Good morning... Walking toward the excruciating pain of the cross, Jesus is described as "a man of sorrows and suffering, knowing sadness well" (Isaiah 53:3, NLV). How well do we each know our own sadness? In our therapeutic community group, we explored the experience of sadness, the different forms sadness can take. Big sadness. Small sadness. Light sprinkling [...]
Good morning... As shared in yesterday's blog post, Jesus came to nineteen year old Audrey DeShetler in a vision, washing clean her weary feet. "Audrey, you are well." She heard Jesus speak to her directly for the very first time. Then later in the day, another friend wrote to me: "After reading today’s blog, I had to share [...]
Good morning... For nearly fifteen years, the members of Northside Church have been praying diligently for Audrey DeShetler, Sunday after Sunday. We have closely tracked her journey with a childhood cancer called neuroblastoma. Diagnosed at age five, Audrey has pushed through treatment after treatment, relapse after relapse, until now Audrey is a wise nineteen years old young woman. [...]
Good morning... In the morning, I watched the trailer below, a trailer for The Barefoot Artist, an inspirational documentary about Lily Yeh. "Our world is full of darkness. What can an artist do?" asks Yeh. At 84 years old, Lily is fueled by the profound belief that people can instill social change by creating art projects in some [...]
Good morning... Last week, it was delightful to share lunch with Audrey and our Fab Five friends. Having met at a Bible study in my living room many, many years ago, this group of amazing women has stayed in constant touch throughout Audrey's fourteen year journey with cancer, facing traditional treatments for neuroblastoma, repeated relapses, hospital stays in [...]
Good morning... 7:53 am. The sun will rise at 7:53 am on the sacred grounds of the Ignatius House Retreat Center. Fifteen courageous women, who are recovering from homelessness and addiction, will awaken on spiritual retreat in their own private rooms. What an incredible gift, the gift of alone time with God. My prayers are with these precious [...]
Good morning... We have been praying through the cancer journey of Audrey DeShetler for the past fourteen and a half years. Now, with her at nineteen years old, we have arrived at her father's powerful Facebook post from yesterday. ****** Back home / healing from above by Ben DeShetler So much has happened since I last posted and [...]
Good morning... "Sue," she wrote yesterday from Jacksonville, Florida. "I'm getting chills reading today's reflection, He Closed His Eyes. When I pressed play and heard Christy Nockel's stunning, distinctive voice, I was brought back to my Mom's final moments last Valentine's Day as I played Christy's version of 'Be Thou My Vision.' Mom was ushered on to heaven [...]
Good morning... Last Saturday night, the Spirit exploded. To cap off our day of learning at the Stir Up the Gift of God in You retreat, I led a Soul Collage session with about fifty women in St. Simons, Georgia. Trained as a Soul Collage facilitator a few years back, it was really fun to share this creative [...]
Good morning... When I look in my rearview mirror, I savor the healing power of last weekend's Stir Up the Gift of God in You retreat in St. Simons, Georgia. With content based on the true story of Christian mystic Betty Skinner, the Spirit of our living God, and the science of awakening, we learned practical ways to [...]
