As I write this post, I’m a bit hesitant. I am definitely entering a new normal, but the key word is “entering”. I’m transitioning from illness to wellness, from being sequestered and guarded to showing up in public places. I’m growing stronger each day, but definitely still evolving. I’m guessing there will come a time in the months ahead where I can feel like I’ve really landed in a new season.  But with all of that said, I am confidently walking towards a chapter that closes the door on some of the heaviness, difficulties, and uncertainties of the last 6 months. And yes, it feels really good to do that! …

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like meI once was lost but now I’m found. Was blind, but now I see. Sometimes the day just starts off rough and goes downhill from there. It may not be filled with one big calamity, but all of the little scrapes and bruises add up and take their toll. I had one of those days last week. After some on-and-off speed bumps, as the evening came I found myself feeling a little beat up. To compound this, I think I was just tired. And when I’m tired, things are magnified. Can I get an amen? Dick was at a…

(Quick note: The main photo for this post is one of Dick and I at a baseball game you’ll read about. On my head is a hat/wig combination, which means the hair is attached to the hat. When it came time for the National Anthem at the game we attended, the announcer said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, would you please stand and remove your caps for the singing of our National Anthem”. Those surrounding us in section 113 would have been quite stunned if I had obeyed! There will come a time when my hat can be removed again . . . but this isn’t that time!) 🤣 If you’ve read…

(A small tutorial on remission) 😃 Until my cancer journey began in December of 2025, there were lots of terms I really didn’t understand. Maybe I had heard the words before? Maybe I hadn’t. These last months have been a time of learning and gaining a brand new vocabulary! Here’s a part of our new language: Oophorectomy – the surgical removal of one or both ovariesHyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy – chemo done during surgery, also called a “belly wash”CA-125 Blood test – a blood test that monitors a protein level and helps determine the presence or degrees of ovarian cancerPort – a small medical device implanted under your skin (usually on…

(The opening photo is, again, part of what we see when we look out of our back windows at home. Psalm 66:4.) Many of you may be aware of a wonderful song I was privileged to record with my buddies, Bonnie Keen and Marty McCall as the group First Call. It has the same title as this blog – Lord of All. I remember when we were listening to lots of music in order to choose ten songs for our second album entitled “The Reason We Sing”, we were in an office at Word Records and the A&R Director began to play this particular option for us. All three of…

You’ve probably heard, in movie vernacular, of the “dailies”. This is a term used for raw, unedited footage shot during a single day of film or television production. The purpose is to record everything, realizing that much will end up on the cutting room floor because it holds little interest. But there are stories of directors who have found hidden gems in the dailies – moments and scenes that originally might have been overlooked, but once reviewed were shown to be valuable!  Daily life is kind of that way. It may look very ordinary or even mundane at times. Maybe it seems to be filled with “normal stuff” that wouldn’t…

The only other time I have been through another other big medical issue was July 4th weekend of 2000. Dick and I, with our two daughters, were scheduled to fly to northern California for a week-long conference where we would be leading worship alongside one of our heroes of the faith, Chuck Swindoll. This had been on the calendar for a year or so and we were all very excited about it. On the Friday before we would fly out on Sunday, I was at the mall picking up a few last minute items. I began to see a host of floaters in one of my eyes and had no…

Little known fact: I had my first music arrangement published when I was 15 years old. I had taken a song that my dad had written, “Teach Me O Lord to Care” (page 312 in the 1975 Baptist Hymnal), and turned it into a handbell arrangement for our youth ensemble to sing and ring. (Playing the bells and adding a singing part was a new novelty in that era). So, handbells have been a part of my life for a very long time.  Fast forward to now. Dick will be the Musical Director for a theatre production here in Bowling Green next month of Disney’s “Hunchback of Notre Dame”. It’s…

(The photo is one that Dick took of me as we were hiking in Mammoth Cave National Park yesterday – five days after getting out of the hospital. A banner moment! And a place where God’s presence was clearly seen.)  This coming week is a big week. In fact, Dick and I are marveling that we are at this point in the journey. On December 4, 2025, my treatment plan for ovarian cancer was laid out – 3 chemotherapies, a hysterectomy, and 3 more chemos. This Wednesday, May 13, if all goes as planned, I will sit in the chair for my final chemo treatment. And when I am unhooked,…

As Paul Harvey used to say, I wanted to share the rest of the story in regards to this past weekend’s “swerve” to the hospital.  First let me say, I got home early this afternoon. Whew! When Dick and I headed to the oncologist on Friday with the small possibility I would require a hospital stay, I probably was leaning a little too much on the word “small”. Little did I know five nights at St. Thomas Midtown was in our future. But it truly was the place God had prepared for me to be. I can now report that my fever is gone, white counts are up considerably, strength is building…