I'm ba-ack

Since my kids have started blogs where they regularly post, they've kinda' been on my case to add to mine. So here I am again.

Tonight I helped KT dissect a worm and a crayfish/crawdad whatever you want to call it. Quite the success, I might add. (All the good blogs share a little bit from the day...)

Regarding work...it is interesting to read my last post ("should resurrect the forecast model soon...") because it has been resurrected and is being regularly used. That is satisfying as well.

It is hard to believe that when I last posted, my good friend, mentor, and assistant pastor, Dennis Knable, was not even sick. Before Christmas, he experienced what he thought was a kidney stone. They found cancer - non-Hodgkins Lymphoma - on his adrenal gland. They thought it was stage 2, perfectly treatable. After a round of chemo, they discovered it had spread to his central nervous system. That appeared to be treated after a port was placed in his skull. 2 more rounds of chemo and the cancer was still growing. We prayed. And prayed. and prayed some more. I've never prayed for anything or anyone so hard in all my life. For whatever reason, God chose to take him home. I was honored, with 4 others, to speak at his funeral - over the past 9 years I've had the privilege of taking notes when he spoke at Grace Summit - and I pored over those notes and shared his own thoughts with the mourners. Dennis would have been pleased with the service.

There are many stories to share - how his daughter moved up her wedding (okay, well, got engaged and married in 7 days so he could give her away)...how Dennis blessed his family the night before he died - and told his 1 year old grandson how he was destined for greatness. How the nurses at Akron City planned a special lunch for Dennis and Linda on their 20th anniversary - served by the chef personally. Yes it is all very hard to believe.