Steve’s Thoughts From Our Couch
Good morning... As many of you know, my husband Steve is the upper school chaplain at the Lovett School here in Atlanta, a day school which has been meeting safely, with only a few COVID hiccups, since last August. Even with these fortunate kids and teachers enjoying the benefits of in-person learning, there are many daily changes in the protocol to protect from viral spread. One thing most missed by many is the [...]
Are You Hungry?
Good morning... For me, tonight quietly signifies another invisible loss. Since 2007, each Tuesday night before Ash Wednesday we have hosted our annual Women's Lenten Communion Service. For fourteen straight years, God has prepared our hearts for the season of Lent by gathering at church with a standing-room-only crowd, listening to a life-changing, God-revealing story from the ordinary life of a woman in our community, and breaking bread together to feed our deepest [...]
One Yellow Tinted Bird
Good morning... After teaching our Zoom class in the cozy quiet of our newly decorated church parlor, I packed up my candle and laptop, I gathered my phone and purple notebook, and, after talking with a few friends on the staff, I walked out into the brick courtyard on the way to our car. Just outside the door, I was shocked by an unexpected sight. About four feet from the exit laid a [...]
Some Very Special Valentines
Good morning... On January 7th I received a very fun email: "We have a precious senior in high school who, for the past few years, raises money to purchase roses and Godiva chocolates and delivers them to our homebound church members for Valentine’s Day," wrote a friend from the Pastoral Care department at Northside Church. "It is an enormous effort, but it means so much to all our folks. Every year I give [...]
The Wonder Of A Wedding
Good morning... Last Saturday Steve borrowed a tux, and we thoroughly enjoyed a highly anticipated black tie wedding with longtime friends. The dynamic wedded couple, who had dated diligently for over a decade, will now enjoy many, many more decades growing together in oneness with God and each other. The joyful wedding video from last Saturday is not yet available to view, but I did receive a very touching wedding video this week, [...]
Which Face Is Mine?
Good morning... We are each a strange mixture of sometimes selfish, sometimes kind, sometimes building up, sometimes tearing down, sometimes annoyingly anxious and sometimes exuding peace. Each human heart is a many-faceted thing. We influence others as we are gradually transformed by God. Whenever our hearts make us feel guilty and remind us of our failures, we know that God is much greater and more merciful than our conscience, and he knows everything [...]
Up From Our Roots
Good morning... As I was searching for a simple way to bring to life the first three chapters of Genesis, I ran into this really cool rendition of two artists' expression of Genesis 3. God also drew me to Luke 7:40-47 in the Message translation to balance our bad debt with God's abundant goodness. Up from our common roots grow forgiveness and gratitude. Jesus said to him, “Simon, I have something to tell [...]
I’m Afraid God
Good morning... "I'm afraid God," I reread my handwriting in yesterday's journal pages. "I finally deepen down to feel my fear. I am afraid of not listening well enough to be Your scribe for a class of seventy-plus women awaiting this week's study segments. I fear that, for sake of timeliness, maybe these words will become my concoction rather than Your creation, LORD. I fear that I am so flawed, so incomplete, so [...]
“Happy 95th Birthday, Betty!”
Good morning... For those who have followed our everyday blog for a while, you know I love my dear friend Betty Skinner. Betty and I first met through the pages of the sacred book chronicling her spiritual journey, The Hidden Life Awakened by Kitty Crenshaw and Dr. Cathy Snapp. The story of God meeting Betty very intimately in the deep valley of clinical depression at age forty-two helped to amplify God's voice for [...]
Not Easy But Amazing
Good morning... Last night as we watched the Super Bowl with our small group from church, we enjoyed the always entertaining commercials. One clever commercial involved a hilarious Jason Alexander hoodie. Another "Let's grab a beer" commercial reminded us that it has never been about the beer, it's about being together. With the return of Wayne's World, Wayne, Garth and their kooky look alike babies encouraged us to support our local restaurants. Great [...]
Old Words. New Song.
Good morning... A dear friend reconnected me to an old quote I adore from When the Heart Waits by Sue Monk Kidd: "What has happened to our ability to dwell in unknowing, to live inside a question and coexist with the tensions of uncertainty? Where is our willingness to incubate pain and let it birth something new? What has happened to patient unfolding, to endurance? These things are what form the ground of [...]
Relax And Wait
Good morning... As it wakes to a new day, sometimes the sky above our backyard looks like the photo I took last week. Unique colors are exquisitely well defined. Breathtaking beauty is shockingly undeniable. Joy, hope, peace feel boldly embodied. This morning the sky caught my eye for a totally different reason. When I stepped out onto our back porch, this is what I saw. Taken from the same location as the colorful [...]