The Way

Here is our annual Christmas picture and our prayer for you is that this will be a wonderful Christmas season as you celebrate the birth of the King.

I am including the tribute that I read at my mom's service yesterday. What an amazing lady she was. This is probably going to be my last post for the year. I am choosing to fast from blogging and just enjoy my family. I do want to say thank you for praying for our whole family during my mom's illness and home going. Please remember my dad, Charles. It was hard leaving him today but I know that he will be okay. God bless each of you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Hey Mom I just want to say thanks for a couple of things that you taught me: Actually it is a lot more than a couple, but people will think this will go quicker if I just say it is a couple of things. You have taught me how to laugh. Your quick, dry wit and your keen sense of seeing the funny stuff in the midst of difficult times has been a blessing. You have taught me how to influence others. There are many folks that we have talked to through the years and now in the past few days who have spoken of...

Today was long, sad, amazing, uplifting, and all in all a very good day. If someone would have told me that the day that we celebrated my mom's life and then buried her could have been a good day, I would have thought they were crazy. My day started around 6a and I got out for a 5-mile run and then back to ready myself and the rest of the family for the service. We arrived up at the church about 9a and visited with those who could not make it last night. More people than I can remember we talked to this morning. My best guess is that 350 people were present for the service. My dad did a welcome and had us laughing and his strength was amazing. The music was beautiful; Sondra sang a song that my mom wanted her to sing, my brother played victory in Jesus and said some of the sweetest things about my mom and I read a quick note to my mom. What an honor to be able to honor my mom. Dr. Tom Hunter, a long time friend of my parents who just lost his wife to cancer in August, did the major...

Two words for the day. I got up and did a 5-miler and then came back, cleaned up and then all of us headed to the funeral home to see mom. God's peace was present like I have never felt before. My dad, brother and I were just amazed by God's grace. The funeral home did a good job with mom's body and with all that she has gone through the past few months, they did a remarkable job. Lunch was provided by mom's school and it was good and plentiful. We must have greeted over 300 people at the church tonight and it was fun to see people I had not seen for 30 years or more and to be around some of mom's former students, friends and people who love my mom so much. What a blessing my mom has been to so many. What a privilege for me to have been born to the parents that I have. My parents' good friend, Tom Hunter, arrived this afternoon and will be doing the main part of the service. He recently lost his wife to cancer and is such a strong blessing and friend to my dad....

It has been a pretty good day today. Sondra and the girls arrived this morning via Southwest and it is good to have them here. We pretty much just hung out with a leisurely day. We did a few errands and the equipment that mom had used was picked up so the hospital bed and other stuff is gone now. Dad is doing pretty well and he spent time with Sondra, Shelbi, and Morgan telling them about mom's last few hours and final minutes on earth. What a blessing to have a dad like I do that is so sweet and tender and modeling grace. It was amazing to listen and watch him with them. We have shed some tears together and laughed quite a bit too. Tomorrow morning we all go to see mom and then tomorrow afternoon head to the church to receive people for visitation. I ask that you pray for us in the morning. I think it will be a tough time for us. Thanks so much for praying for us. If you would like to sign the online guest book you can do so at the Dickey Funeral Home website.

Not much sleep last night. Not really because I felt all that sad but my mind was just racing with some pretty good thoughts of mom. I was up around 430a to shower and get ready to catch an early flight to KC. The flight was on time and it was good for my dad, brother and sister-in-law to pick me up. We got to mom and dad's around 10a and it was really weird to come into the house without mom being here. It was dad's first time to come back home and mom not be here too. Today has been filled with tears, laughter, tears, laughter and then some more laughter. We headed to the funeral home to make final arrangements and then my brother and sister-in-law headed home. Dad and I caught some supper at Applebee's and it was the first time dad has eaten out in almost three months. It was good to just spend some time with dad. Sondra and the girls head up tomorrow am and it will be good for them to be here. Here are the arrangements for my mom, Frances Turner. Visitation will be from...

My brother called about 12:20 this morning to say that mom passed away around 12:15 this morning. He said that she just eased into heaven. I am so thankful for those of you who have faithfully prayed for my mom and dad. I talked to dad and he is doing pretty good for now. My cousin Barbara was there and dad said that she just sort of talked my mom into heaven. I fly up early today and will be with my dad and brother. We have already done most of the funeral plans and will just need to go by the funeral home to determine the day and times. I will post those here as soon as I know them. So many of you have been so faithful to pray for mom and dad and we covet your prayers still as we walk through the celebration of my mom's life. There are many things running through my head right now, but I do feel the peace and the presence of God in a great way.

I talked to my mom on the phone a few minutes ago and told her goodbye. It really looks as though she will not make it through the night. I have talked to my dad and brother and my cousin, Barb is a RN and is there at the house with mom, dad, James and Julie. It does not look like I will make it to KC in time tomorrow before she passes. Those things can change, but it appears that mom is very near going home. Thanks so much for praying.

I talked with dad a few minutes ago and it is not good. All the flights out are pretty much sold out so I am deciding to keep my early Mon. flight. There is one that would get me there about midnight but I do not want to keep my family up that long to come and get me from the airport. Thanks for praying.

