Good morning... The images above, sent by a fun friend in North Carolina, help me as I try to process my heavy heart and my chaotic brain. Honestly, it feels like both are about to burst. How can I joyfully be creating with a handful of you 100 Valentine's Day gift bags for impoverished senior citizens while at [...]
Good morning... I wake early this morning, remembering Julie. Julie Harlan, a dear friend, was a longtime member of our Friday morning class and a committed attender of our young moms' studies at Northside Church. Julie was humble and faithful, a prayer warrior extraordinaire. Shockingly diagnosed with stomach cancer at age forty-one, Julie battled through harsh treatments for [...]
Good morning... This eighteen inch wooden Willow Tree woman is the symbol I bought for myself the day I began serving as the Women's Ministry Director at Northside Church in January of 2008. Her name is "Welcoming Spirit," and she silently sits beside me in the wee hours of the night as I craft each blog post. As [...]
Good morning... Along with sharing Henri Nouwen's words of wisdom, the Henri Nouwen Society has been counting down to this day: GivingTuesday. In researching the concept, I learn from Wikipedia that "GivingTuesday, often stylized as #GivingTuesday for the purposes of hashtag activism, is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the United States. It is touted as a 'global generosity [...]
Good morning... She asked me to write an 800 word article for our November newsletter at Northside Church. She knew the story of how God has organically grown our ministry to women. She shared with me the Scripture verse for the month: Base your happiness on your hope in Christ. When trials come endure them patiently, steadfastly maintain [...]
Good morning... "Sue," she emailed after yesterday's blog post from Jacksonville, Florida, "that verse from Isaiah is one of my guiding verses: And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me" (Isaiah 6:8, ESV). I am reading Dane Ortlund’s book [...]
Good morning... Many of you have asked about our week long experience in the wilderness of Maine as Julie's Dream chaperones with six guys, six girls, and three chaperones from PAWkids, a non-profit agency planted in the Grove Park neighborhood of inner city Atlanta. It is hard for me to find words to describe the rich, multi-layered experience. [...]
Good morning... The executive director of the Ignatius House Retreat Center lives in our neighborhood. I find Maria to be a person who lives the love of Christ in such a vibrant, authentic way. So, when it came into my inbox yesterday, I was encouraged by her video reflection on the first fifteen verses of the book of [...]
Good morning... We have been preparing for this morning for a very long time. Today my husband, Steve, and I fly to Maine with twelve inner city PAWkids students and six chaperones, sponsored by the non-profit formed in my friend's honor, Julie's Dream. What an unpredictable adventure! "Built on Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) conservation land and located at [...]
Good morning... "Gratitude is a seed you plant," said the minister at the celebration of Eliza's twenty-eight year old life. "This seed grows up into joy. Radiant joy comes from planting small seeds of daily gratitude." Though her body was riddled with cancer, Eliza's radiant joy was unmistakably contagious. This week Henri Nouwen also encourages us to plant [...]
