I Am Not Okay
Good morning... After yesterday's post, Okay And Not Okay, she texted right away. "I don't know if Jelly Roll meant this to be a song about faith," she said, "but that's how I hear it." Coincidentally, just the night before on the American Idol show, Jelly Roll was announced as the celebrity coach who will help the contestants navigate the stressors and pressures of the 2025 season. Just like my friend, I also [...]
Okay And Not Okay
Good morning... Out loud, we read this poem. ***** For When People Ask by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer I want a word that means okay and not okay, a word that means devastated and stunned with joy. I want the word that says I feel it all all at once. The heart is not like a songbird singing only one note at a time, more like a Tuvan throat singer able to sing both [...]
We Learn From Loss
Good morning... "Dear Sue," a loyal friend wrote yesterday. "You have been in my heart lately; with prayers for your Mom (and Dad) and for you as you stretch your own heart full circle. Today’s post from you with that wonderful jar image, and today’s message from Bishop Wright work together beautifully to illustrate the stark reality of our flawed and precious lives. All we grieve is an integral part of the journey. [...]
We Grow Around Grief
Good morning... After yesterday's post, Untangling Our Sadness, a friend wrote: "I can't remember if I sent this to you. Your post this morning made me think of this jar image. A friend sent it to me and it really spoke to me." People tend to believe that grief shrinks over time. What really happens is that we grow around our grief. "This makes so [...]
Untangling Our Sadness
Good morning... Walking toward the excruciating pain of the cross, Jesus is described as "a man of sorrows and suffering, knowing sadness well" (Isaiah 53:3, NLV). How well do we each know our own sadness? In our therapeutic community group, we explored the experience of sadness, the different forms sad can take. Big sad. Small sad. Light sprinkling of sad. Rising sad. Sharp sad. Confusingly beautiful sad. Heavy sad. Creeping sad. Sad on [...]
Expanding Audrey’s Vision
Good morning... As shared in yesterday's blog post, Jesus came to nineteen year old Audrey DeShetler in a vision, washing clean her weary feet. "Audrey, you are well." She heard Jesus speak to her directly for the very first time. Then later in the day, another friend wrote to me: "After reading today’s blog, I had to share what showed up in my Facebook memories. (See the photo above of Jesus washing the [...]
“Audrey, You Are Well.”
Good morning... For nearly fifteen years, the members of Northside Church have been praying diligently for Audrey DeShetler, Sunday after Sunday. We have closely tracked her journey with a childhood cancer called neuroblastoma. Diagnosed at age five, Audrey has pushed through treatment after treatment, relapse after relapse, until now Audrey is a wise nineteen years old young woman. At the very same time I was writing yesterday's post, which highlighted a song about [...]
The Lyrics Of Love
Good morning... She sang the perfect song for this Lenten season. Let's explore the lyrics of God's love before experiencing these powerful words brought to life. [Verse 1: Brandon Lake] It's so good I almost can't believe it Far beyond what hearts could ever dream The God who set the galaxies in motion Would descend to give His life for me [Pre-Chorus 1: Brandon Lake] For what could make perfection bleed for sinners? [...]
Who I Am, Really?
Good morning... As I was cleaning out my closet, I came across this card, a card filled with words I had written years ago during a spiritual retreat. I remember being on the annual retreat with our Northside Writers' Group, and we were given quality time to write about our sphere of influence, how we sense ourselves impacting the world in a significant way. After jotting down notes, we were guided to begin [...]
This 24 Hour Circle
Good morning... I began my 62nd birthday week writing a blog post entitled The Art of Aging. Now, look what I just found tucked on our bookshelf - a book entitled The Art of Aging by Sherwin B. Nuland. I vaguely remember a generous friend giving me this gift a while back, and I had yet to open its cover until this moment. On the pristine page before the Table of Contents, I [...]
Lift Your Voice
Good morning... In our reading for this week, our class discovered a unique quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on page 153 of Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer. "Whatever your life's work is, do it well... If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep the streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, like Shakespeare wrote poetry, like Beethoven composed music; sweep streets so well that all the host of [...]
Celebrating A Seder
Good morning... Last night, we enjoyed an ecumenical Unity Seder at Temple Emanu-el in Sandy Springs. What a fun and festive evening! A very large room was filled to the brim with people from various faith communities throughout our city. "Good people of all different faiths can come together to celebrate people of all faiths coming together," said one of our hosts for the evening. "The world needs it, this coming together." We [...]