shalom kazoo

02/22/2026

This morning, I gave Him my one loaf of bread. It was all I had.
Then you know what happened?!

I am running in the Boston Marathon on April 20 to raise funds for furnishings for a new SHALOM home! Please join me on this epic, three-marathon run (Boston, Furnishings Fund marathon & cancer marathon)!

It’s reported in Matthew 14:17-21 about the five loaves and two fish. When the disciples reported this was “only” what they had (meaning, we failed to bring anything useful), Jesus said simply, “Bring them here to me.” Then Jesus thanked the Father and distributed to all. And there were leftovers!

This morning, I felt I had only a little to give. But I gave it to Him, my one loaf. Bring your “only” to Jesus. I didn’t expect a miracle, but I knew it was proper and necessary, and it was my sacrificial act of worship.

I ran in the Portage Winter Blast Half Marathon this morning (13.1 miles), as a test and for training. I knew I was not in the shape I had been, what with winter being so hard, cancer radiation and on-going hormone blocker.

But I felt compelled to go, to show up, and to give everything to Him – my one loaf. I dedicated it to Him. It was meaningful and hard to give. But I gave it all.

It was good training. The Lord trains (disciplines) those He loves (Hebrews 12:6). It wasn’t about performance. It was about submission.

“…but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. (Hebrews 12:10-13)

What is your one loaf of bread you’ll give Him?

My performance was 2:20:38, about 20 minutes slower than “normal.” But I gave it to the Lord with all my heart and body towards training for Boston, to raise funds for furnishings for the people we serve.

“Bring them here to me.” I invite you so share this post and to give a loaf of your love. Thank you for bringing your loaf to the Lord!

PRAISES! Radiation FINISHED as of last Wednesday! And I do feel so much better already. That was really hard. Training (discipline) is hard!

Loaves continue to be brought to Jesus! The Woolery Participants have a jar to give their gifts. I am so proud of their effort and example! Their goal is $500.

Please pray that I will be disciplined in training (how those words relate to being a disciple) over the next five weeks. Only eight weeks to Boston!

Checks - write to SHALOM, "furnishings" in memo, send to PO Box 265, Kalamazoo, MI 49004. Card or pay pal link in the comments.

PICS: Ringing the bell in celebration of the end of radiation! Certificate of completion!
My radiation therapist TEAM and machine. How I felt before the race today. Running friends lift my spirits! Finishing with my running friends. Half Marathon view at mile one. I love you!

02/16/2026

Happy Beautiful Monday from your SHALOM friends!

02/16/2026

02/15/2026

SHALOM is going LIVE at 7pm. Interview with Pastor Keith! Why would anyone want to run a marathon???

02/13/2026

❤️ LOVE ONE ANOTHER ❤️
If you need to feel the love of God, please message us to arrange a visit to SHALOM!

02/10/2026

02/08/2026

True or False?
Running a marathon is too easy. So, God allowed cancer.

Thank you for joining me in this marathon journey as we raise funds for furnishings for a new SHALOM home! You get three marathons for one – the Boston Marathon (FB LIVE from BOSTON, April 20), the furnishings fundraiser marathon with a goal of $85,000 (update next Sunday) and the infamous cancer marathon.

I wrote this on my bulletin this morning, “Obstacles are God’s opportunities – so only He gets the glory.” TRUE. But that raises some questions: “Is that even fair?” “Why would God do that?” “Does He even care?”

“Is that even fair?”
God does not do fair; He does His will based on His purposes. If I wished God to be fair, that would be asking Him to release me from His grace. 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 would disappear from my life. I cannot have it both ways! (See passages below.) Thank you, God, for obstacles!

“Why would God do that?”
He allows and sometimes puts obstacles in my way to increase His glory. That sounds selfish of Him until I remember that only God truly deserves glory!
And then there is the need for my obedience to be tested now and then, and for my faith to be purified! Thank you, God, for obstacles!

“Does He even care?”
I am learning to value hardship as God’s discipline (Hebrews 12:7). It actually proves His love for me. Hebrews 12:11 says, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Thank you, God, for obstacles!

So, I train, and God is training me.
I run, and God runs with me.
And I lay on the radiation table as God reminds me of Himself: “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:16)
And “…we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)

PRAISES THIS WEEK!
I ran with my running group for 12.5 miles and had a chance to share with one runner, Matt, what God is up to in my tri-marathon training and the purposes I run for! We hugged at the end.

One of my Doctors looked at a new blood test and with a pleasant surprise said, “That’s really a low score so early in the treatment.” Low is good, by the way!

Your support has been INCREDIBLE! One example is from a resident of SHALOM, who said, “I wanted to tell you God is not done with you yet. You will get back on your feet and finish the race that you have been racing. Your story is just beginning.”

Pics:
Leaving the Bronson Cancer center after labs, consult and a second, three-month injection of hormone blocker.

Deliberately running past a friend’s home, who said “Every time I see you run past my house I pray for you!”

