My wife fears that one of our cats, Robbie, has a serious medical problem which must be addressed, so off to the vet we go on Tuesday. I’m not altogether convinced, but I am convinced we need your prayers.

This poor cat! She’s had one health crisis after another. For years and years she was coughing violently, and we had to squirt medicine up her nose every day. Finally the neighbors from Hell left, and stopped doing whatever they were doing in the cellar that was coming up through the floorboards into our apartment–and Robbie stopped coughing. And started romping and playing.

But she has lost weight lately, Patty is sure it’s a thyroid disorder, so it’s back to the vet.

Those of you who have cats or dogs know how dear our pets are to us. And God knows how we love them: that’s why He gave them to us. Please send up a prayer for Robbie.

O Lord my God, whatever is wrong with my poor cat–and I pray it’s nothing much!–please, Father, put it right. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

It’s been a week since Patty’s monarda plant was crushed by a lazy lout of a delivery man who laid a 30-pound box on top of it.

And yet the plant still lives! They grow ’em tough, here in New Jersey. It’s even standing up kind of straight again.

For those of you who prayed for us to receive this small blessing, I thought you’d like to know that God has heard us and given us what we asked for. It’s a truly great and loving God who makes time for little things!

We’re back–and Harlem made it all the way to the top of the hill.

He wants you all to know he’s grateful for your prayers. I wasn’t able to ensure that any of the deer would present themselves, but at least we made the climb. He brought his cane with him, just in case. The plan was for me to run back and fetch the car if it turned out that he couldn’t make it. “I think some of my old military training might come back to me, if I need it,” he said.

So he has survived and is recovering from pancreatic cancer, he has stood up against some other, unrelated, medical issues–and he made it all the way up the hill. I did my best to impress upon him the need not to overdo it, we could always try again. “Your wife will kill me dead, if I let anything happen to you.” It was the longest, and very much the steepest, walk he’d made in quite a while; and the weather was perfect, and nothing untoward happened. He also enjoyed seeing the ritzy houses in that part of our town.

Again, everybody, God has answered our prayers for this good man. For which we give thanks!

His legs are going to feel it tonight, but I don’t think he’ll mind that at all.