Good morning... "This has got to be it," she texted me this Alice Neel painting after reading our post, At First I Hated It. "This title says Flowers of Mourning, but the Whitney Museum lists it as Still Life, Rose of Sharon... a biblical term from Song of Solomon - I am a rose of Sharon, a rose [...]
Good morning... "Thought you would like this," a friend texted me the photo above. She continued: "From a wonderful collection on the Black experience. She has a beautiful poem by the same title." I was intrigued by the quote. "Joy is an act of resistance." To be honest, joy and resistance somehow seem like opposites to me. Oil [...]
Good morning... "On the way over here," she said as she arrived for her spiritual direction session, "I was given the image of me sitting in the chair at the eye doctor's office. You know how you put your chin on that machine and you look through a series of lenses with the doctor asking, 'Which is better, [...]
Good morning... As I wake on our thirty-fourth wedding anniversary, I am drawn to a quirky picture hanging on our wall. Several months back I found this framed photo on a shelf at Goodwill. I brought her home, hung her upside down, and dumped out all of the dreams this image evokes. These playful children make me think [...]
Good morning... As our immediate family celebrated the college graduation of our third child last night, it is a perfect morning to feed our ongoing needs as lifelong learners. Privately reading books and collaboratively discussing them is a great way to continue our spiritual education as followers of Christ. For the past few weeks, the following announcement has [...]
Good morning... Wildly generous artist Corinne Adams and I had a delightful time creating jewelry this month for the kids at the Agape Youth and Family Center (see our recent post I Feel Like Santa's Elf). Then our joy was made more complete as we and a few Julie's Dream volunteers spent Wednesday afternoon helping bilingual children of [...]
Good morning... My mind wakes from sleep filled with a short sentence. "This is an incredibly broken place." What an odd first thought for me, an eternal optimist. When I experience odd, unexpected, surprising, I figure the Spirit of God is somehow rising up to shed light on something new. What might this strange revelation mean? "This is [...]
Good morning... Too much to say. There's just too much to say. How do I center myself down, Lord, to sense your concise, caring message for this unique day? I could write all about our incredibly meaningful morning at PAWkids yesterday. I could write about yesterday's moving retirement celebration for a loving pastor I have partnered with at [...]
Good morning... As a high school chaplain, my husband is skilled at communicating with people of all ages. Steve brings to life biblical concepts in simple, down to earth ways. In this week's devotional message, Steve encourages us to fully receive and to freely share the gift of God's "agape love". ****** Thoughts on 1 John 4:7-21 by [...]
Good morning... Sometimes we feel lost alone beneath our many layers. Even forming an honest prayer can feel really, really hard. For those moments of chaotic complexity, I just met a revealing poem. Over the phone, a friend read aloud these powerful words so that I could understand more clearly her personal struggle. I can relate to the [...]
