12-Aug-2008
Dear Friends,
Today is our 47th anniversary. How can it be? Just yesterday, or so it seems, we were newlyweds moving into our first furnished apartment in Alexandria, Virginia. We taught in the Alexandria City Schools just prior to the era portrayed in “Remember the Titans.”
We photographed the Washington D. C. cherry blossoms and the 4th of July fireworks. Relatives visited, and we gave 50-cent tours of our nation’s capital. I remember racing up a hill at Arlington National Cemetery with a pregnant friend, trying to make the changing of the guard. I was teaching a shorthand class when the announcement came over the loudspeaker that President Kennedy was shot. We stood on a curb as his funeral cortege went by. Special memories.
Since then we’ve acquired a house and lots of stuff, plus things that really count—a daughter in heaven, two sons, two daughters-in-law and five adorable grandchildren. Life has been good. But not without its challenges.
Right this minute Bill is undergoing a PET scan to determine whether lymphoma has invaded his system beyond one lymph node that was removed a few weeks ago. That will determine the level of chemotherapy/radiation he will receive. But God is good, and I know he will see us through whatever we face.
I continue to write. I’d rather write than dust or clean or cook. I just finished my first article for a Canadian magazine that publishes inspirational stories about people. I love trying to capture people’s personalities on paper. For this piece I interviewed a Canadian couple that uses business profits to support AIDS orphans in Africa. I’m hoping this assignment leads to others.
Recently I was fortunate to find an agent to take a book proposal that I’ve worked up along with two friends. Kim, Janine and I call ourselves Friends of the Heart and speak at women’s retreats and other church events. Kim and Janine are young enough to be my daughters, so we offer the perspective of different generations in speaking and now in writing.
Since we know women struggle with both real and imagined guilt, we’re writing a 30-day devotional book focusing on that topic. It’s been fun to brainstorm and address one another’s hang ups. We’ve got plenty of material, believe me! But we’d love to hear from you about your struggles with guilt as well. Who knows, we might even use your illustration in our book. We would first ask your permission, of course. Send me your story, and I’ll enter your name in a drawing for a copy of my book, Sisterhood of Faith.
We are currently planning to take a fall car trip West. When I was a child, we had a viewer into which you inserted tiny rolls of film. Some of the films depicted places that I longed to visit, such as Yellowstone National Park. Now we hope to go, but we must wait until Bill’s treatment is determined before making final plans.
Summer has flown by. Last week three grandchildren, ages 6, 9 and 10, stayed with us to attend a nearby church day camp. It came at a convenient time, since the parents of two of them are in Bangladesh on a missions trip, which is required as part of son Terry’s seminary education.
While the children were with us we rode the Millersburg ferryboat, went geocaching and watched movies—a godsend for a tired grandma. We also visited a farm that raises peacocks. The kids always enjoy seeing them strut their stuff and parading to their evening roost. They follow the same path up through the branches of a tree before settling down. Guess they like routine, just as I do.
Last month’s winner of Sisterhood of Faith giveaway for suggesting a book title was Sharon Ambler, who recommends reading Randy Alcorn’s book, Safely Home. With the Olympics shining a spotlight on China, this would be a great time to read this novel about the cost of following Christ.
Have a blessed day.
Shirley Brosius
Upcoming schedule:
September 19-21 - Friends of the Heart leading Women's Retreat for Gateway community Church at Traber Center, Spring City.
October 5, 2 p.m. - Presenting book of Philippians from memory at Fil-Am Church, Alexandria, Virginia.
October 31-Nov. 1 - Book Table at 70th Anniversary Teacher Training Conference for CEF of Eastern Pennsylvania.
November 9, 9 a.m. - Speaking at St. Michael's Lutheran Church, Klingerstown; 10:30 a.m. - Speaking at Zion Lutheran Church, Erdman.
December 2 - Friends of the Heart presenting "Mary: Ordinary or Extraordinary" at First United Methodist Church of Hershey.
February 13-15, 2009 - Friends of the Heart leading women's retreat for Bethesda Evangelical Congregational Church at Kenbrook Bible Camp, Lebanon.
March 8, 2009, 3 p.m. - Part of authors' panel at Elizabethville Branch Library.
