Good morning... I very rarely sleep all night long, but this week's Spirit-sparked "birthday cake box" adventure required a huge output of my energy - mentally, physically, and spiritually. I did not blog yesterday, since I slept until 7:45 am when our puppy Cami made her first peep. On Monday, I dropped off our 60 happy treasures to [...]
Good morning... Just one week ago today, our blog post on my 63rd birthday invited everyone to join us in creating "birthday cake boxes" for thirty senior citizens who live in the Grove Park neighborhood of our city. We were hoping for 30 boxes, 30 boxes filled with a cake mix, frosting, oil and birthday candles. What we [...]
Good morning... At midnight, every year, I envision getting on my tippy toes and passing my birthday baton to sweet Abby Smith. She was born on March 24th, 2004, that's twenty-two years ago today. At age seven, Abby went to heaven after journeying with cancer for five brave years. A bright light and a beacon of joy, Abby [...]
Good morning... This is a week to celebrate Baby Allen, our first grandchild now developing in a cozy womb, as we anticipate his May 15th due date. On Thursday morning, our class celebrated my birthday a few days early by showering me with children's books. These favorite treasures will stay at "Sue Sue's" [...]
Good morning... In class yesterday, we continued to unpack the concept of kindness, one of the fruits of God's Spirit alive in our hearts. We agreed, in the face of so much worldly unrest - polarization, violence, despair - there is one thing we all can do, each moment of every day. We can take a deep breath [...]
Good morning... Last Monday in the PAWkids Afterschool Enrichment program, we had messy fun. Paints. Pie pans. Pieces of paper. The kids made imprints of different images. One girl, who happens to be Mike Mike's niece, lost her grandmother in an unsolved murder last month. She said, "I want to make a chocolate chip cookie. My grandma always made [...]
Good morning... When the Holy Spirit in me meets the Holy Spirit in you, the love of God multiplies. But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with [...]
Good morning... While we were on the women's retreat two weeks ago, I snapped this photo of a heart shape on the sidewalk. Revisiting it now, I sense a profound epiphany. When the dirt and the residue of our broken lives gradually loosen and fall away, what remains is the heart of Christ. As the song in yesterday's [...]
Happy Valentine's Day... At PAWkids, we beaded bracelets with the kids on Monday and created Valentines for ourselves with the adults on Tuesday. I wrapped up my handmade gift and card, excited to open them this morning when I wake from my second sleep. My bracelet holds one bead [...]
Good morning... Yesterday, as I drove to the vet with our six month old puppy, a tiny dream of mine died. Honestly, I have always wondered if I would whelp at least one litter of puppies in my lifetime. In awe of the cyclical nature of life, I have thought that helping my dog to give birth to [...]