We are in the process of getting ready for church this morning and most of the rain missed us yesterday but we do have a little snow/sleet falling outside but looks like we will dodge the big stuff. Our girls teams split yesterday with the jv playing really flat and only scoring 6 points the entire game. It was pretty ugly. Our varsity girls got an ugly win against a pretty good FRA team that did not play as well yesterday either. We won by 2 in OT but were glad to get the win. We shot poorly from the free throw line or we would have won in regulation by about 10. A win is a win and our girls did not give up and that is always good to see. Mom sleeps most of the time, eats little to nothing and is pretty much uncommunicative. I head up in the morning and am looking forward to seeing them. I have been away for two weeks which is a long time considering how much time I have spend in KC. Thanks so much for praying for my parents. Pray especially for my mom to have continued peace her last...

Looks like big rain coming our way and maybe a little snow later tonight. It was fairly cold run this morning but a nice little 5-miler. Last night's game against Cheatham Co. was a great game for the Lady Wildcats. They showed a lot of patience and committed few turnovers to come away with a 14 point victory. The fun part for me was calling some color for a local radio station. A friend of mine does the play by play for Cheatham Co. and asked me to sit in. It has been a long time since I have done any radio but it was lots of fun. The Lady Cats play again this afternoon against FRA here at home. I talked to dad this morning and mom is not eating much at all, drinking in a few fluids and resting alot. Hospice has told us that it looks like one to two weeks. She has fooled us before but things really seem to be shutting down now. Thanks so much for praying for my mom and dad. I head over early Monday am. Sondra and the girls come over in the middle of the week since the girls have p...

Mom seems to be just sort of hanging in these days. She is eating less and less, responding little and really moving towards that home going. Dad seems to be hanging in okay and my cousin is staying the night tonight so that dad gets a good night's sleep. My brother stayed last night and mom is sleeping alot now, but it is good for dad not to have to worry about mom's every little move in the night. Tomorrow is my last day in the office for the year. I have too many days of vacation left and will lose about three days but can carry 5 days into the new year. I ran a 10-miler this morning in the rain by myself since my regular running buds decided not to run in the rain I guess. I did meet a homeless man named Joe today and had a great conversation with him for about 10 minutes. He asked nothing of me and it was time well spent for me. He had a life story that is very interesting and has been hanging out at the Y in the mornings. Hope to see him again tomorrow. Our annual runner...

I caught my flight home from Dallas this morning and was glad all was on time. Made it to work and had a couple of meetings and then got a haircut and made a visit with the chiropractor. It is good to get some things done that needed to be done. I made it home around 5p and then headed out for a 5-miler in the dark and the rain. Had the reflective vest on with a brightly colored shirt and managed to not get run over. Mom is a little better today and my brother is at mom and dad's tonight. He is so good to help out. Dad sounded a little tired, but overall pretty good considering I know he must be both physically and emotionally tired. Thanks so much for praying for my parents.

Weird weather here in Dallas where it was 48 went I went to bed and 65 when I woke up. It has been pretty misty and foggy, but running this morning in the rain and in the 60s was not all bad. I ended up only running 7 since it started raining pretty hard though. Mom is not well today at all. Dad says she has not eaten, slept most of the day and has been uncommunicative. Dad sounded sort of tired but he is always so level headed about things. Mom has done this to some extent before but she appears to be sinking lower this time than any of the other times in the past. We will see. I ask that you just pray as so many of you have been doing. Thanks so much for doing that. I head home tomorrow and look forward to being back home. My meetings have not been overly productive this trip in trying to secure some contract consultants. This is proving to be harder than I hope it would be. It is supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow here so I am praying I get out of here on time in the morning. We ...

I am in Dallas today and tomorrow and head back to Nashvegas Weds. am. We used to live here so it is good to come back, see some friends and get some work done. I am doing some interviewing for potential contract folks that we are looking to use as an extension of what we do at LifeWay. I left Nashville this morning after running in 65 degree weather, connected through St. Louis (to save a little money) and dodged the ice there and arrived in Dallas where it is pretty cold and wet. I talked to mom today and she knew who I was and we enjoyed a short conversation. She seems to be hanging in there. They are supposed to get some really bad ice tonight, so pray that their power does not go out. Dad has made some contingency plans in case they need to get to somewhere else for their protection. Dad is on the ball for sure. Thanks for praying for my mom and dad. Also say a prayer for our daughters as they are taking semester exams this week.

Before I update you on Saturday's work, let me tell you about Fri. night ballgames. Our varsity girls' team won pretty big and Morgan had a great slide during the game. She was going for a loose ball, got hit by her own player and ended up sliding on her hip and shoulder for about 15 feet. It was great and really pretty funny. We won by about 30 I think and our jv played quite a bit. This morning started out with a 5-miler in the mist that made for a pretty decent rain. It is in the high 50s - mid 60s today so it was pretty nice. Went to watch Shelbi and one of her friends coach their 4th/5th grade girls basketball team and then headed home to work getting the leaves up in the yard. It was raining some but I had to get it done so I raked them all up and then mowed the lawn in the rain. Weird, I know, but it really was the only time I have had to do it. The yard looks good with the new grass in now and the leaves up and gone. Mom is doing pretty good today and I even talked to h...

This has been one busy week. I am so thankful for the job that I have where I get to network with some of the greatest folks in student ministry across the country. It was a tiring, busy week, but it was great fun and very rewarding. Mom is hanging in and I even spoke with her on the phone yesterday and she knew who I was. The past few days she has been in and out and mostly out. Even when she is awake she is not very aware of what is going on and is very confused about things. My dad seems to be hanging in as well but I know that it is very hard for him when mom is so very confused. Weds. evening was really rough but yesterday was much better. I am so very thankful for those of you who have been praying, contacting us and genuinely concerned for my mom. It is so very comforting to know that so many people care. I am planning on being home this weekend to get some things done around the house and the girls play basketball tonight and tomorrow and Sunday afternoon is Shelbi's volley...

