Good morning... This week I learned a fascinating fact. The biggest booster of dopamine, our brain’s feel-good neurotransmitter, is community. Life-giving relationships boost our spirits more than a brisk walk, a great meal or an awesome glass of wine! No wonder we can’t wait to return to our weekly classes offered through Northside Church. Every semester, I am [...]
Good morning... For the first time since the pandemic began, four out of five of us caught up face to face. Having met many years ago in our living room during a Friday morning Bible study, we call ourselves the "Fab Five friends." Constantly connected, we love supporting our friend whose daughter, Audrey, has been fighting cancer off [...]
Good morning... As our son and a full row of twenty-year-old friends watched their classmates paying tribute at their best friend's funeral, I wondered to myself, "Lord, in what ways is your Spirit sinking into their hearts? How are you helping these young adults to process this unexpected loss? Somehow, some way, is your comforting presence becoming more [...]
Good morning... "God is protecting you in the midst of his presence," says the tender image above, an image I reworked into yesterday's post. Then I received a text from a friend who is going through a very challenging time. We planned a spontaneous walk and talk to the nearby horse farm, meeting up at the stop sign [...]
Good morning... "Hi there," yesterday I texted a dear friend I have enjoyed quality time with for nearly thirty years. "I have our birthday season lunch on my calendar. What time do you want to meet at our special spot?" "Argh," she replied immediately, "was just going to write you. Spent five hours in Kaiser Urgent Care yesterday. [...]
Good morning... I have continued to think about a random quote shared in our supervision group last week. "There are a lot of people who work for God and very few who actually work with God." Changing just one word makes all the difference. What might it mean for us to work with God rather than working for [...]
Good morning... One week ago I rested like a fly on the wall in the foyer of KIPP Woodson Park Academy, waiting for the staff from PAWkids to arrive. As I sat quietly in a light filled corner, I texted myself snippets of conversations I overheard. "He's on the run," a teacher told a grandmother who had been [...]
Good morning... In our post We Need Friends, I shared about our grieving friend who lost her first grandchild to a miscarriage. "Oh my!" one reader wrote from South Carolina. "God is surely speaking in stereo AGAIN. My heart hurt and my eyes pricked with tears this morning when I read about your class participant’s loss. In 2012 [...]
Good morning... This morning around 10:30 am, women on our Friday morning roster will walk down the sidewalk to the left of our home, pass through our wooden gate and into the warmth of our cozy basement. We will begin our deep dive into Paula D'Arcy's Sacred Threshold: Crossing the Inner Barrier to Deeper Love. Our class has [...]
Good morning... She asked me to write an 800 word article for our November newsletter at Northside Church. She knew the story of how God has organically grown our ministry to women. She shared with me the Scripture verse for the month: Base your happiness on your hope in Christ. When trials come endure them patiently, steadfastly maintain [...]
