An aging woman sits on the ancient tree stump outside her home. Her old eyes can see little in the dim light of dusk, and in the late afternoon of her life, she lacks the strength for hard physical work. …
When the curtain rises for the very first time, the Gardener is alone on the stage. He’s wearing dungarees, as they used to call them; overalls. He’s kneeling in the dirt, digging hands into the soil. Planting a garden. He’s …
I carry a brown leather bag with me at all times. It is filled with the collection of nonnegotiable items that I must carry with me—like I said, at all times. If you peek inside my bag, you’ll find two …
In Habakkuk 2:2, the Lord said, “Write down the revelation” (NIV). He said this because he knows our natural tendency to forget. At best, we have a strong propensity to misremember. A pen is a great tool against the facts …
by Cynthia Fantasia, author of In the Lingering Light: Courage and Hope for the Alzheimer’s Caregiver This is the last article in a three-part series on Alzheimer’s caregiving. In the past few weeks, I have shared thirteen lessons I learned (and …
Read moreLessons Learned from an Alzheimer’s Caregiver – Part Three
On a hot summer afternoon, I’m at the pool, smearing sunscreen on my squirming child’s face, expertly avoiding her eyes while never taking my eyes off the other two children in the water. Let me tell you: If there’s anywhere …
by Cynthia Fantasia, author of In the Lingering Light: Courage and Hope for the Alzheimer’s Caregiver This is part two of a three-part series on Alzheimer’s caregiving. Here, I share thirteen lessons learned (and am still learning) as I cared for …
Read moreLessons Learned from an Alzheimer’s Caregiver – Part Two
All power and authority find their source in the relational dynamic of leader and follower. Note what the devil offers Jesus in the second desert temptation: “The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an …
With all change comes loss Loss of time. Loss of control. Loss of power. Loss of options. Loss of consistency. Loss of relationship. Change is rarely the problem. It’s the loss that comes with change that most of us don’t …
Read moreHow to Love Someone Who Has been Changed, Altered, Diagnosed, Victimized, or Traumatized
Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a British Baptist preacher who began his London ministry as a nineteen-year-old in 1854 and remained in the same pastorate until his death at age fifty-seven. He was a phenomenon. Long before the modern megachurch, six …