Dear friends of Vital Signs Ministries, December 2025
I begin this month’s letter from a Panera in Wichita, Kansas. It is a cold and drizzly Tuesday morning, still dark out, but the forecast promises the rains of the last couple of days will soon be over and the sun will help temps climb into the low 50s later today. That’s good news because we will be driving back home this evening and will appreciate dry roads. We left Omaha Sunday afternoon around 4 after our Aksarben Village church service and drove through the rain for almost 6 hours — the purpose of the trip being visits to my little sister Sherry in the Reflections care facility where she resides. We have helped feed her, sang hymns, played music, brought Spears Restaurant pies and donuts for the other residents and staff, and talked to Sherry of those better days of our childhood and of the far, far better days we will share together in God’s glorious heaven. Come, Lord Jesus!
This month’s letter will be one of those “newsy” ones, mainly because November gave us so much news to share but also because I don’t have the space this time around to print one of the more structured essays/sermons that we sometimes feature. Please note, however, that I do prepare and write those essays, articles, and sermons and they are always available on Vital Signs Blog and/or the VSM website. Among the recent articles we recommend most highly are:
“What the ‘Abolitionist’ Anti-Abortion Groups Don’t Tell You” and “Lawlessness Ablaze.”
Okay, now for the news. November has been a trying month for us in some respects but we are thanking the Lord that the debilitating back pain I was dealing with at the beginning of November has receded dramatically. I have finished the physical therapy sessions they ordered for me and I’m doing very well – and with a new zeal to regularly continue on my own the exercises they gave me. I am also recovering from a long, drawn-out toothache after finally getting in for an emergency root canal procedure. (I’ll certainly remember my November diet for a while — oatmeal, scrambled eggs, and yogurt!) And Dr. Curry will put a crown on that tooth in a couple of weeks. Oh yes; there was also confirmation this month that my eyesight had worsened a bit just since my checkup in April and I need a new prescription. But the eye doctor suggested I get my cataracts removed before I change my glasses. Unfortunately, these surgeries will not correct my double vision or eliminate my “cloudy floaters.” But, as the doctor believes that the surgeries will make a substantial improvement with my vision, I’m all in! Those surgeries will be done early in March.
It shouldn’t be too surprising that even our Toyota had “health issues” in November and it too had to go to the doctor due to a mysterious ailment. It took a week but our determined mechanic finally discovered and fixed the problem. And he only charged us $70. Thank you, Chris! By the way, that vehicle, a 2003 Highlander, has been a remarkably trustworthy and valuable blessing from the very day Kirk and Holly gifted it to Vital Signs back in 2015. So, a fresh thank-you to them as well.
The month was not all about problems, though. Indeed, November was delightfully busy with good things too. Examples? Let me cite a few…
* There were some very inspirational mornings of prayer and pro-life witness outside the abortion business.
* We undertook several “Santa runs” and other ministries of hospitality.
* November’s schedule also included some really wonderful times at our Sunday afternoon church services at Aksarben Village Senior Living.
* There was my participation in the latest board meeting of the Business and Professional People for Life.
* Claire spent an afternoon helping our new neighbor who was confused to the point of panic regarding her upcoming travel plans.
* We enjoyed a night out with John & Barb Malek (and hundreds of others) at the world premiere of a new Christian Christmas movie that was filmed here in Omaha, (“All Is Merry and Bright.”)
* We spent quite a few hours in yard work, including trimming bushes, winterizing, and mulching up leaves from both our yard and from our neighbors.
* We attended the annual breakfast for Abortion Dialogue Academy.
* There were the regular activities with social media, compiling the Top 5 every weekend, and a lot of correspondence.
* And, speaking of correspondence, we hosted our quarterly letter-writing party in November. It was our Christmas card Brunch Party with 10 of us writing over 80 cards and letters.
* And I mustn’t fail to mention that November also saw us presenting “When Swing Was King” to very enthusiastic and grateful audiences at 11 different senior living facilities.
* Oh, one more thing. Claire and I also managed to squeeze in a celebration of our 54th anniversary this month. We both have intense memories of that November 4th ceremony in the Council Bluffs courthouse and the subsequent all-day and all-night drive to Red Lion, Pennsylvania where an important new ministry position was waiting for me. But, alas and alack, that ministry turned out to be something alarmingly different than what had been advertised and so we were on our way out of Pennsylvania the very next day! It was a rather unconventional start to our marriage, to be sure, but I suppose it’s been pretty unconventional all the way through — in the very best sense of that word! The Lord Jesus has been so good, so merciful, so powerful and steadfast to us and we are forever grateful for our salvation, our calling, our friends, and the terrific years of the marriage partnership He has given us.
Of course, as I write this, November is not quite over. We still have the last of our leaves to deal with; a Thanksgiving dinner to prepare with an Indian Hindu guest joining us; getting this LifeSharer letter edited and sent out; recording a sermon for Sunday’s Aksarben service since we will be out of town; enjoying a post-Thanksgiving meal at the Tim & Kathy Garvey home; collecting and posting Saturday’s Top 5; and removing the snow from our driveway and walks (our neighbor’s too) after the big storm we are expecting to hit this weekend.
And that brings us to December. The harsh winter conditions will require us to dress appropriately for our prayer vigils outside Planned Parenthood, but we can trust God that our hearts will be warmed by our fellowship and the singing of Christmas carols together as part of our pro-life witness there. Our hearts will also be encouraged by the 14 “When Swing Was King” Christmas shows we have on December’s schedule with two of them taking place in senior living facilities in Branson!
Other December happenings include our full slate of Christmas dinner parties and brunches (at this point, we have 10 scheduled); a Christmas Tea Claire is hosting for the ladies at Aksarben Village; Christmas-oriented sermons throughout the month at our afternoon church services; plenty of “Santa runs” to friends, neighbors, and the first responders in our neighborhood; the traditional Christmas Eve program at Grace Bible Church where I have again been invited to join pastor Dan Hauge for a conversational presentation; and the “When Swing Was King” Saturday Brunch at our home on Saturday, December 13th.
As always, your prayers in our behalf are most deeply appreciated. We are so grateful for them and for every other blessing of encouragement and support that you provide. Thank you so much, dear friends. Merry Christmas!