Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12: 1-2 NIV)
We don’t know where God is going to take us when we claim a life verse. Or, should I say, when a life verse claims us.
I don’t remember the time or date that Romans 12:1-2 claimed me. But, I know that God calls me to a greater purpose for Him, in view of what He first did for me, as a spiritual act of worship even when it doesn’t conform to political correctness or the “world’s” way.
God will equip me to serve Him, transforming me to be more like Him. And, through this spiritual act of worship, He leads me closer to Him and fills me with the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) to pour out on others.
Who am I that I should be called to service for Him? I don’t have an answer to that. I’m not worthy of anything short of God’s grace. But, I know He’s been preparing me for this my whole life, just as He prepares you for the calling He’s placed on your life.
For me, that spiritual act of worship, that calling, includes caregiving, and writing in order to lead others to Christ and to encourage them in their rough roads.
This blog and the book I’m writing is dedicated to those who provide loving care to others with serious and life-threatening situations, particularly dementia and Alzheimers. And, to those who need to be encouraged in life.
My dad died of Alzheimers on August 4, 2010, and mom is now in Stage 6 of Alzheimers. So, I’ve been searching for God’s plan and God’s answers through a nasty disease which robs us of life, in stages, a memory at a time.
With humor, poignancy, and tenderness, I offer my writings to you. In honor of my parents (in the picture below, around the time they married in 1953). In honor of all you’re facing. In honor of the living sacrifices you’re given to others. Because we all need to be encouraged. And, we all need to laugh. There’s joy in the journey.
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