Good morning... On Sunday, I scheduled my day around being home by 7:00 pm to watch 60 Minutes. I did not want to miss the interview between Scott Pelley and Ben Sasse, offering lessons for America. Now, up in the middle of the night, I revisit the transcript and share portions of the exchange which touch me most [...]
Good morning... During our final spiritual growth group of the semester, we opened our sacred time together by reading aloud the prayer of St. Francis. One woman was drawn to the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote, "What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what [...]
Good morning... At midnight, every year, I envision getting on my tippy toes and passing my birthday baton to sweet Abby Smith. She was born on March 24th, 2004, that's twenty-two years ago today. At age seven, Abby went to heaven after journeying with cancer for five brave years. A bright light and a beacon of joy, Abby [...]
Good morning... In class yesterday, we continued to unpack the concept of kindness, one of the fruits of God's Spirit alive in our hearts. We agreed, in the face of so much worldly unrest - polarization, violence, despair - there is one thing we all can do, each moment of every day. We can take a deep breath [...]
Good morning... We began this semester studying one book, Wintering by Katharine May. To our surprise, we will end this semester studying a second book, Parker Palmer's new 25th anniversary edition of Let Your Life Speak. We did not plan this expansion into more, but the seamlessness of these oddly orange book covers, set side by side, offers [...]
Good morning... On Sunday in worship, the musicians sang a song I had never heard. I went home, and I researched the gift. Humble Jesus by Audrey Assad speaks the truth we all need to hear on this dark Ash Wednesday morn. ****** [Verse 1] Humble and human, willing to bend You are Fashioned of flesh and the [...]
Good morning... I met a poem this weekend that whispered to me about the consistency of life, year by year by year. Our high hopes are laid to rest in the soil of our common ground, and the low lows are lifted up as fodder for our creative connection. ****** "This was the year that was not the [...]
Good morning... In a constant state of amazing love, the vulnerable baby Jesus was born to be beside us. God, in human skin, was born to be beside us as we journey throughout this treacherous life. On Christmas Eve at Northside Church, as I served during the final two worship services, I was asked personally to pray for [...]
Good morning... As I nested in the rainy darkness following the Cold Moon's first waning moments, I received the surprise of four photos within a few early hours. First came a photo from Norway. "The full moon over our house this morning, 8AM," wrote my lifelong friend. Wow. Oh wow. Then [...]
Good morning... A dear friend regularly reminds me when the full moon is about to burst on our scene. I got this month's text about the December 4th moon when I was up in the middle of last night, writing our blog about resting while God works. "Thanks for the full moon update," I replied. "God is already [...]
