One Faithful Mom
Good morning... My heart was touched by the words of one faithful mom. Through glassy eyes of grief, Jacob Blake's mother, Julia, spoke words of healing. Healing for her only son who was left paralyzed after being shot several times in the back. Healing for the police officers involved and their hurting families. Healing for all citizens and community leaders of every beautiful skin color. Healing for our nation ravaged by division and [...]
Scared?
Good morning... A few months back, the leaders on the computer screen above asked me to be the 2020 kick-off speaker for the Lovett Moms In Prayer group, a group of mothers who pray weekly for our school and our community, our teachers and our administrators, our world and our children, kindergarten through twelfth grade. Speaking with this group is an annual gift I love to give, but usually we meet at school, [...]
Insiders And Outsiders
Good morning... Photos like the one above capture a different day in time, when we could gather, meet up close, connect face to face as the body of Christ. As we consider what it means to "be the church" when many church buildings remain closed due to COVID, we wrestled with an important question posed in yesterday's post, "What Is Church?" Responses rolled in. Here are a few. "Funny...you always give me what [...]
What Is Church?
Good morning... Last week a church friend for over twenty-five years sent me the following article. At first reading, I loved it. Over time, I began to wrestled with it. Now I invite you into my soul-searching question, "What is church?" ****** Excerpt from When Church Is Not Bound by Four Walls posted on August 16th, 2020 If church is defined as a “house of worship,” then I can’t think of a better house [...]
Spread Serenity
Good morning... Yesterday a friend from church forwarded me a poem forwarded by a friend. As I read the words slowly, calmly, aloud to myself, it took no time for serenity to spread from my eyes through my lips, into my ears to my soul. Now it's your turn to experience the spread of peace. ****** Time for Serenity, Anyone? by William Stafford I like to live in the sound of water, in the [...]
In A Slump?
Good morning... Now is about the time many of us head into a slump. This Coronavirus is a marathon, not a sprint, with no end in sight. Our loss of control, routine, and stability is taking an exhausting toll. Add to it the uncertainty of new normal life transitions. Births and deaths. Weddings, divorces, and funerals. Difficult diagnoses and life-changing accidents. Uprooting moves, an emptying nest, and the unstoppable journey from earth back [...]
Sixteen Caterpillars
Good morning... Sixteen. I saw exactly sixteen of these black caterpillars on one walk last week. Some were crawling. Some were squished. Some littler, some bigger. The sheer number of these creatures in one morning made them impossible for me to ignore. Checking my phone when I arrived home, I was surprised by a text string from a friend in the longstanding Monday study group I host through church. "Hey Sue!" she wrote. [...]
Our Common Ground
Good morning... The photo above drew in my attention, so I included it in our post from yesterday, Grieving With God. The peaceful lake. The inviting hammock. The grey, hazy feel. The ripped up jeans. The silence, the solitude. The quiet passage of time needed for God to transform a grieving heart. To me, the photo spoke volumes about God steadily strengthening us with power in our inner being, Christ making a home [...]
Grieving With God
Good morning... Grieving great loss, she slowly read aloud to me the Scripture sustaining her. "When I think of all this," she said softly, "I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust [...]
Where Do We Begin?
Good morning... Amid the turmoil of a powerful pandemic, years of racial injustice, and economic and political upheaval, how are you and I to be the church when many church doors are closed? As the living body of Christ in our hurting world, where do we begin? Refreshing young artist Danielle Coke brings to life Fredrick Buechner's famous quote. Might we begin to change the world, to truly be the church, by asking [...]
We Are Called Out
Good morning... Many of you have written to me about how much you miss church. We miss entering the beloved building. We miss worshipping and learning, socializing and serving together. We miss cozying up in the warmth of our timeless traditions and bonding as Christ's body with God and each other. Still many church doors remain closed as the threat of gathering in big groups is too risky with COVID. This week, a [...]
Double Wow!!
Good morning... "Here we go again?," she emailed after yesterday's post, Wow! "Do you still read Jesus Calling before you write or is this one of those God moments?" Hers was a really good question. Let me tell you the two most important reasons I adored her enlivening email. First, she took me back to where our daily blog began. In January of 2012, I began emailing daily messages to a private google group we [...]