Good morning... During this tumultuous time when so many flags are flying at half staff, we set aside a day to remember those who have sacrificed their lives to defend the freedom we cherish. Men and women. Young and old. People with varying skin color, economic status, family history. The impact of war ripples out to reshape us. [...]
Good morning... Deeply moved... He went into his private room and wept there (Genesis 43:30, NIV). When we are deeply moved, might we also give ourselves the gift of private tears? You have seen me tossing and turning through the night. You have collected all my tears and preserved them in your bottle! You have recorded every one [...]
Good morning... I have a dear friend who sends me wise quotes. During this time of great grief, she sent me two sacred sentences, filled with grace and tender with truth. She texted, "I think of a Stephen Curtis Chapman quote when they lost their daughter: 'We have been to the bottom and have found it to be [...]
Good morning... Stuck in the really long line of cars trailing into the parking garage at Buckhead Church, I sensed how sobering it was for so many in our community to be attending the funeral of Dobbs Davie, a well loved twenty year old. I slipped into a chair in the back section of the large church so [...]
Good morning... I wake early on this difficult day, preparing my heart for this morning's funeral. In the sacred stillness of these wee hours, I savor the obituary of Dobbs Davie. Crossing over to heaven on Mother's Day, Dobbs was just twenty years old. I look at his handsome picture and can see remnants of the little boy [...]
Good morning... Waking after a full night's sleep, I cozy up on the couch and think, "Healing is happening." God invites me forward from yesterday's post, My Unexpected Grief. I return to the wise book sustaining me very personally during this season of Lent, Paula D'Arcy's Winter of the Heart: Finding Your Way Through the Mystery of Grief. [...]
Good morning... It was hard to leave Ohio with my mother in the ICU. I had a meaningful visit with my parents and siblings, but I was deeply concerned about my mom's condition. On my final morning with her, the nurse asked her where she was and my mom replied, "I am at the Renaissance (the retirement community [...]
Good morning... It is as if we have endured two long years of winter, holed up inside this worldwide pandemic. Signs of spring are starting to show. Buds of new life are bursting free. As many of you know, for years we have hosted at Northside Church our annual Women’s Lenten Communion Service the Tuesday night before Ash [...]
Good morning... Up in the middle of the night, I explore various accounts of the skiing accident that took the life of 27-year-old Rad Spencer who grew up in our Atlanta community. Along with our oldest son and his Lovett friends, Rad and his buddies from Westminster went through confirmation, Sunday school, and youth group together. Celebrating his [...]
Good morning... "Look at the little monument God inspired me to tuck amid the ferns you taught me to grow outside our wooden gate," I texted my friend who will lay to rest her forty-three year old son today. "This little resting angel is a symbol of him living on with God, just beyond the open window of [...]
