Healthy caregivers make better caregivers

And that's what I want to lead off with today on the program to tell you that I got a good report from my doctor, and I am good to go. I rang the bell last week and, happy to, report to you that they, they are very, very optimistic that we've got all this cancer. And I will go back in October and do more blood work and so forth. And they anticipate that this thing is done. And, they don't give 98% success rates lightly in the medical world. In fact, they don't really give 100 unless you're dead, pregnant or an amputation. and. And I'm pretty sure that I'm not in any three of those categories. So I can tell you with confidence that, I got a very, very good report. And I would not have known that I had this had I, not gone through my regular screening. And that is the crux of everything we do on this program, that healthy caregivers do indeed make better caregivers. And if we're not doing what is necessary to be good stewards of our bodies, of every part of our life, our health, our emotions, our lifestyle, our profession, our money, our endurance. You spell that all together. It says, help me. Health, emotions, lifestyle, profession, money, and endurance. Help me. and we need to take ownership of these things and take care of ourselves in this regards. I was talking to a. A friend this week, whose husband had a stroke, and she's taking care of him. And it's thrown them into a pretty big loop here of some. Some challenges. And I said, okay, let's just start with the basics. You know, how's your health? And, we're both children of the south, so you got to watch the sweet tea and, you know, the sugar, you know, all the things that we, we need to do, just simple things. We can do right now that we have control over, because it feels like we're out of control as a caregiver on any given day. And let's be honest, we are. We're not in control of any of these things, but we are in control of what we put into our bodies. We are in control of what we put into our minds, into our hearts. We're in control of what we say, we're in control of what we do, that we do have control over. So, you know, I went and got myself checked out. I went into the doctor and I did what was necessary just for regular screening, and they found this. And so I still have not had any symptoms of cancer. Now I'm having a few symptoms of the radiation. And. And I, They said it would make you tired. And I. I did get a bit tired and I took some time off. I don't normally take any time off. I know that sounds weird to y', all, but, I mean, I'm a full time caregiver and I work full time. And what does a day off look like to me? And that, that gets a little bit gnarly. But I did take some time off to just kind of rest. And I had some people helping me a little bit with Gracie. And I'm tired on any given day. So it's hard to know is this radiation tired or is this just 40 years as a caregiver tired? And it's kind of hard to say sometimes, but that's all right. and there is a little bit of discomfort, but it's, you know, manageable, and I'm dealing with it, you know. But I got to tell you, what would it have been like if I had not had a regular screening? And I had this growing in me and didn't know it until it becomes problematic. And then I was stunned by this. The doctor told me there are a lot of guys that won't do anything about it. They'll just, you know, wait 10 years or whatever. And I thought, well, wow, where's the math in that? Who said that's a good idea to knowingly go around with something like this? And so you do what is necessary to take care of your body. And I did, because I have a public forum, I did share some of these things out in a public environment. And you'd be amazed what the Internet does. The Internet brings out people that, oh, ah, don't listen to the doctors, don't trust them. Don't do this here, drink this tea or do this, or put Your right foot in, put your left foot out, you shake it all about, do the hokey pokey, all that kind of stuff, you know, and everybody's got a thing. But I, I sat down with very qualified doctors who do this all day long and deal with this. And we had a good plan. And I did go into the clinic. there was a nurse there. They have a radiation side and a chemo side. And, and I went in and I hadn't seen this nurse where she's an older lady. And I said, well, I haven't seen you before. And she said, well, I've been to the other side. And I went, you didn't see Elvis, did you? She said, no, no, no, the chemo side. So they got a pretty good sense of humor down there. good people. And we were, we're very, blessed to have a good center. And not center, S I N N E R center. Sorry about my Southern lingo. A good center here in Bozeman that was, able to take good care of me and they serve a pretty big area now. I had to drive 60 miles one way to it. And I know that sounds like a lot, but the difference between, you know, I grown up in the south and spending a lifetime in Nashville, the difference between like Tennessee and Montana is that in, Montana we think a hundred years is a long time, but. But in Tennessee we think 100 miles is a long ways. And there have been times when Gracie and I have driven two and a half hours to dinner one way just for dinner. But it's different out here when you drive. I mean, when we did that to dinner, we. Part of that, we would go down the southern part of this range here and cut a little bit through Yellowstone park and you're going along rivers and canyons and you see bighorn sheep and everything else. So it's not a drive. Like you're having to drive in rush hour traffic, or in, you know, in places like Atlanta or Nashville or any place else like that. It's not like that. And when I would drive to Bozeman, I'm driving along, you know, the canyon and seeing the river and you know, beautiful. I mean it's, it's spectacularly gorgeous. And I listen to news or whatever and enjoy the peace and quiet of the drive and it's not that big of a deal. you just get used to it out here in Montana and you buy tires more frequently. So. But, you know, it worked out and all is good.

