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 [...]
Wow!
Good morning... "Wow!" she texted before last night's incredible thunder-and-lightening-fest. "Have you seen this?" "'Wow!' is right," I replied. "How can words written through a person nearly eighty years ago speak so boldly to us right now? This creative expression can only be the eternal voice of our living Lord, who was, and is, and is to come." “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, [...]
What Do Dogs Feel?
Good morning... Her normal nap spots were vacant. I couldn't find our dog anywhere. Not sucking in cool air on any of her favorite air vents. Not curled up in a cozy ball beside our bed in the corner of our main floor bedroom. Not laying outside her doggy door on the warm weathered wood, watching squirrels frolic from our back porch. With a baby gate turned "doggy gate" closing off the upstairs [...]
Will I Miss This?
Good morning... I walked up our stairs to the hometown bedroom of our college freshman, and this shocking image is what I saw. Appalling and endearing? Mess and excess? Raunchy and reckless? Most of you might be more mortified than I as you look at this crazy chaos, but my momma-eyes zero in on wonderful remnants of our well-rounded son. As I zoom into the photo, I see so much about who he [...]
Leaving Our Son
Good morning... My husband and I both gave our own blessing to our youngest child as we took him to college on Saturday. At our son's request, I made him three large homemade Stromboli's to share with his three roommates on their first evening in their new apartment. My husband also gave the blessing of words, personally presented at an opportune time. As we sat outside eating burgers at a cool [...]
Today’s Headlines
Good morning... Still in my pajamas, I sat outside on our private back porch. Admiring the thick canopy of summer leaves, I fully engaged in a hard, life-giving phone call. After listening and talking for as long as was needed, we hung up and I checked my email to find this inspirational story from a faraway subscriber. The timing was perfect. These words felt like a gift from God for me [...]
Back To School?
Good morning... These three annual words are more complicated this year. "Back to school" means virtual learning for many. "Back to school" for others means social distancing, mask-wearing, quarantining when exposed to COVID-19. "Back to school" for our family means the end of an era. Today, we will pack up two cars, drive seventy-five minutes to Athens, Georgia, and launch our youngest of four into his freshman year of college. Walking and talking [...]
One Big Prayer
Good morning... I am not the only one wrestling with this year's unique experience of heading "back to school." Children and teacher, parents and grandparents, caregivers and concerned folk everywhere are all wondering, "How do we do this school year well?" Earlier in the week, our church sent out a specialized prayer. Wherever we wake this Sunday morning, we come together as the bonded body of Christ. Spirit joins with Spirit as we lift our [...]
Beauty From Ashes
Good morning... After watching footage of the massive explosion rocking Lebanon's capital city of Beirut this week, I turned on the news to see the touching story below. Titling her homemade video Beauty From Ashes, a granddaughter filmed her grandmother playing “Auld Lang Syne” on the piano amid wreckage from the blast. The familiar song, based on a 1788 Scots poem by Robert Burns, is typically sung among friends and family on New Years [...]