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The First Day of Christmas: A Baby Wrapped in Cloth

Leave a Comment / Christmas, Lung Cancer, Personal, Theological Reflection, Uncategorized / By /

A perfectly lovely day unfolded for the Naegeli family yesterday. We surrounded each other with love, gifts, food, frivolity, and even a little suspense, in the form of Daddy’s Treasure Hunt. When I needed to sleep, I just conked out in my recliner; when I awoke I was amazed by what the others had done in the meantime. Around the tree, a major gift theme for me was fabric, in the form of soft clothing, head scarves, and cute hats. I am set for life in the scarf department, now with several great colors and patterns to choose from. Each […]

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Living in Suspense

Leave a Comment / History, It All Started in the Garden, Lung Cancer, Personal, Spiritual Disciplines, Teaching, Theological Reflection, Uncategorized / By /

One of the pleasures of a quiet life, and the hours each day spent in the chemo chair, is reading a good recreational book. Right now I’m working on a legal thriller called Havana Requiem by Paul Goldstein. This tightly written novel by the Stanford author unfolds in Grisham style to reveal the rich tapestry of pre- and post-revolution Cuba, and particularly the music associated with it. Some of the “Aha” moments are discoveries of cultural significance (as opposed to “a body in the library,” although one gets that, too). All in all, it has me in suspense. So you

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A Long Obedience in a [Tedious] Direction

Leave a Comment / Leadership and Spirituality, Lung Cancer, Personal, Spiritual Disciplines, The Pastoral Call, Uncategorized / By /

The early excitement of entering into treatment for lung cancer has worn off, though the fire burns steady and bright in my spirit. This week I entered Round 2 of chemotherapy (all the while continuing with daily radiation), and there is nothing new to report. Dare I say it? I have the routine down now, and without any drama or new happenings or side effects of note (!), I have been grasping for ideas to write about! Is it true for you, too, that life’s routine puts you in a pattern of activity and behavior that isn’t very exciting? Perhaps

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Collateral Damage

Leave a Comment / Leadership and Spirituality, Lung Cancer, Personal, Spiritual Disciplines, Theological Reflection, Uncategorized / By /

The treatment for a lung cancer like mine is aggressive and hard-hitting. In my case, it involves both chemotherapy and radiation, designed first to shrink the tumor to a size that can be excised safely and also to kill any rogue cells that might be tempted to migrate through my body to make more mischief. The medicines in my chemo infusions have a proven track record, and the treatment protocol between now and surgery is non-controversial. But the regimen is tough on the body because of a reality known as collateral damage. Collateral damage is the harm done to healthy

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Finding Joy

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Guest blogger today, my daughter Judy, visiting with her sister Katy and brother-in-law Doug from Seattle over the Thanksgiving weekend. She wanted you to read her perspective. I’m thankful. Yes, it’s the season to say so, but I truly am. Sunday: It’s 8:22am and my sister is playing songs from Godspell on the grand piano downstairs. She can’t keep away from it, like I can’t say no to Thanksgiving pie. (Her passion is much healthier, I think.) My brother-in-law may still have been asleep in the fold-out sofa bed right next to the piano when she started. I wonder whether

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Taste and See That the Lord Is Good!

Leave a Comment / Essential Tenets of the Reformed Faith, Food, Lung Cancer, Personal, Sermon Illustrations, Spiritual Disciplines, Theological Reflection, Uncategorized / By /

I have often said that God’s biggest competition in my life was food. Of the seven deadly sins, gluttony has been at the top of the list too many times. So you can imagine how I anticipate the possibility of losing taste while undergoing chemotherapy with Cisplatin. Any medicine with the word “platinum” in the name can’t be good for a foodie like me. I have been wondering when this taste bud transformation would take place, because it hasn’t yet on Day 9 of treatment. Tonight, I celebrated that fact by enjoying the perfect dinner a friend brought to our

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A VAP and the Flow of the Spirit

Leave a Comment / It All Started in the Garden, Leadership and Spirituality, Lung Cancer, Personal, Sermon Illustrations, Theological Reflection, Uncategorized / By /

Two weeks ago, I had a Vein Access Port (VAP) surgically installed just below my left front shoulder. Its purpose is to provide reliable access to a central vein for the infusion of chemotherapy. It is imbedded completely under the skin, minimizing infection possibilities and making very efficient use of a durable “drum” pierced by the IV needle every day. And it saves those veins in the arms and hands, which are not always the most comfortable sites for such an intrusion. You can imagine how important it is to keep my VAP channel clear. At the end of each

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Resting in Uselessness

Leave a Comment / It All Started in the Garden, Leadership and Spirituality, Lung Cancer, Personal, Uncategorized / By /

Two days of radiation, before chemo gets started on Monday, have me thinking about what is required of me in the radiology oncology department. My sole job is to lie down on the table in the middle of a large room, put my arms up over my head into a custom-made cradle, allow the technicians to position me exactly in line with the lasers seeking out minute tattoos on my body, and then remain still for fifteen minutes. That’s it. No reading, no iPod, no talking . . . just be still and take regular shallow breaths so my tumor

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How Much Money Is Enough for Fruitful Ministry?

Leave a Comment / Kenya & Uganda, PCUSA, The Missional Church, Theological Reflection, Uncategorized / By /

 In our American economy and within our church tradition, money in support of Christ’s mission is typically disbursed for personnel, facilities, program, and mission. A new church plant starts commonly with a designated pastor whose financial support is provided to give him or her time to invest in gathering people. There is usually some investment in facilities, a place the church can call home (although this is changing out here in the West, where many church plants rent commercial or educational space and keep their “stuff” in trailers during the week). Program costs typically start with what happens on Sunday

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Reflections on Kenya & Uganda: Village Enterprise

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After our 5:30 to 8 a.m. hike above the rainforest canopy, we switched gears and climbed into the safari van for a trip into Kakamega to meet the Kenya team of Village Enterprise. VE was started in 1987, the year I was ordained in the PCUSA, by Brian Lehnan and Joan Hestenes Lehnan, Presbyterian friends of ours. They had graduated from Eastern College (now University) with the hope of becoming overseas missionaries. A medical condition prevented their call from becoming a reality, and so after prayer and an assessment of the needs, they founded an organization to address deep poverty.

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