has made me very proud to call him my son. Celeste and the girls came to see me today as they often do. The sweetness of Celeste...