Peter Rosenberg says healthy caregivers make better caregivers

But here's my message to you as fellow caregivers. I'm going to lead off with this today. Do what is necessary for you to be healthy. Okay? And I'll, say what I said to my friend here. Don't try to spend a lot of time trying to be happy. I know that sounds weird. Happiness is based on events that happen that make us feel good. Healthiness is different. Happiness is contingent on some things. But healthiness, I can start that today. I can do that today. So your blood pressure, your, your, your weight, cholesterol, all those kinds of things. And wherever you're starting from, today's a great day to start being healthy. Okay? You say, well, Peter, I'm, you know, 100 pounds overweight, okay, but you don't have to stay that way. And you could go out to my friend Dale Richardson, who help you with that at, richer health4you.com R I C H E R H E A L t h for you.com f o r y o u.com richer health4u and she'll help you with that like she's helped me. I've kept the weight off and I fluctuated a couple times, but, you know, I spent five months in the hospital last year. I've been dealing with cancer, dealing with everything else, and I'm still keeping the weight off I and doing what is necessary to stay healthy. And we'll talk more about that on this program. And as you know, we go on from here. I mean, I'm determined that I'm going to help point my fellow caregivers to safety. And part of that safety is being healthier because healthy caregivers do indeed make better caregivers. Like I told my friend, let's get the blood pressure checked. I was listening to Dr. Oz talk about this thing with Lindsey Graham and what he died of. It's fatal within 48 hours. Usually, you know, it's a devastating heart attack, but you can watch this with blood pressure, get your blood pressure checked. So let's start with that. Drink lots of water. Avoid the sugary drinks. Watch what the calories that you're putting in your body. Get a lot of exercise, go for a walk, do something that's active and physical. All those kinds of things give you a much better standing as a caregiver. It's going to equip you to better care for your loved ones. You're no good to them if you're falling apart. I've said this often on this program. I am no good to Gracie if I'm Fat, broken, miserable. Okay. I choose to be none of those things. And I want you to be in that same boat with me as we row together, okay? This is Peter Rosenberg, and this is Hope for the Caregiver. We'll be right back.

>>  : Candace talks about finding out she was pregnant. Thankfully, an ultrasound provided by preborn and allowed her to hear her baby's heartbeat.

>> Peter Rosenberger: The sonogram sealed the deal for me. My baby was like this tiny little spectrum of hope. And I saw his heart beating on the screen and knowing that there's life growing inside, I mean, that sonogram, changed my life. I went from just Candace to Mom. Thank you. To everybody that has given these gifts. You guys are giving more than money. You guys are giving love.

>>  : Preborn currently has clinics that do not have ultrasound machines. Would you consider a leadership gift and sponsor a machine today? These life Saving machines cost $15,000 more than most centers can afford. Your donation will save countless lives for years to come. Dial pound250 and say the keyword baby or go to preborn.com afr while in

>> Peter Rosenberger: the emergency room with my wife as she was struggling with the Cove 19 virus herself. And I looked at her, I said, are you scared? And she said, a little bit, but I've been through worse. The certainty of mankind's history with uncertainty. An article by Peter Rosenberger. And then as her fever was approaching almost 103, she started singing. In Christ alone I placed my trust and find my God Glory in the power of the cross. And that's how she has anchored herself in the certainty of Christ through her huge medical journey that has included 80 surgeries, both of her legs amputated, 100 doctors have treated 12 hospitals, and now the COVID 19 virus. And so when we live with those kinds of uncertainties, anchoring ourselves in Christ, in Christ alone, that's the only place we can run to where there is certainty. To read this article and more more, visit afa.netforward/thestand.

Peter Rosenberger shares his journey through cancer with Hope for the Caregiver

Welcome back to Hope for the Caregiver. This is Peter Rosenberger. Glad to be with you. Hopeforthecaregiver.com Hope for the caregiver. And while you're there, check out all that I have available to you. There's also a very easy link to my substack there, which I have all the things that I talked about, including the last block and giving you update on, on my journey through this cancer situation. Done. I'm not all that radioactive anymore, I don't think. And they, they, gave me A good report, but I wrote about that and it's at my substack as well. You can go straight to that if you want it. Caregiver. I kind of made that one easy. Caregiver. Substack. Com. Substack is an online newsletter. It's got video, audio, it's got, print and everything. Instead of me doing a blog on my website, it was just easier to put it all there. And you can just see the entire library that I have of stuff. And I think you'll find it easy to read. It'll get push notices to your, to your phone and it's very easy to share and all that kind of stuff. So take advantage of it. I put it out there for you, with things that I've learned over a lifetime, insights that I've had lessons, that I've learned painfully. so maybe you don't have to learn them as painfully as I did. If that's something that would be meaningful to you. Caregiver.substack.com and you can go out there today.

