Good morning... "Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for our home," C.S. Lewis wrote in our post from yesterday. I have heard it said, "We are just walking each other home." Our eternal home awaits us beyond. For her junior year in high school, in [...]
Good morning... Following the past two posts about the DeShelters missing their daughter Audrey, who went to heaven ten hours before her twentieth birthday, a friend from Florida emailed me. "Good morning Sue," she wrote. "I cannot imagine what Jennifer and Ben are facing as parents. Blessedly God surrounds us with angels here on earth to comfort and [...]
Good morning... This quote from Sarah Young's Jesus Always mirrors the quote from Richard Foster's book Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home. "The truth of the matter is, we all come to prayer with a tangled mass of motives— altruistic and selfish, merciful and hateful, loving and bitter. Frankly, this side of eternity we will never unravel the [...]
Good morning... I had not talked to my friend from Minnesota since the beginning of the summer, so we had a lot of catching up to do. As we shared a phone call this week, I got teary as I told her about putting our dog, Tate, to sleep in June. Tears surprisingly still flowed as I heard [...]
Good morning... The Westminster Class of 2024 hosted a gathering to honor the memory of Audrey DeShetler on Wednesday, August 6th, celebrating her impact on their class and our community far and wide. The next day, I texted with Audrey's mom. Me: How was the gathering, Jennifer? Jennifer: I literally started crying before the service even started. I [...]
Good morning... God reaches us and teaches us, we all belong. That’s plain enough, isn’t it? You’re no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective [...]
Good morning... In retrospect, we learned a terrible truth. Around 3:15 am on New Year's Day, a terrorist mowed down innocent people with a speeding pick-up truck in the celebratory streets of New Orleans. At the very same time, I was up writing yesterday's blog post, Practice Falling In Love. I was guided by the Spirit to share [...]
Good morning... I borrowed a book from my friend yesterday, Lifesigns by Henri Nouwen. On page 22, Nouwen offers us tangible wisdom taught by his spiritual mentor. ****** When Jean Vanier speaks about an intimate place, he often stretches out his arm and cups his hand as if to hold a small wounded bird. He asks: "What will [...]
Good morning... In our therapeutic community group at PAWkids last week, the therapist handed out a simple drawing on a white sheet of paper. She pointed out a universal truth. "We can live in a house of fear or we can live in a house of love." On the back of my paper, I jotted down these notes. [...]
Good morning... My mom returned home to their independent living villa in Olmsted Falls, Ohio. For nearly a month she slept away from my dad, from hospital stay, through surgery, ICU, colostomy bag, to recovery at the skilled nursing center at their senior living community. Yesterday my mom settled into her favorite chair, grateful and content. My sister [...]
