Good morning... In our therapeutic community group on Tuesday, I learned a brand new "F" word. Fecundity. According to the Free Dictionary.com, fecundity is a noun with two distinct meanings: 1. The quality of producing abundantly; fruitfulness or fertility. 2. Productive or creative power. Using yogurt, various fruits and granola, we were asked to create an editable piece [...]
Good morning... To process a variety of feelings in our therapeutic community group, we used a deck of thought-provoking cards. I had never before seen "Storm Journey" cards, and I found them quite intriguing. Each creative image, which connected to a single word, was designed to spark meaningful conversation. "We belong in a story of hope," read the [...]
Good morning... In the wee hours of the night, I research the history of Veterans Day. Discovering an informative article, I read a concise description. "Veterans Day is a U.S. legal holiday dedicated to American veterans of all wars, and Veterans Day 2024 will occur on Monday, November 11. In 1918, on the 11th hour of the 11th [...]
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... One week ago today, we celebrated the 23rd anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. Now in the dark of night, I revisit a string of short video someone sent me, videos created to honor the vibrant life living on after the devastation of 9/11/2001. The Survivor Tree represents [...]
Good morning... Recently, I received an email from a faithful, longtime friend. "In a world often characterized by division, this is an opportunity for us to come together in a simple yet powerful way," she wrote. "Research shows it takes just 30 days to build a new habit. So here's the KIND30 challenge: extend one small act of [...]
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... Last Tuesday was a doozy. Volunteering to help a friend who was moving, I offered to take her final leftover things to a Christian consignment store near us. Driving over, I thought to myself, "Might this be a side ministry God is directing me towards?" I can certainly pick up donated stuff from friends and transporting [...]
Good morning... One of my favorite Bible stories can be found in Luke 9:12-17 (NIV). Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him (Jesus) and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.” He replied, “You give [...]
Good morning... All weekend long, gift items kept arriving on our doorstep. Toiletry packs. Beautiful, reusable bags. Bibles and Scripture cards. A bunch of brown boxes were dropped off by Amazon. Kleenex packs. Nail files and gum. Lotions and lip gloss. Some people left their offerings on our front porch. Fuzzy socks. Colorful journals and pens. Handwritten notes [...]
