Good morning... Today is the final Friday morning class of this weird semester. We have gathered in an open space at church rather than the cozy warmth of our living room. We have pulled uncomfortable stackable chairs into a circle, six feet apart, rather than relaxing on our couches with pillows, blankets, and our furry, friendly dogs. We [...]
Good morning... Yesterday was my day to get my first COVID vaccine. As I walked from square to square, each six feet apart, I felt like a kid in a cake walk at an elementary school fair. Lots of people. Lots of hope. Lots of quiet excitement. Skin color, body type, and ages varied, but collectively a bunch [...]
Good morning... Many of you know and love the ministry of my husband Steve, as he has been the head chaplain and wrestling coach at The Lovett School since 1995 (minus two life-changing years in a tiny Pennsylvania town). Steve and I met at a small liberal arts school called the College of Wooster in Ohio. His chaplain [...]
Good morning... This week I received a powerful poem from a forever friend who has taught me so much about grieving well and tenderly embracing every ounce of life. "A Center" by Ha Jin You must hold your quiet center, where you do what only you can do. If others call you a maniac or a fool, just [...]
Good morning... I spent my earliest morning hours crafting yesterday's blog with God, Five Years Of Unfolding. After I pressed "send" to share with you our post for the day, the Spirit drew me to another Scripture verse. Quietly I went back into yesterday's message and added the following lines. Together we have witnessed God's promise coming vibrantly [...]
Good morning... Five years ago today the spirit of a young man returned to the God who gave it and later in the week his body was returned to the ground from which we came. Our grieving community experienced with new eyes one of my favorite Bible verses: Then shall the dust [out of which God made man’s [...]
Good morning... In the morning I got word that my high school classmate was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and in the evening we took dinner to a family returning home from an amazing two hour memorial service for a dear friend who died this week of ALS. Deeply touched by the video shared [...]
Good morning... "1 year ago today the world went sideways," my husband Steve wrote into our family group text first thing yesterday morning. "Mom, Ky (25), and I were at a Hawks game when the NBA season was canceled. Adrianna (21) found out she had to quickly get home from her study abroad semester in Spain before international [...]
Good morning... "Every morning God paints a different sunrise," my friend texted me a Jon Piper quote on the day we were leaving the beach as she was arriving. "He never gets tired of doing it again and again. But then it struck me. No, he doesn't do it again and again. He never stops doing it." "The [...]
Good morning... My parents, at eight-two and eighty-three years old, live in a two-bedroom villa in a continuum-of-care community near my hometown of Berea, Ohio. Our whole extended family planned to celebrate their sixtieth wedding anniversary in May...then COVID hit...and everything shut down...one full year ago this week. My annual trip from Atlanta, Georgia requires a plane flight, [...]
