Posts by KARL HOSTETLER

I had an experience that surprised me as I was thinking about the anniversary for my stroke.  I was reminiscing over the last year by reading all the posts that my wife had posted on Facebook.  It was interesting to remember where I was in my recovery, post at a time. My friends often comment on how good I seem to be. Day by day, I don't…

Projects I have been working on.   I built a new gate for my side yard. Actually it was a door.  The gate which was there was pretty ragged. It sagged and was warped, and it swelled up in the rain. It was old, and it was built like a gate.  So I made the gate more like a door. I built it with a hardwood frame, glued…

“Come,” has become a profound word to me.  That word was the beginning of the journey I am going on.  It was the word that I heard that morning as I sat on my porch.  If you haven’t read that story in my previous post, you might want to read it first.  The gospels record words of Jesus, as well as recording what he was doing.  Many…

In a few days, it will be the anniversary of my stroke, February 7th.  Okay, I wonder if it is weird to celebrate a stroke?  It kinda seems so to me. But I am doing it.  My kids are coming over. I am going to have a BBQ and a fire in my fire pit, and we will make Smores.  Whoo hoo. So here's what I'm thinking.…

This is my story; I was told to say that.  I had been asked by my church to share what was going on in my life, and I agreed.  I was at church to be videoed, trying to do this live in front of people is not something I thought I could do.  But I thought I could probably do it on tape.  I had written what…

I have a stained glass window in my entry.  It was something that came out of a job that I had done, and I used it when I remodeled my house.   I never really liked it.  I'm not sure why that was.  But it sat in the entry for ten years. My chair looks down the hall of the entry, and I looked at it every…

I started with an idea - rebuilding my life - and a verse. And it ballooned into this. I do not think I can adequately express how profound this is to me. The hope it provides, that God is a rebuilder. So here it is.  I am working on rebuilding my life.  That is what happens when tragedy strikes.  Earthquakes, fires, tornadoes, strokes, these people gradually rebuild…

I need to write.  I need it for therapy, I need it because I have things I want to say.  It is hard.  I spent a couple minutes trying to think of the word “need”.  I gave up and turned on the voice recognition program.  I need to know how to write, and I need to do it by myself.  My New Year’s resolution is to write…