Good morning... "Two weeks after our wedding in 1989, we lost our home in Hurricane Hugo," she softly shared with our Monday class. "As a whole community we were in shock, we bonded so deeply, we rallied together. God was so present, in amazing ways. Suffering together through Post Traumatic Stress (PTSD), we pushed through our fears to [...]
Good morning... She walked into our foyer on the first day of class and, after sharing an "I missed you" hug, she pulled from her purse a bulletin from her eighteen year old niece's memorial service. I marveled at pictures of the same smiling face growing up through the years, a down-to-earth face I will not meet until [...]
Good morning... After reading our post Our Community Of Trees, a grieving mom wrote me: "I definitely feel like a small hurting tree stump in a community of giant, strong, loving redwood trees that have sent their nurturing root systems to help me regain strength and bloom again. What a powerful metaphor to draw strength from on the hard [...]
Good morning... Praying in silence to begin this day, for the first time I notice a new thing. The peace lily in our living room has a white bloom appearing. I have watered this plant diligently, every few days, since it was given to me as a gift a while back. I have enjoyed nurturing her glossy green leaves [...]
Good morning... As we drove through the valleys and the mountains of New Zealand, we had long, important talks, enjoyed good music together, and listened to a handful of interesting podcasts. I was so fascinated by one podcast that I sat in the backseat and jotted notes in my journal. Turning to those scratchings now, I put flesh on [...]
Good morning... Yesterday I told you about My Nasty Nightmare. Recently, my nightmare actually came true. As many of you know, my husband and I were given the privilege of visiting our oldest son who is ministering to college students in Brisbane, Australia this year. A two week trip to sightsee with him through Australia and New Zealand promised [...]
Good morning... "I AM part Billy Graham," wrote a subscriber after yesterday's post, Why Were You Not Billy Graham? "My mother is his youngest sister and only surviving sibling. It's been quite an intense 10 days for our family. Thanks for this reminder that we are to be who God created us to be and not someone else." Debbie [...]
Good morning... Over thirty years ago when my husband and I walked up the wedding aisle as twenty-four year old newlyweds, we could not have known we would wake today seeking God's wisdom with a community of grievers. Before crafting this morning's blog message, I dig down deep to mine the hidden gems of God's living presence. As the [...]
Good morning... "The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing... not healing, not curing... that is a friend who cares.” This Henri Nouwen quote reminds me of the "Three C" wisdom of the twelve-step program. When [...]
Good morning… One of the beauties of our Everyday Blog is its interactive quality. As subscribers write me daily, we converse back and forth. In addition, when a subscriber unsubscribes, he or she can choose to let me know the reason why. One who unsubscribed this week wrote to me this message: “Honestly, recently (the last 9 months to [...]
