Read about the Harvard’s journey,
from the beginning of “Walking Victoriously Through the Long Goodbye”


  • Biblical Happiness

    Biblical Happiness

    Recently, for the first time in nearly two years, I had the opportunity to be with all of my great-grandchildren at the same time. In the picture accompanying today’s blog, my granddaughter Cory is holding our newest addition, a little girl who is scheduled to make her debut in two months. The obvious happiness etched Read more

  • My Faith Journey

    My Faith Journey

    On June 4, 2023, twelve days after my precious wife Linda went home to be with her Lord, in the final installment of Walking Victoriously Through the “Long Goodbye,” I noted, “At the forefront of my thinking is a simple question: How do I (alone) continue the legacy that we (together) have developed in nearly Read more

  • Immeasurably More!

    Immeasurably More!

    With all the negativity permeating our daily lives and screaming to be heard, do you sometimes feel overwhelmed – that the tasks before you require more energy than you have? Perhaps, the joy surrounding Easter Sunday provided a brief respite from the storm; however, two weeks later the joy has diminished, and all those pressures Read more

  • Looking Back

    Looking Back

    Linda has now been gone from this earth for two years and nine days. Therefore, I have had ample time to reflect on the storms, as well as the seasons of calm, associated with our journey into the “Long Goodbye.” As I continue to work through the pain associated with her departure, I find it Read more

  • Dislocation and Relocation

    Dislocation and Relocation

    Longtime readers of my blogs have discovered that my life, like theirs, seldom reflects the utopian ideals of freedom from despair, discouragement, and suffering that we might once have believed would accompany our walk with God. In my early twenties, a tumultuous introduction to the Psalms exacerbated my discomfort, which I tried to solve by Read more

  • Designed for Relationship

    Designed for Relationship

    A few days ago, I had the opportunity to observe the interactions of a family having a meal in a local restaurant. At first glance, nothing seemed different from what has unfortunately become the norm: Parents, preoccupied with last minute details regarding work and frantically attempting to respond to all unanswered emails; children, entertaining themselves Read more

  • Overflowing Blessings

    Overflowing Blessings

    If Linda were still with me, last Sunday we would have celebrated our sixty-second wedding anniversary. Instead, I was alone. Unable to go to church because of debilitating pain in my back, I was very vulnerable to “stinking thinking.” Having been down that road before and knowing the outcome, I chose to take another path Read more

  • Remembering A Champion – One Year Later

    Remembering A Champion – One Year Later

    This blog was originally published on October 6, 2024. With the exception of updates related to time, no other changes have been made. On September 29, 2024, after a long battle with cancer, Larry Carpenter went home to be with his Lord. At a time when boundless egos, exaggerated statements of accomplishments, and padded resumes Read more

  • A Profile in Faithful Ministry

    A Profile in Faithful Ministry

    After Linda’s death on May 23, 2023, I wrote two concluding editions of Walking Victoriously through the “Long Goodbye” and determined that I was through with writing blogs. A little less than a year later, the Lord impressed upon my heart that I had made an important decision without consulting Him. Therefore, I repented and Read more

  • Effective Communication

    Effective Communication

    On September 4, 2022, in the 110th post of Walking Victoriously through the “Long Goodbye,” I outlined a plan for communication that many caregivers found helpful. Therefore, with caregivers now facing the added stress of the Christmas Season, I have chosen to reprint it, with minimal change, as the 21st post of Living Victoriously after Read more