Her Grieving Year
Good morning... We email one another often as she processes her profound grief. Our back and forth exchanges are life-giving, exposing God's healing edge. This week she shared a Dietrich Bonhoeffer quote from his Letters and Papers from Prison. "Nothing can make up for the absence of someone whom we love," writes Bonhoeffer, "and it would be wrong to try to find a substitute; we must simply hold out and see it through. [...]
Nothing Changes Unless WE Change
Good morning... The gift of my flat tire extended into the following day. With my car at the tire store, I climbed into the driver's seat of my husband's wheels. Beside me, I noticed a printed page resting on the passenger's seat. I picked up the piece of paper and felt drawn to read the following article from the Life section of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ****** Nothing Changes If Nothing Changes by Patricia [...]
My Flat Tire Day
Good morning... Our scheduled 8:30 walk-and-talk actually began after 9:00 am. I savored the breathing room before my friend's arrival. Sip my coffee. Respond to emails. Enjoy our dogs. Walking outside to greet my friend, I noticed my tire. Sitting in the driveway, it was flat, flat, flat. "Tire is flat," I texted my husband the photo above. "What do you recommend? Can I come get your car and I go on with [...]
LaTonya Takes Crates For Ukraine
Good morning... Two Saturdays ago, I received an unexpected phone call. "Sue, God laid you on my heart this morning," said LaTonya Gates, founder and director of PAWkids. "I am opening my guest room to a woman who is leaving a domestic violence situation. She needs a safe space to clear her head and make some important decisions. I want to pray over the space in my basement before she arrives. Would you [...]
Cut Free From Non-Essentials
Good morning... I rushed into a busy morning before God seemed to say, "Cut free." Cut free from non-essentials. Cut free from way too much. Cut free with clear permission. Just sit. Just rest. Just be. God's wispy whisper felt like a drop of water sinking into my thirsty sponge. This actually happened yesterday. "Cut free," surprised me, quiet and clear. So I turned my car around and drove directly home. Almost immediately four [...]
His Obit Makes It Real
Good morning... "The post is beautiful - just beautiful," my dear friend wrote after yesterday's message, When Our Strength Runs Out. "Seeing his obit in the paper this morning made it so real." She shared a red broken heart emoji. "It's a beautiful obituary," I texted back. "Simple. Straightforward. In keeping with his strong, loyal presence." My friend and I both love soup, so since the end of June I have been making [...]
When Our Strength Runs Out
Good morning... My dear friend's husband died on Sunday night after a long, excruciating battle with a rare disease. He was just sixty-four years old. I am grateful this friend turned me onto the brilliant work of author Kate Bowler. It gives me great comfort knowing we both savored this holy blessing as we woke yesterday. ****** A blessing for when the road is long by Kate Bowler God, I could not have [...]
The Emptiness Of Letting Go
Good morning... "After we let go, what do we do with our own emptiness?" a woman privately asked after my Let Go. Let God. talk with the Lovett Moms In Prayer. "Emptiness - we naturally feel it," I think I said. "Emptiness - we patiently endure it. Emptiness - we quietly wait for God to fill us." Ours was a short interaction. We were quickly interrupted. But her question stayed with me: "After [...]
Let Go. Let God.
Good morning... One of my favorite fall commitments, year after year, is speaking at the kickoff gathering for the Lovett School Moms In Prayer group. Yesterday around 8:00 am, about seventy-five of us collected in the Lovett scout hut to receive an encouraging word as we begin this new school year. I was kindly introduced. Sue Allen. Mom of four Lovett grads, 27, 25, 23, 21. Wife of Rev. Steve Allen, Lovett Upper [...]
Our Plans Are Like Magic Ink
Good morning... Many public schools here in the south began classes on August 1st. Some private schools and colleges began last week, while others begin today. I talked with my brother in Pennsylvania last night, and they don't start school until next Monday. When we grew up in Ohio, the new school year always began after Labor Day. Scattered all over our calendars, collectively we face a staggered start. Though start dates differ, [...]
Our Unexpected Gift
Good morning... I reminded her of a discerning truth we had learned together years ago. "When you are proceeding from good to better, you will experience God's touch as light and gentle, like a drop of water falling on a sponge," writes Larry Warner on page 153 in Journey With Jesus. If something is not right for now, it will feel 'like a drop of water hitting a stone.'" Then she read to [...]
Fall Classes 2022 – Join Us!
Good morning... This week I learned a fascinating fact. The biggest booster of dopamine, our brain’s feel-good neurotransmitter, is community. Life-giving relationships boost our spirits more than a brisk walk, a great meal or an awesome glass of wine! No wonder we can’t wait to return to our weekly classes offered through Northside Church. Every semester, I am prayerfully on the lookout for the book God chooses for us to discuss in our [...]