Running with my Saturday morning Beyond Group.

Your prayers, donations and personal support keep me running! Checks to SHALOM, memo ‘FURNISHINGS,” mailed to PO Box 265, Kalamazoo, MI 49004.
Or see the comments below for the web site option with credit or debit or PayPal.

THANK YOU FOR RUNNING WITH ME!

2 Corinthians 12:7-9
Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Hebrews 12
7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?
11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

02/07/2026

SHALOM Woolery's Skirt-a-Thon Thank Ewe Event!

02/06/2026

A perfect motto for the month of February and the whole year!

We love Jesus, people, and serving people delicious cookies and drinks!

Come visit the SHALOM Coffee Connection and The Connection Depot Thrift Store. Both exist to enrich the lives of adults with disabilities and to share the love of Jesus with our community.❤️

We can’t wait to see you!!

02/02/2026

I didn’t know it was going to be this hard. So, so hard.
But it’s hard so God can teach me reliance on Him, not on myself.

Last week I wanted to quit. I was feeling so bad from radiation, so fatigued, so ill-at-ease that I wanted to quit. How can I train and run in the Boston Marathon like this? What was I thinking? I felt like a rag, like giving up.

Then I thought of YOU. Your support has been amazing. Your generosity towards the new SHALOM home furnishings is incredible. You are praying for me. You encourage me when we cross paths. You message me and text me. You tell me you are inspired! And more giving comes in. So, I am not quitting because of YOU. Thank you for running with me! You are God’s Provision to me!

I was given 2 Corinthians 1:9, “Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”

Reliance on God, not myself. Reliance on the One Who raises the dead! Resurrection power! What if God’s plan is IN the hardship? What IF HIS POWER will overcome my fatigue, but I quit and would not give Him that chance?

I was on the verge of denying God His due glory!

What if in my weakness He plans to show off His strength? What if He wants to help me grow in reliance on Him alone? I am learning to cut out my control, to hold loosely my plans, to see things from God’s design, not mine. That, too, is hard, but so, so good!

Please claim this verse for me! Not self-reliance, but God-reliance! Please pray for God’s healing and that the radiation treatments (2 ½ more weeks!) will be effective. And please pray that God would pour out His generosity through many more people as we raise funds for furnishings for adults living with disabilities. I will run for them!

Please share this post. We have just 11 weeks until Boston! I added the furnishings website in the comments. Checks should be to SHALOM, designated to “furnishings,” mailed to PO box 265, Kalamazoo, MI 49004. Bless you!

The pics show me at Planet Fitness on an elliptical when the wind chill is below zero…, the lesser of two evils! Also, running today in SUNSHINE! Six miles will do! Thank you, Lord!

01/25/2026

Whew! What a COLD SNAP! Is there any HOPE? I keep looking, but I am getting weary!

So, thank you for running with me as we are running to raise funds for furnishings for the new SHALOM home! Warm blankets are part of this fundraiser marathon!

Yesterday I declined to meet with my running group. It broke my heart, but it was -15° F wind chill. No joy there! I understand that 12 members still ran – ending up with frost on their eyebrows and lashes!

Instead, I ran inside our building at Haven Church. Did you know that running from one end to the other with a lap around the Great Room is two tenths of a mile? I was going to run two or three miles, then go to the gym for the “dreadmill” and elliptical. But I ran a full eight miles inside!

Sometimes I do feel hopeless, discouraged: so many training miles, so many more radiation treatments, more side effects, such cold wind. I know that feelings, like hopelessness, are another part of life we should submit to the Lordship of Jesus. And I do.

I define hope as “the anticipation of God’s future blessings.”

In April 2025 I wrote:
“In the Lord I am… Hopeful: I am optimistic about the future, having a positive expectation that something good will happen. I expect future blessings from God. ‘…those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.’ (Isaiah 40:31)”

I am so thankful for the PROMISES of GOD in that verse! Renewed strength! Soaring with eagles! Running without weariness! Walking with clarity and purpose! It’s a “God’s got this” verse – to those who hope in the Lord. I am, and I will!

THANK YOU for running with me on these THREE marathons – furnishings fundraiser, Boston, and cancer. Your support gives me HOPE! Let’s keep running together!

Please share this post – and give others a heads up for the Boston Marathon fundraiser!

The pics show the back of my shirt, a devotional I wrote to describe what the shirt means to me, and the QR code for furnishings! I put the website address in the comments.

Checks can be made to SHALOM, designated for “furnishings,” and mailed to PO Box 265, Kalamazoo, MI 49004, or brought to the SHALOM office at the Woolery Barn, 3191 Van Buren. THANK YOU, and SHALOM!

01/23/2026

Brrrrr🥶 It’s cold outside, but it’s WARM at The SHALOM Coffee Connection!!

We have hot drinks and delicious cookies. Try our new gluten Free/dairy free Samoa Date cookies!!

The Coffee Connection and Connection Depot are open today and tomorrow from 9-3.🥰