Introducing… A Few of My Friends

Some days, I think I talk far too much about myself. I mean, sure it’s my website and so y’all probably expect that I’d talk about myself. But today, I don’t want to talk about me. I want to talk about some of my friends.

Bridget Chumbley

This lady is a hero of mine. She’s a wife and a mother, who works full time in a special needs class. And every other Tuesday, she lays out the welcome mat at her website for what we call the One Word at a Time Blog Carnival. She announces the word of the week (which this week is “condemnation”) and puts up a link widget at her site (www.bridgetchumbley.com) and invites us to write about the topic at hand and link it there. Everyone is welcome, regardless of background or race or gender or religion or whatever. The only requirement is that you write about the topic and link it up. If you’ve never taken part, I highly recommend it. We’ve got quite an incredible little blogging community that is involved and our doors are always open!

Selena Smith

A member of my church (Whitley Church in Princeton, NC), Selena is a National Board Certified teacher and a childhood sexual abuse survivor. A full-time teacher and a wife of one and mother of two, she feels a strong burden to do whatever she can to stop childhood sexual abuse. What has come out of the burden is an incredible children’s book about inappropriate touch that’s called Joey Wants to Know. After seeing the incredible acceptance of this book, Selena expanded her goal. She has applied for a Pepsi Refresh Grant that would help her to get her book and an accompanying curriculum into every school in North Carolina. From now through October 31^st you and I can visit her website at www.joeywantstoknow.com and vote for Pepsi to award the grant to this worthy and necessary cause. I invite you and encourage you to go vote! You may vote once each day at her site. Also, you may vote by texting 103033 to Pepsi at 73774. (Standard texting rates apply. If you have an unlimited texting plan, you should not be charged for the text.)

The Krueger Family

I first heard of Todd Krueger when he was pastoring in the New Bern area in the mid-90’s. I was doing fundraising work for the local Crisis Pregnancy Counseling Center and he was on my list. Because my Dad was a Methodist minister and Todd was a Methodist minister, his name stuck in my mind. Several years later, I accompanied my parents to their current city to visit their newly assigned church and parsonage. The pastor that my Dad was going to be following there was Todd.

That Sunday afternoon, my parents and I spent a couple of hours visiting with Todd and his wife, Martha. We met their kids, Hannah and Isaac, and the family shared with us the love they had for the church they were leaving and they shared with us the vision they had for the new direction God was sending them. Todd and Martha impressed me as having passion and zeal, tempered with wisdom and experience. I expected to hear great things about them in the future.

On July 1 of this year, Todd went to a follow-up appointment with his doctor regarding some flu-like symptoms. By that night, he had been informed he was suffering from Leukemia and had been admitted to the Cancer Center at UNC-Chapel Hill.

The months since Todd’s diagnosis have been brutal to this family. They had to step out of their ministry because his illness just wouldn’t allow him to take care of his flock. With Martha having to take large chunks of time off of work to be with him, their finances took a hit. And Hannah and Isaac, now in their early teens, were being forced to watch chemotherapy and Leukemia do battle against their Dad. The doctors hoped to force the Leukemia into remission so that they could do a bone marrow transplant on Todd. This never happened. And last night at about 10:30 PM, Todd slipped quietly into the arms of Jesus, with his family at his bedside.

The Krueger family is so heavy on my heart today… People that I didn’t know well, but who are part of the family of God together with me… For Martha, who has lost her husband and best friend… For Hannah and Isaac, who have lost their father… Can you please join me in prayer for them?

Also, if you would like to read more—from Todd and Martha themselves—about Todd’s Journey home to Jesus, here is the link to their website.

And to all of you guys—my faithful readers and other visitors—thank you for coming by. You bless me. Many of you lift me up in prayer. Some of you send me encouragement at the times when it’s most needed. Please know that you’re loved, appreciated, and prayed for. You’re often on my heart and my prayers go up for you just that often.