Good morning... "Sitting still with God, we un-blend our emotions," said our group leader on Tuesday morning. The word "blend" made me think of the smoothie-making process. I take separate ingredients. Almond milk. Frozen fruit, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries. A scoop of protein powder. A spoonful of plain yogurt. A big handful of spinach. I "blend" it all together [...]
Good morning... This week, I have watched footage of the final living Israeli hostages returning to the tearful embrace of their loved ones. On the news, I saw a Palestinian man finally returned to the grounds of his home in Gaza. What was once his special place, a place where he had raised his grown children, was now [...]
Good morning... I was touched by a reading of this moving poem. ******* THIS BITTER EARTH by Clyde Otis This bitter earth Well, what a fruit it bears What good is love Mmm, that no one shares And if my life is like the dust Ooh, that hides the glow of a rose But what good am I [...]
Good morning... Yesterday, my neighbor sent me a devotional link entitled "Peace When You Don't Have Control." What an gracious gift to receive on the second anniversary of the October 7th Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel, a day when so many innocent people lost any semblance of control. Now, up in the middle of this moonlit night, I [...]
Good morning... Tomorrow, our faithful family at Northside Church is celebrating 75 fertile years of sharing the love of Christ. I love the logo designed by our talented Creative Art department, especially the winding river of stones pouring through the centered cross of Christ. This "river of life" adorns the floor in Northside's sacred prayer chapel. I believe [...]
Good morning... As I visited my parents in Ohio last week, my dad had a PET scan to test whether his active cancer spots were inside or outside of his prostate. So many of you have been supporting our family with prayers, heartfelt prayers. Yesterday was the day my brother went with my parents to learn from the [...]
Good morning... My parents, my sister, and I made it through a good, hard day in Olmsted Falls, Ohio. Good because we were together for the day, me with my mom, my sister with my dad, then all of us together for dinner. Hard because being injected with dye and lying still for a PET scan was really, [...]
Good morning... The last time I was in Ohio visiting my parents in their senior living community, I took a prayer walk on behalf of Audrey DeShetler. That was a special part of my nine day visit in June. Last night at dusk, I took a prayer walk in honor of my dad. Yesterday, I flew in from [...]
Good morning... Yesterday began with this prayer, a prayer sent by a friend. "It was the best to see you at church and to share a hug," she wrote. "God has surrounded me since with overwhelming trust. I hope you are feeling it too this week. XO" "Overwhelming trust," I replied. "What a beautiful gift from God. Overwhelming [...]
Good morning... Yesterday morning I blogged about A Dog And My Dad. Then in the afternoon, I opened the brown cardboard package that arrived on our doorstep. A loving book, pictured above, greeted me with aging-dog eyes. Awww. A golden retriever, so much like our deeply-missed Tate. No card. Kind gift. No name. God, who is this from? [...]
