Treasure Each Tuesday
Good morning... Last Tuesday, I excitedly gathered the treasures pictured above. I collected these items in my little corner of our community, I packed them in my car and I drove to PAWkids, a non-profit ministry in the Grove Park neighborhood of downtown Atlanta. (PAWkids partners with Julie's Dream, a non-profit begun in honor of our dear friend Julie Harlan, a ministry born out of our Northside Church drawing city kids into a [...]
Diamonds In Our Rough
Good morning... These rocks sit on the table beside the couch where I journal with God every morning. They are hard. They are rough. They are ugly, an eye sore. But when I turn them over, I see the sparking beauty of the gems inside. Recently I received words of wisdom unpacking for the the deeper truth of these soulful symbols. "Hi!" wrote a friend from our Friday class. "Not [...]
Unwrap Joy This Morning
Good morning... Wildly generous artist Corinne Adams and I had a delightful time creating jewelry this month for the kids at the Agape Youth and Family Center (see our recent post I Feel Like Santa's Elf). Then our joy was made more complete as we and a few Julie's Dream volunteers spent Wednesday afternoon helping bilingual children of all ages to create colorful cards, to decorate gift bags, and to choose two of [...]
My Rude, Selfish Choice
Good morning... My mind wakes from sleep filled with a short sentence. "This is an incredibly broken place." What an odd first thought for me, an eternal optimist. When I experience odd, unexpected, surprising, I figure the Spirit of God is somehow rising up to shed light on something new. What might this strange revelation mean? "This is an incredibly broken place." First off, I look around me to see all kinds of [...]
Growing Childlike Trust
Good morning... My spiritual director opens our phone conversation with a sacred reading each month. Through her surrendered spirit, God channels life-giving words. This month's poem woke up my wonder. ****** TRILLIUMS by Mary Oliver 'Every spring among the ambiguities of childhood the hillsides grew white with the wild trilliums. I believed in the world. Oh, I wanted to be easy in the peopled kingdoms, to take my place there, but there was [...]
My Early Mother’s Day Gift
Good morning... As I was sipping on coffee and writing our devotional message this morning, our twenty-six year old son came downstairs and climbed into our king-sized bed beside me and our dogs. With his acting up car still sitting at the mechanic's shop nearby, he unexpectedly spent the night at home. A few minutes later, coming upstairs from the basement bedroom where she is living before heading to grad school, our twenty-four [...]
See Through Things
Good morning... Too much to say. There's just too much to say. How do I center myself down, Lord, to sense your concise, caring message for this unique day? I could write all about our incredibly meaningful morning at PAWkids yesterday. I could write about yesterday's moving retirement celebration for a loving pastor I have partnered with at Northside Church for the past thirteen years. I could write about our trip to the [...]
Steve’s Thoughts On Love
Good morning... As a high school chaplain, my husband is skilled at communicating with people of all ages. Steve brings to life biblical concepts in simple, down to earth ways. In this week's devotional message, Steve encourages us to fully receive and to freely share the gift of God's "agape love". ****** Thoughts on 1 John 4:7-21 by Rev. Steve Allen I want to share with you a list of some of the [...]
Expect Incredibly More
Good morning... Day after day, we pour out to God the deepest desires of our heart. In response, I have heard it said, "God answers, 'Yes.' 'No.' or 'Wait.'" I have always thought God gives us a "Yes," and a pathway forward opens effortlessly before us. At other times God gives us a "No," and a door is closed in our face. Then at times God responds, "Wait," and we are forced to [...]
One Scripture This Sabbath
Good morning... Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you’ve never seen. It was by faith that our forebears were approved. Through faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God; everything we now see was fashioned from that which is invisible (Hebrews 11:1-3, VOICE). "Faith begins as hope and indeed is unseen; so many doubt that it is [...]
Please Find Me
Good morning... Sometimes we feel lost alone beneath our many layers. Even forming an honest prayer can feel really, really hard. For those moments of chaotic complexity, I just met a revealing poem. Over the phone, a friend read aloud these powerful words so that I could understand more clearly her personal struggle. I can relate to the feeling of being somehow called out of my own tomb of timidity. As you slowly [...]
Remember We Live As One
Good morning... On the birthday of my faraway father, I went to an outdoor memorial service for my friend's dad, a celebration of life hosted at the duck pond near his earthly home. Life-giving stories were shared. Tenderizing tears were shed. Together we experienced these words printed in the bulletin. ****** PRAYER OF REMEMBRANCE Leader: We will remember Bob in the rising sun and it's going down, People: We will remember him. Leader: [...]