By Normajean Honsberger
Obituaries often describe people as losing "a long, valiant battle with cancer." Normajean Honberger's battle, which ended May 2, 2000, could certain be described that way. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, she lost her beloved husband, Al, to cancer in midst of her own struggle. But Normajean didn't give up. She said, "God doesn't ask of me something He hasn't empowered me to do... I can't change my circumstances. The only control I have is how I respond to them. I choose joy!" The deeper her struggles became, the more Normajean believed God's promise that she would not just have life, but "have it more abundantly." Her last appointment as a Salvation Army officer brought her to Hempstead Citadel, a Long Island Salvation Army church. This book is a compilation of her sermon series on the book of Philippians that earned her the title "Captain Joy." Many "Closer to Home" vignettesﾡﾪalternately funny and poignantﾡﾪprovide up-close glimpses of this remarkable woman of God. Normajean's shining, victorious witness lives on in her challenge to all of us: Will You Choose Joy?