One of the oddest things happened in rural Montana this week

Can I depart from caregiving for just a moment? Y' all okay with that? Can I, can I just share something with you that has nothing to do with being a caregiver, but is just one of the oddest things I've seen that happen out here in Montana this week. Here's the setup. My father in law has a house that's up on the hill and he built this house many years ago. He bought this property out here many years ago. Gracie and I live down below in our little cabin. This was the original cabin on this property. It's it was built during Grover Cleveland's administration and it's been added onto way too many times. We asked him to burn it down a couple of times. And now it's a Montana telescope house. It just keeps being added onto. But we didn't. We decided to go ahead and add on and build a brand new addition for Gracie because we already had septic and a well and it's very expensive to do those things. And I couldn't afford to do it and build in another location. So I thought, well, we'll just make do with this and then we'll get her squared away. I can take care of her. And the whole house works. It's all handicap accessible except for the laundry room. And Gracie said she'd give that up. She said she, she had bitter tears. She said, I'll give up the laundry. And so anyway, that's the only room in the house that's not accessible. But anyway. So we live down here. Well, our son moved out. There's a, there's a fully furnished apartment over the garage, and the garage is not connected to. My father in law's house is down the hill a little bit. And there's a story behind that that's for another day. But, that's where my son is living briefly. And he was up there the other day sweeping, doing some cleanup work outside the garage and just taking care of something. And this truck pulled in to the driveway. Now, our driveway is very open and accessible. You could see us and everything. There's not a lot of trees that protect us from the road, that kind of thing. Even though we're set back away from the road. But my father in law's. You have to kind of wind through trees to get to it. It's not a, easily accessible place. You could see the house from afar because it sits on a hill, but when you get up close, you really can't see it. It's kind of nestled among some trees from blocking it from the road. So it's not a place that you approach willy nilly. Okay. You don't just drive by, hey, we'll stop here kind of thing. And if, you know. And in Montana, when you're out in remote areas like we are, and he's the last one on the county road before it goes into the national forest. And we're up about 6,000ft. And so it's not a, it's not a. Just, you know, on the beaten path. We're way off the beaten path. And so he's out there and his truck pulls in. Well, in rural Montana, there's kind of a, you, you be careful when you, you pull into people's places. Okay? You just, you just be, be careful because that's. Can I just say that you just, you, you just be careful. So my son's out there sweeping. This guy pulls up in this older truck and two guys are in the truck and one guy in the passenger seat is a bit, older, maybe in his 50s, not old like me, but in his 50s. And there's a younger man driving, and the older man leans out the window and he pulls all the way up to the garage. Now, this is, you know, a long driveway and it's curving through the woods here. So a little bit. So I want you to get the picture that all of a sudden this truck just appears kind of thing. And he leans out the window, he doesn't make eye contact. And he says to my son, I'm looking for dawn. Well, my father in law bought this place 40 something years ago. There's never been a dawn up here. You know, this was pasture and summer grazing for cattle kind of thing. And there's no dawn. And there has ever been a dawn anywhere near us. And we don't have a lot of neighbors. We kind of pretty much know everybody around here. And. And so it's ah, and again, I want to set the picture for the table for you, but how remote we are. There's one artery that comes up here, goes into the mountain, becomes, and then just goes way back and becomes a forest service road. It's not like this is a through street. It's not even like it's, a dead end in a cul de sac where you got houses around in your neighborhood. We are in rural Montana. So this guy comes up and looking for Don. And my son said, well, there's no, there's no Don around here. And then he gets out of the truck and the guy that, that's in the passenger seat, I mean, that's driving. He gets out of the truck. And he's a younger man. He's about six, four, big guy. Well, Gray, our son kind of mentally backs up a little bit. He's like, okay, this is kind of sketchy. And the guy that asked about Don missing some teeth and he looks kind of sketchy. All right. And Gray kind of backs up a little bit. Okay, what's going on? He has a pistol out there. Because this is Montana and we have predators out there, humankind and animal kind. Montana is the most armed state in the country per capita, which means we're the most armed state in the world per capita. You don't do a lot of things out where we are without some type of firearm. And so he knows his gun is close by. He's thinking, what's going on with these guys? And then they end up switching places. And the young guy gets in the passenger seat, the old man gets in the driver's seat, and then they back down the driveway, and then they go back up into the forest.

Grey calls me and he says, dad, here's what's going on

Well, Grey calls me and he says, dad, here's what's going on. And I'm thinking about going up, grabbing a four wheeler, putting a helmet on so they don't see it's me, and going up and see what's going on with these guys. I said, well, be careful. This is, again, this is Montana. All right. So I call the sheriff's office to report and say, hey, you guys got any familiarity with this thing going on? And they took the notes. And then I get a call back from the, the deputy. This was dispatch. And then I get a call back from the deputy, and the deputy starts asking me more questions about it. And I said, you know, I don't have a lot more information. And in the meantime, Greg calls in in the, middle of that, and he's got the license number because they're coming back down, and they're going to be coming towards our place. And they ended up stopping right in front of our driveway. I'm outside, over there, kind of to the side behind a tree, just looking at them. And I grabbed a picture and sent it to the deputy and so forth. But. But here's what the deputy said. This. This is what I want to tell you. The deputy. And you have to understand about Montana, too. I'm from the south, where sarcasm is a way of life. I mean, that We. We just say things in the south differently, but out here, people are very literal. They take things and they say things. Very understated. And. And I. So I asked. The deputy said, well, y'.

>>  : All.

