Good morning... On my own, I did not understand the material assigned for Sunday's discussion of Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankel. I needed our small group to help spark wise thoughts, make real connections, and weave random words into a warm cloak of wisdom. About ten or twelve of us talked through the chapter, finding our [...]
Good morning... We canceled class last month due to our southern snow, so yesterday was our first Sunday afternoon gathering of this new semester. How wonderful it was to share prayer concerns, unpack tangled thoughts, and glean nuggets of life-giving wisdom. Our book for this season is a treasured classic, Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl. Here [...]
Good morning... I'm not very good at big parties, since small talk is not my forte. So when my old friend's annual Christmas cookie party rolls around, I walk in through the familiar back door with internal questions swirling. "Who will I talk with?" "Will I anxiety-eat too much?" "Might I just drink sparkling water?" Last night began [...]
Good morning... Before church on Sunday, my friend sent me this incredible documentary featuring first-hand footage of utter devastation in the North Carolina mountains. Entitled "HURRICANE HELENE: A Love Letter to Appalachia," this touching tribute captivated all of me. I soaked in the sacred offering, pondering the power of our prayers being lifted, "sending vibrations and healing energy" [...]
Good morning... I have been emailing back and forth with my special friend, Gina Macfarland, who lives in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Yesterday, she sent me a very real, very touching documentary created to shed light on the vulnerable human experience in the wake of Hurricane Helene. "In all the heaviness, almost every time there is an equal [...]
Good morning... Last Wednesday, the sun rose on a new day in Winder, Georgia, a quaint, welcoming community less than an hour outside of Atlanta. Students, heading into a normal day at Apalachee High School, were suddenly terrorized by a 14-year-old shooter. Nine were injured. Four people died. Mason Schermerhorn (14). Christian Angulo (14). Richard Aspinwall (39). Christina [...]
Good morning... She shared with us a photo when we met for class, a photo from St. Luke's church in Baton Rouge (her husband's parents' church) that burned last weekend. We marveled at the cross standing strong amid the fiery devastation. As I later read about the fire, I was struck by this hopeful line shared by Father [...]
Good morning... My prayers are sent forth to the families and friends of the two young people who died this week at the University of Georgia. A young woman was murdered while on a run in a familiar area and a young man hung himself in a freshman dorm. Classes were canceled yesterday as the whole community processes [...]
Good morning... My endless circle of prayer has another twisted link in it. This morning I deeply pray for a family I do not know. On Thanksgiving morning, our youngest son, Jeremiah, came home after spending a celebratory night at a friend's house. This family's son celebrated similarly, but their son did not come home. He ended up [...]
Good morning... As quiet ripples of moonlight rest on our bathroom floor, I snap a photo and prepare to write in the middle of this night. First, I open an email my husband and I had discussed yesterday. Reading Steve's words with my own eyes makes the many layers of loss feel much more real. "Dear Israel Trip [...]
