Good morning... Most of us start the day with preconceived plans. More likely than not, our plans will be interrupted. The quote above, sent by a friend last week, helps to shift our focus from, "Why, God, why?" to "Who?" and to "What?" In the Plan B moments we meet today, might we stop and wonder and learn, [...]
Good morning... As we notice ourselves waking up to this day, we dwell with God right where we are. I have been introduced to a new app called Dwell, a daily devotion which deepens our focus on God ...in whom we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28a, NIV). In class yesterday, we began by listened [...]
Good morning... Yesterday we gathered for our first Wednesday afternoon class of the semester to study Waking Up to This Day: Seeing the Beauty Right before Us by Paula D'Arcy. New faces joined our crowd of old friends, and the Holy Spirit bonded us naturally. To introduce ourselves, we shared one thing we noticed about the cover of [...]
Good morning... When our new Associate Pastor, Rev. Dana Ezell, spoke to our Morning Mission Circle last Tuesday, she talked about two ordinary women who followed the call of God and changed the course of history. She shared with us this fascinating story from Exodus 1:15-20 (CEB). The king of Egypt spoke to two Hebrew midwives named Shiphrah [...]
Good morning... As my fall schedule began to fill in, a friend sent me this quote: "You are exactly where you are meant to be." What a empowering word of encouragement. Living into my twentieth year at Northside Church, I love the cyclical nature of our ministry to women. Every year, the summer season ends and a new [...]
Good morning... On Saturday, I received a text from my dad in Ohio: "I received a message from Ingar (Margit's son). He said that Margit passed away this morning. She passed peacefully surrounded by family." She passed away at her home in Norway, pictured above in April of 2020. Margit spent a year with our family as a [...]
Good morning... As I took our little dog out in the middle of the night, I experienced the pitch black dark of the new moon. All was calm, all was dark, except one little light. "What is that?" I wondered. I got my phone, pointed it in the direction of the light, and took these photos. The first [...]
Good morning... Twenty-five years ago, our son Jeremiah was born on June 5th in Atlanta, Georgia. Two weeks later, our family was transplanted to New Wilmington, Pennsylvania with our youngest and his siblings ages 2, 4, and 6. Three months later, the terrorist attacks of September 11th shocked our nation. At the time, Jeremiah was the same age [...]
Good morning... In the morning, I took a walk through the fertile forest of fallen trees. I told you in yesterday's post, "New forms of life were sprouting up everywhere!" In the afternoon, we gathered for our session in The Upper Room, the amazing new building on the campus of the Ignatius House Retreat Center. Our retreat leaders [...]
Good morning... As I walked the mile long trail around the Ignatius House Retreat Center, I noticed the restorative beauty of the fallen trees. Though the keepers of the sacred grounds clear the rugged paths, they allow the decaying debris to naturally rest on the fertile forest floor. Like meandering through a mysterious museum, I marveled at the [...]
