Good morning... "It’s so interesting, Sue," looking back over June one of you wrote, "when you felt the leading of the Spirit to continue to write during the summer months, I grieved for you. (See our post My Change Of Heart). I grieved the loss of freedom of time and the setting aside of responsibility for you. I [...]
Good morning... I chuckled when I saw this cartoon at the bottom of last week's email from my friend Emily Wingfield. I chuckled, and I felt convicted. This cartoon parks in the lane of our shared hardened handicap, the handicap of our old human nature. We look around us and we want change, but we look inside ourselves [...]
Good morning... "Horrific," one of you wrote after yesterday's post, My Piece In The Puzzle Of Poverty. "It is just absolutely horrific the pain and suffering of this world. I heard a really good sermon on Sunday about Luke 9:11-17 - we sin in solidarity and our salvation is in solidarity, and if we look at the world [...]
Good morning... "The unseen Spirit of God was real to Betsy Anderson," said the minister with delight. Betsy captured breadcrumbs of Spirit-led living, compiling over her nine decades a coveted document called "Betsy's Bullets." Each person who attended Saturday's celebration of life service got a bright yellow copy of Betsy's words of wisdom, "learned here, there, and everywhere [...]
Good morning... Wow. As on online community, we have experience the deep-wide fullness of real life this week, colorful highs amid painstaking lows. As we savor this Sabbath, revisiting past posts, please don't miss this video likely lost in our shuffle of mixed, meaningful emotions. Snuggle up with God in the sacred space at your center, and enjoy [...]
Good morning... "There is a difference between being driven and being drawn," she said at the end of yesterday's phone conversation. Intrigued by the crossroads of these two words, I jotted her concluding statement in my journal, returning to her wisdom when I woke around 2:00 am. Around 3:30 am, I climbed back into bed, sensing God's message [...]
Good morning... Last Monday's post set off a creative chorus of responses. Our post, A Little Boy's T-Shirt, ended with an invitation. "If the joy of the LORD is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10), what song lyrics well up in your brain when strong emotions get all steamed up? P.S. If you feel compelled, send me your brain’s knee-jerk reaction and [...]
Good morning... Before J Schroeder died, he taught people how to live. Stepping up to the microphone at his memorial service, his deeply loved wife described J as "a force of nature," admitting "Everyone wanted to be in his orbit." Grateful for joy-filled years together, she said, "I am so glad he chose me." After sharing bonding stories, [...]
Good morning... "Sad songs, they say so much," sings a lyric many of us know. Yet "sad" is relative and "saying so much" is important for every one of us. The music at yesterday's memorial service honoring J Schroeder, beloved 61-year-old husband and dad, son, brother, friend, was moving and meaningful. The following song invited us to quietly [...]
Good morning... On the morning when another family in our community will host a memorial service for a beloved husband, father, friend, I return to the illusive promise eluded to in yesterday's post. On this one-of-a-kind day, how can the joy of the Lord be our strength? And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods [...]
