Good morning... "There is a difference between being driven and being drawn," she said at the end of yesterday's phone conversation. Intrigued by the crossroads of these two words, I jotted her concluding statement in my journal, returning to her wisdom when I woke around 2:00 am. Around 3:30 am, I climbed back into bed, sensing God's message [...]
Good morning... We all have founding fathers, generations of grandfathers, and some of us have beloved fathers at home in heaven, at home right now, feasting with our Heavenly Father as we celebrate this special day set aside for dads. Out of sight but in our minds, how will we celebrate the legacy of our loved ones this [...]
Good morning... My husband, Rev. Steve Allen, shared a life-giving message during Tuesday's memorial service, honoring another deeply missed dad in our close-knit community. Steve chose to read what seemed like an "odd" Scripture for a funeral, at first glance. Aloud he read: Jesus said to one who had invited him to a dinner, "When you give a luncheon, [...]
Good morning... Before J Schroeder died, he taught people how to live. Stepping up to the microphone at his memorial service, his deeply loved wife described J as "a force of nature," admitting "Everyone wanted to be in his orbit." Grateful for joy-filled years together, she said, "I am so glad he chose me." After sharing bonding stories, [...]
Good morning... "My brain is 95% song lyrics," said the little boy's t-shirt at the airport on Friday. While waiting for our plane, my three traveling family members scoffed at me as I pulled out my journal and recorded the quote. Then my husband and I proceeded to laugh with our two daughters, 20 and 22-years-old, as together [...]
Good morning... As we savor this Sabbath, we slow down. We rest. We look back. We live now. We move forward with God. Encouraging phases have held us well this week. Remain screwed in. Stay plugged in. Unlearn a lot. As we revisit posts from this week, gratitude grows, as we catch our breath before living on. We [...]
Good morning... Around 5:45 pm last night, I snapped a picture of a friend's house as I drove by. "Passing your home," I stopped briefly to include the photo as I texted our group of five friends. "When might we get together next?" How could I have known my text would set off such an explosion of life? [...]
Good morning... I cannot unplug from Richard Rohr's quote in Falling Upward: "As Desmond Tutu told me on a recent trip to Cape Town, 'We are only the light bulbs, Richard, and our job is just to remain screwed in!'" (ix) Jesus says a similar thing, "Remain in Me, and I [will remain] in you...for [otherwise] apart from Me [that [...]
Good morning... This morning, I am privileged to preach at the little Log Cabin Church up the street. For their annual homecoming service, the congregation invites a community member to speak, and this year it's me. This friendly, vibrant church has a rich, 107 year history, so this morning we will come home to these guiding questions: "Where have [...]
Good morning... "Oh Sue, I know what you mean!" one subscriber wrote to me after reading last week's posts, Welcome To Our Messy Home, Does My Mess Bless, Seasonal Insanity, and Dust If You Must. "I think any mom who has cherished the happy chaos of childhood gets it. Ok don’t laugh, but one of my favorite rainy day [...]
