Good morning... During last night's Fall Festival at Northside Church, I sensed our shared experience tipping toward the holidays. Halloween. Thanksgiving. Christmas. It is hard to imagine. Just two short month from today, we will wake up on the morning after Christmas 2023. An important question lifts her head and opens her big brown eyes: "How might I [...]
Good morning... I love this image from Kate Bowler's devotional for the week. The picture gently holds hands with title of her email. "Joy is the oxygen for doing hard things." This subject line is a quote from Gary Haugen who runs International Justice Mission, "a non-profit organization committed to liberating vulnerable individuals from the clutches of modern [...]
Good morning... While nursing a partial tear in her ACL, our dog Tate chased after a squirrel, yelped really loud, fell to the ground, laid down for a long while, lame. That night we let Tate sleep outside for potty purposes. In solidarity, in case she needed help, I slept under a blanket on our outdoor couch beneath [...]
Good morning... My mom returned home to their independent living villa in Olmsted Falls, Ohio. For nearly a month she slept away from my dad, from hospital stay, through surgery, ICU, colostomy bag, to recovery at the skilled nursing center at their senior living community. Yesterday my mom settled into her favorite chair, grateful and content. My sister [...]
Good morning... Up in the middle of the night, I tried to write a message about the life-altering week of my friend LaTonya Gates, founder and director of PAWkids. After hours of crafting and re-crafting, the message oddly zapped away. Twice. The words and images, touched by some human error of mine, simply evaporated. Twice. So, I gave [...]
Good morning... Yesterday a faraway friend suggested I explore a poem entitled "I Am There." So I googled the creative expression and found this fascinating gift. ****** "I Am There" by James Dillet Freeman Do you need Me? I am there. You cannot see Me, yet I am the light you see by. You cannot hear Me, yet [...]
Good morning... Enjoying our new Monday afternoon time slot, we kicked-off our first PAWkids gathering with an energizing cook-out. Harnessing the power of creative expression, we made a "We Love PAWkids" banner, played tic-tac-toe, traced with stencils/makers/paint sticks, and decorated everything (and everyone) with heart stickers. [...]
Good morning... WOW. What a wedding. Our family of six grew another daughter on Sunday, as Chandler and Kyler Allen became husband and wife. Here are my top three Wonder Of Wonders. WOW #1: The Lord drew these two faithful young people together in an undeniable way, and God's [...]
Good morning... In our minds, we have rehearsed the final details of our son's wedding weekend, again and again. One week from today, we will host a festive dinner the night before the big day. Food and drink. Connection and conversation. Toasts will bring to life the uniqueness of this awesome couple. We look forward to a fun-filled [...]
Good morning... I prayerfully bow my head and read one vulnerable sentence. "The fires crept up on residents and tourists of the Hawaii island of Maui on Aug. 8," a news feed said seven minutes ago, "as a perfect storm of strong winds and dry conditions left Maui vulnerable to what state officials say has become the deadliest [...]
