Good morning... As I wake in the dark of this night, I notice three unique things. The heat has kicked on, as temperatures drop. The wind chimes are going wild, as the breeze picks up. And my mind is flooded with prayers for my friend, as she prepares to lay her husband to final rest today. Then I [...]
Good morning... Now that our kids are grown, I love generating joy with other children. This Halloween morning would feel so different for me without the fun memories made yesterday. There are moments when I waste the time gifted to me. Selfish. Ho-hum. Disconnected. [...]
Good morning... As quiet ripples of moonlight rest on our bathroom floor, I snap a photo and prepare to write in the middle of this night. First, I open an email my husband and I had discussed yesterday. Reading Steve's words with my own eyes makes the many layers of loss feel much more real. "Dear Israel Trip [...]
Good morning... Waking in the middle of this night, the moon is irresistible. I am drawn outside to capture the 3:00 am brightness casting a shadow on our deck. Light quietly befriends life's darkness. It always has. It always will. This week Kate Bowler shared the video below, reminding us day and night: Life is so beautiful. Life [...]
Good morning... "What people stand to discover...is the close relationship between individual heartbreak and the brokenheartedness of the world," notices Barbara Brown Taylor in Learning to Walk in the Dark. "While those who are frightened by the primal energy of dark emotions try to avoid them, becoming more and more cut off from the world at large, those [...]
Good morning... During last night's Fall Festival at Northside Church, I sensed our shared experience tipping toward the holidays. Halloween. Thanksgiving. Christmas. It is hard to imagine. Just two short month from today, we will wake up on the morning after Christmas 2023. An important question lifts her head and opens her big brown eyes: "How might I [...]
Good morning... A friend asked me to bring my folders of pre-cut images, my glue sticks and scissors, my blank cards and transparent sleeves. Together we hosted a gathering to make wordless prayer cards at her home with a group of her longtime friends. What joy! The special morning evaporated in such a personal, passionate, powerful way. To [...]
Good morning... During this night as the moon fills with light, I am drawn to my new book of poems, Poetry of Presence. Randomly flipping to page 57, I nestle into this moment at hand. There is so much we cannot change about this wounding world. Yet, moment to moment, we [...]
Good morning... For years we have heard stories about the hometown of our good friends who grew up in Circleville, Ohio. Rural. Midwest. Duplexes. Trailer parks. Picking up road kill for a summer job. Using a choke hold to settle an argument. Walking or biking everywhere. Penny candy store. Drive in movie theatre. Community swimming pool. Public basketball [...]
Good morning... A dear friend in our Friday morning group keeps us closely connected to the progress of her daughter-in-law, 37-year-old Elizabeth, who is battling advanced colon cancer. Periodically, Elizabeth writes candid blog posts to track her brave journey. This week, she shared important wisdom from a book she just finished reading. ****** Excerpt from Elizabeth's 10/19 PostHope [...]
