Oak Trees Give Hope
Good morning... After reading our post Our Community Of Trees, a grieving mom wrote me: "I definitely feel like a small hurting tree stump in a community of giant, strong, loving redwood trees that have sent their nurturing root systems to help me regain strength and bloom again. What a powerful metaphor to draw strength from on the hard days." She then taught me about the lifespan of an oak tree: "It spends 100 [...]
Today Peace Is Blooming
Good morning... Praying in silence to begin this day, for the first time I notice a new thing. The peace lily in our living room has a white bloom appearing. I have watered this plant diligently, every few days, since it was given to me as a gift a while back. I have enjoyed nurturing her glossy green leaves and today, on Memorial Day 2018, today is the first day this peace lily blooms [...]
Hope In Our Waiting
Good morning... Waiting on God's timing gradually strengthens our hope. Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, "That’s how many descendants you will have!" And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb. Abraham never wavered in believing God’s [...]
Waiting On God
Good morning... As we walk-and-talked around the horse farm she said, "Most of us truly trust that God's timing is perfect." Tuning into the same wavelength I finished our sentence, "But we just have a really hard time waiting for God to work." If we truly are to do God's thing, in God's way, for God's eternal purposes, we will have to wait patiently for the evolution of God's perfect time. I pray to [...]
Let Go. Leave Gone.
Good morning... Letting go is hard. Leaving gone may be harder. We let go of last chances, life phases, loved ones we miss. We let go of incessant thoughts, controlling agendas, pre-planned expectations. We let go of our need to know, our desire to direct, our jolting judgement: "You're wrong. I'm right." Letting go of phases, people, and power is hard. Leaving them gone may be even harder. A tangible example for me is [...]
We Who Believe In Jesus
Good morning... I am a blank slate. Still. Empty. Expectant. I am an open book. Laid bare. Stretched wide. Written upon by time. I am a two-way street. One lane: "God, what do You need to say?" Other lane: "What do we need to sense?" Each morning I wake as a blank slate, an open book, a two-way street receptive to fresh gifts from our living LORD. Jesus ponders: Don’t you believe that I am [...]
What I Dislike Most About Me
Good morning... We are all designed to breathe God in and live God out. We are all made to wear God's wisdom like a polished string of pearls. We all want to let go of our self-protective layers, to experience life in its intended abundance. That certainly is our Plan A and God's hope for each of us. But to be honest, when Plan A falls apart and Plan B or C is forced upon [...]
We Wear God’s Wisdom
Good morning... Seeking God's wisdom, I researched Scriptures on “breath” for our recent post, Breathe God In And Out. To my mind’s eye, three poignant passages appeared polished like pearls. For this morning's message, I am stringing together these pearls of wisdom, like a necklace worn to adorn our everyday lives. But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, [...]
God Loves A Royal Wedding
Good morning... Though the media focused formally on the dress, the couple, and the royal family, yesterday's historic wedding ceremony gave full attention to our Triune God. I was half-watching the festivities when our Creators's Spirit captivated me, drew me in. So I got out my journal to jot down sketchy notes from the sacred service. "Marriage is made holy by Christ." "Fulfill God's purpose for the whole of your earthly lives." "There is [...]
Breathe God In And Out
Good morning... Alongside our own morning messages, I receive one other online devotional. The Henri Nouwen Society sends out select words from Nouwen's plethora of books. Deep. Short. Touching. Most days I make time to mull over these meaningful meditations. This week Nouwen's inspired words have resonated richly with what God is teaching us together. As I work diligently on the manuscript for Northside Church's Summertime Devotional, I smile as I breathe in Nouwen's [...]
Love Multiplies Forever
Good morning... Many of you have written to me about the pain of losing sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, friends and extended family members. Our fruitful branches have been and will be pruned back by the death of a loved one, again and again. We know what it feels like to love and to lose, but do we also notice a new truth emerging? In God's mysterious ways, we love, [...]
Trust Grows In Tragedy
Good morning... Our oldest daughter is the same age as the young adults killed or injured in the Texas tragedy I blogged about yesterday. That car full of college students was heading to Young Life camp in Colorado on the same weekend our college-aged daughter was serving at a Young Life camp in the mountains of north Georgia. In a few weeks, our daughter will also hop in a van full of college students [...]