Good morning... Rayshard Brooks was fatally shot by a police officer in the parking lot of a Wendy's restaurant here in Atlanta on Friday night. Rayshard was twenty-seven years old, a father of three daughters and one stepson. Last night, protesters calling for reform took to the streets and closed down one of Atlanta's main arteries, interstate 75. [...]
Good morning... I sat uncomfortably in the ant-filled grass, sweating in the sun, experiencing last weekend's rally. I listened attentively to story after story of unkind treatment, derogatory comments, rampant racism recalled by recent grads. I wanted to be witness. I wanted to give support. I wanted to say with my presence, "You are heard. You are valued. [...]
Good morning... "I keep this quote by my bedside," she wrote, sharing words from Lisa Beamer, whose husband died on 9/11. "Who is becoming whole again on your watch? What is being healed by your influence? How is God redeeming His creation by way of your life?” Then she added, "And I pray for God’s grace to recognize the opportunities [...]
Good morning... One week ago today I turned in devotional thoughts to be shared with our church family. Now as a church member, the morning message appears in my inbox. Even in this one single week in the foreverness of time, I sense God illuminating more of me as I feel the growing edge of the Spirit expanding [...]
Good morning... "There is a dead weight of accumulation," Anne Morrow Lindbergh admits in Gift From The Sea, "a coating of false values, habits and burdens which blight life. It is this smothering coat that needs constantly to be stripped off, in life as well as in relationships" (58). Dead weight. Accumulation. Coating of falseness - values, habits, [...]
Good morning... She sent me a blog post that brought her to tears. For many deep reasons these words brought her to tears. ****** Mother’s Day by Sean Dietrich I’m going to call her Linda. Linda has health issues. She can’t walk very well. She has been using a pair of lightweight forearm crutches since her childhood. In her [...]
Good morning... Her mom was a beloved teacher at the elementary school. Bright. Sunny. A breath of joy. She, I remember, was a vibrant young woman when her mother died, a loving daughter who was schooled daily by one of the best lovers of life ever to walk this earth. "To all the daughters who’ve lost their mothers," [...]
Good morning... Together we are learning about Ring Theory, concentric circles of support expanding out from each individual (see yesterday's blog post Our Words Matter). During this Covid-19 crisis, we recognize the importance of sending "comfort in" to the front line workers, those in danger, those grieving, and we work our own "grief out" with people in our [...]
Good morning... In this season of social distancing, Uber Eats delivers. The local pizza place delivers. I too have made my second delivery. My delivery is a bit unusual. Do you remember my good friend's daughter Audrey, who has battled cancer and now raises funds for cancer research? Audrey's goal is "to make cancer treatment shorter and less painful [...]
Good morning... As I walked our golden retriever mix to and from the horse farm, on my way back I noticed a young girl. Slender build. Brown hair. About ten or twelve years old. Walking in the opposite direction on the other side of the street. She was holding a large basket in the crook on one arm. [...]
