Letters to Mae

"Letters to Mae", no matter what life circumstances are, is an inspiration to maintain faith in Jesus Christ as your personal savior so that, after death, one obtains eternal life with him. It is about what that faith means and how it is expressed in action, especially between a brother and his beloved sister. "Letters to Mae" is a book of sermon summaries, written in the author's words, after listening to the sermons preached in a formal worship service by ordained pastors. These summaries were coupled to personal anecdotes about the author's family which his sister would recognize and have interest in. The author's sister, Ethel Mae Muehring, was called "Mae" by her family and friends, thus the title of the book. She lost her husband, lived alone, but then was transferred to a nursing home when it became too difficult for the family to care for her. Such is the setting for "Letters to Mae." As it became more difficult to communicate with Mae by telephone, and even personal visits, because of dementia and Alzheimer's diseases, it became easier to communicate to her with e-mail letters sent to and read to her by her granddaughter. "Letters to Mae" resulted from a desire by the author to keep his sister abreast of his family's status. In addition, since Mae was always a person who trusted in God to help her each day, it was also the author's desire to keep her faith in Jesus Christ, and her trust in God alive and well, even though her diseases were taking their toll. The sermons were not recorded. They are the author's interpretations of what was heard; however, what is written has been edited for doctrinal correctness by Pastor Richard Mayerhoff, the pastor of the author's home congregation. Mae's soul joined her Lord on January 6, 2008, but the author continued his letters to her to cover a complete church year. Her spirit was and still is with him each day.