Good morning... Out loud, we read this poem. ***** For When People Ask by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer I want a word that means okay and not okay, a word that means devastated and stunned with joy. I want the word that says I feel it all all at once. The heart is not like a songbird singing only [...]
Good morning... "Dear Sue," a loyal friend wrote yesterday. "You have been in my heart lately; with prayers for your Mom (and Dad) and for you as you stretch your own heart full circle. Today’s post from you with that wonderful jar image, and today’s message from Bishop Wright work together beautifully to illustrate the stark reality of [...]
Good morning... After yesterday's post, Untangling Our Sadness, a friend wrote: "I can't remember if I sent this to you. Your post this morning made me think of this jar image. A friend sent it to me and it really spoke to me." People tend to believe that grief shrinks over time. What really happens is that we [...]
Good morning... Walking toward the excruciating pain of the cross, Jesus is described as "a man of sorrows and suffering, knowing sadness well" (Isaiah 53:3, NLV). How well do we each know our own sadness? In our therapeutic community group, we explored the experience of sadness, the different forms sad can take. Big sad. Small sad. Light sprinkling [...]
Good morning... For nearly fifteen years, the members of Northside Church have been praying diligently for Audrey DeShetler, Sunday after Sunday. We have closely tracked her journey with a childhood cancer called neuroblastoma. Diagnosed at age five, Audrey has pushed through treatment after treatment, relapse after relapse, until now Audrey is a wise nineteen years old young woman. [...]
Good morning... After our recent post, one dear friend responded, "I think it took retirement for me to Pause. Breathe and Expand!" I thought to myself, "Choosing to retire is so different than hearing the harsh words, 'You're fired.'" I think of all the hard workers who have lost their jobs this month, their work-lives reduced to a [...]
Good morning... "I am blessed to own the original of this wonderful painting by a very special artist," wrote my friend. "The painting is entitled, 'Even When I Can’t Feel You' by Elizabeth Londen." Then she shared her intimate thoughts from yesterday. ****** Epiphany 2025 by Vilda Stone Brannen, January 6, 2025 There is a sadness that comes [...]
Good morning... Preparing to see Inside Out 2 in the theatre, I re-watched the original 2015 version of Inside Out. Inside Out tracks the inner workings of the mind of Riley, a young girl who struggles to adapt to her family's move, as five personified emotions guide her thoughts and her actions. One of my favorite parts of [...]
Good morning... Recently I snapped the photo above outside the home of a woman in our young mom's class from church. I love the colorful toys and chairs in the yard, the tiny basketball hoop in the driveway, and carseats leaning up against the garage. "Your yard and home are just so happy!" I texted her in the [...]
Good morning... When I arrived at our therapeutic community group at PAWkids yesterday morning, I didn't know what "blob" from the "blob tree" described how I felt (this is a check-in ritual we share each week). My emotions were deeply muddled. I had just received a return text from a close friend who lives in Athens, Georgia, and, [...]
