Good morning... "Hi Sue," one of you wrote earlier in the week, after watching the video of Michaelanglo's statue, the Pieta. "The words of healing and strength from you and others is always needed and much appreciated. I hesitated to share my Pieta experience since it doesn’t reflect deep sorrow or grief, but it shares a small taste [...]
Good morning... "Thank you for your blog," she wrote after our post Someone You Know Needs This. "As there are no coincidences, the Jesus Calling message for the same day, July 16th, is along the same lines." Responding to God's nuanced nudge, I google the July 16th message and, through author Sarah Young, God whispers these words. ****** [...]
Good morning... Artists over the years have depicted differently the lifesaving sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Replaying in my mind is the intimate video of the statue Pieta shared in yesterday's post, Savor Sabbath: From Pain To Peace. Michelango deeply depicts not only Jesus' full-bodied surrender, but the suffering sacrifice of his mother, Mary. After viewing this video yesterday, one [...]
Good morning... "Pitiful post." I was woken from sleep yesterday morning, almost hearing audibly, "Pitiful post." I scurried out of bed and grabbed my phone. Had someone judged negatively Friday's message, We Honor Cole's Life? No. No judgement. I felt relieved. All of the responses received from yesterday's post were loving and affirming, from people grieving alongside me [...]
Good morning... Over the years, my husband and I have been criticized, subtly and not-so-subtly, for not being “Christian” enough. Has similar judgement ever happened to you? People judging people feels so toxic. Can’t you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do…It is what God is doing, and he is creating something [...]
Good morning... "Good morning Sue," a subscriber wrote from miles away. "I’m so, so sorry for the weight of grief and sadness you must carry - I thought of a quote I read just last week that was posted by Sarah Williams, a mother grieving the loss of her toddler: 'I have loved the stars too fondly to [...]
Good morning... Yesterday morning, tragedy cut short the life of another young man, a young man for whom I love to serve homemade Stromboli. Now, huddled together, we nestle into the nurturing nest God has built for our online community. How do we respond to this special kind of grief, processing the life-changing loss of family and friends [...]
Good morning... I woke panicked. Could it be true? I briefly dreamed that my computer was mysteriously downloading thousands, and thousands, and thousands more email addresses for new subscribers, before sending out our morning message, blanketing a growing multitude with God's peace, power, protection. Then suddenly a large scale, mass tragedy struck, and miraculously, together, we were shielded [...]
Good morning... “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion?" asks Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30, in the Message translation. "Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I [...]
Good morning... While my husband and I were talking about the cartoon from our post yesterday, he said, "It reminds me of a commonly used sermon illustration." He went on to ask, "When it comes to making a bacon and egg breakfast, what is the difference between the chicken and the pig? (.....Drum roll please.....) The chicken makes [...]
