Good morning... Facilitating a book study in Florida, she sent me her favorite quote from the week: “The purpose of radically ordinary hospitality is to take the hand of a stranger and put it in the hand of the Savior, to bridge hostile worlds, and to add to the family of God.” (Rosaria Butterfield's The Gospel Comes With A [...]
Good morning... "...you answered my prayer when I shouted for help," said Psalm 31:22 as yesterday's post ended. Soon after I re-read these words written by Paula D'Arcy. ****** Excerpt from Seeking God With All My Heart The unexpected gift of my work in prisons has been occasional moments of unequalled poignancy. Once, following a general evening talk, a [...]
Good morning... I read aloud to the classes in our living room two poignant pages from Paula D'Arcy's most well-known book, Gift of The Red Bird, two pages that describe one life altering day. Paula and her husband Roy were enjoying a simple life with their first toddling daughter Sarah when we pick up their story. ****** Gift [...]
Good morning... "I'm LOVING your posts on tears," wrote one subscriber. "The psalm verse from yesterday's message has been a favorite. I clung to it through my divorce tears." Her written words continued. "Fun fact: tears caused by pain, when tested, are full of stress hormones; tears when cutting an onion are not. Tears are physically helpful in pain [...]
Good morning... Prayerfully pondering what wisdom to unpack with the Genesis Class this morning, words from the recesses of my mind bubble up from the Apostles Creed, words we recited collective every week as I grew up as a child in the Lutheran Church. Jesus "descended into hell. The third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, [...]
Good morning... As a class, we found Parker Palmer's insights very, very convicting. We all love people who experience seasons of suffering. We all want to help people out of their pain. Yet, when Parker was "in his misery," loved ones came to offer "sympathy that led him deeper into despair." Experience this excerpt from Let Your Life Speak [...]
Good morning... He sent me a poem last week, a poem giving voice to our shocking loss, now a poem speaking truth in the wake of a school shooting, and, years back, a poem ringing true on the day it was written by a 12th-century Jewish poet. ****** 'Tis A Fearful Thing by Yehuda HaLevi (1075 – 1141) ‘Tis a [...]
Good morning... Looking for something else in our storage room, I found an unexpected gift. This week both of our daughters have had a friend end their earthly lives early. One young man a senior, one a freshman, each at different colleges. In life's darkest hours, I struggle: "Where are You, God? Who are You, God? God, what are [...]
Good morning... "Your post reminds me of one of my favorite poems," she wrote after reading yesterday's message, Be Deep-Spirited Friends. ****** “The Friend who Just Stands By,” B. Y. Williams When trouble comes your soul to try, You love the friend who just “stands by.” Perhaps there’s nothing he can do— The thing is strictly up to you; [...]
Good morning... In the midst of his suffering on the cross, Jesus dropped his words into the pool of prayer. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last, (Luke 23:46, NIV). In other translations, Jesus' words read, "Father, I entrust my spirit into [...]
