Our very good friend Jon is at the Good Samaritan Hospital this week. We met with him on Saturday for a brief hour or so.

Just a few weeks ago, he was diagnosed with T-cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. It's a type of cancer and Jon's case has been classified as "aggressive". This past week he went through his second round of chemotherapy.

Despite his situation, he was still his old self, joking about the Republican party, and trying to make the best of it all. His endearing grin really brightened our day. Would you join me in saying a prayer for Jon and his family? Joe and myself, along with his wife and kids, Naomi and Will, would greatly appreciate it..

Isn't she cute? Can you believe my mom was born in '55.. wish I had her "young" genes. :)

Happy Mother's Day!

How do you feel when someone tells you they are praying for you? It's not all that uncommon to hear this phrase during bible study, at church, or even here on MyChurch. But what about at work, or at the grocery store.. or even from someone you barely know?

I was surprised when someone came up to me the other day, who I did NOT know was a believer, and said, "Hey, I'm praying for you."

You see, we had experienced a very early miscarriage last month. Even though it happened relatively fast, there were some difficult emotions to deal with. But this person didn't know about that. We had never talked about anything spiritual in our lives before. We cross paths every couple weeks with minimal small talk each time. Then God happened to lay it on his heart to pray for me (and my family). And what a blessing it was to hear that. Actually so many people have been randomly telling us they were praying for us.. and we've really felt the comfort of their prayers in very real and practical ways.

How would you feel if someone you didn't know was a Christian, said that they were praying for you? Or better yet, what if you weren't a believer,.. how would you feel? There's almost no one I can think of, Christian or not, that wouldn't feel comforted through knowing someone is praying for them. We all have things we experience that shake us, make us feel uncertain, or just require some loving guidance. I hope I can be as brave as my friend and offer up prayer for an acquaintance even if I don't know anything about their faith.

Just because you're not an engineer doesn't mean you can't befriend a feline and and enjoy their company. Isn't that right Cathy? :)

What an amazing reminder that God uses lives (no matter what age) to help us feel His presence and know His love deeply.