Year: 2023

Another year is ending, another year, Hmm, that means a lot to me. Right now I’m working on year 66, or maybe year 3. I'm not sure which. As I think about it, I’m definitely working on year 3.  I really like this time of year. What a great time for looking back on the year that is ending and also looking forward to another year.  Looking…

Lots of things happened the night of my stroke. A lot of things stopped, and a lot of things started.  My recovery started, my retirement started, my new life started, and my love for God, well it didn’t start per se, but somehow it blossomed. And though some good things started, a lot of things also stopped.  My business, for example, stopped. Stopped suddenly. Scheduling of subcontractors,…

This week I again experienced something old, or maybe new?  I have always worked in construction.  As a laborer, an apprentice, a journeyman, a contractor and the owner of Hostetler Construction, my work day always started at 7:00, rolling up to the jobsite bright and early, often after an hour commute. All the cities I generally worked in, lie in a big circle from Temecula to Big…

The thought came out of the blue, “You can sit in the other chair if you want.” You mean that chair I used to use? You know, that chair where I sat when I was in control. That chair where I sat when I asked Jesus to help me, to be my copilot, to help me right this ship. That chair where I heard his voice. I…

Am I half the man I used to be?  I am trying to assess my strengths and weaknesses and figure out what I have to work with. It is something I've been thinking about, not seriously, but in a roundabout way. Well, I have an answer. I was talking to a friend at church. A man that I hadn’t seen since my stroke. And we were talking…

This morning I was thinking about what I just read in Psalms 139. “But before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.” (Ps. 139.4). Why? Because often there is a significant pause before a word is on my tongue, and sometimes the words don’t appear at all. That was what I was thinking about. But before a word is on my tongue you,…

There is something new in my therapy tool box. It is called project therapy. I would define it as working on a major project that employs a lot of the things that need work. Things like writing, words, working memory, language issues, and executive function.  All wrapped up as a project of some sort.  Just this week I heard about it in a documentary about aphasia. The…

  Facebook memories never meant much to me.  But now they have become very interesting. Looking back into where I was, one year back, and two years back, what an eventful trip it has become.  It happened twice this month. The first time it happened as I was working on my book. It cracks me up that I would say that, working on my book, well, I…

Back in the day, I used to say I can’t sing, referring to the mediocre, tone deaf, quality of my voice. What I meant was I can't sing well.  But after my stroke, I realized that I couldn't sing at all. Another thing that was lost. I had heard of people who had aphasia who couldn’t talk very well, but they could sing. They would actually sing…

At bible study this week, we were talking about the miracles of Jesus. The question was posed, have you ever seen a miracle? And there was some discussion. Several people recounted something that happened to them that couldn't be explained in natural ways. Maybe it was a miracle? Some other people said they haven’t experienced anything that couldn’t be explained in natural ways. For them, miracles, where…