I am in meetings all week for work with about 800 of our partners from across the US visiting us here in Nashville. It is great to see many old friends and colleagues and meet new ones. I have a great job that is about helping people which is very rewarding. It does make for some early mornings and late evenings filled with meetings though. Mom is sort of holding her own. It is continually an up and down, roller coaster kind of experience. She is just not very well right now, but continues to smile and be thankful. Dad is doing pretty well right now but I know is very tired. Our girls' basketball team in up and down as well. We lost to FRA last night in OT. Pretty frustrating to play and pretty frustrating to watch. At some point I think we are going to have to figure out how to penetrate, kick it out and spot up and hit some shots and then move the ball inside. We shoot alot from the outside, but do not get the ball low very often at all. Can you tell one of my daughters is a post...

Had a pretty good weekend with my mom this weekend. She was fairly alert when I arrived mid-afternoon on Sat. and then was up most of the evening talking about alot of things. She actually was pretty funny and at the same time, we talked about some pretty major things. She is about ready for heaven she said. In fact, she edited herself and said she was ready at any time. We talked about some of her family members who have passed and how ready she was to see her dad again who died in 1968. What a blessing it was to spend the time talking with her. I am headed back to Nashville sitting in the Kansas City airport. It is going to be a very busy week with many of our state partners in town. Many meetings, meals and good conversations. I am thankful for the people who represent work in our state conventions and am glad to call them not only partners and co-workers, but friends as well. The girls have a couple of games each this week and this is their last full week of the semester with tests...

It is Saturday night and MU is currently behind OU but I am pulling for Mizzou to come through. Only Ohio State fans could want them backing into the BCS championship game. We were in Alcoa last night for the football semi-finals and DCA came in second but had a great season. I would have never predicted that DCA would make it to the state semi-finals this year. I was really proud of them. We lost 38-0 to a really good Alcoa team. They are the three time defending state champions and will probably win again this year against Goodpasture. Goodpasture has lost two years in a row to them in the state championship. We drove back this morning after spending the night with some friends in Maryville and then I caught a flight to KC to be with mom and dad. Mom has had three really bad days but today seems to be doing fairly well. She is sitting in the chair next to me while I write this. What a blessing for me to have her sitting here. I know these times together will be few. Thanks so much fo...

Last night we attended the McGavock Choral fall show at McGavock High School here in Nashville. One of my best buds in the whole world, Mitch Fuller, is the choral director there and he leads the students to do two shows a year. Last night's show was really refreshing. They sang a bunch of old 70s tunes plus some more current stuff. Mitch has them signing, dancing, running and jumping all over the place. He is very good at getting the best out of kids he works with. I was entertained and blessed. He always does a gospel run in the middle somewhere and last night's was no exception. Mom seems to deteriorate more and more each day. She told my dad again today that she is so very tired. She has rallied some before, but it really does seem that we are entering her "home going" stretch. To be honest, I am very sad about mom's condition, but am ready for her to go on as she sees fit to do so. She does not seem to be in much pain, but is so very tired. I fly up Sat. afte...

Sometimes I envy the snail and the turtle. They both seem to go at it pretty consistently, albeit, slowly. Heading into the Christmas season, I am really going to try and adopt this slow and steady mantra. There are about a hundred things I can fill my calendar up with, but I am choosing to not do that. Some things I am going to do - enjoy my family rest a little encourage people read contact some people I have not talked to lately spend as much time with my mom as I can be thankful The list could be much longer, but I am not filling up my list either. Mom seems to be slowly deteriorating in some key areas. She is really struggling right now with the whole thinking process. Many things just do not compute for her. She is sleeping much more, but continues to eat decently. Please pray for my dad, Charles. He is beginning to really feel the strain of mom's process of dying. He is so good with her. It is really amazing to see him care for my mom. On another note, our jv team won last n...

Not since 1960, has Missouri been ranked #1 in football. It may only last this week, although I think they have a good chance of beating OU in the Big 12 Championship on Sat. What I do not get is all the whining going on around Division 1 football. LSU lost twice and coulda/shoulda lost a couple of other times. Ohio State has the luxury of not having to play any more football until a bowl since there is not championship game in the Big 10. West Virginia could go down to Pitt. Mizzou beat a pretty good KU football team. The best sign at The Border War this past Sat. said, "KU football: A tradition since September". I am glad it is some different teams at the top. I am thankful Notre Dame is still out is Siberia somewhere. And . . . I am enjoying Mizzou being on top even if it is short-lived. It's been before I was born since they have done very well and I am an old guy. Stop whining and relish the fact that the Denver Broncos lost a heart-breaker. You do not hear me whinin...

We are getting some much needed rain today. We are still way behind for the year, but the new grass we planted about 6 weeks ago is liking it alot. I only wish I had gotten the leaves raked up yesterday but I was lazy and did not do it. Church and Sunday school were alot of fun today and we headed out to lunch with some friends at Sakura. Japanese food is always good. It was fun to watch the last half of the MU-KU game last night and was even better to see Mizzou win. And . . . today they are rated #1 in the AP poll and I am not sure the BCS rankings are out yet. The MU-OU game should be good for the Big 12 championship. And UT squeaked by UK yesterday in 4OTs. That game was nuts. Talked to dad today and he sounded pretty good. Said mom was doing fair and is sleeping quite a bit. Seems to be her m.o. right now. Thanks for praying for my mom and dad.

