Dear Northville Church Friends,

Many of you have asked how you can help.

Traditional:
Prayers - I appreciate them all so much.
Judy B. is coordinating meals, etc.
Thank you for your kind and loving support!

I also have an alternative concrete suggestion/request:

I encourage you to support the all-church planning meeting on Saturday, Feb.2.
(My contribution, since I cannot be there.)

I recently read some articles in The Christian Century (January 29, 2008), regarding the impact of "megachurches". I think it is relevant to our church and our church-identity.

Interesting quotation:
"A recent self-study done by a Willow Creek Community Church Reveal: Where Are You? indicated that simply creating programs to meet perceived needs - the church's longtime strategy - had not led to the formation of mature Christians. According to Willow Creek founder and pastor Bill Hybels, more emphasis needs to be placed on equipping people to further their own faith growth through spiritual practices. Instead of providing the program of the week or year, the church needs to develop practices of faith for a lifetime."

(Smile, "Disciple" students!)

Teal: The Color of Endometrial Cancer

An earlier entry asked what color represented endometrial cancer. I did not so much expect an answer, as I was stating something else I did not know. It had crossed my mind as I was setting the blog layout in pink. However, this may illustrate how I may be surprised by answers I did not know were there.

Thank you very much!

Helen Marie (at our former church) in Traverse Ciy wrote: "...ovarian cancer and all gyn. cancers are the color teal. I went to the hospital gift shop and looked it up."

Mary Ann (classmate) in Grass Lake wrote: "Endometrial cancer "shares" the teal ribbon with cervical. ovarian, and uterine cancers." (Mary Ann works at U-M, known as a great research facility!)

Dear Classmates,

It seems, lately, I have been frequently saying, "I don't know" or "I will know more later". So if I find some wisdom I do feel qualified to say, I would like to offer it.

This entry is "how-to" practical advice dedicated to those people my age or "better" who need to catch up on having their colonoscopy. My credentials to offer this advice are that I had my baseline colonoscopy a few years ago, and now am in my second day of "bowel prep" for surgery. First of all, I encourage you to just do it!

Second, I have a short list of essential items that may not have been in your doctor's prep instructions. (They will make your experience more pleasant, or at least less unpleasant.)

1) Charmin Ultra toilet paper. No one is paying me to say this. It is the softest I have found.

2) Water bottle. There is probably an old sports water bottle in your cupboard that still works. It will be comforting to your skin.