Good morning... Many of you have written to me about the pain of losing sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, friends and extended family members. Our fruitful branches have been and will be pruned back by the death of a loved one, again and again. We know what it feels like to love and to lose, [...]
Good morning... I just woke to news of a shocking tragedy. "We need URGENT prayer," an email from a man named Steve was forwarded to me. "There was a tragic car accident on Saturday with 5 American college students from Texas heading to Frontier Ranch to work at camp. One girl - Anna, who was Gina Ramey's campaigner girl [...]
Good morning... I had journaled profusely since I was twenty-five years old, but I had never shared my writing with others until after our uprooting move in 2003. Being hired at Northside Church in the spring of 2006, for ten straight years I wrote a new manuscript, we self-published a book, and each Mother's Day morning we handed out [...]
Good morning... Yesterday in Sunday School, we unpacked the middle portion of the Apostles Creed. Considering the various valley times in our lives, we processed the three portions of our life-changing "check mark" experiences. Descending into hell. Waiting in the tomb for three grueling days. Ascending high into heaven in oneness with God. Each time tragedy strikes, this three-step [...]
Good morning... Prayerfully pondering what wisdom to unpack with the Genesis Class this morning, words from the recesses of my mind bubble up from the Apostles Creed, words we recited collective every week as I grew up as a child in the Lutheran Church. Jesus "descended into hell. The third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, [...]
Good morning... Extremely grateful, I thanked store owner, Lisa, at The Front Porch of Vining for sharing with us a combination of donated and purchased items from her new fresh market for our recent retreat. Two large flower arrangements with an adorable one thrown in. Local pies and yummy pecans. Gift basket and a "Happy Spring" display. Chocolates and cheese [...]
Good morning... “I must die like a kernel of wheat that falls into the furrows of the earth,” says our friend Jesus in John 12:24, (TLB). “Unless I die, I will be alone, a single seed. But my death will produce many new wheat kernels - a plentiful harvest of new lives.” Seeking to fend off death, we want [...]
Good morning... As I sit on my back porch at this time of the year, I see the color of new growth bursting on bare branches. Now and forever, I will call this light, bright color “Julie Green.” One year ago today, 42-year-old Julie Harlan died, a loving wife and mother, a loyal daughter and sister, a long-time friend [...]
Good morning... “Hello newly beloved friends of the heart,” wrote soulful pianist and poetry-memorizer Dana Cunningham. “I am attaching the poems I either recited or read during our Awake To Wellness Retreat time, now a week in our past memory but still alive with fire and verve. I wish you all a joyous, glorious Easter weekend, which I will [...]
Good morning... I absolutely love that the brightness of tonight's full moon sky coincides with the seal-off mystery of the dank, dark tomb. For Jesus' dead body wrapped in burial attire, for you and for me wrapped in our own dark cocoons, God lights our hope. We each whisper in awed wonder: "...even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To [...]