Yesterday we drove to Columbia for a noon basketball game against Hickman Co. and won by 20. Then we headed home, put on some warm clothes and rode with some friends to Jamestown for a state quarterfinal football game against York. We won 34-12 and really enjoyed the game. Got home around 1a this morning and slept a little while and then sort of took it easy most of the day. Drove back to Columbia for a 630p girls' basketball game against Wayne Co. and we lost by 9. we started out pretty slow but played pretty good the last three quarters. Looking forward to being at church tomorrow. Looks like it could be a busy week coming up with basketball games on Tues and then our football team plays Fri. night in Alcoa in a semi-final match up. Alcoa is the two time defending state champion. They are pretty good to say the least. Mom was doing pretty well this morning when I talked to her on the phone. It is up and down big time right now. It was good to be with mom and dad this week. I will...

We enjoyed Thanksgiving with my parents and brother and sister-in-law, climbed in the car about 245p and made it home about 1a this morning. Mom did not have a very good afternoon and we all had a good cry, good meal, and more crying as we said our goodbyes. I am so thankful we had the time to be together. Thanks so much for praying for my mom and dad.

Sondra and the girls made it to KC late Tues night and we were waiting up for them. Mom had a pretty good day on Tues. She sat up in the chair some and watched some a little of her dvd movies she has. All in all Tues. was pretty good and fairly quiet. This morning we woke up to 30s and rainy and some prediction of a little snow. Not expecting accumulation but mom said a few weeks ago that she would be here to see the first snow. She has surprised all of us including her nurses. She usually is fairly clear in the mornings and carries on pretty good conversations but by early afternoon she is pretty tired and may say just about anything. She maintains a great sense of humor and really brightened up when the girls came in last night. I did too. With travel for work and coming to KC to help with mom I have missed being around Sondra and the girls. I know they understand and want me to be with mom and dad as much as I can, but it is hard on all of us. Here is hoping and praying that you hav...

A quick update from yesterday . . . hopped a plane in Nashville and was a little late leaving due to fog but got to KC in time for dad to pick me up and drop me off to stay with mom while he went on to preach at church. Mom is doing pretty well today. She did not sleep too well last night but that may be because she slept most of the day yesterday. She has eaten pretty well and sat up most of the day. The hospice nurse came in and checked her vitals and they were all pretty good. The nurse told me she was pretty surprised that mom was still here and doing fairly well. Dad is tired but pretty good. It seems to ease his mind some when either James or I am here. He is such a remarkable man in taking care of mom. Mom and I had a little incident today where she was convinced that I was lost and that she had lost me. It was pretty scary for her but only lasted about 10 minutes and then she realized that I was okay (and not a little kid), but I told her that I would have been upset if she tho...

This was one of those trips this week that I kept seeing seemingly famous people. It does not happen much, but I loaded up this trip. I am not one that gets star struck. They are really just people who have to put their pants on one leg at a time. All that to say . . . I respect all people and do not get enamored by much of anyone. When I met Billy Graham a few years ago and talked with him, I was pretty much awe stricken because I just really respect and admire him. On this trip however, I saw Lyle Lovett on Weds. in the OKC airport, sat next to Barry Switzer on the regional jet from OKC to DFW, and then met Toby Keith and most of his band in Dallas and Nashville. All of them were very nice and each of them initiated a conversation. Nice to know that some people who get in the spotlight are actually pretty nice. Mom is doing fairly well. It is really surprising the way she has been the last few days. I am thankful. I head up tomorrow morning and Sondra and the girls come that way on ...

I am still in OK today and head home tomorrow. I am spending some really good time with the youth ministry folks in OK and leading some conferences as well. I enjoy these folks. They are good people. Mom seems to be doing some rallying right now and there is no rhyme or reason other than she is a pretty determined lady. I am thankful that she is doing a little better and do know that all of this is temporary but we take the good days as we get them. My dad is still the coolest guy I know and my hero. He always has been but is proving himself more and more to be the guy I always thought he was. Thanks so much for praying for my parents. I am grateful to each of you.

I traveled to Oklahoma today to be involved in a youth ministry meeting that begins in the morning and runs through Saturday. A cold front pushed through this afternoon and the wind is blowing. It is Oklahoma though so I guess the wind is no surprise. I talked to my cousin this morning who sat with mom today and mom seems to be doing fairly okay right now. Dad had gone out to get his haircut and pick up some lunch and generally just get out of the house for a couple of hours. I am so thankful for my cousin Barb sitting with my mom and giving dad a little break. My brother usually sits with mom on Weds. evenings so dad can go speak at the church. I am assuming the same will happen tonight. I am planning on going to MO early Sun. morning. It will be almost two weeks since I have been there. Self-imposed guilt for not getting there this week but with work travel and needing to just be at home a little with my own family is my excuse. Our oldest was accepted to Union University in Jackson,...

