Good morning... I made a poor choice and paid the price. On the spectrum of stupid decisions, mine was pretty tame, but gratefully it gave me a small taste of embarrassing shame. My mistake set my mind wondering. How do people get out of bed the morning after a devastating affair is exposed, a preventable accident brings permanent [...]
Good morning... "God sent Jesus to make free persons of us," points out spiritual mentor Henri Nouwen. "He has chosen compassion as the way to freedom. That is a great deal more radical than you might at first imagine. It means that God wanted to liberate us, not by removing suffering from us, but by sharing it with [...]
Good morning... "Why did Jesus send his disciples into the storm?" asked yesterday's dynamic devotional quoting Paul David Tripp. "He did it for the same reasons he sometimes sends you into storms - because he knows that sometimes you need the storm in order to be able to see the glory," came the quick, tidy answer. "For the believer, [...]
Good morning... Over the past few days, I have heard from many of you about disappointments, dashed dreams, hopes piling high before falling apart. It is important for us to share our stories of life's imperfect moments as we rise up from our low points, learning key lessons. 1) We are not alone when life gets hard. We [...]
Good morning... Oops. My mistake. Our friend Betty Skinner turned 94-years-old yesterday, not Saturday as I jumped the gun and announced. Again I am humbly reminded, I am a big picture person, not a detail diva. Yet God now morphs my mistake into another opportunity. Kitty Crenshaw, co-author of the book we are studying this semester, The Hidden Life [...]
Good morning... As I journal with God this morning before our crowded house wakes up, I feel mysteriously drawn to create two lists on one page. On the left I jot the heading OVER. On the right I write UNDER. Then I allow words to popcorn into place. OVER - Overwhelmed. Overlooked. Over-served. Overextended. Overspending. Overindulging. Overanalyzing. Overeating. Overweight. [...]
Good morning... I woke this morning to a pleasant surprise. Blessing my inbox at 3:00 am was the introduction to our With God Weather Life Advent devotional. After I had labored hard to deliver the heavy manuscript, I gifted to the church the baby God had conceived in my soul's womb. Our talented Creative Services department added gorgeous [...]
Good morning... Remember the hard labor I experienced last month? I felt like I was birthing a 12-pound baby as I delivered into the world the manuscript for this year's Advent devotional entitled With God Weather Life. Well, since I pushed the words into this world, we fine-tooth-combed her full head of hair and took gorgeous black and white [...]
Good morning... How happy was I when this peaceful photo graced my iPhone yesterday? Renewal. Redemption. Restoration feels sweet. After Sunday's messy mishap (see yesterday's post, I Made A Mess), Kitty Crenshaw sent six celebratory emojies beneath this pristine picture of the unstained carpet in her gorgeous guest room. Whenever I think of this beautiful bedroom, I will [...]
Good morning... I woke early in Kitty Crenshaw's gorgeous guest room on Sunday. Everything was so soft, so simple, so serene. So I made some coffee, puffed up the pillows, and cozied beneath the covers to visit my notes from the day before. Several pages held my handwriting, capturing timeless truth Betty Skinner had effortlessly brought up from [...]
