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On the Side Blog
Blog posts, monthly devotionals, announcements and more!
Blog Contents
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2026 Devotions
2025 Devotions
2024 Devotions
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2026 Announcements
2025 Announcements
• September 2025 Announcements
2024 Announcements
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• Testimonies Coming Soon!
August 2026 On the Side: Teamwork
Several months ago, my husband and I attended the CMDA National Convention where I had the pleasure of speaking to the Side By Side track. I shared personal reflections of how Mark and I are a team even when there are days when it feels like we are existing in completely different worlds…
July 2026 On the Side: Making Time in the Middle
My wonderful Wade and I just returned from a splendid European tour. Now let me interject here and say that I never imagined such a trip while we were in training and even this one was mostly about work…
June 2026 On the Side: Tidying Up
When we bought my car, I was so impressed by a feature where my phone gets charged when I set it on the center console- no plug-in required. It worked great until the center console became cluttered, which was right around the time I first drove it…
May 2026 On the Side: More Than a Title: Surrendering Career, Control, and Identity to Christ
It was my final day of employment at a large pharmaceutical company in Philadelphia. I clicked “send” and off went a heartfelt farewell to the hundreds of colleagues I had worked with…
April 2026 On the Side: Not a Just
God calls us to serve faithfully in what may feel like small, unseen roles, but like Tabitha, our wholehearted care—especially in our homes—becomes a meaningful and far-reaching ministry.
March 2026 On the Side: Do We Have a Choice?
The process had stretched us as far as we could be stretched – financially, emotionally, and spiritually. Wade had organized his residency interviews so that he could fly in for one and drive to as many as possible from that city. We had scrimped and saved and parsed out loan dollars to ensure his travel…
February 2026 On the Side: No Room!
Emotions I hadn’t felt in a long time suddenly took over and I was angry. Seething rage, hurt and a sprinkling of unforgiveness came washing over me with a gush…
January 2026 On the Side: Looming Lanes
My youngest entered the world full of confidence. The doctor handed her to her Daddy at birth and she promptly cooed at him -- as if to say "I know you've been waiting for me your whole life!"…
December 2025 On the Side: Searching for the Light
In seasons of both joy and struggle, we don’t have to strain to find hope—because the steady, unconditional light of Jesus shines on us no matter how dark the road feels. Keep reading….
November 2025 On The Side: Where is Home Sweet Home?
We’ve moved twice in the last year. The first move was the biggest and involved selling our home of almost 20 years and renting a house closer to where my doctor-husband works…
October 2025 On the Side: Comfort for Comfort
“I don’t want to do tomorrow,” I quietly admitted.
It was the night before our daughter’s surgery. With four kids, we’d somehow managed to avoid the operating room for the last 18 years. But not this time…
September 2025 On the Side: A Wilderness of Mirrors
In a world full of distorted mirrors and false identities, Laura Thomas reminds us to silence the noise and see ourselves clearly through God’s truth—created in His image, loved, and purposed for the life He’s given us.
August 2025 On The Side: Team Effort
Dawn Mast offers a heartfelt reminder of the power of spousal support and prayer in the demanding journey of medical life.
July 2025 On The Side: Bad Wiring
When a power outage at the pool house reveals more than faulty wiring, Carol M. Shrader reflects on the state of our inner lives—reminding us that no amount of outward polish can replace the quiet strength of a heart rooted in God.
June 2025 On The Side: Work Hard and Let Go
In this season of early harvests and hopeful transitions, Shelly Wyrick invites us to embrace the tension of working hard and letting go—trusting the God who grows the seeds we plant, even when we can’t yet see the fruit.
May 2025 On The Side: When More Than Your Brakes Need Work
When the demands of medical life threaten to harden our hearts, Carol Mason Shrader reminds us how a shift in perspective—from grumbling to gratitude—can rekindle compassion and help us shine in our roles as wives, mothers, and followers of Christ.
April 2025 On the Side: Fragrance
Our actions and attitudes, like the fragrance of Christ, are noticed by others. Whether in moments of ease or stress, we are called to reflect His love and grace, especially in our marriages, as a testimony to the world.
March 2025 On the Side: Not A "Just"
Several years ago, I had the opportunity to speak to about 500 women. It was a day full of worship music, a stage artist, plenty of vendors and a prayer room where each of the ladies in attendance were given a name of God (ELROI, JEHOVAH, IMMANUEL etc…)…
February 2025 On the Side: Love Never Fails
As a little girl, I remember Valentine's Day so vividly -- decorating a shoebox to hold our cards at school, picking just the right Valentine for each friend in our class and uh, having bronchitis several years in a row and missing the whole thing….
January 2025 On the Side: A Beautiful Mess
I miss basements!
Growing up in Colorado, then moving to Minnesota (residency), Pennsylvania (fellowship) and then back to Colorado (another fellowship) I always had a basement to rely on for storage. Now in California, where the seismic activity doesn’t allow for such a luxury, I am at a loss for storage space…