Mom seems to be sort of holding her own the last couple of days. She did not sleep well last night but seems to have had a decent day. Dad sounded a little tired but I do think he got some rest today while mom was resting. My cousin, Barb, is coming down tomorrow to help out. She is a RN and is a great help for mom. Our girls' basketball season started tonight and they lost both jv and varsity by 4. Varsity took it to overtime and gave it a good shot, but came up short. Our outside shooting was pretty bad and that may be saying it kindly. We are going to have to get some outside shots to fall. I had a DCA board meeting during/after the game and the folks on that team are just good folks. The work we do is all volunteer and each one works hard. It is an honor to serve alongside of them. I head to Oklahoma City tomorrow for a series of conferences and get to meet up with an old college buddy who works for OU now. It is always good to see him and his family. It will be a busy few days...

I talked to my dad this morning and mom seems to be holding her own right now. He stepped to the back bedroom this morning and when he came back around, mom had gotten out of her hospital bed and made her way to the couch. It is probably 6-8 feet, but she has done little to no mobility on her own for quite some time. Dad reminded her that it would be best if she let him know BEFORE she decided to do that again. She is getting a little more confused on names as well, calling my dad, Gene, which is my mom's brother who passed away 20 years ago. I seem to think that mom is trying to hold on until Thanksgiving, but what do I know. About the time you rule her out, she goes on a little jaunt on her own. Thanks so much for praying for my parents. I am so grateful to each of you. Our girls' basketball season begins tomorrow night. Glad it is here and then it will end all too soon with this being Shelbi's senior year. Just going to enjoy every minute of it.

The class at NOBTS finished very well yesterday and I headed to Deanie's for a shrimp po-boy for lunch and then drove through the Quarter and then headed to the airport. Ran into a friend of mine who is the preaching prof at NOBTS and enjoyed catching up with him. Made it home on time and headed to some friends house for home made pizza. They do a good job. We tried to watch some football but never really got to interested. KU-OSU were on and KU is really a pretty good team. Florida and South Carolina were playing and I really can't stand FL and do not care for Spurrier at all so was not interested in that game. I was pulling for FL to lose but that did not happen. I am looking forward to being around home today after church. First Sunday at home in a long time it seems. Mom seems to be sleeping much more and generally deteriorating. I am going to try and get back up there late next weekend I guess. I am out of town this week on business and the girls have a couple of ballgames...

Mom is doing okay to day. She is sleeping much more and does not initiate conversation much, but she is not hurting which is good. Hospice says that her heart is pretty strong but the rest of her is waning. They suggested that probably within the next couple of weeks, she very well could be going home. Heaven, that is. Dad is doing okay as well. The reality is setting in that we are closer than ever every day and it is sad but he is pretty strong too. Thanks so much for praying for them. The class at NOBTS is going well. I have been up a bunch today. Seems like most of the day. I have one more session and I am finished for the day which will be good. It is a good class and the students are hanging in well. Pray for Austin Nicks who is a junior in high school and a friend of our family. He is in the hospital going through all the pokes and prods trying to figure out what is going on. Pretty cool kid having a tough time right now.

After a couple of down days, Mom is doing some better today. I talked to her and my dad for a few minutes and she seemed pretty clear and focused, just really tired. Dad sounded pretty good as well. I am in New Orleans for a couple of days teaching a class at NOBTS with a couple of buddies. We have 24 in the class. It should be a lot of fun. Parts of the city are still a real mess though. Still pretty depressing in some ways but the spirit on campus is very good. It is a short report today because I have much to do in a short amount of time before the class starts.

Mom seems to be headed downhill pretty rapidly the last three days. I talked to her briefly today and she was pretty out of it. She is sleeping quite a bit, eating less every day and generally is declining more rapidly. I talked to dad for a few minutes and he was trying to put a good face forward but he finally admitted that she is not doing well. I am thankful to my cousin, Barb, who is a RN who came and sat with mom today for about 4 hours. Dad did a funeral of one of his older church members and it gave him the opportunity to do some other stuff today as well. He is going to be at church tonight and my brother is going to spend the night of which I am thankful for as well. Thanks for your prayers. Pray for peace and no pain for my mom.

It was meeting day at LifeWay so that made for a long day but a productive one. Our team really does a good job of getting to the point, making decisions and then moving on. I finally got my luggage from the airport late this afternoon. American evidently left it on the belt late last night, it was picked up by the airport police and checked out. Thankfully they did not blow it up thinking there may be explosives in it. I got it from the airport authority and then went down to the AA baggage area and told them what happened. The agent seemed to be shocked and genuinely sorry that they did not keep up with my bag. All my stuff was still in it so no worse for the wear. Cold has hit middle Tennessee with lows in the high 20s tonight. I did a 12-miler this morning and it was cold and breezy. It was good to run with my buddies today and not be running by myself. Mom has had a pretty poor day today and has had two poor days in a row. It really is not a very good time for her right now. More ...

It was an interesting trip home today. Not the usual straight shot from MCI to BNA on Southwest but routed through Chicago on American. Lots of Cheeseheads in the Kansas City airport who were headed home to Wisconsin after beating the Chiefs on Sunday. And . . . once in Chicago, AA told us all kinds of reasons why they could not get us out to Nashville on time. They did finally get us on a plane and home only an hour late, and my luggage did not make it. Who knows why. They had an extra hour to lose it I guess. Got home in time for a major storm to blow through with tornadoes in the area and lots of lightning, wind and hail. We need the rain but not the blown down trees. When we were flying in you could see the front coming in. Pretty wicked. I left mom doing fair this morning. I tried to get a bunch of stuff done around the house before I left like vacuuming, laundry, dusting, changing sheets, etc. Dad will try to do all that stuff when he should be resting. Thanks for praying for mo...

