Everyone has a dream for what they want their life to be. But life is hard on dreams so people sometimes discount that dream as a childhood fantasy. Other times the routine, demands or problems of life just drown out the memory until we only live a frustrating existence. When we are caring for someone going through a crisis, especially a life altering event, their dream may be dashed. Maybe we never dreamed of a career of caring for people with problems. In my book, Welcome to the Big Leagues, the first inning (chapter) talks about our Dreams. Darrel Chaney is here to discuss his dream. I talk a little about mine. Giving dreams some thought will help us offer the best care. I hope your dream comes true as you listen.

For a brief few minutes I was tempted with the thought my visits were not very important. They certainly were not very exciting for me nor glamourous. But I did enjoy them and quickly savored the pleasure of the fellowship of three elderly people and the feeling of God’s favor. When we try to measure the return on investment of our time, we often get it wrong. The Bible is quite clear of the value to caring for the widow, the orphan, the poor and even our enemies. The real ROI may be that effective caring helps make us more caring people and caring people attract people to God’s care more than anything else.

It was an amazing result, both in scope and time, when Nehemiah and the exiles returning to Jerusalem, rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem in 52 days. Is there a secret rhythm here? There are some interesting facts that remain hidden to most people. As I have allowed this rhythm to work in my life, I noticed a time of accelerated results. So, nearly every year, I try to organize my prayer and devotional life into this 52 day rhythm. PRAY 52, can strengthen every care ministry. People are more consistent and thorough when they have a focused time with a beginning and an end. And the accelerated results encourage people and build excitement. It is not too late to get started for this year.

A stroke is to the brain, what a heart attack is to the heart. It can happen suddenly and produce results that are life altering. Marilyn tells how her life changed when her husband had a stroke. This active couple, living in Alaska, had plans for retirement. That all changed when Marilyn became a caregiver by necessity, not by choice. Now she talks about how to grieve and adjust to dreams that don’t come true, and how we can support people going through the dramatic impact of a stroke.

Miscarriage and infertility bring grief to the mother who never gets to know the child she was carrying and the couple whose dreams of a family remain out of reach. The heaviness is even worse at Christmas time when we celebrate the birth of a child and enjoy the excitement that children bring to the celebration. Juli joins the podcast today to tell her story of excitement, disappointment and longing and how she and her husband found the best care to deal with their loss. I hope, especially at this time of year, this podcast helps those who are in pain for miscarriage and/or infertility find care and comfort.

How much does your care matter? Probably more than you think it does. I have invited a former Big League baseball player to the podcast. Darrel Chaney played on the Cincinnati Reds during the amazing Big Red Machine era. He played in three World Series and four National League Championship Series over seven seasons with the Reds. He went on to play for the Atlanta Braves and become a Braves Broadcaster. His story is entertaining and applicable to the person who works behind the scenes in care ministry. Often we are tempted with feelings that we are not doing enough or that our role does not matter very much. But, the support roles matter a lot and we can be encouraged to be the best at our role. Your caring role matters! You were made for this! Darrel with be with us once a month in 2024 to help every listener realize their life matters and what they do matters.

There is nothing like going through hard times to make someone lose their confidence. But, when we care effectively for people, they are able to keep and even build their confidence. More than self-confidence, it is confident faith in God’s complete work, from beginning through the end. In this episode of the podcast, I bring a message from my life verse, Philippians 1:6. “Being confident of this, that he who has begun a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ.”

Hard topics and difficult emotions do not need to be feared. Most of us prefer the positive and avoid the dark. We are afraid that if we go there, we will never get out or the pain will be overwhelming, and we won’t be able to handle it. That has been a mistake I have made for much of my life and ministry. But the opposite is true. When we are willing to go to the dark places of our lives, we will find God waiting for us. He always does perfect work, but when we experience God’s redemptive work in our darkness, it feels like His best work. There is power and transformation that exceeds our wildest expectations. This episode of the podcast is a message from a Psalm of Lament (22) that talks about the importance, danger and power of the dark times.

How resilient are children really? Today’s guest talks about his first memory, the death of his 6 years old sister in the bedroom they shared. William Knox Scarbrough, aka Billy, is an adult, now living in South Africa with his wife and two grown children. He has enjoyed success in building sets and writing for TV among other activities. But the pain of losing his big sister, when he was three years old, has impacted every phase of his life. I am thankful that he shared his story so we can learn about childhood grief, and maybe learn how to love and be a friend to someone who is suffering from a loss they have carried their entire life. Every teacher, children’s worker and coach should listen to this. It can help all of us be more understanding of why people act as they do.

Good guys get PTSD and faith helps.

People enlist for military service because they want to do something meaningful. Then they experience terrible things that go against everything they value. The wounds are invisible but can be debilitating and life changing as a warrior’s physical injuries. Part of the reason PTSD is so bad is because the person and the motives are so good. We honor the Vets who suffer with PTSD. We recognize that our best motives to support often fall short, so we are glad there is help above us. God’s help. And, we ask for God’s help for us, so we can care better for others.