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 [...]
Good morning... Last week, she shared the tumultuous story of her own grief. "I think I shared this after my Dad passed away last year," she wrote. "It was two days after Dad had passed, and I was managing very difficult family dynamics with my siblings and a painful dementia diagnosis for my mom. I was exhausted and [...]
Good morning... We blink our eyes awake on a very significant day in American history. We celebrate the day the Declaration of Independence was adopted (July 4, 1776) and the United States officially became its own nation. Today is flag. Family. Friends. Freedom. Fireworks. Fashioning with God a fabulous future. The Eternal’s purposes will last to the end [...]
Good morning... "Hope you are having a good summer," she wrote. "When I read this, I thought of you. It reads like words you would write." What a kind compliment. ******* a blessing for when gratitude is hard to come by, June 16th devotional by Kate Bowler I have a complicated relationship with gratitude. Gratitude, on one hand, [...]
Good morning... Every single morning, the power of the living Christ rises like the sun. Do we sense it? Do we trust it? Do we notice God's quiet, reliable movement? Our only task is to stay plugged into the Source of eternal power. My friends, this single act, this [...]