>> Peter Rosenberger: Y' all heard of something. I just want to make sure. do y' all know of anybody like this? Did. Have you heard of something like this, of this meets this kind of description? And, the deputy said, well, we got a. We got a guy that goes around asking about Don, but he's over there in the pony area now. Ponies on the other side of the mountain, but it's still the same county. And I. And he was so sincere about it. Well, we got a guy. Can't be sure if it's him. And I thought, well, how many guys going around asking about Don do you guys have? I said, well, we got this one guy, but this ain't his territory, you know, I thought, is there a team of, hey, I'm looking for Don kind of people out there? What's going on? And he was so sincere about it. Well, we got a guy, but this isn't normally where he goes. And I thought. But I. Still laughing about it. Well, we got a guy. And I thought. And I almost broke into looking for Don in all the wrong places. Looking for Don. How do you even respond to that? I mean, what would you say? Well, we got a guy, not sure if it's him. It may not be him. There's another guy that looks for Don, but, they could be related. Don't know. And I just. I just thought that was funny. And sometimes you just have to laugh at absurdity. Does that resonate with anybody here in this audience that you just laugh at absurdity? We had a sheriff's report that was sent out, on social media here in our valley. And we live in. It's a big county, but it's not very popular. We don't even have a traffic light in our entire county. And it's a very big county. And there's a place down the road. If you go down from our place about a couple of miles and then turn left, it goes, through what? The blm, The Bureau of Land Management. It's not national forest at that point, but it's a. It's public land. And we call it the Revenue Road. That's just what we've always called it. There was a big gold mine there for a long time, and it's a shortcut over to Norris. And Norris, Montana at one point had like 4,000 people there. There was a gold mine there and a lot of mining going on around here. And, in fact, somebody some of you are old enough to remember, a guy named, Chad Huntley. Remember him from Huntley Brinkley on ABC News. And he was from Norris. One of the things he wanted to do was open up a ski resort over, here in this area. And he opened up Big Sky Ski Resort. And, he died three days before it actually opened to the public. And they still have one of the lodges there, the Huntley Lodge. But anyway, that's a piece of trivia. But you cut through over there and it's. There are a lot of campers that come out there and things such as that. But Norris is a really, really, really tiny town now. All those people have left. But up in that area last summer, they found human remains. Somebody camping. They found human remains.

Authorities say remains of someone who died 47 years ago were found

And they released a statement to let us know what was going on with that. And it was somebody that, had died 47 years ago. And I don't. We don't know all the details of it yet. That's kind of hard to grasp if you live in a settled area. But out here it's the frontier. Who knows how many bodies are buried out here? And they released this statement about what's going on, and I still don't know all the details yet what happened this. But this is, the remains that they said happened 47 years ago. That's what they said. So Jimmy Carter was president when. When this man died. And I don't know all the circumstances behind it, and and I don't think it was Don. it may have been Don. I don't know. May have been Don. I have no idea. I have to sit that guy up there, see if it was Don. But at the end of the sheriff's report, and I don't mean to make light of this, but I couldn't help but notice that they put the sheriff's report says there is no immediate threat to the community at this time. And I thought, well, that's comforting. I mean, this, this guy died. Evidently they're thinking he disappeared and died during Jimmy Carter's administration. But we're okay now. And, and, and I'm just like that. That's the kind of thing that you just see pop up every so often. It's just very understated, very matter of fact, everybody's, all right now, seven years later, I don't know if it was done. I will get back to you on that to find out if it was done.

Discover the power that is available to you through the cross of Christ

But just another week in Montana, and I thought you all might like a chuckle. It's kind of weird, but it made me laugh. This is Peter Rosenberg. This is Hope for the Caregiver. We'll be right back. what is the most important truth that you'll ever hear? Here's Pastor Jeff Schrieve. What is the message of the cross of Jesus Christ? The cross of Jesus Christ just screams out, I love. you. Discover the power that is available to you through the cross of Christ. Join Pastor Jeff Schrieve on from his heart each weeknight at 6 Central here on American Family Radio.

American Pastors Network President Sam Rohr speaks on Stand in the Gap

Hello, I'm Sam Rohr, president of the American Pastors Network, a growing national network of pastors committed to the authority of scripture and preaching the whole counsel of God. We believe biblical obedience is the foundation for revival and impacting our culture, for Christ is our duty. For too long, the pulpits of America have been silent on the important issues such as marriage and family and assault on liberty. Join us in the battle for truth on Stand in the Gap weekend Sunday evenings at 6pm on American Family Radio. And visit us@american pastorsnetwork.org when you hear the letters AFR, there are a lot of things that could come to mind. Automotive finders resource, Alligator frying research or the association of Flying Rednecks. All great organizations, no doubt. But we hope the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear AFR is American Family Radio, a, listener supported network dedicated to sharing the gospel and promoting godly values. God expects maturity in us. We should not be comfortable living with habitual sins. So that's a new cycle item. Is it the top news story to God? No, because he warned us about all of this. Now, I don't care how nice you think you are, if you're not telling someone the truth, you're not being loving to them. Make no mistake, we're not anglers from Red Bay, but we are afr, American Family Radio, and we're happy you're listening.

>>  : Foreign.

