Good morning... God has bound into my spiritual "bundle" ninety-five year old Betty Skinner. Let me tell you why her vibrant life is so very important to me. When I read the original printed version of The Hidden Life, published by Kitty Crenshaw and Dr. Cathy Snapp in 2006, the spirit of the main character, Betty, leapt from [...]
Good morning... For me, tonight quietly signifies another invisible loss. Since 2007, each Tuesday night before Ash Wednesday we have hosted our annual Women's Lenten Communion Service. For fourteen straight years, God has prepared our hearts for the season of Lent by gathering at church with a standing-room-only crowd, listening to a life-changing, God-revealing story from the ordinary [...]
Good morning... The drunk, the hunk, the chunk, and the monk, we are all in the process of being converted by God, from selfishness to servanthood, from dogmatic answers to life-giving questions, from "Why me?" to "Here I am, Lord, send me." True conversion involves a change of attitude, emotion, and viewpoint from one of disbelief, indifference, and [...]
Good morning... "I really don't want 2020 to end," she said quietly as we talked in her garage, protected from the drizzly rain. "2020 will always be the last year my husband was alive." Her deep sorrow is not alone. For many of us, 2020 is the last year our spouse or our parent, our friend or our [...]
Good morning... This morning, I have the privilege of taping a podcast on grief with nurse practitioner, Ginna MacFarling, and Northside Church's Director of Adult Discipleship, James Johnson. Having walked beside many through the grieving process, twice Ginna has helped to lead our well-loved six-week series, "Living Fully - Dying Well." Preparing for our podcast, Ginna gathered some [...]
Good morning... The Results of an I-Centered Life is the title of Rick Warren's devotional message from October 28th, 2020. “When ‘I’ am at the center of everything in my life, that’s sin,” writes Rick. “We all have an 'I' problem: I want it my way; I will do my thing; I have to take care of myself first; [...]
Good morning... "Sue - I’m having the most amazing ah-ha moments right now," she wrote. "I had to share this with you, both, because it relates to your recent stories of friendships dying & because I’m so grateful God is walking beside me so closely, leading me to new understanding & transformation - some truths I think I’ve been [...]
Good morning... We had not seen each other since COVID closed down our weekly class in March. Now three quarters of the way through September, it was the perfect cool morning for our heart-to-heart catch up. My friend has had a very difficult few years. An impending divorce. Anxious uncertainty. Soul-searching, "God, how will You heal me whole again?" [...]
Good morning... Now is about the time many of us head into a slump. This Coronavirus is a marathon, not a sprint, with no end in sight. Our loss of control, routine, and stability is taking an exhausting toll. Add to it the uncertainty of new normal life transitions. Births and deaths. Weddings, divorces, and funerals. Difficult diagnoses [...]
Good morning... Sixteen. I saw exactly sixteen of these black caterpillars on one walk last week. Some were crawling. Some were squished. Some littler, some bigger. The sheer number of these creatures in one morning made them impossible for me to ignore. Checking my phone when I arrived home, I was surprised by a text string from a [...]
