Good morning... Yesterday as a family, we donned disposable hair nets with plastic aprons and gloves to assemble meals for the homeless through Hosea Feed the Hungry. For the first year of this annual Christmas tradition, I left feeling badly about the gift we had given. To me, the meals we served in styrofoam boxes felt unfair and inconsistent. [...]
Good morning... As I sat in dense, inching traffic at 5:45 pm, I felt gratitude gradually grow. With the winter sun setting early, I was unexpectedly stopped, stilled in awe. I watched God at work, painting playful pastels in the evening sky. Had I focused my eyes on the bumper to bumper frustration, anger and anxiety would have welled [...]
Good morning... Two emails came to me simultaneously. One simply said, 'GR8FUL,' indicating the single word one subscriber would put on her license plate. The other subscriber wrote, "I have found the grief to begin to loosen its grip on me as my gratitude catches up with the sadness. Eventually all I am left with is gratitude, love and [...]
Happy Thanksgiving morn... You simply must give yourself at least a few-second-gift of this peaceful video passed along to me by a dear, wise friend. https://www.google.com/search?q=hamster+eating+carrot+in+blanket&rlz=1CDGOYI_ enUS711US711&oq=hamster+eating+carrot+in+blanket&aqs=chrome..69i57.15735j0j9&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8 If this hamster could speak english, she might encourage us this day, "Hold with your two bare hands the slice of life given to you today. Remember you are blanketed in God's [...]
Good morning... A friend was a no-show at a planned breakfast. The day after I received the following email. "I am heartsick I forgot our time together as I longed for it. I got my wires crossed because I am on overload and this flew out of my head. (She went on to explain the colliding details which helped [...]
Good morning... Regrets ruin. The unsaid undermines. When the moment is lost, so is the opportunity. As spring fades to summer, my unsaid regrets linger. I have lost an opportunity. I feel convicted to say "I am sorry" for two things this spring. First, in March, I went on two spring break trips back to back. One week to [...]
Good morning... Yesterday, our youngest child had his last Middle School Field Day. This is one thing I have learned from raising our four kids: savoring "lasts" along the way is an essential key to enjoying life. Following spring football practice the night before, I picked up a carload of eighth grade boys. After dropping a few kids home [...]
Good morning... "OK REALLY??" she wrote after reading my blog post yesterday. "I am not kidding - this is the devotional I read first today (as I was awaiting yours) and then... I get the cherry on top, the COULD HAVE HAD A V8! I just love it. God is so good. To give me a double dose of how [...]
Good morning... I ran across a fun translation of an encouraging scripture. Seize life! Eat bread with gusto, drink wine with a robust heart. Oh yes—God takes pleasure in your pleasure! Dress festively every morning. Don’t skimp on colors and scarves. Relish life with the spouse you love each and every day of your precarious life. Each day is [...]
Good morning... My friend braving chemotherapy felt good enough for a visit, so we drank lemonade on the balcony off of her second story bedroom. The spring weather was soothing and so was our talk. "I've been looking forward to weaving together thoughts with you," she said. "God has been teaching me so many beautiful things." She proceeded to [...]
