Good morning... This summer, our Northside Church family is making 200 bagged lunches on Mondays and 200 bagged lunches on Wednesdays and taking them to PAWkids to share with our friends in the Grove Park neighborhood. For three Mondays in a row, I have joined in the fun, tangibly connecting with my two favorite non-profit organizations. [...]
Good morning... Well, two things can be true. First, after playing terribly and losing 4-1 to Belgium in last night's game, the USA soccer team will not win the 2026 World Cup. Second, I love a creative commercial which brings to life our high hopes as a hosting nation. Stepping over the division, controversy, and corruption running rampant, [...]
Good morning... Blogging most days for eleven years, I have been trained to glimpse God in everyday life. People in our written word community have honed a similar awareness. Subscribers often send me pictures or stories, quotes or songs, insights or occurrences revealing the presence of our God-with-us God. Yesterday, my neighbor sent me the photo above, a [...]
Good morning... From all the loving texts and emails I have received since our first grandchild, Charlie, was born, one word of encouragement lingers. "How does the saying go?" a friend wrote. "There is nothing like a newborn to remind us that God has not given up on the human race. Charlie is the sweetest reminder. These are [...]
Good morning... On Mother's Day morning, I received this photo, one of my favorites of all time. It's the mother-son dance at Kyler's wedding nearly four years ago. Now our first born son will soon have his first born son, what a regenerative gift from God. "Happy Mother’s Day!" his wife Chandler texted me on Sunday. "Love this [...]
Good morning... When one odd word repeats itself, my keen awareness perks up. Yesterday, I reworked our post entitled Life Is A Patchwork. Then I climbed back in bed for my second sleep. When I woke again, I immediately read the following poem. Do you see what unusual word repeats itself? ****** "Rain Light" by W.S. Merwin All [...]
Good morning... On Thursday around noontime, we snapped the final picture of the semester. This week, our classes finished up Parker Palmer's beloved book Let Your Life Speak. Out loud, we read these words from page 76 of the last chapter: "In retrospect, I can see in my own life what I could not see at the time [...]
Good morning... "I have loved your recent posts," wrote a friend I have known since 2003. "Pictures of the DeShelters made me happy but sad too. Crazy how we hold those feeling so closely. Especially at Easter. Matt (the Director of Contemporary Worship at Northside Church) did Holy Forever on Easter Sunday. That was the song I was [...]
Good morning... We began our monthly spiritual growth group with this Thomas Keating quote in mind. "The spiritual journey does not require going anywhere because God is already with us and in us." We can lie in bed, quietly recovering. God is already with us and in us. We can stay home, because it just feels right. God [...]
Good morning... Monday's post (Turning 63, I Share Cake) wed Tuesday's post (Our Souls Last Forever) to birth our blog post for today, this sixth Wednesday in Lent. Happy, happy "birthday cake boxes" have continued to appear at our doorstep all week, boxes we will deliver with Easter cards and flowers for the senior citizens in Grove Park [...]
