Good morning... Last Tuesday was a doozy. Volunteering to help a friend who was moving, I offered to take her final leftover things to a Christian consignment store near us. Driving over, I thought to myself, "Might this be a side ministry God is directing me towards?" I can certainly pick up donated stuff from friends and transporting [...]
Good morning... As summer nears her end and this new school year begins, a friend read aloud a prayer. Once. Again. With silence surrounding. Might we do the same? Privately. Now. ****** Help me to journey beyond the familiar and into the unknown. Give me the faith to leave old ways and break fresh ground with you. Christ [...]
Good morning... With the humid heat and our furry dog, I began a short walk to take care of her business. When I saw a gorgeous plume of colorful clouds blessing the morning sky, I turned around and went back to our home to get my phone. With leash in hand, I awkwardly took photos of the gentle [...]
Good morning... On the same morning my 86 year old mom left the skilled nursing care center to return home to the villa with my dad in Ohio, a dear, dear friend settled her own aging mom into her new home, a memory care facility in Huntsville, Alabama. That same evening, another loyal friend rested beside her mom [...]
Good morning... I received this fun photo from my sister yesterday. In March, she will celebrate the birth of her second grandchild. Soon after, I received another text. "We started hospice care on my mom today," wrote a friend who has been nurturing her mother in the ICU. "What might that look like?" I texted back. "We started [...]
Good morning... Might it be time to break out of your shell? We can learn important lessons from a baby chick. The protective shell, which has been strong enough to shield the creature from the outside world, eventually becomes permeable. As the maturing bird absorbs calcium from the egg, her bones grow stronger, stronger, stronger. Additional calcium is [...]
Good morning... After writing about our need to be kneaded by God, I am drawn back to an old favorite poem. The first line begins: "It takes time to bake a loaf of bread, to grind, to knead, to wait..." Please take your time, reading these sacred words as slowly as you can. ****** It Takes Time by [...]
Good morning... At last night's wedding and reception, it was fascinating to watch the children. A few were crying loudly, unsettled by some discomfort. Some were dancing freely, spinning, swirling, jumping with joy. Older ones were helping younger ones, holding hands, kindly guiding. Still others were completely exhausted, sacked out in their parents' arms. It was great fun [...]
Good morning... After re-reading yesterday's post, This Unique Summer, I embodied a fresh prayer on my morning walk. "LORD, please help me to be grateful for each creature greeting me on my path, and help me to recognise an angel at every corner." Soon, I happened upon this stack of old tires. Piled up. Strewn about. Disheveled, in [...]
Good morning... As I came upon this grasshopper, motionless on the rocky road, I thought of one of the most sobering segments in Scripture. Powerful and poetic, Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 describes in great detail our natural aging process. Here we visit the verses in the VOICE translation. And so we come to the end of this musing over life. [...]
