I have a couple of really sweet girlfriends who both live in different states than me. Every few months, Sarah in Atlanta arranges a "Go To" meeting so the three of us can see each other's faces, and not just hear one another's voices. We make a point of it to attend The Gospel Coalition for Women Conference together in Indianapolis every other year, and we have an incredible time of fellowship. But I missed the last one because a few days prior, I was hospitalized for my very first episode of atrial fibrillation, or more commonly known as "A-fib." So it's now been way too long since I've seen Ruth, who lives in Indianapolis. Sarah and I were able to connect a couple of times this summer when she and her hubby Mike came to Michigan. Both times we ate ... View Post
Table after Table, After Table
I'm sitting here cuddled up on the couch tonight all by myself, enjoying the quiet, and looking at the kitchen table I love so much. Life has always happened around it. Life just looks a lot different these days. Seasons - they change. The table cloth is hanging way too low on one side - the side where I last sat this morning. And there are a few crumbs left there too. (I love a good English muffin with jam). My planner is spread out at one of the other settings, where this evening I made some tentative plans to attend a hockey game soon and plans to meet up with two new special friends, penciled in a pizza night with my grandkids and some friends, and a musical with Dave & Jean. I really should shake out that table cloth and throw it in the washer. My Dad's cap hangs on ... View Post
My Baby Boomer Pledge & 2 Spaces After a Period
The week that my Dad died, I remember sitting down on the bottom step of the stairs at my home, and calling an old friend, one who knew my Dad during our childhood. She was someone I kept in touch with for decades, and we knew each others families growing up. I believed that she would want to know my Dad died. I still think she would have wanted to know. But from the time she answered the phone, until the time that she ended our call because she had to get back to what she was doing when I phoned her, I listened. I listened to her tell me all about what was going on in her life, how the kids were, how her career was progressing, her marriage, and everything in between. Then she very kindly thanked me for calling, and we hung up. I never got to tell her that my Dad died. And I ... View Post
Bartlesville, Buffalo, & Jesus
Once upon a time... I'm always tempted when I start telling old stories to begin by saying that, and this time, I'm doing it. Maybe I'll do it from now on. Yeah, I think I will. Where was I? Ah yes. Once upon a time. I believe it was January 2018. I was sitting on my couch, my neighbor was over visiting, and I was trying to figure out something to do on my week of vacation days I had taken off that upcoming February, just one month away. I had plenty of out-of-state friends I could visit. My son lived in Chicago at the time. I could have gone there. There were several options, but I wanted to do something I hadn't done, or go some place I hadn't gone. And then it came to me. Voice of the Martyrs. Seriously, it just came to me. Voice of the Martyrs. I wondered if ... View Post
Boogers, Bad Hair, & Dispicable Behavior
An old friend once told me that while taking a client out to lunch, his client asked if it would be okay if he prayed before they ate. Mark was fine with it, and before you know it, his client was thanking God for Mark. It puzzled him a bit, because Mark was used to the same old memorized prayer he'd prayed for years, and so it also made a huge impact on him - big enough that he thought about it a lot, and remembered it for a long time. Years later, it would become part of his testimony as the catalyst in his journey to becoming a Christian. Mark sharing this made an impact on me, too. So now, I like to pray for whoever I'm meeting or eating with. It's that ripple effect, ya know? My son once told me that he had lunch with a professor from his college days. Once they sat down ... View Post
Off Course
Once upon a time, a long, long, long time ago... 1988 to be precise... I attended PLDC (Primary Leadership Development Course) at Ford Ord, California while I was stationed at a Military Police Unit in San Jose, California. Wow, I just did the math on that. It was 35 years ago. Holy Toledo. I am old. Okay, back to the story... PLDC was a lot of classroom time, but a lot of it was also like doing basic training all over again. We ran super early in the morning, and a few times, we even had to run in formation in the sand on the beach. If I had to do that now, I'd probably just drop dead. Seriously. Again, back to the story... We had to go out to the field one day for an entire day of map reading. Each soldier was given a map, a compass, a protractor, and a list of ... View Post
Collecting “Stuff”
Currently, I'm sitting on my nice long porch, in one of my bright green chairs that makes it simple to find my condo, listening to the chimes my friend Linda gave me as a house warming gift a couple of years ago. From the sounds they're making, there might be a storm coming. I love a good storm, don't you? It was only a few years ago that I found it easy on an evening like this one, to sit outside and bust out a quick and meaningful blog. And it's still pretty easy for me to collect all sorts of ideas to write about. My brain is just full of them! But when I sit down to write, I'll be honest - I get concerned that I sound like a know-it-all, and I certainly don't want to be known for being a know-it-all. Nobody likes a know-it-all. And sometimes, I sit down, my fingers gently ... View Post
Detroit Cancer Screening Initiative
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived - that is to have succeeded.” Leaving the world a bit better is exactly what a group of dedicated individuals, like-minded and passionate about saving lives is determined to accomplish. The Detroit Cancer Screening Initiative is a Michigan 501c3 non-profit charitable organization that was birthed from the collaborative efforts of concerned Detroit Metropolitan area community members with experience in clinical practice, teaching, and public health. Among these brilliant contributors are Nzube Ekpunobi, MD, Chief Medical Resident at Huron Valley Sinai Hospital, Detroit ... View Post