Good morning... "I trust that God is at work in me. More and more, I feel His presence. Day by day, I sense God changing me, softening my heart." She continued, "But trusting that God is also at work in other people, that's my biggest challenge." By nature, we want to save and to fix, to make peace and [...]
Good morning... Sometimes we live too up-close to people. We hang on the bumper of our loved ones, directing. We hang on the bumper of our enemies, raging. Enmeshed, we try to fix, save, change each other. Tailgating, we engender co-dependency, locked in an intensely emotional form of loving and hating. Given a slight break in life's bumper to [...]
Good morning... “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy,’" explains Jesus in Matthew 5:43-44a (NIV). "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven." At age 39, Martin Luther King Jr. was maturing as a 'child of [...]
Good morning... For me, this holiday season is officially over. With back to back birthdays for my husband and Jesus, December 24th and 25th, back to back birthdays for our two oldest kids, January 6th and 7th, and my high school senior's final PDC dance on January 9th, my holiday season is officially over. I love to look at [...]
Good morning... "You are definitely a back door person," he said as I left the party last night. "Most everyone else came through the front door, but not you, you are a back door person. You should write a blog about that." I went out the door and down the back stairs, jumped in my car and drove straight [...]
Good morning... After a meaningful walk-and-talk with a longtime friend, God's truth became clear. I need to say "no" to an awesome opportunity, an opportunity to which I would love to say "yes". With her family just a bit ahead of ours on life's journey, my wise friend simply said, "Remember, you have another season after this one." Pondering [...]
Good morning... Yesterday was the first Thanksgiving their loved one was not physically present at their earthly feast, having crossed over to heaven last spring. In a brand new way, this grieving family is making mashed potatoes. As I listened to his mourning mom talk about the conversations around their dinner table this fall, she said, "I have grown [...]
Good morning... “The accumulated sorrows of your exile (your being barred from comfort, your being kept from closeness, your inability to feel completely at home) will dissipate,” whispers the LORD through the pen of an Old Testament prophet. Zephaniah 3:19-20 in the Message translation continues: “I, your God, will get rid of them, your sorrows, for you. You’ve carried [...]
Good morning... As I wrote a reminder email to my Tuesday class yesterday morning, I included the following quote from this week's chapter. In the afternoon, we settled into my living room. We shared thoughts and learned collaboratively. As we talked candidly about the things that get in the way of our whole hearted living, we read these words [...]
Good morning... Sharing the devastating effects of an extramarital affair, heartbroken and hurting she wrote to me for support: "My 16-year-old niece said, 'Who will walk me down the aisle when I get married? I don't want someone who cheated doing it.'" The LORD gave me these words to give to my friend: "Your niece could walk down the [...]
