Good morning... "Hi Sue," a longtime church friend wrote several days ago. "Thought you might enjoy these pictures. I took them at Monet’s garden outside of Paris. It was such a hopeful place with all the dreariness in the world. Hope you are well and peaceful." "Oh, how gorgeous," I replied. "Such exquisite beauty. Life-giving. Breath-taking. [...]
Good morning... "It seems to me that the human race, all of us, are being given the choice of two ways," says John Halsey. "We can go one way, which is ploughing along the road of power, trampling on people, barking like a dog, the way the people in my firm treated their workers. If you choose to [...]
Good morning... The joy of this Mother's Day week is already picking up speed. Our artistic friend Corinne Adams is also a dedicated homework helper at PAWkids, the non-profit downtown where several of us are enjoying quality time. Corinne is in the process of photographing all of the twenty kids in the after school enrichment program. Look at [...]
Good morning... "For the joy set before him, Jesus endured the cross," explains Hebrews 12:2. Part of the joy I believe Jesus envisioned was the fun we had making forty-seven Easter baskets last week for the PAWkids community as well as the joy of the Easter celebration hosted in their new outdoor space. Revisiting the photos now, the [...]
Good morning... Look at that smile! When my father texted this photo of my mom back home at their senior living community, her pure joy made me smile. What a contrast from the image seared on my mind from eleven days before. My mom was hooked up to a ventilator, heavily sedated, laying unresponsive in the ICU. Now, [...]
Good morning... "I am happy to hear that your mom is progressing," texted my friend from across the street. "One thing that could be really great for her is music. Music is the only thing that we use both sides of our brain for." She sent the music video below as a form of encouragement. This morning, I [...]
Good morning... Our written word community is beautifully living out the joy of 2 Corinthians 9:7 (CEB): Everyone should give whatever they have decided in their heart. They shouldn’t give with hesitation or because of pressure. God loves a cheerful giver. We were given a fun invitation by LaTonya Gates, the founder and director of PAWkids. "Sue, everyone [...]
Good morning... In December, many of you pitched in to donate items to fill 100 gift bags for the senior citizens of the impoverished Grove Park area of our city. A handful of us joyfully assembled the Christmas gifts at Corinne Adam's art studio over two magic-making work shifts. Then I drove the precious presents to PAWkids, who [...]
Good morning... When the founder and director of PAWkids asked me and the women connected to our church family to create one hundred Christmas gift bags for the seniors in the poverty-stricken Grove Park neighborhood of our city, my heart leapt! What a sweet hands-on way to give, to create, to joyfully join hearts with our expanding community. [...]
Good morning... Over Thanksgiving break we were up before anyone else in our family, so my oldest daughter and I enjoyed coffee and a great conversation. I asked her, "So what new thing is God teaching you right now?" Since she has left her job as a medical assistant and is now meeting with people who are interested [...]
