I Know He Lives
Good morning... Growing up in a Christian home, he had believed in Jesus all his life. Dutifully he went through the habits of faith. Church. Baptism. Confirmation. Prayer. Bible study. Trying to be good and do good. Yet when God's moment was exactly right, he finally heard the voice of the risen Christ knocking on the door to his very own heart: "Please let me in." "I knew that to open the door [...]
If You Hear My Voice
Good morning... "Listen! I am standing and knocking at your door. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and we will eat together," whispers Jesus in Revelation 3:20 (CEV). Listen. Hear. Open. "Come in." We will eat together. "I am reminded me of what The Reverend John Stott had to say about the impact Revelation 3:20 had on him as a young man," shared one reader. “Here, [...]
The Scary But Better Path
Good morning... "I loved your post today," she texted right after receiving Our Jumbled Emotions. "How inspirational. I cherish this subscriber's quote: 'Surrender and trust - the scary but better path that leads to life!' That is exactly where I am at! So scary!!" "I listened to an intriguing podcast yesterday," her text continued. "It said that we are all running on fear and caffeine, which is unfortunately a sad truth for so [...]
Our Jumbled Emotions
Good morning... "Good morning Sue," she wrote me from Florida after yesterday's post I Had No Friends. "Our lives share so many parallels. After a year of unexplained numbness and uncharacteristic listlessness, I reluctantly accepted an invitation to join a Bible study. I think back now and realize that was God taking me by the scruff out of my, what I believe, premenopausal/hormonal fog and recalibrating my heart. I also believe another factor [...]
I Had No Friends
Good morning... She asked me to write an 800 word article for our November newsletter at Northside Church. She knew the story of how God has organically grown our ministry to women. She shared with me the Scripture verse for the month: Base your happiness on your hope in Christ. When trials come endure them patiently, steadfastly maintain the habit of prayer (Romans 12:12, PHILLIPS). From this enduring Word of truth, God birthed [...]
Healing Power Expands
Good morning... "Hi Sue!" she emailed after yesterday's blog post. "I absolutely love this statue! I wish this were our symbol for Christ! Risen and victorious rather than defeated hanging on the cross. I heard a priest say one time that wearing a cross as a symbol of Jesus is kind of like wearing a symbol of an electric chair. It is a weird thought but also true in a way." "I think [...]
“Life Wins,” She Said
Good morning... "Life wins," she said quietly. We watched green, vibrant growth crawling all over a fallen tree. Walking the trail at the Ignatius House Retreat Center, we noticed other tangible evidence of God's undeniable truth. "Life wins." We admired a tiny, tenacious fungus bursting from the center of another decaying tree. "Life wins." We marveled at a magnificent waterfall. Right before our eyes, the unstoppable power was widening, [...]
You Will Be Found
Good morning... "Have you ever felt like nobody was there?" begins the song. "Have you ever felt forgotten in the middle of nowhere? Have you ever felt like you could disappear? Like you could fall, and no one would hear." I think we all have moments when we would honestly answer "yes" to these gut-wrenching questions. "Well, let that lonely feeling wash away," the words from a Broadway musical continue. "Maybe there's a [...]
True Friendship Is Forever
Good morning... At 3:18 am yesterday, I completed my early morning hours of writing with God and pushed "send" on our message Fearing Our Best Friend? Then I climbed back in bed and drifted back to sleep. I woke at 6:53 am, returned a text to my daughter, made a pot of coffee, and sat down to re-read our blog post for the day. Our challenging morning message ended with a haunting question: [...]
Steve’s Thoughts On Worry
Good morning... As the upper school chaplain and the middle school wrestling coach at The Lovett School, a day school for kids from kindergarten through twelfth grade, my husband takes turns writing weekly devotional messages with his two chaplain colleagues. Steve's words of wisdom for this week help us to consider, "What are we to do when worry pulls us apart at the seams?" ****** Weekly Devotional for October 18th, 2021 by Rev. [...]
Fearing Our Best Friend?
Good morning... Bonding with our therapeutic small group at PAWkids this week, we were asked to fill in a handful of blanks, completing a series of sentences. One man's answers to two self-reflective questions captured my attention. My best friend ___________________. He answered: "God." I am afraid of ____________________. He answered: "God." I can totally relate to this young black man's ambivalent dilemma. How am I supposed to intimately befriend a God who [...]
When We Feel Wounded
Good morning... "Hi Sue," she emailed me this week. "We are visiting Eastern Europe and were in Vukovar Croatia 🇭🇷 yesterday. There was a terrible civil battle there between the Croats and the Serbs in 1991 when Yugoslavia broke up. This Christ figure survived though the Serbian Orthodox Church of St Phillip and Jacob, where it had been, was almost totally destroyed. They call it "the wounded Jesus"; it has a place of [...]