I’m Out Of Prayers
Good morning... The faithful family of my friend has endured loss after loss, tragedy after tragedy, heartache after heartache, year after year. For decades I have walked alongside as a compassionate, committed prayer warrior. On Sunday, June 13th, I received this text from my forever friend. "Please keep an eye on your phone today," she requested. "We don't have long with our girl. I'm out of prayers." "That's when God steps toward us [...]
Compassionately Connect
Good morning... I have been slowly walking beside a grieving friend as God tenderly cares for her faithful family flock. Today we will celebrate together the life of one special twenty-eight year old woman, a vibrant young woman who has shared God's living light with so many in our community. As God prepares my heart to walk in step with those who are deeply grieving, I read over again the Henri Nouwen devotional [...]
Caring For A Cardinal
Good morning... Walking our dog, I noticed a dead cardinal in the grass beside the sidewalk. Such a gorgeous bird. Brilliant red. Lying motionless. Dropping our dog back at home, I picked up a dust pan, hopped in the car and returned to the bird. Scooping this beauty into the dust pan with a stick, I took the intricately colored creature to a shady spot in the middle of an [...]
Be Cheerful Each Day
Good morning... Is it possible to be cheerful each day, filled with cheer, with joy, with gladness regardless of the circumstances into which we wake? This Father's Day morn, Scripture quietly whispers to us in surround sound. A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit (Proverbs 15:13, NIV). Every day is a terrible day for a miserable person, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast (Proverbs 15:15, GW). [...]
Pain Leaves A Mark
Good morning... As I was walking in the woods, I came upon this tree, a tree branching up like the other trees while being strangled by barbed wire. The tree had naturally grown around the manmade injury, and the mark of excruciating pain had been embedded into the tree's unique identity. At first, I thought of the crown of thorns embedded in Jesus' head as he was taunted by manmade power and rage. [...]
The Heart Of Our Heart
Good morning... Scripture verses have been merging together for me this week, helping to shed God's light on the dark, unknown path before opening before us, a winding road none of us have ever traveled before. We must allow God to go before us if we are to walk in the ways of the LORD all the days of our earthly lives. This is the Word of our LORD being illuminated through me [...]
Circumstances Shift Quickly
Good morning... "...circumstances in life can shift in the blink of an eye," said the book quote my friend texted me. "Just like that, the forces in life can shift us from rich to poor, from poor to rich, from married to single, from sad to happy, from imprisoned to free, from calm to chaos. Again and again life teaches us that we are not in charge of anything but our response to [...]
I Don’t Want To Go
Good morning... I wake early with a song on my heart. Hearing it on the radio one day this week, I thought, "I should check out that music video." Then I promptly forgot to follow through on the nudge. Right now, the Holy Spirit reminds me again of my earlier urge, so I search for and savor the song in these dark, wee hours. Now I feel compelled to share the gift with [...]
The Thin Veil Between Earth And Heaven
Good morning... "How has your day been?" she texted me on Saturday. "Special. Really special," I replied. "I spent the day copying notes from the final prayer journals of my friend Julie Harlan. I enjoy learning the deep roots beneath Julie's Dream, the non-profit started in her honor. She is all about authentic relationship, about getting kids outside to learn about God in nature, and furthering the kingdom of God on earth. I [...]
The Lush Tree Of Life
Good morning... "I love love love this photo and the joy and peace it pours into the dreams gestating in our hearts," I texted the artist, my dear friend Corinne Adams. "I am spending the morning meandering through Julie Harlan's prayer journals, discerning in more detail the root system beneath Julie's Dream." "It's a dream scape, indeed," Corinne texted back. "A reflection of a window in an impoverished Latin neighborhood in Los Angeles [...]
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
Good morning... "Thinking of you," she emailed me this amazing music video. Now I think of each one of you this summer Sabbath morn, as we celebrate together the faithfulness of our God. I remember well all my troubles, and I am very sad. But then I think about this, and I have hope: We are still alive because the Lord’s faithful love never ends. Every morning he shows it in new ways! [...]
Higher Than My Dreams
Good morning... Above the upside down photo dumping out all of my dreams hangs a Corinne Adams original. For Corinne, for you and for me, God is the ultimate Dream-giver. The LORD's higher, healing ways generously overflow into our ordinary lives. This is how the Bible explains God's life-giving process. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than [...]