Survival Songs
Music can touch depths of our soul where nothing else can quite reach. Music can capture the words that our spirits long to say but cannot always find.
These are my survival songs.
Read More Survival SongsHow to save your life in a hospital
After coming so close to losing my own life, I have been on a mission to keep others from experiencing the same fate. Here are some tips – some found through research and others inspired by my own experiences – for how to save your life in a hospital. I hope that you may never need it, but if you ever do, may these tidbits help you survive.
Read More How to save your life in a hospital“Prophets unheard” – A Sermon for Pentecost
Ever since our sons Ezra and Leo died, We have experienced an acute awareness of others’ pain. I suppose you could say that we “hear” the world differently. Hear the voices of prophets with us in Patrick’s sermon that he preached for Pentecost.
Read More “Prophets unheard” – A Sermon for PentecostThrown in the Deep End
“I can do the impossible, because I have been through the unimaginable.”
Thrown into the deep end in my first days back in my work with the families of organ donors, I was faced with a choice – would I drown or would I swim?
Read More Thrown in the Deep EndThe Mourner’s Bill of Rights
Anyone in the midst of grief is empowered with certain rights – the Mourner’s Bill of Rights. Stand in that power, fellow traveler, and let no one take them from you.
Read More The Mourner’s Bill of RightsEnd-of-Life Discussions Before the End of Life
End-of-life discussions are vitally important – no matter your age, since a long life is not guaranteed. As I faced death, my family and I had to discuss my wishes – both funny and serious – before the crisis hit. And I encourage you to do the same!
Read More End-of-Life Discussions Before the End of LifeTips for Impatient Sympathy
There is limited patience for people in pain. As the pain lingers, we grow tired and our sympathy grows impatient. Here are some tips to better help those who are hurting over time.
Read More Tips for Impatient SympathyWatch Out for Invisible Gorillas
Babies should come with TRIGGER warnings. How can our pain be so life-consuming for us, yet so invisible to others?
Read More Watch Out for Invisible GorillasHow does a pastor grieve?
“How does a pastor grieve?”
Patrick dares to ask this profound question as he wrestles with God’s absence in this article. Originally published as a column in Auburn’s local newspaper, “The Citizen.”
Read More How does a pastor grieve?“Life is Beautiful” – A Sermon for Stillbirth
On his first Sunday back at the church after the death of our sons, Patrick had to preach again for the first time. Courageously, Patrick chose to name his heartache aloud and to vulnerably share his grief with the congregation, thus robbing the pain of some of its power. This is his brave sermon, entitled “Life is Beautiful.”
Read More “Life is Beautiful” – A Sermon for Stillbirth
End of the Rainbow 