This week I had the privilege of appearing on the enCourage blog and podcast hosted by the women’s ministry of the Presbyterian Church in America. I’d encourage you to check out these links to learn more about how to love a friend through cancer and subscribe to these fabulous resources!

Loving Your Friend through Cancer podcast episode: The diagnosis of cancer can be devastating. How do we come alongside a friend who is suffering with cancer in practical ways? Today, Marissa Henley joins Karen Hodge to share about her battle with cancer and those who fought with her by encouraging her to keep her eyes on Jesus. She gives us practical ways we can minster to the body, mind, and spirit of those walking through the shadow of death. (Listen here.)

Three Ways to Encourage a Friend with Cancer article: Seven years ago, my friends taught me by their extravagant example how to be a friend to someone with cancer. I was standing alone in my bedroom when I received the biopsy results, but I wasn’t alone for long. Within hours, one friend sat folding laundry and another made dinner in my kitchen, both of them holding me up with their presence. In the days and weeks that followed, the body of Christ rallied around us, providing for my family’s physical, logistical, emotional, and spiritual needs through several months of intense treatment. They wept with us, suffered with us, bore our burdens, and sustained us with acts of service, encouraging words, and persistent prayers. When cancer impacts a friend, we often wonder, “What can I do to help? How can I encourage her during this hard time?” Here are three first steps you can take to encourage a friend with cancer. (Read more here.)