Peter Rosenberger writes about technology and caring for people with dementia

>> Peter Rosenberger: Welcome back to Hope for the Caregiver. This is Peter Rosenberger, hope for the caregiver.com glad to be with you. And I listen. I have a goofy sense of humor, and things just strike me funny. So I don't know how you respond to what I just, the stories I just told you. But, you know, I was struck by this when I was in Denver last year. And it's not, it's, it's. It's kind of out here in the west more than in the south that I see it, because the south, there's just a different kind of humor, but out here in the west, there's just a little bit more matter of fact on everything. And so, there was a pond, a holding pond between the hotel I was staying at for five months with Gracie in the hospital and the hospital, I'd walk past it every day, and one day they're pulling a body out of there. And I remember talking to a doctor. He was leaving one day, and he had a skateboard. He was going to skate home. And this is a really good, rough neighborhood. A lot of hospitals are in inner cities and so forth. I said, aren't you worried? I mean, they just pulled a body. He said, well, he's not going to hurt me anymore, you know. And I thought, well, that's certainly one way to look at it. But, you know, I just, I see the absurd sometimes, and it gives me a chuckle just at human nature and the way people express things and deal with things. we were in our caregiver support group, just last week, and one of the attendees was telling the story about a couple she had worked with. And the man was older and he had hearing aids and he had dementia. not pronounced dementia, but he was struggling with it a little bit. And his wife was his caregiver, and she was trying very hard to take care of him, do all these things. And he would complain that when he was around her, he would hear voices in his head. And she was just, you know, she was like, okay, he's got. It's getting worse. And she was really upset about it and so forth. And then when he would go to his daycare that she had for him at this facility, he was fine. He said, I didn't hear anything. And then he'd get around her, and the same thing periodically would happen. And then somebody was calling her, and she says, I can't get my phone to work. And so she said, I always have to put it on speakerphone. I can't just talk to it on normal. And the friend looked at the phone. He said, your Bluetooth is on, on your phone, and it's connecting to your husband's hearing aids. Now, a lot of people have hearing aids that are connected to their phones. And she had done it, so it was connected to her phone. But every time she answered a call, he's hearing voices. And because he had a little bit of dementia, he would say it, but nobody would take him seriously on this, that he was really hearing voices. And it was so troubling and frustrating to him. But when he went to his daycare, he was away from her phone. He didn't have any problem, but he was very happy about it. I thought, we need to check our phones to make sure we know what they're connected to, because all day long, he's hearing voices, and he's saying, like, my car warranty has expired and all these kinds of things. This. This poor man couldn't get out what was going on. And this woman was frustrated because she had to always put her phone on speakerphone when she's around her husband. And look, at what technology does to us sometimes. And I'm a big fan of tech, but sometimes we need to make sure that our, you know, what we have hooked up is doing what it's supposed to do, because it could go awry. I remember one time, y' all don't tell anybody what I'm about to tell you, okay? I mean it. I mean it. But I remember one time that I was going to be called to testify in front of the Senate, Committee on Aging. AARP called me. They wanted me to testify at the Senate Committee on Aging to talk about using technology for caregiving. And I went through several vetting moments here where they called me to interview. And I use tech all the time, but the tech I use the most for caregiving, quite frankly, is Bluetooth. My Bluetooth earpiece, because I'm always working and I'm always hands free. If I have to hold the phone to my ear or put it on speakerphone, I'm walking away. I'M always doing stuff. I've got my, you know, head in the dryer kind of thing. Not in the stove. I don't have it in the oven. You know, it's not a gas oven anyway, so don't worry about that. But I'm always, you know, doing laundry or doing chores, and I've got an earpiece in. So if you're calling me and talking to me and I've talked to. I've done interviews this way before where, I'm always doing stuff. Cleaning the kitchen, emptying the dishwasher, folding laundry. Ironing. Yes, I do iron. And my Bluetooth is always hooked up. And the other piece of tech that I use extensively is, the slow cooker. That's my favorite piece of tech. I mean, think about that for us as caregivers. I mean, what better thing is there than to put everything into a slow cooker at the beginning of the day and at nighttime you've got a great meal, and you don't have to think about it, you know, because when are you the most tired? Well, it's the dinnertime hour, and you got to think, okay, what am I doing for dinner today? That kind of stuff. And I love a slow cooker. And I. I'm always trying different things in there. And if I have taco Tuesday, then I've got taco meat in there and cooking all day. I, like Indian food. Now, Gracie doesn't like Indian food. she doesn't like curry and things like that, but I do. And our son likes it, so he'll stop it after work, and I'll have a crock pot full of that kind of stuff. And, I made vindaloo chicken the other day, and it was good. It was very spicy and it was good. But the whole house just smells great. And, but it cooks all day and it simmers and. And it's just wonderful to be able to do so. That's the tech I was, chiefly, you know, because I think some of the tech that they're wanting to talk about at the committee hearing and so forth is as monitoring and, security and things like that. And that's fine. I mean, unless you got somebody, you know, like, at our house, we don't really have that kind of stuff anymore. We had it in Nashville. I had electronic door locks and everything else that I could open remotely. And I had all that stuff in Nashville. Out here, not so much. I mean, you know, unless somebody's looking for dawn, I don't really have that kind of thing.

