Acts 9:1-19 tells the story of an amazing transformation. There was a very powerful man named Saul who used his influence to persecute the early Christians. As he was traveling to another town to arrest all of Jesus’ followers, God stopped him in the road and changed his life. “As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ‘Now get up and go into the city, and you will be…

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 Hope is such a precious and powerful gift. I picture it as that first little sprout that comes up from the ground in spring. Although it is small, it promises that something beautiful is coming. Hope is what makes it possible to stay positive in the face of the most impossible situations. It is the promise that, if you can just hang on for one more day, something better might come tomorrow. When I was diagnosed with…

Dense deposit disease, the kidney disease that I have, is very rare and only was discovered about 10-15 years ago. There are a few drugs in clinical trials being tested, but nothing on the market yet that is proven to work. My nephrologist is currently looking into enrolling me in a clinical trial, but, until that happens, he has put me on a daily steroid regimen that he thinks might help my kidneys for now. As a pharmacist myself, I know all about how steroids work and the negative side effects associated with them (bloating, insomnia, high blood pressure, mood changes, and depression to name a few). However, as a…