I stayed with mom today during church. I was scheduled to preach for my dad but since he missed last week, he decided to preach. Gave me some good time with my mom. We watched Adrian Rogers together and mom commented that he did a great job for a guy who has been dead awhile. Pretty funny girl. Adrian did preach a good sermon though. Mom has had a good day today. Had some company come to see here one of them being a cousin and her husband that mom had not seen in quite awhile. People come to comfort mom and she ends up comforting them. Pretty amazing lady. I am looking foward to being home tomorrow. It is good to see my folks but I miss my wife and Shelbi and Morgan. Thanks for praying for my mom and dad.

I made my way back across Kansas today after a good conference in Salina. Terry McIllvain is the state youth associate out there and a great friend. He is a solid, encouraging guy and does a great job in the Kansas/Nebraska State Convention. I traveled back I70 today and got into the KU traffic coming out of Lawrence. They were one excited bunch of folks after thumping Nebraska 76-39 or something ridiculous like that. Lots of Jayhawks on the road. I am glad to be back in cell phone service but miss the wireless internet. Dial up is a tad bit slow. Mom is fair today. She slept really poorly last night and has been up most of the day and is really tired tonight. Dad is tired also since he was up with mom most of the night. Glad I am here to help out tonight. Looking forward to an extra hour of sleep tonight but not looking forward to it being dark at 5p each night. Thanks for praying for my mom and dad. Pray especially for rest for both of them.

I am in Salina, KS tonight where there is no Verizon phone service, but I have wireless internet. It is a weird world we live in. Had a good drive over from MO this afternoon after spending a good morning with my mom and dad. Mom was pretty clear this morning after a pretty good night's rest. Hospice was coming out today for their normal trip and mom always gets sort of geared up for them. I am here tonight and part of tomorrow and then head back to be at my mom and dad's until Monday morning. Thanks for praying for mom. She seems to be doing okay for now.

I have a conference on Fri/Sat in Salina, KS so I flew back up to KC today to give my dad a little bit of a break. Mom has done pretty well after a really rough Monday, but this afternoon seems to be fading again. She is just so very tired and weak. Having the hospital bed helps alot and looks like we will have to make some other decisions within a day or so about taking care of bodily functions. I know it must be very hard on my mom. She is just so incredibly sweet and easy to care for, but there are some things that need to be done. I so much appreciate you praying for mom and dad. I am thankful I am getting to spend some time here. On another note, I started my 16th year at LifeWay today. Hard to believe they would let me hang around that long. I will do my best to keep you updated but it will be Sat. at the earliest for the next update.

I called to talk to my dad today and ended up talking to my mom for a few minutes. She seems to be doing okay right now since the last scare on Monday afternoon. Her vital signs have been good since then and I am headed up there tomorrow. This whole cancer thing is just a weird cycle. I have quit trying to figure it out or to speculate what will happen with mom next. God seems to be teaching me to just take one step at a time, deal with that and help my dad see the big picture of what is going on. He is so "on the ground" with mom on all of this that at times it is hard for him to step and see what we need to be thinking about and planning for. He is open to my brother and I doing that though so that makes it a little easier. I ran 5 this morning after running 5 late yesterday afternoon and hope to run 10 in the morning before I head to KC. My running is still happening but I am not logging more than 5-6/day typically. Today I completed 15 years at LifeWay. It has been a gre...

So goes mom right now. Yesterday was not a very good day and overall she continues to decline. I left KC yesterday am and about 4p my dad called to say mom was doing really bad. By 7p, she was better. I just think this is a new cycle that we are in. I head back to KC and to KS to do a conference over the weekend. Shelbi and I had a good visit to B'ham yesterday and today and the class I taught for the New Orleans Seminary extension went really well. Great group of students and I was able to give them some freebies. That is always an easy grab for good reviews. Looking forward to being at home tonight. Seems like it has been awhile. Morgan is still feeling puny and missed another day of school. I told her I thought she was faking and she disagreed. I agree with her. She's just puny right now. Much to do yet today, so I will try and update you on mom as I know. As of about 1p today she was doing okay. Thanks for praying for mom and dad. My dad is especially tired right now. I am...

That seems to be the way of my life right now. Seems like I am coming and going alot lately. Mom seems to be doing the same. Yesterday morning was a pretty tough time for her and much of the day yesterday was sort of come and go for her. It is obvious that she is declining but she still never complains. Today is my brother's 48th birthday and he just dropped me off at the airport for me to head back to Nashville. It was good to be able to at least see him on his birthday. He sure is a great help to my parents right now too. I head back to Nashville, work for awhile and then head to Birmingham to teach an extension class for New Orleans Seminary and Shelbi has a college visit at Samford in the morning so we are killing two birds with one stone. It will be fun to spend some time in the car together. Looks like it will be a busy week. I am leading conferences in Salina, KS this weekend so I will head back up to KC on Thurs., see my parents and drive to Salina on Fri., lead conference...

I flew to KC late yesterday afternoon and my brother picked me up and we headed to his house. His wife, Julie, had her kids and their clans over for some homemade pizza and it was all so very good. It was good to see all of them and to spend some time with them. Arrived at my mom and dad's around 830p and mom was sitting up in her bed wanting to talk. She looks okay but I can tell a big difference in the last 10-12 days since I was here last. We talked for about an hour or so and then she headed to bed for a little while. She does not sleep well at night much lately and I heard them up quite a bit. I offered to help but dad is pretty determined to take care of mom (a fact that I am totally amazed by how well he cares for her). She has not had a very good morning today. She has slept quite a bit after sitting up for about an hour and she does not look good or respond very clearly. She is always very sweet and smiling, but it is a pretty big change since I was here last. I am going t...

