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... Yesterday's mysterious breakdown in connection with our morning message, "So It Was With Marian," occurred when I was nestled in the Macon Centreplex, in Macon, Georgia. We were watching our youngest son compete to a third place finish in the 132 lb. weight class in the Georgia High School Association wrestling tournament and cheering on other [...]
Good morning... I happen upon an old quote from one of my favorite books. "Experiment with different forms of still and quiet," encourages well-loved author and speaker Brene Brown. "We all need to find something that works or us. To be honest, I'm never more open and emotionally clutter-free than when I'm walking alone outside. It's not technically [...]
Good morning... As we are still, we let go to let God lead. You, Lord, are my shepherd. I will never be in need. You let me rest in fields of green grass. You lead me to streams of peaceful water, and you refresh my life. You are true to your name, and you lead me along the [...]
Good morning... Our morning messages catch seeds of thought dropped in the wee early hours. So many times the small seeds grow roots and sprout in an expansive way throughout the day. Often, God draws me back into our morning message, editing it, developing it, making it more. That is exactly what happened with yesterday's post. The Holy [...]
Good morning... We sat in the palpable presence of Jesus discussing our Martha-like tendencies. We marveled at how quickly, unexpectedly, without warning, our controlling human nature can rear her biting head. By the end of our conversation, we sensed our mad Martha uncovering an important question: "Why do I invite Jesus into my home, then disconnect from my [...]
Good morning... "I resent all of this," she softly says, as stressors in her life pile higher and heavier. "As my resentment builds, I get snippy. Impatient. Despairing. The Martha-in-me crawls out," she explains, referring to the upset, demanding, worry-wart Martha we meet in Luke 10:38-42. "I do not want her to be in there, this horrible person." Our [...]
Good morning... I love this photo of a journal I found secondhand at Goodwill. A baby resting in the hands of a father, with words written in a foreign language. The language of letting go feels foreign to us. "Why? How? What will happen?" Our human nature demands, "Cling. Covet more. Control everything," while the Holy Spirit whispers, [...]
Happy Thanksgiving... As we focus on what "is" gratitude grows. "Will I stop focusing forever on what was not given to me," wonders Paula D'Arcy, "and stop regretting the gifts that were brief?" That is a challenging question. Stop focusing on not. Stop regretting brief. As long as we focus forever on what was not given and repeatedly regret [...]
Good morning... "Blessed are the flexable, for they shall not be bent out of shape," says the church sign welcoming the holidays. To be "bent out of shape" implies that we start with a strong, solid shape in mind. Consciously or unconsciously, we think we know how the holidays "should" go, "should" look, "should" feel. Yet our best [...]
