Good morning... "Hoping high tide doesn't bring the river into our living room," a friend texted from Jacksonville, Florida as Hurricane Irma slammed her state. "Please pray that the water recedes and we don't see the predicted 4-6 foot surge. Thank you." I lifted prayers all day and was grateful for her final message. "Waters came up to the [...]
Good morning... We wake to the rubble of another 9/11. Wet, windy, weepy. Rubble again. Be lifted by Chris Tomlin's 9/11 music video as God rains mercy on us all. I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 121:1-2, NIV). Today [...]
Good morning… One line lingers in my mind from the passage I shared in yesterday's post. Jesus answered, “You don’t really know what I am doing, but later you will understand” (John 13:7, CEV). In so many confusing ways we "don't really know" what God is doing. We "don't really know" why some people are plagued by disease or [...]
My recent post, "Run toward the roar," has created a lot of great dialogue, face to face and through email exchanges. One long time friend, who has lived through an immensely painful loss, wrote: "Hey Sue. Wow, this one is powerful and hits me deeply. As I think about it I don't see myself having run towards the roar [...]
A friend in my Tuesday group sent me a very challenging article, an article passed on to her by a friend, an article by Davey Blackburn from 4.18.16 entitled "Running Toward the Roar." Some of the most profound comments, I will share here, with a link to the entire article below. "Perhaps one of the most impactful books I’ve [...]
Good morning... Now is about the time when those grieving the loss of our friend Julie are tempted to slip into deep despair. This situation will never change. She is never coming back to us. The high of celebrating her life has dropped down into the relentless ache of physically missing her. One friend who lost her brother way [...]
Good morning... After yesterday's post about my friend Jennifer and her daughter's cancer battle, a subscriber wrote: "I had a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes after reading about your friend’s sweet child and this email that I read next was just what I needed. I wanted to share it with you and let you know [...]
Good morning... When I shared lunch with my longtime friend Julie Harlan on Thursday, February 16th, the word "cancer" did not enter our meaningful conversation. The next Tuesday she had her annoying symptoms of reflux checked out medically, and by Thursday she was given a shocking diagnosis. Stomach cancer. On Saturday when I visited her at home to listen, [...]
Good morning... Hurricane Matthew has affected the lives of millions this weekend. The messy photos of wreckage from high winds and water tug at our hearts. Chaotic. Uprooted. Torn apart. We all lift prayers for the rebuilding of rummaged lives. Even inland here in Atlanta, the ripple effects are everywhere. Eerie skies and windy rain. Horrendous traffic traveling north [...]
Good morning... Her son would have celebrated his seventeenth birthday this week, if he had not gone to heaven last month. With her permission, I am posting a string of personal emails I have shared with a very special, grieving mom, a mom I had not known before this tragedy. Thursday, 4.28.19, would have been his birthday and that [...]
