Good morning... Yesterday morning, tragedy cut short the life of another young man, a young man for whom I love to serve homemade Stromboli. Now, huddled together, we nestle into the nurturing nest God has built for our online community. How do we respond to this special kind of grief, processing the life-changing loss of family and friends [...]
Good morning... Raise your hand if you have ever been in a "Meal Train," a group organizing meals after a birth, a death, a grueling medical journey. At least in Atlanta, I would say over ninety percent of the women I know have participated in a "Meal Train" sign up at some point, either giving or receiving love-laden [...]
Good morning... "Dear Sue," she wrote after yesterday's post, A Special Kind Of Grief. "Today’s post is so powerful and important. Thank you for sharing these words from the mother who is grieving the loss of her son from overdose. She is so honest and raw and true. So many of us have family and close friends that [...]
Good morning... God's timing astounds me. On June 17th at 2:09 pm, I received the email initiating yesterday's post, a post about a man in Jacksonville who was touched by our past post, as he grieved the loss of his nephew to a drug overdose. I am not kidding you. Less than two hours later, at 3:49 pm [...]
Good morning... "Hi Sue," she wrote this week. "Wanted to let you know that your recent post and poem has helped a friend of mine in Jacksonville. He lost both his brother-in-law and nephew in two separate drug overdoses in a three week period. So much sadness — thanks for all you do for so many." She proceeded [...]
Good morning... My husband, Rev. Steve Allen, shared a life-giving message during Tuesday's memorial service, honoring another deeply missed dad in our close-knit community. Steve chose to read what seemed like an "odd" Scripture for a funeral, at first glance. Aloud he read: Jesus said to one who had invited him to a dinner, "When you give a luncheon, [...]
Good morning... At Tuesday's memorial service, two dearly loved daughters stepped up to the microphone. One recounted a string of incredible memories of a passionate dad who held nothing back, loving freely and fully, each day of his life. The other daughter read aloud the following poem, allowing us all to feel the power of deep love living [...]
Good morning... "Sad songs, they say so much," sings a lyric many of us know. Yet "sad" is relative and "saying so much" is important for every one of us. The music at yesterday's memorial service honoring J Schroeder, beloved 61-year-old husband and dad, son, brother, friend, was moving and meaningful. The following song invited us to quietly [...]
Good morning... On the morning when another family in our community will host a memorial service for a beloved husband, father, friend, I return to the illusive promise eluded to in yesterday's post. On this one-of-a-kind day, how can the joy of the Lord be our strength? And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods [...]
Good morning... Last night I enjoyed a very special dinner. I slid into my seat with a private tableful of women, three I knew mildly, four I had never met. These longtime friends asked me to join them as they discussed how to help their teenage daughters process a time of deep loss and great grief. Another family [...]
