Our Prayers Travel South And East
Good morning... As I take our dogs out in the middle of this dark night, our wind chimes sing loudly to the wild, swirling breeze. The erratic gusts brush my skin as my thoughts travel south to Florida, lifting on prayers those devastated by Hurricane Ian. Next my prayers travel east to the coast of Georgia and the Carolinas where people anxiously brace for this storm's potential impact. My prayers then travel back [...]
Helping Homeless Women
Good morning... In the wee, quiet hours of this night, I am drawn back to our blog post from yesterday, Steve's Message For This Week. It seems many of us can relate to the positive wisdom offered. With God, I spend time personalizing the list of biblical encouragements. With things going well for me during this life season, I take regular time to lift up a prayer of thanks (Psalm 146:1-2). I feel [...]
Steve’s Message For This Week
Good morning... I admire my husband who, about every three weeks, writes a devotional message for The Lovett School community, where he has been chaplain for over twenty-five years. I think this week's message is one of my favorites. I am hoping you might agree. ****** Chaplain Devotional for September 27th, 2022 by Steve Allen based on Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15, Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16 • Amos 6:1a, 4-7, Psalm 146 • 1 Timothy 6:6-19 [...]
We Add. God Multiplies.
Good morning... Almost flippantly, she said something really profound. I captured the Holy Spirit wisdom in my blank journal. "We try to add and add and add," she commented, "but God multiplies magically." Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things (Ecclesiastes 11:5, NLT). Might we just [...]
New Ideas Feel Like Sunrise
Good morning... After a fun filled weekend, God just woke me from sleep around 1:00 am, nudging me to read two emails which waited patiently in my inbox. "As you know we are studying Discerning the Voice of God by Priscilla Shirer," wrote a loyal leader of our Banquet Bible study, the longest running study at Northside Church, a group that has blessed so many women over the past twenty-some years. "Working on [...]
I Sketched My Answer
Good morning... "When you say, 'I believe in God,' what do you mean?" asked the final page of our assigned reading. I sketched my answer, this boat riding stick figure. The God I trust has three parts. God the Creator is like the ocean, endless water buoying me. God the living Christ surrounds me tangibly like a sturdy, hand-hewn boat. God the Holy Spirit blows me where ever I am needed, toward the [...]
Gratitude Rewires Us
Good morning... "Gratitude attracts more reasons to be grateful," whispers one little card. "Heaven is breaking through the veil all day, every day," echos The Hidden Life Awakened by Kitty Crenshaw and Dr. Cathy Snapp. "Hot coffee, warm fire, beautiful sun diamonds on the river, eyes of love looking into yours, animals, children, art, grass, cool breeze, changing seasons, beautiful melodies, delicious smells, warmth, wine, great food . . . all of these [...]
Overwhelmed, How Do We Cope?
Good morning... "Coping is something we do when we are overwhelmed," says the single note I took at our therapeutic community group at PAWkids yesterday. Instead of searching for the words in the puzzle above, I decided to search my heart, pondering the given list of helpful coping skills. Smile. Clean. Exercise. Walk. Water. Sing. Relax. Turtle. Laughing. Music. Stretch. Talk. Play. Color. Journal. Count. Forgive. Draw. Dance. Breathe. Meditate. Movie. Read. Pretzel. [...]
I Hit A Wall
Good morning... Queen Elizabeth II. Hurricane Fiona victims. Ukrainians and Russians killed in senseless war. Floods in central Italy. An earthquake in Taiwan. Wildfires blaze wildly out west. Gun violence steals lives across our nation. So many friends have recently lost loved ones to disease, to cancer, to addiction, to suicide, to overpowering riptide currents. It seems that death has been taking a really high toll. Prayerfully considering our collective grief, yesterday I [...]
Our Response To Mass Graves
Good morning... God set our new semester ablaze as we gathered to study one tiny book, Simple Faith by Margaret Silf. As we have seen the horrific images of the mass graves found in Ukraine this week, I have pondered one long sentence from our class reading. "She will learn to distinguish between those things in life - kindness, compassion, justice and truth - that are making her, and all of us, more [...]
Cords of Human Kindness
Good morning... "God leads us with cords of human kindness," says Hosea 11:4. The God Almighty uses people - weak, vulnerable, powerless people - to guide us with reigns made of love. I am reminded of the book bag tag given to each child at church before the start of the school year. Weak, vulnerable, powerless kids can tangibly spread kindness each day. We adults - weak, vulnerable, powerless adults - [...]
Suck. Savor. Thirst. Grow.
Good morning... "When you pray, simply dwell on one line," she encouraged, "something like sucking on a candy rather than gobbling it up, or soaking in a bath rather than jumping in and out of the shower." I prayerfully dwell on one Bible verse. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent [...]