Good morning... We are on the cusp of a new semester. Cusp. I love that little word. A point of transition between two different states. On the verge of what comes next. An interval of time just before the onset of something new. Brink. Edge. Threshold. This week, as we begin a new semester of learning in our [...]
Good morning... What Is Your Star Word? we asked in yesterday's post, a single word guiding you into the living presence of the Christ child, Emmanuel, God-with-us. For 2026, my star word is SIMPLIFY. The Dictionary.com definition reads: "to make less complicated, clearer, or easier." Clarify. Cut down. Reduce. Shorten. Streamline. SIMPLIFY. We live in a complicated world [...]
Good morning... As this fall semester comes to an end before our winter/spring semester begins, it dawns on me that I have been blogging most days since the fall of 2015. Ten years of waking in the wee hours, opening up two-way-street veins of private prayer, seeking to discern the presence, the patterns, the power of our living [...]
Good morning... My favorite Christmas song reached me when Steve and I were newlyweds. The acapella group Glad harmonized the meaning of that first Christmas morn with their song In the First Light. This special song was produced in 1988, when I was 25 years old. Enjoy these lyrics before experiencing this powerful song. In the first light [...]
Good morning... What should be easy, is hard. What usually takes no time, is taking forever. What I often take for granted, is not happening right now. Plagued by continued computer issues, my communication is halted. No emails have come into my inbox since 12/19. Ugh. Unable to share new photos, I went back to this old image [...]
Good morning... Yesterday the annual email came in, announcing the beginning of Northside Church's Advent devotional. Exquisitely written and creatively shared, the talent of Dr. James Johnson and his new wife, Elisabeth Shabbi Johnson, are on full display. I invite you to come along on the daily journey with us, beginning with yesterday's introductory email. ****** Introduction to [...]
Good morning... As I drove our oldest daughter to the airport yesterday, God felt very present. Tessa was flying to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to support a group of college students she cares about after the brother of one young woman died of suicide this week. Tessa does college ministry at the University of Georgia through the thriving chapter [...]
Good morning... After yesterday's post, Our Remedy For Fear, one reader wrote: "Man, what a great message! I have shared it around. God ripples. I also read Psalm 31 this morning. The praise and then the vent at verse ten but then back to praise." Instinctively, she chose a single sentence from our blog and jotted it on [...]
Good morning... Three of us friends often send each other encouraging Scriptures or prayer requests, so it was not unusual for us to receive her text at 7:14 am on Easter Monday morning. ****** “That’s why my heart celebrates and my mood is joyous; yes, my whole body will rest in safety because you won’t abandon my life [...]
Good morning... Her text came in after I had climbed in bed last night. Now I wake in the middle of the night to read her words. "Happy New Year, Sue!" she wrote. "It has been a whirlwind with joys and sorrows, once again, at the same time. We are blessed with so many loving family members. The [...]
