Good morning... Wow! Yesterday was an incredible day. I started out at Mend Coffee with thirty friends from Northside's Morning Mission Circle. I took notes in the back of my Hope Heals book, as author Katherine Wolf told her life-changing story of narrowly surviving a massive brain stem stroke at age twenty-six. Forty days in the ICU. Disfiguring [...]
Good morning... My parents, my sister, and I made it through a good, hard day in Olmsted Falls, Ohio. Good because we were together for the day, me with my mom, my sister with my dad, then all of us together for dinner. Hard because being injected with dye and lying still for a PET scan was really, [...]
Good morning... The last time I was in Ohio visiting my parents in their senior living community, I took a prayer walk on behalf of Audrey DeShetler. That was a special part of my nine day visit in June. Last night at dusk, I took a prayer walk in honor of my dad. Yesterday, I flew in from [...]
Good morning... My parents have twelve grandkids and two great grandkids. Yesterday, my sister sent this photo of her youngest of six children, the final grandchild, heading to his first day as a high school senior. In the picture, he is reenacting a cute photo from his younger school days. Just after I [...]
Good morning... As we near 2:00 am, I take outside our little dog Gracie and stand barefoot in the wet, cool grass. As I look up, thick clouds surround the waning moon. Stretched wide and thin, the white vapors open space, a breathing room for blue. Blue. Cloudy. Stretched wide and thin. These descriptors animate the text string [...]
Good morning... "This is from Ogunquit, Maine tonight," wrote a friend who lost her husband in May. "So gorgeous," I replied, before climbing into bed. "Full moon tonight. Hope you are enjoying Maine's unique beauty and the companionship of old friends." "Full moon is gorgeous here, too," I texted [...]
Good morning... Our pastor read Proverbs 31:10-31, a section of scripture which bears the heading: The Wife of Noble Character. I heard a familiar voice behind me whisper, "Those words describe Marilyn perfectly." One particular verse lingers in my mind from yesterday's simple service honoring the extraordinary life of 92 year old Marilyn Davis. Strength and dignity are [...]
Good morning... "Thinking about you and holding you and Tate in my heart," wrote my friend on one random morning. "I bet she is playing with my Watson. I love you." What a sweet reminder. We talk about our loved ones in heaven all the time. And they somehow sense our constant connection. This reminder helps me with [...]
Good morning... This unique 4th of July, I truly believe there's room on the porch for everyone. Come on up! Lingering as we wake is a portion of our prayer from yesterday's post: May we find ourselves reminded that we belong to one another. Neighbors. Strangers. Friends. All wrapped up together in this web of beautiful, terrible inter-dependence. [...]
Good morning... Our nine year old dog went to heaven recently, and what I learned from our choice to release Tate's spirit from her cancer-filled body helped me this week. A friend called, distraught. Their ten year old dog had inoperable tumors growing in his liver. He would happily walk their five mile route, then he would suddenly [...]
