Good morning... The sun rises today to host a funeral for a father. Let me tell you of the days leading up to this morning. Our 17-year-old son brought a good friend with us on spring break in Florida, and on the second evening of our vacation this friend got a call from his mother in Atlanta. The [...]
Good morning... "I appreciate your efforts in presenting the 'Living Fully - Dying Well' series," she emailed me after we finished our six-week series on peacefully attending to various facets of the final season of life. On the last week we each brought symbols of loved ones who have gone ahead of us to heaven. A funny bow [...]
Good morning... On this Valentines Day 2019, I will tell you an endless love story evolving in my life. One year at our church there was glitch in our ordering of the annual devotional books I wrote from 2006 to 2016. Our Women's Ministry would self published these babies, after hours and hours of hard, loving labor, then [...]
Good morning... This midwinter week, what am I learning about the seamless dance between living fully and dying well? Monday: The wise words of Martin Luther King, Jr. leave a life-giving legacy, inviting us all up the mountain to God's higher way. Tuesday: Blending the wisdom of my Florida friend Betty Skinner, as she nears her 93rd birthday, with [...]
Good morning... Beloved American poet Mary Oliver tiptoed over from earth to heaven one week ago today in Hobe Sound, Florida. Might three of her most famous quotes shape our prayer time this morning? Read each. Pause quiet. Wait inspired. "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" "Instructions for [...]
Good morning... Martin Luther King, Jr. taught us how to live well before dying. I noticed a huge pile of wisdom adding up about the delicate dance between living fully and dying well, as I researched the 123 favorite MLK quotes for yesterday's post (touch 'Previous' above to revisit). These priceless pebbles of truth continue to ripple out [...]
Good morning... After snapping a few pictures, pictures featured in the past few posts, I picked up the red, heart-shaped leaf and brought it home to my friend's beach house. In my mind, I knew instinctively exactly where to place it for the next season of her earthy life. Earlier in my private retreat, I had admired another [...]
Good morning... Before the first Christmas morn, Jesus thrived in the wholeness of heaven. Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, [...]
Good morning... Last March, we hosted the first "Awake To Wellness Women's Retreat" here in Atlanta, Georgia. Remember those two special, sacred days? Today in Orlando, Florida, we will host the second "Awake To Wellness Retreat," as I join mesmerizing pianist Dana Cunningham and talented authors Kitty Crenshaw and Dr. Cathy Snapp. Together we will to bring to [...]
Good morning... "God has shown me that the light within me cannot be extinguished," wrote our friend Mary as she grieves the loss of her son, "but there are times when it will be faint, and other times when it will burn bright. The Holy Spirit, the light, is always there within! He shows me that there is [...]