The Lady Cats lost this afternoon to Knox Catholic in 3 games. We played them tough 26-24, 25-23, and 25-21 but it was not meant to be. This team has accomplished so much this year and have many reasons to be proud. They did not quit today even though they got down 2 games to none. I talked to Dad today and mom is doing fair. They upped her pain medication more and she continues to just decline a little more every day. I am headed up tomorrow to spend the weekend and to give my dad and brother a little break. As always, thanks for praying for mom and dad. My wife's birthday is today and she got a big surprise by her folks showing up from Missouri. It is a little secret I have been keeping for about 5 weeks now. I feel proud to have kept it that long. They got to see Shelbi play the last match today too, so that was way cool. I am including a pic of my beautiful pride. I love the sign which is a little joke Sondra and I have had for a few years.

DCA Lady Cats won in 4 games this morning to go 1-1 in pool play and face Knox Catholic (state defending champions I believe) in the last game of pool play. We really need to win the second match today to move into the semis tomorrow. The girls played well today after the first game and a half. They settled in, had fun and played well. We will see how the 130 match goes. It is running late since our match ran long. I have not talked to my folks today but will try and get an update later today. Thanks for praying for mom.

DCA loses to Page in 4 tonight and we play Thurs @ 1030a and 130p. We did not play bad but we did not really play all that well. Never really got it all together at the same time.

Had a nice run in a preserve just east of downtown about 20 miles in Hoffman Estates area of Chicago. Saw a few deer, very few people, and the weather was in the mid-40s and sort of sunny. Ended up running about 9 miles and that was enough. From the smoky San Diego area and the plane rides I have been fortunate enough to catch a head cold. I hate those things. They just make me cranky and feel pretty rotten. Mom had a fair day yesterday but not really too good. A good day is being redefined just about every day with her failing health. She is extremely restless and only sleeps for a couple of hours at a time and then wants to move around. Of course, she cannot move around by herself so my dad is up alot too. I am headed over on Friday night. Volleyball state tournament gets under way today with DCA playing Page @ 430p at Blackman High School in Murfreesboro. We play tomorrow at 1030a and 130p and depending how these three matches comes out, we may be playing on Fri. in the semis and i...

I left San Diego this morning and it was nice, warm and extremely smoky. The fires just outside of San Diego are very bad and with the Santa Ana winds blowing it might not be better for the next few days. All in all it was a good weekend in San Diego. I am in Chicago until tomorrow and here it is windy, cool and rainy. Just the opposite of what I left this morning in CA. I talked to dad today and mom is sort of holding her own today. She had a pretty good day yesterday but tires very easily and today seems to be pretty weak and her head seems to be hurting quite a bit as well. I meet with the state youth associates tomorrow here in Chicago and then head home for a few days. I am planning on getting to KC this weekend for a couple of days to be with my folks.

Amazingly DCA handed Goodpasture, the #1 ranked 2A school in TN, their first loss of the season. There really is very little love lost between DCA and Goodpasture and us besting them this year is really pretty sweet. Our girls volleyball team owned them this year too, beating them all 4 times we played them. I talked with dad this morning and mom had a pretty good night and was up and moving around some this morning. She usually does pretty good until noon or so and then runs out of gas and begins hurting. Dad sounded pretty rested this morning and mom was smarting off in the background being her usually funny self. This is the first week I have not been up there in the last 6 weeks or so and it looks like it will be next weekend before I can get back up there. It will be a somewhat full day here today in San Diego but it was nice to sleep in some this morning. I am planning on running 10 or so leaving here in a few minutes. It will be good to get out some. As always, thanks so much f...

I headed to San Diego this morning to be a part of the LifeWay Student Ministry booth at YS. I got here about 1030a and am feeling being 2 hours ahead of the time out here. We have a good team of folks out here and I am here until Monday am and then head to Chicago for a couple of days. I talked with dad today and mom had a tough start to the day but seems to be doing later in the day. All in all it has been a tough week for her but she never complains. DCA football is playing Goodpasture tonight and we are up 28-7. If this continues, it would be a pretty big upset. Got Cats!

Our volleyball team won 3-0 tonight against Summertown and head to the state tournament beginning next Weds. I will try to keep you updated as we go along. Talked to my brother briefly tonight and mom is physically getting pretty weak and tired. Her mind is pretty sharp but the body seems to be having a tough time. Thanks for praying for mom and dad.

It was 10-miler in the rain this morning and it was pretty refreshing. I am so thankful that we are getting some much needed rain in middle Tennessee. We are nearly 17 inches behind for the year and any rain is greatly appreciated. Mom is hanging in. She seems to be growing weaker by the day and is getting to the point where she is not very capable of getting around easily. She has been using a walker and shuffling behind it but that is less and less each day. Thanks so much for praying for my mom and dad. Dad is an incredible man. He is such a model of a great husband "in sickness and in health". I cannot even begin to explain the many lessons he and mom continue to teach me. What an honor and blessing to have the parents that my brother and I have. My brother and sister-in-law continue to be a huge help to my mom and dad and I am so thankful for them. It is hard to live 550 miles away from mom and dad but is comforting to know that James and Julie are close and so very hel...