Hillary Rosenberger came this close to appearing before the Senate Aging Committee

We have a dog. And, you know, I don't worry about that kind of thing. But it's. Anyway, so they called me and wanted me to go and do this. So I went through two different things, and then they called me eventually and they said, no, we're not going to do this. We wanted somebody who was dealing with taking care of aging parents more than a spouse like you are. And I thought. I was. I was disappointed. I was very disappointed because I really. And I'll tell you why you didn't ask, but I'll tell you this. During that time when had all those emails of Hillary Clinton and, she had, like, 30,000 emails that she wiped off of her server. you know, and remember, she acted like she didn't know she was talking about. You mean, like, with the cloth? I wiped it off with a cloth. You know, I mean, it was. It was so transparent. And anyway, so that was going on during that time, and I was so disappointed because I wanted to go before the Senate Committee on Aging. I'd be there on C Span or whatever network would cover it. And I wanted to have that pitcher of water there in front of me and my M microphone and a little nameplate that said Mr. M. Rosenberger. And I was going to look at the Senate Committee on Aging and say, before we begin, I just want to say I, did not send emails to that woman. Not a single one. It would have been the last time I was ever appearing before the Senate Committee on Aging. And there have been so many times. You have no idea the restraint that I have used. I mean, because I've got white hair and so. And I can do a pretty good Bill Clinton. And when Gracie sang at the Republican National Convention back in, 2004, Madison Square Garden, and our rehearsal was carried on Fox News, they showed her in the background because they were all. Everybody was there. I mean, there's Peter Jennings, there's George Stephanopoulos, there's Fox News, the whole, you know, the news media and everything there. And so we're doing a sound check, and she's. Gracie's up there in shorts doing this, and I'm on the keyboard beside her, and we're on the stage there at Madison Square Garden. And I came this close. I mean, you have no idea how close I came to this. I'm going up to the microphone at the Republican National Convention in NewSong York, Madison Square Gardens, and saying, hillary and I want to thank y' all for having us out. This is a real treat to Be here came so close to doing that. And it would have been the last time. It would have been international news, I promise you that. But it probably not in a good way. And so I use restraint. I'm just letting you know that I use restraint. Actually, what it is, is it's called sanctification. Sanctification. That's when things are being kind of burned out of me. But I grew up with a very large family. Four brothers and a sister. And my sister, by the way, is m. One of the worst of all of us. I mean, she. She'll get in there and scrap with everybody and. And she's the baby. But we just looked at the absurdity of life. We lived in a fishbowl because we were the pastor's family. And from my earliest memories of. Of just absurd situations, you know, and. And I remember one time I came in after curfew, and dad was in the pulpit preaching, and. And. And he said, And I'm sitting there in church, and he said, young people, when your parents give you a curfew, they tell you to come in at a certain time. We expect you to do it. Otherwise consequences like this may happen. And he pulled out my keys right there in front of the church and everybody, and he did this. And so I was a sermon illustration for a very long time. And my brothers and I and my sister, when she came along, we all just looked at the absurdity of things and we learned to laugh at it because there's so much pain, there's so much heartache, there's so much difficulty. And, you know, I remember my uncle, my mother's brother, who had a. Just a wicked sense of humor, and he was deathly ill. My aunt took care of him for a very long time. And he had tumors all over his body, had neurofibromatosis. And even at the very end of his life, he pulled me in close to me and he told me what he wanted me to play at his funeral. And then he launches into a joke and he starts telling jokes. And he's sitting there and he's got a trach, and he's trying to tell a joke. After, he just told me the stuff for his funeral. And we laugh together. And that's. That's just my life. I mean, I can't tell you some of the crazy things that have happened. And the worst is try not to laugh in church. I remember one time I was with my best friend. We've been friends since we were like, 14 and still to this day, and we were at this church in Atlanta, we had all worked at a summer camp and they brought us all there for Sunday night service and there was a special concert going on. a guy that toured around and sang, made the church circuit and he was big in the 70s I guess and his daughter was going to get up and sing a song and you remember Dallas Holmes song rise Again? Go ahead, drive the nails. Well, it's a, it's a big range song and it starts off really low and it gets really high and it's a, you got to have a pretty good sized range to do it. Well, this girl's getting up to sing it, this daughter of this well known singer and she's playing the beautiful piano intro and then she launches into this song and this is how it sounded. God. and then she starts singing regular. She was way down in the basement. Well, we, all of us, there's like, you know, half a dozen of us 15 year old boys and our heads just snapped up and we all looked and I was afraid to look at my friend, but I knew that if I looked at him I was going to lose it. And sure enough I did. And we were. Have you ever tried not to laugh in church? I mean it is painful and we were. And she kept coming back to go ahead and, and we're over there. I mean, you know those pencils that you, they have in the pews where you can find the sign, the guest card? I'm stabbing one into my leg to keep from laughing out and people are turning around and looking at us and we're up in the balcony so they can all see us and go ahead, drive the deal go away. I'm just losing it. So that's my life and I, you know, I've just got through cancer. I've been a caregiver for 40 years.

