Good morning... Yesterday, I flew to Cleveland, Ohio to watch my parents perform "Guys and Dolls" with sixty friends from their senior living community. The place is abuzz! At ages 85 and 86, they fit right in with the cast and the chorus members who range from age 72 to 96. Having practiced twice a week for months [...]
Good morning... As the passage of time naturally expands, we end one month before the next begins. Today is May. Tomorrow will be June. Like being caught in the invisible power of gravity, we can't escape the ticking away of time. Spring naturally tips into summer, that's just life's way. We can't go back. We can't stay here. [...]
Good morning... A few Fridays back, we gathered to mark the end of another magnificent semester of learning with God. Several of us met in person and the rest of us were bonded in Spirit from afar. All of us recognized, "There is so much to celebrate from this spring season together." To that end, we decided to [...]
Good morning... "We are coming off a whirlwind graduation weekend at UNC," texted a longtime friend earlier this week. "Bryan Stevenson was the keynote speaker, who was EXCELLENT! Given your recent experience with the museum in Montgomery, Alabama which he helped to start, I wanted to forward you his quote." Your hope is your superpower. Believe things you [...]
Good morning... "Ah! So perfect! This one is for me!" she emailed me after yesterday's post, The Back Roads Of Your Self. "Up at 4:00 am because of jet lag after a wonderful month with my husband wandering the gorgeous back roads of France. Feeling so free then and now feeling a little overwhelmed by the highway life. [...]
Good morning... For the first time, I notice something that has likely been there all along. At the end of my friend's email, below her name, title, and business, rests a short quote by Mary Mrozowski. "I am where I need to be. Everything around me includes and hides the sacred." How freeing it would be to live [...]
Good morning... There is enough chaotic doom and gloom to fill every ounce of every day, but my attention is not drawn there. My focus deepens from the surface of things to form a quiet prayer, "LORD, what is my work to do in this wounding world?" A poem by Mary Oliver, read aloud to me by a [...]
Good morning... The chaplain team writes a devotional message for The Lovett School community each week. This past Monday, my husband Steve wrote a fun piece about the wisdom gleaned from a shepherd named John. ****** Chaplain's Message for May 1st, 2023 by Rev. Steve Allen Acts 2:42-47 • Psalm 23 • 1 Peter 2:19-25 • John 10:1-10 [...]
Good morning... Our Julie's Dream prayer team met by Zoom yesterday morning to pray over the lives of the inner city kids we take on trips to explore God's expansive creation. We prayed for the family of kids who recently witnessed their mother murdered by her boyfriend. We prayed for the talented trip leader from a neighboring non-profit [...]
Good morning... After experiencing the Legacy Museum and The National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama, I am haunted by the inhumanity, the ugly pain inflicted on millions and millions of black skinned people over the centuries, and the way my privileged, comfortable life has really, really bloody roots. I feel compelled to deal with my [...]