Monday's soccer game went well for DCA and we won 3-0. That meant we would play at 5p on Tuesday against CPA who had beaten us earlier in the season 3-0 and they are a pretty good team. Our girls were ready to play I think and in the first half on Tues. played a little kick ball and got down but played much better in the second half, but unfortunately lost 2-1. One of the roughest collisions I have ever seen happened in the second half when one of our defenders collided with a girl of girth from CPA. It was pretty brutal looking and Shelby Pigue, our defender and their player both went down in a heap. The CPA player was yellow carded and Shelby P. came back in to play. She is one tough kid who I am sure is very sore this morning. Volleyball played at 4p yesterday and won which put them in the region championship and we played Goodpasture for the 4th time this season and beat them in 3 games. We host a sectional tomorrow night at 7p. If we win, we go on to state next week and if we...

Shelbi and I caught an early flight home from KC this morning and we enjoyed the extra time with my folks. Overall, mom had a really good weekend. I guess having the grandgirls there was good medicine. It is a weird thing to see mom doing so well after last weekend being so very bad. That is the nature of terminal illness I guess. We are thankful for the good times that we have with mom. Thanks so much for praying for mom and dad. Soccer kicks off tonight at 6p at DCA and it is win or go home time. We beat Hume-Fogg 3-1 earlier in the season, but that was then, and anything can happen. Volleyball tomorrow has us playing Harpeth in the first round and if we win we get the winner of Cheatham Co.-Goodpasture. One of my co-worker's husband, Jim, coaches Cheatham Co. and they are undefeated this year. My vote is for him as coach of the year and he may have gotten it since Pam is out of the office today and I do not have the latest word. I will do my best to keep you posted on my mom. I ...

We had a good day yesterday here in KC. The weather brought a good amount of rain in the morning but I still got to squeeze in a 5-miler between storms. Mom seems to be doing pretty well and is much better than she was last weekend. She is enjoying having Shelbi and Morgan around. Sondra is feeling pretty puny with some kind of head and throat stuff that has robbed her voice. She whispers alot. I had hoped to drive to Blue Springs this morning to run a Breast Cancer race that a good, college friend is putting on, but I woke up with a bad headache and have been helping with my mom this morning. Sorry Linda that I did not make it to the race. I will send you a check however, so email me your address. I am taking Morgan and Sondra to the airport today and Shelbi and I fly out in the morning. Shelbi needed a little extra time with her grandparents and Morgan has soccer practice later today and they start districts tomorrow. My brother and sister-in-law came down yesterday and we grilled a ...

Thurs. night was filled with volleyball and soccer. Morgan's soccer team beat Davidson Academy 6-1 and open their district play Monday night against Hume-Fogg. Shelbi's v-ball team played Lipscomb at 4p and won in 4 games and then played in the district finals at 7p against tournament host Goodpasture. We won in 4 games. Shelbi was selected all-district for the regular season and then was district tournament MVP! Awesome! She played really well as did their entire team. The host the region tournament at our place on Tues. We all flew to KC this morning to be with mom and dad and remarkably mom is doing pretty well. Hard to believe that she is doing as well as she is. Up and alert and having a good time. My guess is that the grandkids are good medicine. We will be here all weekend and then back home for a new week. I am scheduled to be in San Diego and Chicago next weekend into the week. Thanks for praying for mom.

It seems that the weather is finally changing and we actually might be into what could be classified as a "late fall." Running yesterday was hot and miserable and today it was nice and cool. The sky is clear and the humidity seems to have subsided. Okay . . . here are the sports updates: Shelbi's volleyball team won 3-0 against East Literature and they play Thurs. @ 4p against David Lipscomb. We have beaten them twice this season but it is tournament time and you never know what will happen. If we lose, we are done for the season, if we win, we play in the tournament championship game at 7p and are assured a region tournament game next week. Morgan's soccer team won 6-0 and it easily could have been a gazillion to 0. We pulled all the starters in the first half and then worked a few back in throughout the game. It was Sr. night, so it made for a fun night. We play Davidson tomorrow at 430p (tis true, we have two games at the same time at two different places.) Morgan ...

Nashville is hot today. 90 degrees at noon is crazy for this time of year. I got home about 1230a from KC and found myself fairly tired all day long. I did talk to my dad this am and mom seems to be fair. Not as good as yesterday but I really did not think she would. I did a 5-miler this am and it was pretty warm then as well. It was good to get out but I was pretty tired. I suppose it is a 10-miler tomorrow and should be the last warm day since a cold front is supposed to be moving in. I am ready for some cooler running weather and a little less sweat. Volleyball districts start tomorrow and we play in the afternoon some time. Soccer is on at 7p against MLK and we need to get a win for sure. We have a non-district game on Thurs. and then start district soccer next week. Thanks for praying for mom.

I am sitting in the KC Airport waiting on a late flight to carry me back to Nashville and thought I would take advantage of the free wifi at the airport. Had a good day with mom today. She seems to be a lot more awake and aware of things going on. She ate much more today and even got up and walked (with her rolling walker) around the house some. I went to church with dad this morning and he preached a great sermon on being strong and the full armor of God. The old boy can still preach, that is for sure. We had some cousins come by today and it was good to see them even though the visits were short. Mom doing better today makes it a little easier leaving tonight. There is much going on this week with soccer and volleyball (district tournament starts on Tues.) and many work related activities. We are all headed up here on Fri. since the girls are on a short fall break. Thanks for praying for mom and dad. Pray that this flight gets me home safely sometime tonight or early morning.