Tim Moore: Gracie wants to help provide prosthetic limbs for amputees

If we're going to laugh, let's laugh and let's laugh hard. That's hope for the caregiver. We'll be right back. I'll never forget walking into the hospital room after Gracie had her second amputation. Both legs are gone now. And she looked at me, she said, I know what I'm going to do. And I, was kind of startled. What are you going to do? She said, I'm going to help provide prosthetic limbs to my fellow amputees and tell them about Jesus. And I said, well baby, can we get out of the hospital first? She never let it go. And for almost 20 years we've been working out of Ghana, West Africa. We treat patients all over there from other countries that come there. We send supplies, we send teams, we sponsor patients. We work with a prison where inmates volunteer to disassemble used prosthetic limbs so we could recycle the parts. All of this because Gracie trusted God with her heartache. We've got a huge shipment of supplies that is being loaded up right now to go out soon. Would you help us do it? Standingwithhope.com giving standingwithhope.com giving there's prosthetic feet, knees, pylons, sleeves, adapters, all kinds of connectors. All of these things we are sending over there so that people can walk. We're going to point them to Christ. Help us out. Standingwithope.com giving have you ever watched a

>>  : courtroom drama where people held their breath waiting for the verdict? Friends, when it comes to the outcome of the spiritual raging in our world, the verdict is already in. 2000 years ago, Jesus settled the case. Paul put it this way. When he had disarmed the rulers and authorities, he made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through him. Listen to that again. Jesus disarmed the forces of darkness. He made a public display of them and he defeated them at the cross. Every principality, every power, every dark force whispering behind the headlines has already lost their judgment is set. The case is closed. The verdict is in, and our righteous judge is coming soon. This is Tim Moore wishing you Godspeed.

>> Peter Rosenberger: Find out what the Lord wants you to do while you await his soon return. Go to christinprophecy.org. Foreign.

Peter Rosenberger returns to Hope for the Caregiver after health issues

Welcome back to Hope for the Caregiver. This is Peter Rosenberger. This is the program for you as a family caregiver. There's more at hopeforthecaregiver.com hopeforthecaregiver dot com all right, let's get to our hymn that every caregiver ought to know. We've been doing this series for a while. I had to take a little bit of time off while I was dealing with some health issues. Issues. But we're back in the saddle, so to speak. And speaking of which, I'm probably going to ride a horse this weekend. Don't tell me I can't. Doctor said I could, so I'm going to.

One of the earliest musical influences on my life was Andre Crouch

So anyway, back in the saddle for this song. Now this is a song that most of you probably know. One of the earliest musical influences on my life I got to hear live in concert at the Township Auditorium and in Columbia, South Carolina. And it was Andre Crouch and the Gospel Disciples. And I never heard anything like this. I grew up in a very rural Presbyterian church. I didn't get around a lot of the black gospel community. And so I, suffered from terminal Caucasianness. And I never heard anything like this. And we were only a handful of white people at this place. And it was the most glorious sound I'd ever heard. And I watched Andre get up there at the piano and do things on the piano that at that time, my life, I was just a teenager, a young teenager. And I this back in the late 70s, and I couldn't imagine being able to play like that. And I still can't, by the way. I'm still working on it. I'm still taking lessons on learning how to play like that. And, he got up and played these songs, and there was one point where he would grab a towel on the piano and wipe his brow with it, put the towel down and keep playing. And never look down at the keys. Well, I was at that point in my life where I was constantly looking at the keys, you know, every note I had to think about every note that I was playing and so forth. And I just could not imagine. And then, by the way, a week and a half or so later, I got to meet Vanliere Clybert, who is this insanely, skilled concert pianist. And. And I. I got Vanliere Clybert's autograph on my Andre Crouch, program that I bought, that I got when I went to see Andre Crouch, which I thought was kind of cool. So anyway, so I'm watching Andre Crouch and had this profound musical impact on me. And I started looking at more of his songs. This one, though, he wrote this back in 1973. A lot. Of. Wrote a lot of stuff. Well, I don't know. He introduced it in 1973, but. But that was a big time for him. A lot of stuff came out like the blood that will never lose its power. And then this song, which was based on Psalm 103. It's almost 100% scripture. And it made it beyond everything. It really shaped the gospel music industry. But it went beyond. It's in hymnals of all kinds. Presbyterians, Lutherans, Baptists, Methodists. It's all kinds of hymnals. Well, the reason I'm doing this is because the other night, now, again, I've been just dealing with cancer treatment. Everything else. I'm sitting down at the piano and I did, When we built this new addition, I put our piano in our bedroom. We don't have a den, we don't have a living room. We. Everything in the bedroom Because Gracie has to be bedridden so much. And so I put the piano there because I didn't want her to have to leave the room to make music. So I have our piano in there, and I sat down and I started playing this. And she's singing this now. She doesn't have her legs on. And, you know, I just gone through some radiation and everything else. And she's singing this, and I'm playing this, and it was just glorious. And we're looking out this massive vista of Montana, and she's singing this song. So let me go over here to the caregiver keyboard. Bless the Lord O my soul. You know, this and all that is within me Bless his heart. I mean, this song has been around for forever. And let me tell you something. It's a song that every caregiver ought to know. And I'll tell you why. Because, number one, it's scripture, and number two, I have field tested this, and I've sung it in the most, sometimes heartbreaking of circumstances, and Gracie has, too. So we're sitting there the other night dealing with radiation and cancer, post surgery for her. You know, she's had 17 surgery just in the last, you know, six years and. And 98 in total. Both her legs are gone, and she's singing, oh, my soul and all that is within me. Name. And then she started saying this on the course. I mean, the verse. He has done great things. He has done great things. He has done great things. Bless his holy. Very simple. The text is straight out of scripture, and it has nothing to do with caregiving in the sense that, oh, we're looking at our circumstances. We're sitting here just struggling, and Lord help us, because we just feel bad. No, no, no. This just lifts our eyes heavenward and we praise the Lord. Period. End of discussion.

