We Are Given Holy Spirit Power
Good morning... Two segments of Scripture quietly flow my way in the early morning hours of this brand new day. Dear friends, keep building on the foundation of your most holy faith, as the Holy Spirit helps you to pray. And keep in step with God's love, as you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to show how kind he is by giving you eternal life (Jude 1:20-21, CEV). My deepest prayer is [...]
God In Stereo!
Good morning... "God in stereo!" she emailed me after yesterday's post, What's The True Purpose Of Prayer?" She shared with me a devotional message she had just read, a message amplifying the process of metamorphosis, God's Spirit gradually transforming ordinary people, like you and like me, into the very image of Christ. ****** "Truth For Life Daily: Alistair Begg Devotional" August 9, 2023 - Work Out Your Salvation, Philippians 2:12 Every parent knows [...]
What’s The True Purpose Of Prayer?
Good morning... "Good morning Sue - we are on the same wavelength," she wrote after yesterday's post, Uncertain. Unsettled. Ungrounded. "I read this a few days ago and was reminded of it as I read your reflection - XO." “Are our needs important to God? Yes. But the true purpose of prayer is to commune with the God of our souls, to be enclosed with Him, adoring Him, and conformed to His likeness. [...]
Uncertain. Unsettled. Ungrounded.
Good morning... When I try hard to walk a perfectly straight line through the foggy haze of this wounding world, my forceful feet fail me. Peace. Playfulness. Inner balance. These life-giving qualities evaporate. Like a giant balloon girl in the showy Macy's parade, I float through the motions, hovering aimlessly. Ungrounded. Uncertain. Unsettled in my soul. I start to stop trying. I’m not trying to get my way in the world’s way (Psalm [...]
Steve Does A Sweet Baptism
Good morning... Ordained as a Presbyterian minister, my husband Steve has been helping out a bit at Kairos Church, a small nearby church that is in between pastors. Last week, he led communion; this week he did a sweet baptism. The father of the baptized baby is one of Steve's former students from Lovett, and the paternal grandfather and his awesome wife came on our Israel trip in 2022. Over the years, our [...]
Your Ache. My Ache.
Good morning... One line lingers from a poem I shared this week: "Your ache. My ache." After last week's church service, several of us stayed behind to lay hands on Julianna, a 38 year old mom of four who is a committed member of our small group. We spoke intimate blessing over her and her husband, as she prepared for surgery this week to remove her colon cancer. In prayerful solidarity we expressed, [...]
Check Out Our Fall Classes
Good morning... Summertime for me is a very different season. At Northside Church, I work only eight hours each week for June and July, attending a monthly meeting for Pastors and Directors, responding to texts and emails each day, and keeping my commitment to walk/talk through life with the women connected to our vibrant ministry. On August 1st, when I walked into the church to prepare for the fall season, I was greeted [...]
All Day, I Feel The Throbbing
Good morning... I love meeting short poems who, very simply, speak God's truth. ****** Sympathetic Resonance by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer All day, I feel the throbbing of other lives, other pain, as if I’m a string on the piano that goes unplayed, and yet vibrates when the hammer strikes other strings, and then— your ache, my ache, two strings, one song. ****** The sympathetic resonance playing music among us is, very simply, the [...]
The Moon Is Always Round
Good morning... "Hi Sue," she wrote yesterday, "I received this devotional sometime early in the pandemic and have saved it. It reminds me of your post this morning, Trusting Without Seeing." ****** Excerpt from The Moon Is Round by Sylvia Gunter In times of crisis trust is a powerful weapon. I define trust as assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, and truth of God. When troubles come, we can ground ourselves in the [...]
Trusting Without Seeing
Good morning... In the midst of my deep prayer time, the Spirit invites me to step outside, onto our back porch. Serenaded by cicadas, I snap a picture of the full moon hiding behind layers of lush tree limbs. Strangely, the tone of light in the dark of this night makes the setting feel surreal. Weird. Unusual. Kinda dream-like. I guess this snapshot of the outer world mysteriously mirrors the way I feel [...]
Steve Invites Us Into Egypt
Good morning... Over the years, several of us have traveled in small groups to Israel with my husband, Rev. Steve Allen, talented trip leader and head chaplain at The Lovett School. The experiences have been breath-taking, eye-opening, life-changing. Many more of us have enjoyed vicariously our blog posts from the Holy Land, year after year, during the spring Lenten season. Steve now invites us all into a new adventure. Egypt, anyone? "The faith [...]
Deeply Dreaming Of Our Wedding
Good morning... Arriving home from my time away, I opened the invitation to our oldest son's wedding. I savored the handmade beauty. I took the picture above and texted it to our daughter-in-love-to-be, letting her know how much I appreciate her tender loving care with every little detail. I also shared the photo and gratitude with her mom, who is putting so much kind work into wedding preparations with her husband. Such joy [...]