I didn’t know school was allowed to start so early, but it already began for many students here in Fort Wayne. It’s a time of transition, and even the expected, seemingly “known” changes can be hard to embrace. There is loss. There are gifts. There’s the call to walk forward in trust. I’m…
When was the last time you told yourself you “should” do or be something because you saw someone else doing or being that particular something? You can read my reflection for today’s “Practicing Families” blog that centers on that topic by clicking here. About a year ago, I learned of “Practicing Families” – an online…
Completely Gracious and Loving One, Forgive me. I’ve allowed myself to slip into cynicism this week, to hang my heart on negativity, rather than hope, to cover bloody wounds, rather than open them to the air of Your healing. Air can sting. I have been asking You for a change in my circumstances. And…
Loving Jesus, Thank you for your presence within me. It’s such a comfort, Lord, to know that whatever I have faced this week and whatever I will face in the coming days, I do so with your Spirit inside me. I am not alone. You have renewed me – the core of who I am…
God who loves and made all seasons, Thank you for the gift of summer. It’s one of your especially gracious ones. We thank you for refreshing changes in our day-to-day lives – for tracked in sand on the kitchen floor at the lake house; for the smell of fresh strawberries we’ve dumped out on the counter…
In light of yesterday’s post, this prayer calls us to a slower pace that dwells and trusts in God’s provision. Dear Jesus, You tell me to consider “lilies” and “birds.” You promise me“I have everything I need.” You call me to surrender. To trust. You sing me into greater slowness, where I can believe there…
When I became a new parent, I no longer thought I had enough time. I’ve always been an anxious person, bent on productivity and intent on efficiency. Improving something was a thrill, and a completed to-do list a gold star. More done = better. And done perfectly was even better (as though this exists). A terrible motto, and yet,…
As we come to the close of another week, please pause for a few breaths and moments right now. The week, no doubt, brought surprises. Some increased your joy. Others blindsided you with fresh pain. Or maybe the week oozed with a gray sameness, and you’re wishing something – anything – could shake fresh light and…
For a note about this weekly prayer tradition, see last week’s post. *** Good Morning, God. Please meet me where I’m at today. Come and fill this room, wrap my heart – whatever its state – in your hands, reminding me you are here, reminding me I am loved. I thank you, God, that I…
“Have you thought about names?” My friends asked. My parents asked. Kind church members offering hugs in the receiving line asked. Pregnancy invites all kinds of advice, but it also ignites curiosity and questions. I was surprised last year how many people asked me what baby names we were considering. I was also surprised by…
One of my favorite things to do in the two churches I most recently served was to write a weekly prayer that went out to the congregation via our “e-news” on Fridays. I incorporated the prayer requests I received from church members that we might hold one another in our hearts throughout the day. While the…
Last August, my beloved father, Dr. Tom Braithwaite, died after an eleven-year journey through cancer. Dad loved to sing. It was a passion he shared with his brother. They regularly sang as a quartet at church, and after Dad’s death, my uncle commissioned a musical piece for the quartet. He did not seek to memorialize…
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