Good morning... "I just feel disconnected," she said as we walked and talked. She recently buried a beloved family member, her dear dog passed away, and, like many of us over these COVID holidays, she has lost the ability to safely gather with extended family and large groups of fun friends. Cut off from many of her dependable [...]
Good morning... This morning, I have the privilege of taping a podcast on grief with nurse practitioner, Ginna MacFarling, and Northside Church's Director of Adult Discipleship, James Johnson. Having walked beside many through the grieving process, twice Ginna has helped to lead our well-loved six-week series, "Living Fully - Dying Well." Preparing for our podcast, Ginna gathered some [...]
Good morning... I love walking with my friend who is a retired middle school english teacher. One never knows what fresh wisdom will bubble up between us. Here is a prime example. Discussing what she is learning from her study of the book of Ecclesiastes, she said, "I am trying to make peace with the effervescence of life." [...]
Good morning... On Veteran's Day each year, I enjoy browsing through videos created to honor the men and women who have served in our United States Armed Forces. Now I share with you my favorite tribute of this year, a piercing rendition of "Taps." "Taps" is a bugle call played at 2100 hours, during flag ceremonies, and at [...]
Good morning... "Your picture with the Lauren Daigle video made me think of this," she wrote. "I keep this on my mirror. We are definitely on the same wavelength." I’m thanking you, God, out loud in the streets, singing your praises in town and country. The deeper your love, the higher it goes; every cloud is [...]
Good morning... "I loved your devotional about feeling "torn to pieces" and God pulling us out of the hole," she wrote, referring to our exploration of Psalm 40:2 (VOICE), He reached down and drew me out of the deep, dark hole where I was stranded, mired in the muck and clay. With a gentle hand, He pulled me [...]
Good morning... Soon after my longtime friend cut our ties, my husband and I went to a wedding in Virginia. The morning after we arrived, I woke and went on a walk down an unfamiliar path. When the road forked, I noticed a less traveled path. Robert Frost's poem came to mind: "Two roads diverged in a wood, [...]
Good morning... I have heard from many of you who have suffered the loss of a lifelong friend due to differing beliefs, since mentioning my own unexpected loss in our recent post, Being Bulldozed. One of your responses touched me so deeply that I asked permission to share the story with our online community as God tenderizes our [...]
Good morning... It seems many of us can relate to the sensation of being bulldozed, as expressed in yesterday's blog post. The word was still on my fingertips when I ran into it in another form. "Standing here on an empty hilltop in New Hampshire, as a bulldozer slowly pushes the debris of a small red house into a [...]
Good morning... Our Writers' Group from church has been meeting regularly since 2008, supporting the growth of God within one another. On Tuesday night a small group of us enjoyed a spur of the moment, "pop-up" gathering in one woman's back yard. "Gals," the hostess wrote the next day. "Had I known our dinner last night would be [...]
