Good morning… Walking with a friend this week, I learned an interesting fact. The bite of a snake is not what kills a person. Poisonous venom spreading throughout a body is the common culprit of death by snakebite. As I research this truth further, I learn some interesting facts. One common misconception is that snakebites themselves are usually fatal. In truth, even during frontier times, only one quarter of the bites from pit vipers [...]

Good morning… I hope that every time I combine the numbers 9 and 11, I remember the life altering tragedy of September 11, 2001. One year later, on September 11, 2002 at 5:00 am, these raw words saturated my journal page: “I know now why I’m writing in this black book. It is right. It is honorary. It is the color of today. So many vital, loving, one-of-a-kind people woke up to the last [...]

Good morning... In a handful of hours, a small group of us will gather around a friend whose cancer has returned. We will lay our hands on her. We will call upon God to fill her with healing power. We will gather in unison, one voice, one prayer: "Please, LORD, perform Your miracle." Why will we do this and what good will it do? First, Jesus tells us in Matthew 18:19-20 (MSG): "When two [...]

Good morning… About a week before we launched “sue2you”, I had a very vivid dream. I was at three places in the dream all at once. First, I was an overall observer of the event, second, I was the driver of the van, and, third, I was somehow inside the “power pack” in the scene. Strange, I know, but let me explain. I was driving my van down a nearby street and I accidentally [...]

Good morning… He said, "You know, theology is just like ice cream. We all have our favorite kind." To demonstrate, he polled us for our favorite ice cream flavor. I said, "If there are fresh strawberries around, my favorite is vanilla." She said, "Neapolitan." He said, "Cookies and cream." She said, "Coffee ice cream." My friend said, "My favorite flavor is the freedom to pick my flavor." There are a lot of great theologians [...]

Good morning… Growing up in Berea, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, one thing I remember of the summer months is chasing lightening bugs in our back yard just before bed. We'd poke holes in the tops of mason jars then go outside to catch as many lightening bugs as we could track down. Any of the tiny miracle creatures we could cup in our bare hands would be dropped in our personal jar and [...]

Good morning… God had you in mind on April 30, 1988. When my pen left its first mark on a blank journal page, these are the words formed by my twenty-five year old fingers: “Being aware and attentive to feelings, thoughts, inklings is very important to me. For if I don’t know my inner world, I won’t be able to share it with you. And if I don’t share what I have been given, [...]

Good morning… Our twenty-year-old son sent his dad and me this video. As many of you know, my husband is a committed early morning runner and I am a committed early morning writer. We both relate to this video on so many important levels. I hope these words and images encourage you to find your best way to come close to our Creator, morning after morning. http://www.desiringgod.org/run Come close to God, and God will [...]

Good morning… God's pursuit of us begins early in our lives and continues on throughout our lifetime. The following scripture verses personify God as our lifelong teacher. Psalm 51:6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. Psalm 71:17 Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Psalm 119:102 I have not departed from your laws, for [...]

Good morning... What do we do when horrible happens? The dreaded results say, "The cancer is back." The voice inside us verbalizes the unspeakable, "I'm filing for divorce." The phone hands us the forbidden truth, "There are no survivors." What do we do when horrible happens? We grope for God in the very same place all of creation began. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, [...]

What do we do when horrible happens? The dreaded results say, "The cancer is back." The voice inside us verbalizes the unspeakable, "I'm filing for divorce." The phone hands us the forbidden truth, "There are no survivors." What do we do when horrible happens? We grope for God in the very same place all of creation began. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the [...]