A Drunk, A Hunk, A Chunk Or A Monk?
Good morning... I have heard it said, "When we emerge from this global pandemic, we will be either a drunk, a hunk, a chunk or a monk!" This extended period of social isolation has held us long enough for our true colors to begin coming out in the mirror. What might we see if we looked at the truth? A DRUNK - To take the edge off of the stress and the worry, [...]
Deciding To Quit
Good morning... Many of you have shared with me fun photos of the light of the Lord filling your homes, and, drenched with multi-faceted meaning, the photo above felt like a gift to share. This ethereal image, light, airy, tenuous, came with a text: "Light of the Lord at my house this AM leading me out of my comfort zone. Zoom in on the piece of art I bought years ago when I [...]
The Gift Of Shattered Glass
Good morning... "Good morning, Sue," a woman wrote after yesterday's post Cupid Dreams Big, a post highlighting beautiful gifts formed from brokenness. She went on to share this story. "Many years ago we found ourselves together at a retreat at the Ignatius House," she recalled. "I was a mother deep in grief from the recent loss of my young adult son. You knew my story from a web of common friends and my [...]
Cupid Dreams Big
Good morning... "Parked at a local church, I found my car window shattered," remembers my dear friend Corinne Adams. "I was distraught…until I saw the beauty of the broken glass. I knew I had to take it home. Slowly and surely, the little glass nuggets made their way into cuffs, pendants, belt buckles, rings and earrings. These unique pieces of jewelry remind me that blessings come in strange packages — that pain is [...]
Together Let’s Wake Up Whole
Good morning... Yesterday I did something new, something way out of my cozy box, something I had never, ever done before. I began teaching my first Winter/Spring class by Zoom. I know I seem like an old-fogey, behind the times, out of date, but I have felt my spirit totally resisting this unnatural method of learning for as long as possible. As a down-to-the-earth, verbally processing, creative collaborator wired with a hint of [...]
Some Gifts Keep Giving
Good morning... You may remember this cool painting from last month's post entitled Steve's Birthday Surprise. On a whim, to benefit Blue Skies Ministries, I bought a fun mixed-media painting by Christy Holmes at my friend's pop-up Christmas shop, a surprise birthday purchase for my husband to honor Steve's call from God twenty-six years ago to minister to this hustling and bustling Atlanta community. After a sleepless night, tossing and turning, worrying I [...]
Dream Big
Good morning... One amazing woman who spent regular time in our living room, learning, growing, blossoming alongside me over the years, was Julie Harlan. A powerful prayer warrior, a faithful friend, an incredible daughter and sister, wife and mother, Julie listened to the dream God planted in her heart. In the spring of 2017, Julie and I shared lunch at a restaurant in downtown Vinings, a few minutes from our each of our [...]
Out Of Our Comfort Zone
Good morning... The light of our LORD leads us out of our comfort zone. It was such a joy to sew together delightful pictures from our light-filled living room with the fresh, instructive Word of God in yesterday's post, Our Silent Soundtrack. That life-giving blog was particularly profound for me since it was crafted on the day a huge shift occurred. In the summer of 2005, during my darkest season of depression, the [...]
Our Silent Soundtrack
Good morning... Yesterday's post, Our Sweet-Scented Prayers, is a keeper, a rich resource for us to return to regularly as we seek continued healing of our hearts, our bonds, our world. Today, in contrast to the many words of yesterday's blog, I want to show you the silent soundtrack welcoming me into Inauguration Day 2021. After writing with God in the middle of the night about looking for the new, restorative things Christ [...]
Our Sweet-Scented Prayers
Good morning... "I am just so grateful for our church, it makes me cry," she wiped her wet cheeks as she was leaving the prayer vigil held at Northside Church. "I can say I am going to pray for our nation, but at home I get distracted, time slips away, and by the end of the day, I notice I haven't really prayed. It helps me to come into the sanctuary, physically, to [...]
Between You And Me
Good morning... Amid the high winds of mixed emotions, I invite you to join me in prayer, between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm, from the comfort of your home or in the quiet of our open Northside sanctuary. I, personally, will be welcoming people into the church from 12:00 to 1:00 pm, masked and social distanced, for the noon hour of our day-long prayer vigil, and I would love to experience the joy [...]
Let’s Show And Tell
Good morning... "God speaks through repetition," said the subject in her email following yesterday's post Living The Dream. "What is it God is telling me about seed-planting???" she asked rhetorically. "When I finished reading your words from today, this was my devotion in my bible reading plan. Love it." ****** Matthew 13:18-35 in “The Bible in One Year with Nicky Gumble” from YouVersion Keep telling people about Jesus Every time you have told [...]