Good morning... The phone rang around 5:20 am, "Mom, I think you should go back to sharing your complete blog in your morning email rather than forcing us to click 'Read more' to receive the entire message." Our oldest son called to encourage me from Australia, where he is spending his year ministering to college students. With a 14 [...]
Good morning... The whole room pulled off a great surprise as we celebrated a milestone birthday with our friend. Nearing the meal's end, she spoke words of raw, real thanks and owned with her eloquent voice an inspiring poem she had discovered just that day. "The second half of my life will be black to the white rind of [...]
Good morning... I sensed God concluding yesterday's message with this deep desire: "Connected to our Creator, I want me, the real me, and you, the real you, to mature into the unique people God is coaxing us to be." This concept had expanded from an vivid picture of the lasting mother/child bond painted on Mother's Day morn to a [...]
Good morning... After yesterday's post, one subscriber wrote: "How to have faith and belief in God when you can’t KNOW everything is something I struggle with all the time. Your daily words help so much. I especially love your last words this morning and will keep them with me: 'My sinking heart can rise up and trust what my [...]
Good morning... A few days back, a sobering announcement came into my blog email. It took away my breath and brought me to tears. Your list has lost a subscriber: Julie Harlan. I thought to myself, "What an understatement. We have lost much more than a subscriber." Julie was a devoted wife and mother, a beloved daughter and friend, [...]
Good morning... "I always stand in awe of how my morning readings are woven together," she wrote as she shared with me Richard Rohr's meditation from yesterday morning. That very same day, God had been schooling me in this truth: "Comparison kills. Conversation brings life." Our heart raises the white flag of surrender as we exchange our will for [...]
Good morning... I gave birth to each one of our four kids naturally. When birthing new life, we endure extreme pain with a well-defined purpose. Near the end of the process, a significant shift occurs. Having spent hour after grueling hour weathering waves of contractions, keeping the baby "in," it finally comes time to get the baby "out!" Each [...]
Good morning... If you knew your close friend would betray you by evening's end, would you sit down beside him and share a meal? If you knew this would be your final dinner, would you willingly pull up a chair and relax into your seat? If you knew this celebration would lead to your death, would you show up [...]
Good morning... Our friends plan fun, memorable birthday parties, so we were excited to be invited to their home to be taught by a sushi chef. Making our own sushi for dinner was a fascinating way to celebrate a fifty-something birthday season. Our handmade creations were imperfectly delicious. Roll by roll, bite by bite, laughter was sparked and our [...]
Good morning… Last night I loved speaking with a group of women at the Cathedral of St. Philip. A few weeks back, the organizers and I discerned the topic for the evening: "Listening to God's Lead." We agreed that one of the biggest challenges in our jam-packed lives is listening to the lead of God. As a group we [...]
