Good morning... I puppy-sat briefly while my friend ran to the store. On the counter I noticed a pile of pink napkins. "In a world where you can be anything..." they read. "Be kind." The word "kind" drew me back to a page from the book I met face to face yesterday. Then the word "kind" brought me [...]
Good morning... As we wake on the final Sunday of July 2020, our minds meander toward fall. Masks. Social distancing. Balancing our need for safety with our craving for human contact. This will be an audacious autumn. In the shadow of a growing death toll, we are made keenly aware: "Life is short." Will we do stuff that [...]
Good morning... "Everything that could go wrong yesterday did," she emailed me, "and this morning didn't start off any better. I felt totally abandoned by God, even though I know He tells us, 'I will never leave or forsake you.'" She was right, God has promises repeatedly, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." The Lord himself [...]
Good morning... Build us up from inside out. Fortify our interior structure. Together teach us to embody the Prayer of St. Francis, who was born in 1182. Lord, make me an instrument of your peace Where there is hatred, let me sow love Where there is injury, pardon Where there is doubt, faith Where there is despair, hope [...]
Good morning... "I have been drawn to spend less structured time with God during this pandemic," she admits, "but somehow I am sensing God's presence more and more. Quotes from yesterday's post put words to my experience: 'There is no place that Jesus is not.' Jesus is in our hearts, our homes, our world. 'Bidden or not bidden, [...]
Good morning... This simple poster caught my eye. "There is no place that Jesus is not." At the depth of my being, I truly believe, "There is no place that Jesus is not." This poster reminds me of a gift I recently gave to a friend, a handcrafted pottery plaque reading, "Bidden or not bidden, God is present." Invited [...]
Good morning... We are an essential part of God's response to the anguish of this world. We are in God, God is in us, and from this place of intimate connection, giving and taking, loving and being loved, we become God's living presence responding to our hurting world. Henri Nouwen's morning devotional from yesterday tangibly identifies the first step [...]
Good morning... I looked more closely at the intricate nest. Sticks. Leaves. Dried grass. I noticed that the floor of the nest was made out of one large piece of light colored bark, bark I had recently seen shedding from unusually looking trees. Three-in-one trees. One-in-three trees. Growing forever from the same stable root, I fondly nickname these [...]
Good morning... So so so many of you reached out to ask, "Where did you get your COVID test done?" So, I figured I would do an informative post about what to do if and when you or a family member want to get tested for coronavirus. First off, our family of six has had a lot of [...]
Good morning... Walking each day, admiring the newly born baby cardinals, and sharing pictures with you has been a real joy this week (see our post To My Surprise). But my heart sank to my stomach when I peered into the nest yesterday and saw it empty. No baby birds. No daddy cardinal. No living beings. Instinctively [...]
