Good morning... In the middle of this droopy, drizzly night, I think back on the most meaningful two hours of this week. On Sunday night, Elizabeth, the 38-year-old daughter-in-law of our dear friend Joan, shared a really hard post, explaining that her colon cancer had spread. "Any chance you all can have lunch with Joan and I tomorrow?" [...]
Good morning... I love hanging up Christmas cards from people we have made memories with over the years. One of my favorites from this season is the smiling faces of the DeShelter family, a close-knit family who has recently endured two rounds of Audrey's risky radioactive cancer treatment at Children's Healthcare of Philadelphia. Thriving through it all, don't [...]
Good morning... Walking down the aisle as mother-of-the-groom, I was surprised to feel my tears well up as I saw the faces of our longtime friends beaming in the crowd. Four couples who helped to raise our son came from Atlanta along with their grown-up sons, guys who had wrestled or played soccer with Kyler since we moved [...]
Good morning... Last week, our therapeutic community group began meeting again at PAWkids in the Grove Park neighborhood of our city. Men and women, young and old, black and white, how wonderful it felt to be back together again. Gathering after our summer break felt like coming home. Then yesterday, one group member was battling an ugly infection [...]
Good morning... In honor of a few friends facing immense transition, this weekend I created the wordless prayer card above. "Thinking of you as you cross today's bridge into the holy, hazy unknown," I texted the image to each of these soul friends. As this new morning dawns, I expand the reach of my wordless prayer to gently [...]
Good morning... As I reflect upon this school year, I am amazed at the growth God has orchestrated at PAWkids in the Grove Park neighborhood of our city. People connected to our Women's Ministry at Northside Church facilitated fun arts and crafts activities in the after school program for two hours every week. Excited kids tapped into their [...]
Good morning... Each month we talk by phone for an hour - me in Atlanta, Georgia, she in Denver, Colorado. Our voices span the distance on all the important levels. Recently I read aloud to her a poem which reminds me of our God-given connection. ****** From Six Hours Away by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer From six hours away, [...]
Good morning... Our Friday class began by giving updates on our prayer concerns. The basement space in our home, where we gather for class, has lovingly been called "a womb with a view," as we circle up in the presence of God, week after week, important things gestate in the hiddenness of our soul. Then last night I [...]
Good morning... Up in the middle of the night, I crafted a message with God. Then some technical glitch clogged up our communications, and, tired, I decided to go back to bed. I hoped things would work more smoothly after waking from my second sleep. Then an interesting thing happened. I was stirred awake by a song. A [...]
Good morning... "A soul friend is a person you trust enough to share some of the deepest matters of your heart, someone who will listen to what you share without any kind of judgement, without trying to "fix" anything, and without flattering or criticizing you," writes Margaret Silf on page 47 of Simple Faith. "He or she will, [...]
