Good morning... As I visited my parents in Ohio last week, my dad had a PET scan to test whether his active cancer spots were inside or outside of his prostate. So many of you have been supporting our family with prayers, heartfelt prayers. Yesterday was the day my brother went with my parents to learn from the [...]
Good morning... Wow! Yesterday was an incredible day. I started out at Mend Coffee with thirty friends from Northside's Morning Mission Circle. I took notes in the back of my Hope Heals book, as author Katherine Wolf told her life-changing story of narrowly surviving a massive brain stem stroke at age twenty-six. Forty days in the ICU. Disfiguring [...]
Good morning... To the light of the full corn moon, let's ponder a poem shared by a friend. As we read it now, slowly and aloud, what word sparkles most? ***** Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the [...]
Good morning... This day after Labor Day, summer is becoming fall. There are so many forms of natural becoming which surround us at all times. Clever cartoonist, Grant Snider, holds up a mirror to our daily lives, helping us to ponder, "Who am I becoming?" We become what we set our hearts on. And so we are transfigured...our [...]
Good morning... Last Monday morning, the room was abuzz with the voices of about fifty to sixty women. Catching up. Sharing stories. Starting a new school year. I felt honored to be the kick-off speaker for the Lovett Moms in Prayer group, an annual commitment I enjoy every fall. Each year, I prayerfully consider what I feel led [...]
Good morning... Fall begins to form slowly, like the rising of the sun. A commitment here. An activity there. The calendar starts to fill. On Sunday morning at Northside Church, I spoke in all three of our worship services, inviting women of all ages and stages to explore our friendly schedule of fall offerings. My notes from that [...]
Good morning... I snapped a photo of these handwritten words from inside my friend's birthday card. "God will take you where you haven't intended to go in order to produce in you what you could not achieve on your own. It's uncomfortable, but it's GRACE." Then, she read to us wisdom from a devotional book she loves. ***** [...]
Good morning... "This is from Ogunquit, Maine tonight," wrote a friend who lost her husband in May. "So gorgeous," I replied, before climbing into bed. "Full moon tonight. Hope you are enjoying Maine's unique beauty and the companionship of old friends." "Full moon is gorgeous here, too," I texted [...]
Good morning... "Sue, I love that Marilyn picked 'when we all get to heaven,' for the final song at her funeral," Jennifer DeShetler texted yesterday. "That is what we picked for Audrey's service as well. Although Audrey's is more to the tune of Alan Jackson. I love his Hymns collection and played it often. My kids memorized the [...]
Good morning... Our pastor read Proverbs 31:10-31, a section of scripture which bears the heading: The Wife of Noble Character. I heard a familiar voice behind me whisper, "Those words describe Marilyn perfectly." One particular verse lingers in my mind from yesterday's simple service honoring the extraordinary life of 92 year old Marilyn Davis. Strength and dignity are [...]
