Good morning... This summer, our Northside Church family is making 200 bagged lunches on Mondays and 200 bagged lunches on Wednesdays and taking them to PAWkids to share with our friends in the Grove Park neighborhood. For three Mondays in a row, I have joined in the fun, tangibly connecting with my two favorite non-profit organizations. [...]
Good morning... Well, two things can be true. First, after playing terribly and losing 4-1 to Belgium in last night's game, the USA soccer team will not win the 2026 World Cup. Second, I love a creative commercial which brings to life our high hopes as a hosting nation. Stepping over the division, controversy, and corruption running rampant, [...]
Good morning... The 2026 World Cup action has been thrilling and frustrating, exciting and heartbreaking, bonding and controversial. Tonight the USA team plays Belgium at 8:00 pm, and many across the globe will experience the wide range of emotions wired into each human heart. "The world is meant to meet," is a phase that lingers from one of [...]
Good morning... This is one of my favorite pictures of Charlie, our first grandchild. His official name is Charles Shepherd Allen, and Charles means "free man." This name matters a lot to our family, because Charles (Charlie), like all of us, is born into the freedom Jesus Christ purchased on the cross, once and for all. Christ has [...]
Good morning... A friend just happened to send me this happy yellow saying on the morning our first grandson visited our home for the first time. I witnessed this enduring truth in action. Charlie is being smiled into smiling, loved into loving and eventually he will be talked into talking and sung into singing. [...]
Good morning... Since our two years of training ended in 2017, four of us spiritual directors meet monthly by phone for peer supervision. We live in different states and see one another very rarely, but our two hour conversations are some of my favorite moments every month. This month the person facilitating read aloud an opening prayer written [...]
Good morning... For months and months, I have diligently prayed for my lifetime friend in Norway. Just now, we are exchanging emails in the middle of this dark night. She wrote yesterday. "Thanks for keeping me so close! The summary from today’s consultation is that the current treatment does not work anymore. The oncologist suggests alternative chemo, maybe [...]
Good morning... When we urgently pray for clarity, like we did in yesterday's post, we watch expectantly for whatever happens next. We went to bed praying for our friend's deep need for God's guidance. Then we woke to the following text. "As you get out of bed in the morning, be aware of My Presence with you. You [...]
Good morning... Tonight's first full moon of the summer will peak at 7:57 pm. It's called the Strawberry Moon, referring to the fact that strawberries typically ripen and are ready around this time of the year, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. As I am learning to discern distinctions in the dark, the moon appears full to our [...]
Good morning... As our Thursday group met this month, we began our time by reading aloud this prayer from the Ignatian exercises. Then we unpacked the most famous verse from the book of Micah. He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? [...]
