Good morning... Heading into yesterday, I read the monthly devotional message written by my husband Steve, the Upper School chaplain at The Lovett School. Through Steve's keen wisdom God spoke in surround sound as I prepared my heart for a two day training with our talented Northside Church staff. ****** Chaplain's Devotional by Rev. Steve Allen, October 17, [...]
Good morning... "I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world," said Mother Teresa. I adore this thought. I am. Little. Pencil. Held in God's hand. The steady hand of a writing God. God is sending a love letter through me. A love letter addressed to [...]
Good morning... "Sunset tonight as raindrops are falling on the lake," she texted on Sunday night from the coast of Oregon. "Sabbath blessings indeed!" "And then this happened," she witnessed God's WOW. "Power belongs to you, God, and with you, Lord, is unfailing love" (Psalm 62:11b-12:a, NIV). Such full bodied transformation reminds me of a quote [...]
Good morning... "This blessing is for you!!! ❤️❤️❤️," she emailed me first thing yesterday. She kindly shared these loving words which beautifully began my day. ****** A blessing for everyday empathy by Kate Bowler Blessed are you, the sensitive one, attuned to the feelings of others, for empathy is yours to give. Blessed are you with the emotional [...]
Good morning... I have been enjoying Kate Bowler's Joyfully Mediocre Summer Blessing Series. Each Wednesday her weekly email arrives in my inbox. Yesterday's morning message wove itself into me. ***** God, I can’t tell which person I will be today: kind and loving, turn-the-other-cheek and I’ll-be-right-here, soft but strong. I will keep no record of wrongs. I might [...]
Good morning... As we consider the possibility of spiritual transformation, it is good to be reminded: "We're supposed to change." When staying stuck hurts more than total surrender, we take the risk. Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and [...]
Good morning... What does freedom really look like on this complex fourth of July? In the Message translation, 1 Peter 2:16-17 simplifies our answer. Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government. Now my thoughts are drawn back to our [...]
Good morning... Slowly walking through the woods, I noticed a nutshell. Small. Sliced open. Simply symmetrical. Secreted in our depths is the dawning awareness: The shape of Christ is the design of me. When life slices us open and our "Big I" begins to die, our true self begins to come to life: I am made to mirror [...]
Good morning... Waking groggy from too much of everything, I see in the corner of our room one simplifying symbol. A small mirror, surrounded by a mosaic of heavy, broken pottery, reflects the natural light. A cross of driftwood pieces quietly rests above the mirror. Through the center of my broken parts, might the light of Christ still [...]
Good morning... We are transformed by our life-giving choice to spend at least 10 Minutes Each Day developing our conversational relationship with God. Focusing our full attention on who Christ is and how Christ loves us nurtures our true identity as a child of God. Ten minutes each day, we can do that. As I was deleting old [...]
