GRACE Trickles Down
Good morning... As I visited my new nephew in Ohio last week, I went to the bathroom before leaving for the airport to fly back to Atlanta. As I stepped back into their kitchen, I saw the sight above - the hand painted plaque I had commissioned for my sister's son and his wife when they married in 2018. At the time, I had been processing the concept of GRACE and came up [...]
How Did Last Night Go?
Good morning... As I washed my face, finally home after speaking at last night's Holiday Gathering, I looked at my hand and saw my talk in a nutshell. "Shoulds. Read story. 2 shells. Another story. Picture - perfect looking, broken. Dark night. 3 things. Journaling. Northside groups. PAWkids." Then on the tips of my fingers. "Elf. Water. Quote. Bathe shells." Those of you who wanted a recap, there it is, as close as [...]
Be The Disco Ball
Good morning... "Thought of you and the Holiday Gathering you are doing," she texted along with the clever image above. She made me smile. She made me chuckle. She made me feel loved and supported. "A disco ball is hundreds of pieces of broken glass put together to make a magical ball of light," reads the Judi Holler quote. "You aren't broken; you are a disco ball." Next my curiosity thought, "How does [...]
Dark Night Of Our Soul
Good morning... This has never happened to me before. I spent diligent time discerning our morning message in the middle of yesterday's dark night, then I unconsciously drifted to sleep on the couch where I write. I woke, climbed in bed, woke again, then headed into a very full day. "We didn't get your blog today," my dad wrote from Ohio at 10:14 am. "Please re-send it." As I sorted through my emails, [...]
Prepare For The Holidays. Mind. Heart. Gut.
Good morning... I wake to the special email below, reminding me of this week's Holiday Gathering. Whimsical. Welcoming. The invitation quietly whispers, "Get ready for a wonderful evening." God and I have been diligently discerning fresh wisdom to share with the down-to-earth women of our community. If you are free on Thursday night, please consider joining us as we prepare our minds, our hearts and our guts. Together, we will learn to savor [...]
We Face An Unknown Future
Good morning... We face an unknown future, dependent on the grace of God. What is grace exactly, Lord? a. Divine favor bestowed freely on people. b. The state of having received unearned favor. c. A supernatural power granted unconditionally by God. God is full of grace. From him we have all received grace in place of the grace already given (John 1:16, NIRV). From God, we all receive compounding grace. Given, given, given [...]
This Is One Thing We Can Do
Good morning... Beneath this sign posted on a nearby tree, I look down to see a worm struggling wildly on the sidewalk. Flailing. Squirming. Searching for softness. I think to myself, "This is one thing I can do," and I pick up the desperate creature and lay her on a moist patch of grass. In times of chaotic overwhelm, it is important to do the one thing we can do, one moment at [...]
Free Water For The Thirsty
Good morning... Each time I walk our dogs, I pass by these two trees. One tree bears a sign with the name and the face of a three year old Israeli girl who was kidnapped by Hamas. Another tree shares the name and the face of a seventy-seven year old hostage. I am grateful for a compassionate neighbor who chose to put up these signs, grateful to remember each day the innocent victims [...]
Look At These Babies
Good morning... As I was in Ohio visiting with my parents, my siblings, and the first grandbaby on our side of the family, I missed our weekly arts and crafts time at PAWkids in downtown Atlanta. With about ten committed PAWkids volunteers connected to our Women's Ministry at Northside Church, the fun went on in my absence. "Yesterday, we introduced tug o war and balloon volleyball with noodle bats," Corinne Adams texted later. [...]
The Buoyancy Of My Mom
Good morning... At eighty-five years old, my mom is beaming, buoyant, beautiful. She has pushed through really tough medical challenges these past few years. With her moving through the ICU twice, I have paid close attention to one of my favorite poets who has recently been writing about her own mother in the ICU. Her mom also has pulled through, beaming, buoyant, beautiful. I resonate deeply with her poem below. ****** Scientific Principle [...]
At Home With My Mom And Dad
Good morning... Up in the middle of the night, I snap a photo of the sign that greeted me yesterday as I settled into my parents' villa at their senior living community in Olmsted Township, Ohio. This sign makes me smile. A simple, handcrafted warm welcome. Susie, my nickname growing up. My mother's always beautiful handwriting. The kind willingness of my brother Andy to drive in from Pennsylvania to overlap for a family [...]
I Can’t Process Everything
Good morning... Thinking, "I can't process everything," I close my eyes to cocoon in silent dark. I breathe. Breathe deep. Breathe more. Quietly my mind recalls the words of a friend. "The intense hatred of human beings is heartbreaking and hard. Why is everything coming undone?" In sensing without my eyes, I re-realize, the ways of the world are not God's ways. They never have been. They never will be. “For my thoughts [...]