This is a hymn that every caregiver ought to know

What is the chief end of man Shorter Catechism number one? To glorify God and enjoy him forever. Glorify God. You know, we come to him all the time, Lord, this is tough. We don't like it, you know, but this song right here just puts all that in its proper perspective. And we're going to just bless the Lord. The Lord. Oh, my soul. Can you sing that with me? And all that is within me Bless his. Lord. Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me Bless his home. Now, that again, that's me singing it. Sorry. I wish I could get Gracie to sing it for you, and I will, but right now that's not possible. But we will. But the point of it is. Is that we sing it no matter how poor our voices are. And I'm sorry that mine is. But that song transcends everything we do, period. As believers, this is what we sing. Bless the Lord. He has done great things. Now, the question is, do you know that? Do you know that? Do you believe that? Can you sing this song today? this is my hope is that when I play these things Saturday morning early, and you listen to the program or if you listen to rebroadcast later on in the afternoon or tomorrow on Sunday night, that. And I've got gentlemen that listen to this in prison. I know this. And that's the only thing at nighttime, on Sunday nights, that's when they get to be able to listen to it uninterrupted without all the other stuff going on. And so, if you're hearing this while you're in prison in the big common area or whatever, you could sing this. You could sing this in prison. You could sing this in the hospital. You could sing this at the cemetery. You could sing this in the middle of the night when you're doing laundry or when you're cleaning the bathroom or you're cleaning up a mess. You could sing this song anywhere. Remember Paul and Silas around midnight? They were singing hymns. I don't know what they were singing. They probably weren't singing this particular tune, but I bet you they were singing scriptures very much like it. You can do this. This is the call for us as caregivers that we. We demand that our flesh come under submission to the Holy Spirit, that we will do this. So Gracie singing this the other night. She's in pain all the time. Her legs are off. I'm sitting at the piano. I just had radiation that day. And this was in the evening time. And I. Bless the Lord, oh, my soul. And the moment. The moment I started playing it. I mean, the. The moment I started doing these chords. Bless the Lord. And. And you. The moment you hear that chord, you know what the song is. Oh, my soul. And then I love this. That is within me. Bless his home. Holy. This is a song that we can sing as caregivers, and this is why. This is a hymn that every caregiver ought to know. Every caregiver ought to know this hymn and sing it. And I. And I would challenge you. No, I take it back. I don't have to challenge you, because I know how catchy this tune is, and I know how powerful those lyrics are, and I am willing, and I'd like to hear from you and see if I'm right. I think I am. That this is going to come to your mind today. This is going to come to your mind in maybe unexpected places where you'll just hum it to yourself and nobody else will know what's going on around you, but you. And I will know, because this is a hymn that you are using to instruct yourself that this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to praise Him. I'm going to bless the Lord. I'm going to acknowledge that he's done great things, and I'm going to trust him with all the other things that are going on around me and focus on doing what I was designed to do, which is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. So how's that for him? That every Caregiver ought to know. We've had a robust show today, covered a lot of ground. I've had a lot of fun doing it. I often do. And I'm going to go out and try to find Don now. And for those who just coming late to the program, you'll have to hear it on the podcast or the rebroadcast. But, I want you to know how much I appreciate the time with you today. There's [email protected] I've got a lot of things out there I'd like for you to check out. Caregiver.substack.com that I think are going to help you through the day. Bless the Lord, oh, my soul and all that is within me. Bless his holy name. This is Peter Rosenberger. This is Hope for the Caregiver. We'll see you next time.

In this episode of Hope for the Caregiver, Peter Rosenberger shares his journey through cancer treatment and the importance of maintaining health as a caregiver. Drawing from 40 years of experience, he emphasizes that healthy caregivers make better caregivers. Peter discusses the significance of regular health screenings, making wise lifestyle choices, and the impact of emotional well-being on caregiving. He also shares humorous anecdotes from his life in Montana, reminding caregivers to find joy amid challenges. Tune in for invaluable advice on prioritizing your health while caring for others!

Chapters:

(00:00) Hope to the Caregiver is broadcast entirely fluent caregiver

(00:55) Donkey says healthy caregivers make better caregivers

(07:29) Peter Rosenberg says healthy caregivers make better caregivers

(12:08) Peter Rosenberger shares his journey through cancer with Hope for the Caregiver

(13:33) One of the oddest things happened in rural Montana this week

(18:59) Greg calls me and he says, dad, here's what's going on

(23:07) Authorities say remains of someone who died 47 years ago were found

(24:43) Discover the power that is available to you through the cross of Christ

(25:30) American Pastors Network President Sam Rohr speaks on Stand in the Gap

(27:10) Peter Rosenberger writes about technology and caring for people with dementia

(33:32) Hillary Rosenberger came this close to appearing before the Senate Aging Committee

(39:52) Tim Moore: Gracie wants to help provide prosthetic limbs for amputees

(42:09) Peter Rosenberger returns to Hope for the Caregiver after health issues

(42:38) One of the earliest musical influences on my life was Andre Crouch

(48:20) This is a hymn that every caregiver ought to know