People keep asking how I’m doing, so I figure it’s time for an official report. I’m about halfway through nine weeks of radiation for prostate cancer. The doctors say I’m responding well, but the real verdict will come in about a month. Until then, I’m just showing up every weekday, glowing a little more each time.
Funny thing—I actually liked chemo better than radiation. Yes, you read that right. Chemo was six hours every three weeks. The first week, I felt like Superman—plenty of energy, zero symptoms, so I got piles of work done. Radiation, on the other hand, is two-plus hours every single weekday. That’s a huge bite out of my workweek, and it leaves me more tired. Even so, I don’t let it slow me down.
On every day of radiation, I give away two copies of Eyewitness: The Life of Christ Told in One Story. I’ve learned the hard way that if I don’t have books with me, I can’t give them away. So now I never leave home without them, and sure enough, they always seem to find a new home.
The waiting room is its own little adventure. Some days I’m in and out in five minutes. Other days, it’s forty-five. Honestly, I love the longer waits—because there’s always a puzzle on the table. I’ve been a puzzle nut since I was three, and this gives me an excuse to play. Even better, the puzzles open doors for conversations—sometimes about God, sometimes about the Bible. Who knew radiation waiting rooms could double as mission fields?
Just before Labor Day, I taught two classes at WriterCon 2025 in Oklahoma City—seventy in one class, fifty in the other. When I wasn’t teaching, I was busy with critiques, consultations, and meeting with writing friends. No shortage of energy that week. I even got to spend time with my niece and her husband in Edmond.
I’m told that November 27 is a special day this year. Sure, it’s Thanksgiving—with the usual family, feasting, and football. But it also happens to be my eightieth birthday. This unusual calendar alignment will happen again in 2031 and 2036. Will I be around to see it? Only God knows. What I do know is this: Today is a gift, and I plan to unwrap every single one. By this Thanksgiving, I’ll have lived exactly 29,221 days with the Lord. That’s right—all my life. It hasn’t always been easy, but then again, no one gets an easy road. Unto whom much is given, much is required.
Through chemo and radiation, I’ve probably learned more than I did in the previous five years combined. My writing, rewriting, and editing productivity has at least doubled. My teaching and coaching have improved even more. This means the demand on my time has quadrupled. That’s where my four P’s come into play: Prayer, Priority, Persistence, and Patience.
Since May 4, I’ve been posting daily on Facebook a poem, a picture, and a Bible verse. I think the poetry’s decent, the Scripture always fits, and the picture helps tie it all together. With a little more effort, I could create short videos with voiceover and spread them across Facebook Reels, Instagram, YouTube Shorts, TikTok, and Pinterest. Why settle for one platform when you can juggle five? I’ll have to work on that. When I have time.
On January 1, Roaring Lambs Publishing will release 10 Thoughts to Ponder, Book 3. I’m already working on Book 4. There’s more … Next year I hope to finish Writing Show and Tell, a tutorial on crafting captivating stories for today’s readers with a cinematic mindset. I’m also working on Supreme Designer, a biblical, commonsense explanation of God’s plan from beginning to end. And of course, I’m still helping others tell their lifechanging stories.
So here we are. I’m more tired than I would like to be, but I still have plenty of energy to keep pressing on—puzzling, praying, writing, teaching, and giving away books.
I’m eighty years in, and God’s not done yet.
If you want to do better, you need a different mindset, one that seeks the perfection God has for you. He will reveal the steps to get from where you are to where he wants you to be. Be thankful for the progress you have made, and build on that. — Philippians 3:15–16 The Discussion Bible
Prayer, Priority, Persistence, and Patience
When life feels all jumbled, a tangle, a mess,
I start with Prayer. It’s my key to success.
It quiets the day’s noise and opens the door,
To wisdom and strength and favors galore.
Then comes Priority, knowing what’s best,
Not chasing problems, but setting aside the rest.
Like stacking your blocks in a tall, steady tower,
I focus my time and depend on God’s power.
With Persistence, I push when the going gets tough,
Climbing each mountain, though rocky and rough.
One step at a time, though the journey is long,
The steady and faithful grow steady and strong.
I can’t forget Patience, the last but not least,
It calms every storm, and it quiets each beast.
For waiting upon the Lord is not idle or slow.
It’s letting him direct which way I should go.
So follow the P’s when the pathway seems tight,
And watch how they guide you from morning to night.
With Prayer, Priority, Persistence, and Patience,
You’ll walk in the glory of God’s wonderful presence.