Good morning... Early every morning, God drops new seeds of thought into the rich soil of my innermost being. Yesterday, I received the weekly email from the Ignatius House Retreat Center. It was entitled "Seeds of Hope." "Remind yourself that you are in God’s presence," began the encouraging words. "I ask God for the grace to surrender to [...]
Good morning... Hurricane hell. Deep depression. Open heart surgery. Harsh cancer treatment. War and terror. Division, divorce, and death. Darkness seems to seep into every crevice of our wounding world. "The power of God's promise stunned me so much that I actually gasped out loud," writes Kay Warren on page 105 of Choose Joy. I will give you [...]
Good morning... Much like the moon, her fullness is glowing. After yesterday's post - "It's Cancer." - she put words to God's slow, steady process of healing her whole. "Dear Sue," she wrote. "God is still molding me. Even though more refining fires are needed to purify me, I am aware of and grateful for his guidance over [...]
Good morning... Tonight the nearly full moon lit up the room, beaconing me outside. Barefoot I stood in the damp, cold grass, marveling at the light piercing the night. I thought of a book excerpt we read aloud in class this week from page 87 of Choose Joy by Kay Warren. "My brain froze," Warren writes. "I wanted [...]
Good morning... "We miss the normal this hurricane washed away." Her haunting sentence stays with me long after the interview is over. Our prayers continue, prayers for a new normal to somehow form around those grieving deep loss. The light of the full moon will be like the sun’s glare, and the sun’s glare will be seven times [...]
Good morning... Many people related to our blog yesterday, Walking With Depression. The first to reply was the person at the center of the post, my friend who had shared her hard, heavy feelings as we walked to and from the horse farm. "I love you my friend..." she texted. "I hear God speaking to me in your [...]
Good morning... Neuroblastoma, a type of cancer that develops in immature nerve tissue, usually affects children under the age of five. In the spring of 2006, I began working at Northside Church in the Children's Ministry. Then in January of 2008, I became the Women's Ministry Director. Throughout my time at Northside, I have been deeply affected by [...]
Good morning... The same full moon shining through our trees is pouring light over Children's Healthcare of Philadelphia right now. Nineteen year old Audrey DeShelter is at CHOP this week receiving treatment for her cancer. Our Fab Five friend group planned to share lunch with Audrey and her mom tomorrow before she heads to Notre Dame to begin [...]
Good morning... God stretches the northern sky over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing (Job 26:7, NLT). As the nearly full moon peeks through the space between our roof and the trees, I am reminded of the poem I read yesterday as I spoke briefly in all three worship services at Northside Church. I talked about [...]
Good morning... St. Francis of Assisi made poetry of our common daily experiences. Such love does the sky now pour, that whenever I stand in a field, I have to wring out the light when I get home. Constantly drenched by God's endless love, might we wring out vibrant light wherever we go? Anyone who claims to live [...]
