Good morning... Amid the turmoil of a powerful pandemic, years of racial injustice, and economic and political upheaval, how are you and I to be the church when many church doors are closed? As the living body of Christ in our hurting world, where do we begin? Refreshing young artist Danielle Coke brings to life Fredrick Buechner's [...]
Good morning... I was so mad. I was completely caught off guard. Her biting response felt unfair, unjust, underhanded. It was abrupt. It was painful. It was a slap-in-the-face, end-of-discussion. But she had the power. I did not. My anger made it hard to sleep, as Ephesians 4:26 (AMP) explains: Be angry [at sin—at immorality, at injustice, at ungodly [...]
Good morning... I woke yesterday congested, with a scratchy throat, possibly a bit of a fever. It is common for me to get a summer cold, out in the heat and back into the air conditioning, swimming in a pool and hanging out with wet hair. Hence the term "common cold." I know what to do when I [...]
Good morning... Following our recent post My Stupid Decision, she wrote a very encouraging email, encouragement I think we all can learn from in the classroom of God's grace. ****** Dear Sue, Stupid decisions, the little ones: I make them every day. Usually it is hitting “send” too quickly. But the recent big one came in a very [...]
Good morning... "Many words rush along like rivers in flood, but deep wisdom flows up from artesian springs," says Proverbs 18:4 in The Message translation. "The words of the mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream," says Proverbs 18:4 in the New International Version. "The words of a man’s mouth are like deep waters [copious [...]
Good morning... "God, why did I scarf down three cookies?" became my deep prayer after my impulsive episode. I must tell you, these were not tiny Girl Scout cookies. These three cookies were mammoth mommas. "What was going on in me?" Fear, worry, anxiety. I faced a hard phone call. I didn't know exactly what to say, how [...]
Good morning... Turmoil stirs us from sleep. Deep hunger and homelessness litter our streets. Senseless violence and the threat of war push us to the brink. Fires of all kinds blaze around our globe, and we are witnessing the third-ever impeachment of a President in the history of our deeply divided United States. This is just a fraction [...]
Good morning... Thirty-six hours after being bit hard by a stomach bug, I took a hot bubble bath and felt like a brand new woman. Then my mind turned to those without a home, without a bathtub, without hot running water. What makes homeless people feel brand new after they have the flu? Our family's kitchen is stocked [...]
Good morning... Fears. Finances. Future plans. What worries wake you in the tiny hours of the morning? Hopes. Have-to's. Hard decisions. Anxieties arouse us, stirring us from sleep. Regrets. Repeat obsessions. Relationship tensions. As our mind reels, our conflicted heart feels. That is why this quote recently sent to me by a friend touches a tricky truth. Personally, [...]
Good morning... I woke from a brief nap yesterday with an interesting image saturating my mind. I sensed I had been in the presence of Jesus, as if our living LORD had really responded to my early morning prayer, "Steal My Show." Mysteriously it seemed he had actually come from heaven to our home, and I caught him [...]
