UpLift Media

Mike & his sweet wife Joye  Though this site exists to share good news and uses a traditional format of third person journalistic structure to take you, the reader, through a variety of coverage ranging from wholesome to heart-warming to redeeming and victorious, today will be a departure from that as I address you in the first person. Why you might ask? Because this news is personal and deeply impactful in both good and sad ways. My friend, my pastor, my mentor, my brother in Christ, Mike Messerli went to be with the Lord earlier this week. Though he recently learned of cancer the timeline from that discovery to his departure was very rapid and I dare say, faster than any of us expected. I am sad that such an amazing man is gone and in my estimation gone so young, though he would tell you he is old. In fact, the title of this post is actually the title of his longtime blog found here. He actually started the site around the same time I started my first blog (not this one) and ...

 We've all seen the Hollywood depiction of the person who wakes up from a coma only to find out ten years or more have passed. They spend the rest of the movie adapting to what seems to them like time travel. Some friends and family have moved, others maybe passed away, and technology is next level not to mention confusing. Well imagine your last memory was being pregnant and coming down with the flu and then your next waking experience being in a hospital with no pregnant belly. That is exactly what happened to Tess Frame in this wild but very true story. Tess in a coma with husband Conrad at bedside Turns out Tess, due to the size of her belly, could not properly cough up and clear her lungs during the flu episode so she soon got pneumonia and turned septic. As her lungs began to fail, her husband took her to the hospital where medical staff immediately realized the danger and put her into an induced coma along with life support. This triggered premature labor and the early birth...

 This was probably not the first time a kid snuck something into a loved ones luggage nor will it be the last. There is something about children wanting to remind you not to forget about them that drives the inclination. So many a parent or grandparent have probably opened their suitcase only to find a hand-written card, a memento, or even a favorite toy stowing a ride and offering a surprise to the traveler once at their destination. That is how it all started for grandpa, David Zielke as he opened his bags and found granddaughter Lisette had put her Peppa Pig toys in with his clothing.  Grandpa filming Peppa's family for Lisette Most would find the gesture cute, enjoy a smile, and maybe even mention how special it was the next time they spoke to the young one. But David had an even more elaborate idea. Soon he was photographing and filming the Peppa Pig family at the pool enjoying a swim, on the lounge chairs getting some sun, on the sandy beach enjoying the weather, and eve...

 It's difficult enough parenting children with just two adults involved. Add divorce, remarriage, and other step-parents and it can be all the more complicated and simply dysfunctional. But is that how it has to be? This family has figured out a way to put the kids first and share the parenting responsibility in such a way as to coordinate with one another and inspire thousands.  "Will you go to the dance with me?" Former Marine and birth dad, who is an amputee and wheelchair dependent decided it would be A-OK to help his daughter ask her step-dad to go to the Daddy-Daughter dance. We can't be sure all the reasons why. It could be dad doesn't want to try to take on the challenge of dancing in a wheel chair. It could be dancing just isn't his thing. Whatever the case may be, it was more important for him to make sure his daughter had a date and was ensured of a good time. Now imagine being on the receiving end of this kind of invite. One might be nervous, feel ...