I learned of a potential physical challenge a year ago in August 2022. From the beginning, I have prayed the leper’s prayer, which he pleaded to Jesus, “If you choose, you can make me clean.” From the beginning, I believe I was chosen to be made clean. That conviction was validated yesterday morning when I …
Author Archives: tVM
Be Like John Boy
As I recall the scene from “The Waltons” [circa 1975], John Boy was in his room trying to figure out how he would earn the money to go to college. Grandma timidly knocks on his door and enters and gives him the minimal dollars and cents she has been saving for years for that very …
A Good Laugh
Any time I need a good laugh, I go to this video. It has served me well for over a decade and I hold it in my favorites folder for ready reference. Thanks to this courageous boy and his inventive father for bringing laughter to the world.
I have heard your prayer…
It is easy to fall into a funk when one encounters physical and mental difficulties. The more severe the difficulties, the easier it is to succumb to the darkness. My daughter and two grandsons came to visit this week. When she asked, “How are you?” I broke down for the first time in a while. …
Haiti
With sadness and regret, and after much consultation with my close circle of friends, I must report that I no longer have the physical and mental strength to continue our work in Haiti. I hoped that by this time – a full 8 weeks after my final chemotherapy infusion – that I would feel some …
Dealing with Cancer #7, Great Expectations
I completed my sixth and final chemotherapy treatment five weeks ago. The relief I have been hoping for has yet to arrive. Lesson #7 Be realistic about your expectations. My oncologist is very pleased with my progress, and my next appointment with him is in two months. That is when we will schedule the MRI …
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God Bless the USA
On this Memorial Day, I choose to bless the USA despite all her faults in memory of all those men and women who sacrificed themselves to give us the freedom to choose. Please join me and choose to listen…
Getting By with a Little Help from My Friends
With a lot of help from my friends – particularly Mrs. tVM, youngest son Jesse and his wife Erica, and friends Dwight and Halen – we see the fruits of our labors. My broken leg has kept me on the sidelines, but together, my inner circle has collectively prepared the land, put in irrigation, seeded, …
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Dealing with Cancer #6, It’s Okay to Cry… It’s Better to Laugh
Lesson #6 It’s okay to cry… it’s better to laugh The day I learned that I have cancer, I was driving from my urologist’s office to Dwight’s for supper. Marie and I were in between houses; she and Clarence were staying in the Phoenix area with Brad, Felicia, and the kids, and I was staying …
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Dealing with Cancer #5, Pray
Lesson #5 Pray The power of prayer is obvious in each of our lives whether or not you are free, open, and willing to acknowledge it. For years on our home page, we have featured a quote from the late Irish poet, writer, and spiritualist John O’Donohue. “Prayer is the presence that holds harmony in …