Day Of Prayer for Ukraine
Good afternoon... Never before have I felt compelled to share a second blog post on the same day. With email responses piling up from this morning's message, Praying for Olga, I offer us an intimate update from Ukraine. Throughout the day, I have heard from many of you who yearn to join our hearts in prayer on behalf of the vulnerable men, women, and children of Ukraine. I will share some of your [...]
Praying For Olga
Our Friday group gathered to discuss our next chapter in Paula D'Arcy's book Sacred Threshold: Crossing the Inner Barrier to Deeper Love. To begin our time together, we shared various prayer concerns. One woman has a dear friend, Olga, who lives in Ukraine with her two daughters. Olga had sent a telegram earlier in the day: "According to Ukrainian intelligence, the Russian Federation is planning a large-scale provocation with the aim of 'dehumanizing' [...]
In This Confused World
Good morning... On Sunday morning, we were given time to read to ourselves the Unison Prayer of Confession. Slowly. Silently. Sitting still, we each read reverently. Once we had deepened down into the words privately, we read the follow prayer aloud together. Slowly. Silently. Sitting still. Might you join me now as we are touched by this wide-eyed wisdom? ****** From "I Confess" by Howard Thurman I confess my own inner confusion as [...]
When We Disagree
Good morning... Our post from last week What Is Mine To Do? has invited some very dynamic dialogue. Yesterday I shared one reader's response. Today I share with you another subscriber's perspective. ****** Dear Sue, Thank you for your thoughts today, and for your service in your community. I was anxious to read your post as soon as I saw the title, What Is Mine To Do? So many of my dear friends [...]
Drink And Serve
Good morning... One post from last week may have slipped off your radar, but What Is Mine To Do? has privately filled my week with some dynamic dialogue. Our blog was about the "depressed, exhausted, upset" experience one friend felt after her first time as a homework helper with inner city children, some who cannot read or write just ten minutes from our home. In response to the challenge of illiteracy in our [...]
Love Is Captured In Black And White
Good morning... One week ago I rested like a fly on the wall in the foyer of KIPP Woodson Park Academy, waiting for the staff from PAWkids to arrive. As I sat quietly in a light filled corner, I texted myself snippets of conversations I overheard. "He's on the run," a teacher told a grandmother who had been unexpectedly called to the school. "He put his hands on me and I told him [...]
Women’s Lenten Lunch And Learn
Good morning... It is as if we have endured two long years of winter, holed up inside this worldwide pandemic. Signs of spring are starting to show. Buds of new life are bursting free. As many of you know, for years we have hosted at Northside Church our annual Women’s Lenten Communion Service the Tuesday night before Ash Wednesday. Since 2007 (minus 2021), we have packed out a sacred space in the church [...]
Another Grieving Family
Good morning... Up in the middle of the night, I explore various accounts of the skiing accident that took the life of 27-year-old Rad Spencer who grew up in our Atlanta community. Along with our oldest son and his Lovett friends, Rad and his buddies from Westminster went through confirmation, Sunday school, and youth group together. Celebrating his life in a service today, Rad's family and friends will forever miss him deeply. His [...]
Let’s Walk Grief’s Path Together
Good morning... "Look at the little monument God inspired me to tuck amid the ferns you taught me to grow outside our wooden gate," I texted my friend who will lay to rest her forty-three year old son today. "This little resting angel is a symbol of him living on with God, just beyond the open window of our conscious awareness. You, my dear, are in my prayers." "And here is [...]
What Is Mine To Do?
Good morning... "Thanks for going yesterday," I texted a friend after her first visit to PAWkids as a homework helper. "I would love to unpack your feelings about the experience. Would be good for me to understand how you feel at Wellspring in comparison. (My friend also volunteers at Wellspring, a non-profit whose mission is to transform the lives of sex trafficking victims.) Learning 'What is mine to do?' is such an important [...]
We Receive As We Give
Good morning... Yesterday was a joyful whirlwind of receiving much as we gave our little. Providing a beautiful breakfast for one hundred inner city teachers at KIPP Woodson Park Academy, hearing stories of the tears of joy shed by the elderly recipients of our fun filled 100 Valentine's Day gift bags, and helping to host a Valentine's Day party for the twenty elementary aged students in the afternoon enrichment program at PAWkids, what [...]
This Day Is Special
Good morning... "I have another idea that you could possibly help me with," Larenzia Lawerence from PAWkids texted me last week. "So, I wanted to do some gifts for seven outstanding teachers at KIPP Woodson Park, five women and two men. They help the kids in our after school program so much. I can see in their eyes that they are getting tired and worn out, so I want to encourage them each [...]