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... Sustained by our prayers through March, April, and May, my mom miraculously opened her eyes in the ICU and came back to life at the sound of my father's voice. Recovering from a surgery to repair her broken femur following a fall in early March, my mom's health had nosedived quickly. Within 24 hours, she had [...]
Good morning... "Just read this lovely blessing from Kate Bowler," a friend emailed me yesterday. Before the heat of the day rose high. Before the shock of another mass shooting dropped us low. Before this night of broken sleep took its tiring toll on so many ordinary people. "Thought you would enjoy it," she added, ". . . [...]
Good morning... During this tumultuous time when so many flags are flying at half staff, we set aside a day to remember those who have sacrificed their lives to defend the freedom we cherish. Men and women. Young and old. People with varying skin color, economic status, family history. The impact of war ripples out to reshape us. [...]
Good morning... I have a dear friend who sends me wise quotes. During this time of great grief, she sent me two sacred sentences, filled with grace and tender with truth. She texted, "I think of a Stephen Curtis Chapman quote when they lost their daughter: 'We have been to the bottom and have found it to be [...]
"Good morning," she texted yesterday. "A little tired today," she continued. "Heartbroken for the families and community in Uvalde, Texas. Thinking about people like Steve (my husband, a chaplain) who are there - and everywhere - comforting families and friends reconciling loss, preparing words for services, walking in for visits." "This morning I am deep into Kate Bowler's [...]
Good morning... Many of you loved yesterday's post, Steve's Sermon On Saturday, words given by my husband to graduating high school seniors. He spoke of The Great Forgetting, our naturally human tendency to forget important things as we move forward in life. He challenged us to become people who actively remember. "...for remembering who God has created you [...]
Good morning... "It's hard to believe that we were holding a prayer vigil outside of the hospital for Dobbs at this time last week," said one mom I talked with after Saturday's baccalaureate service. The Davie family, friends of so many of us from our Lovett community, lost twenty year old Dobbs the next morning on Mother's Day. [...]
Good morning... My twenty-three year old daughter laughed at me recently, "Mom, why are you getting so into this vote thing?" This "vote thing" on May 24th will determine whether our village of Vinings, Georgia becomes a city. Last month, I went to a gathering held by Cobb County leaders discussing our decision. Last week, I went to [...]
Good morning... "Though the cherry trees don't blossom (Habakkuk 3:17, MSG); though the bank account, the bed, the chair, and the calendar are empty; though the grave dirt may be heaped; and though the lungs ache with the weight of breathing through the drowning waves, in Christ what matters forever is always forever safe," explains the Ann Voskamp [...]
