Good morning... Over the years, my husband and I have been criticized, subtly and not-so-subtly, for not being “Christian” enough. Has similar judgement ever happened to you? People judging people feels so toxic. Can’t you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do…It is what God is doing, and he is creating something [...]
Good morning... "Good morning Sue," a subscriber wrote from miles away. "I’m so, so sorry for the weight of grief and sadness you must carry - I thought of a quote I read just last week that was posted by Sarah Williams, a mother grieving the loss of her toddler: 'I have loved the stars too fondly to [...]
Good morning... I am not from here, this big, bustling city of Atlanta, Georgia. I was happily settled in the small Pennsylvania town of my dreams, walking to and from everything, with easy drives to extended family, loving and being loved by sister-like friends. Then, with the help of a group of diligently praying mothers and against my [...]
Good morning... My husband, Rev. Steve Allen, shared a life-giving message during Tuesday's memorial service, honoring another deeply missed dad in our close-knit community. Steve chose to read what seemed like an "odd" Scripture for a funeral, at first glance. Aloud he read: Jesus said to one who had invited him to a dinner, "When you give a luncheon, [...]
Good morning... Around 5:45 pm last night, I snapped a picture of a friend's house as I drove by. "Passing your home," I stopped briefly to include the photo as I texted our group of five friends. "When might we get together next?" How could I have known my text would set off such an explosion of life? [...]
Good morning... I cannot unplug from Richard Rohr's quote in Falling Upward: "As Desmond Tutu told me on a recent trip to Cape Town, 'We are only the light bulbs, Richard, and our job is just to remain screwed in!'" (ix) Jesus says a similar thing, "Remain in Me, and I [will remain] in you...for [otherwise] apart from Me [that [...]
Good morning... As I turned on the news I quickly opened my journal. From an interview with the rabbi whose California synagogue was attacked by a gunman, deep hurt and deeper hope splattered quotes on my page. There is a war out there between darkness and light. America is a nation who believes in God. Celebrating our religious [...]
Good morning... You are like me. Imperfect. Improving. Intimately to connected to God, Self, and others. As an online community, we bring our whole selves out from the isolating dark, where negatives develop, into the light of God's redeeming love. I enjoy taking time on Sundays to savor where we have been, reviewing the spiritual baby steps we [...]
Good morning... After yesterday's sermon, our 17-year-old son said, "I really liked the preacher's story about the boy in his youth group who said, 'If you ever feel like snuffing out your light, don't. The world is dark enough.'" I agreed. That was my favorite takeaway too. Then in the afternoon, I opened an email from a friend, an [...]
Good morning... "Supposed to be nearing 80-degrees today, so our 4:00 pm lacrosse game will be a scorcher!" yesterday I texted my parents and sister who each live in small towns near Cleveland, Ohio. "Enjoy your Saturday. What are you all up to?" "Track meet got rained out today and it's supposed to snow tomorrow," my sister replied. [...]
