Good morning... Still in my pajamas, I sat outside on our private back porch. Admiring the thick canopy of summer leaves, I fully engaged in a hard, life-giving phone call. After listening and talking for as long as was needed, we hung up and I checked my email to find this inspirational story from a faraway subscriber. [...]
Good morning... These three annual words are more complicated this year. "Back to school" means virtual learning for many. "Back to school" for others means social distancing, mask-wearing, quarantining when exposed to COVID-19. "Back to school" for our family means the end of an era. Today, we will pack up two cars, drive seventy-five minutes to Athens, Georgia, [...]
Good morning... I am not the only one wrestling with this year's unique experience of heading "back to school." Children and teacher, parents and grandparents, caregivers and concerned folk everywhere are all wondering, "How do we do this school year well?" Earlier in the week, our church sent out a specialized prayer. Wherever we wake this Sunday morning, we come [...]
Good morning... After watching footage of the massive explosion rocking Lebanon's capital city of Beirut this week, I turned on the news to see the touching story below. Titling her homemade video Beauty From Ashes, a granddaughter filmed her grandmother playing “Auld Lang Syne” on the piano amid wreckage from the blast. The familiar song, based on a 1788 [...]
Good morning... Worries well-up naturally from our aching gut through our heavy heart to permeate our mixed-up mind. At their essence, worries are simply an invitation into prayer. Let me show you what I mean. For example, instead of incessantly worrying "How am I ever going to homeschool my kids online again this fall semester?" we pray, "God, [...]
Good morning... "Good morning, Sue," she emailed after yesterday's post Worry Less. Pray More. "I saw this yesterday and thought of it again reading your wise words this morning. XO." With our hand on our beating heart, where the Spirit of God is alive and well, we center ourselves on the only important thing: the peaceful [...]
Good morning... "I am appalled by your blog and photo," the woman commented after yesterday's post. "How can it be true that we all grow up into God over time? That thought is too inclusive." "Too inclusive." The phrase lingered as I woke from sleep. This was a quote not from a real woman, but from a critical [...]
Good morning... Experiencing constant transformation, we are rooted where we are planted, we are undeniably interconnected, and we each grow up into God at our own rate over time. I love this photo which provides a visual expression of our individual lives extending up into the light of the Giver of life. At the time God made Earth [...]
Good morning... Sunday may be the day that feels most different during this world wide pandemic. For many church-goers across the globe who are used to gathering face to face, close together, week by week, online worship has replaced onsite worship for this unusual period of time. Churches are now negotiating, "What will it look like to come [...]
Good morning... As I put my feet in my shoes yesterday, I thoroughly enjoyed a socially distanced walk and talk with a dear, dear friend. She introduced me to an acronym I had never met before, an acronym recently shaping her evening prayer time. G.L.A.D. stands for Grateful. Learning. Accomplish. Delight. She ponders the following questions with God [...]
