Good morning... My mind is reeling. I cannot sleep. Important needs play tug-o-war. Getting out of bed, I am drawn to an encouragement card: "The surest way to simplify your life is to focus on what matters most." I sit and ponder prayerfully, "Lord, what matters most?" What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed [...]
Good morning... Cuddling into our couch with my first cup of coffee, I pull out the notes I jotted yesterday on the paper ticket ushering me home to Atlanta, Georgia from my parents' place near Cleveland, Ohio. Coming back from my mom's 84th birthday and my parent's 62nd anniversary celebration, I watched a fascinating documentary on the short [...]
Good morning... After a full night's sleep, I wake in the guest room of my parent's villa in the Renaissance senior living community near my hometown of Berea, Ohio. The walls here are filled with pictures our of our extended family growing up over the years. Two of my favorite photo collages live in this room, a frame [...]
"Good morning," she texted after yesterday's post When We Are Weak And Weary, a post highlighting the soulful symphony of birds and the positive benefits of regularly taking at least seventeen seconds to focus on something soothing, something beautiful, something life-giving. "We are on the same wavelength," my friend wrote, "I recorded this cell phone video on Saturday! [...]
Good morning... Even with all of the doors to our home closed and locked tight, I heard the birds bickering boldly in the middle of the night. Loud. Relentless. These unseen creatures were having a heated discussion. "If I open the door, trying to catch a glimpse, I might scare them away," I thought to myself, so I [...]
Good morning... Sustained by our prayers through March, April, and May, my mom miraculously opened her eyes in the ICU and came back to life at the sound of my father's voice. Recovering from a surgery to repair her broken femur following a fall in early March, my mom's health had nosedived quickly. Within 24 hours, she had [...]
Good morning... "Just read this lovely blessing from Kate Bowler," a friend emailed me yesterday. Before the heat of the day rose high. Before the shock of another mass shooting dropped us low. Before this night of broken sleep took its tiring toll on so many ordinary people. "Thought you would enjoy it," she added, ". . . [...]
Good morning... Developing resilience helps us to navigate life's tumult. Wars. Grief. Divorce. Addictions. Betrayals. Disappointments. Mass shootings. Mental and physical illness. Political, racial, economic polarization. How do we, ordinary people who are trying to process life's overwhelming experiences, how do we develop lifesaving resilience? I'm not asking a rhetorical question here. Really. Truly. How do we productively [...]
Good morning... With last weekend's wedding in Charleston, S.C., my friend and I enjoyed sight-seeing through the southern city. The history of our pain, our progress, and our potential as a nation comes to life on every street. We reverently visited the church where 9 people were killed by a gunman while gathering for Bible study on June [...]
Good morning... Her email came in soon after I pushed "send" on yesterday's post, What Are We Becoming? She is a dear friend who has educated herself well about politics over the years. Her political beliefs differ considerably from the political beliefs God is growing in me. I believe that for God's eternal purposes my wise friend and [...]
