Good morning... "I'm having surgery on my leg to remove a cancer spot on June 5th. Is there any way you could come in town to be with your mom during my procedure?" my dad asked in April, as I visited my parents in Ohio for my dad's 88th birthday. I felt honored my dad asked. To be [...]
Good morning... These words came to me and stayed. "You don't have to rush to be loved." Grow at your own pace. You are worthy, already. Patience is a quiet kind of miracle. There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because [...]
Good morning... As Margaret wakes the day after the memorial service for her husband Tommy, I pray that you take her hand, Lord. Please guide her, moment by moment, step by step. "The substance of grief is also the substance of love," writes author and artist Jan Richardson. "They are made of the same stuff, and if we [...]
Good morning... Up in the darkness of this night, I pull out yesterday's funeral bulletin to revisit my own handwriting. "Grief is the shadow side of love," said our pastor in his message. It's true, isn't it? What we love, and lose, we grieve. What we deeply, deeply love, we deeply, deeply grieve. Resting in the shadow of [...]
Good morning... Wherever you are this holiday weekend, at home or away, alone or with others, pause to breathe in God's presence. Wherever you are, God is. However you feel, God cares. Whatever you need, God gives. As we savor the pattern of this unique day, You are the lamp who lights my way (Psalm 18:28a, VOICE). ...Sue... [...]
Good morning... Julie Harlan smiles in heaven as she prepares for today's special day. Today, her oldest son Charlie will graduate from The Lovett School with a stadium full of his classmates. When Charlie was ten, his amazing mom died of stomach cancer at age forty-one. It's an honor to remember her bright shining spirit and to revisit [...]
Good morning... I spent much of my Mother's Day afternoon assembling and delivering welcome bags for today's ISP (Ignatian Spirituality Project) retreat at the Ignatius House Retreat Center. Now, on this special morning, fifteen women recovering from homelessness and addiction will arrive at the MARTA station and be transported to Ignatius House by kind volunteers. Fifteen of you [...]
Good morning... Our dog Tate came to us from Adopt-a-Golden at eight weeks old. That was nine years ago this month. At the time, our youngest son had just gotten his driver's permit, our youngest daughter was finishing her junior year in high school, and our oldest two were in college, one finishing her freshman year at Ole [...]
Good morning... As I sat in the airport waiting to fly to Ohio for my dad's 88th birthday weekend, I got a text from a long time Northside Church member. She was on her way to pick up her husband from the hospital after his recovery from a scary emergency surgery. Airport. Hospital. Our interaction reminded me of [...]
Good morning... I happened upon a unique rendition of the song "I Will Fix You" by Coldplay. Might we imagine God singing these lyrics to us, as we are lost, found, and led home by the light? ****** "Fix You" - lyrics by writers Jonathan Mark Buckland, Christopher Anthony John Martin, William Champion, Guy Rupert Berryman When you [...]
