Good morning... On Tuesday morning, we returned again to our therapeutic community group on the PAWkids campus in Grove Park. Men and women. Young and old. Black and white. We gathered again following our summer break. For our activity, we chose various cards from a deck of images to give voice to things we've experienced since last seeing [...]
Good morning... Up in the middle of this night, I revisit some of my favorite photos from my week of watching our grandson Charlie. Learning that Charlie slept best in my arms and wanting to offer undisturbed time to our daughter-in-law Chandler, I spent several hours a day sitting beneath Charlie's sleeping body. I noticed the passage of [...]
Good morning... To add fuel to our process of becoming who we really are, might we prayerfully consider these questions today? In what way are you living with death? What decisions have quieted you? Which one clear word fits you today? Often clarity comes when we take time in silence to listen for God's leading. As we age, [...]
Good morning... On our way to becoming who we really are, consider today's centering questions: At the groggy beginning of the day, how might this day change you? How might you describe the corners of your life, sharper or rounded off? Sharper or rounded off, how does this feel to you and to others? A friend texted this [...]
Good morning... Beneath tonight's full moon, I revisit an article sent by a friend at the start of 2026, an article entitled "Questions Before Dark." For the rest of this week, we will unpack these poignant questions, questions which point us toward who we really are. We will begin today with the writing in its entirety, then we [...]
Good morning... A longtime family friend sent me this conversational poem. "I thought you would enjoy it," she said. ****** “Hello God” by John Roedel Me: Hello God. God: Hello… Me: I’m falling apart. Can you put me back together? God: I’d rather not. Me: Why? God: Because you’re not a puzzle. Me: What about all the pieces [...]
Good morning... This is one of my favorite pictures of Charlie, our first grandchild. His official name is Charles Shepherd Allen, and Charles means "free man." This name matters a lot to our family, because Charles (Charlie), like all of us, is born into the freedom Jesus Christ purchased on the cross, once and for all. Christ has [...]
Good morning... Since our two years of training ended in 2017, four of us spiritual directors meet monthly by phone for peer supervision. We live in different states and see one another very rarely, but our two hour conversations are some of my favorite moments every month. This month the person facilitating read aloud an opening prayer written [...]
Good morning... "Sue," she wrote this week, "your devotional about wide open spaces made me think of sharing with you the works of John O’Donahue. I learned of him through a good friend who was a Methodist pastor and a missionary to Ghana. I shared with him that the school I was teaching at was a Classical Christian [...]
Good morning... I felt burdened by heavy homework for a summer class I am taking. Reading. Podcast. TED Talk. I was drowning in a sea of complicated words, overwhelmed by crowded conclusions others have drawn. Suddenly, I turned off the assignment mid-sentence and followed my inner teacher, the Holy Spirit of the living God. Surrounded by a gorgeous [...]
