Lori Florida

Living just four blocks down the street from my best friend made it easy to share clothes, secrets, and families. We could be found within a close radius of her backyard pool most summer days. The rhythm of our summer days revolved around Gretchen’s dad’s third-shift work schedule. During the morning hours, the house needed to stay dark and quiet, so we picked peppermint leaves to chew, painted our nails, and read books. Not long after lunchtime, Mr. Liddell would wake up, which paved the way for our favorite summer activity: synchronized swimming routines. We practiced and laughed until we felt ready for an audience. Gretchen’s dad always stopped mid-project to be amazed by our mildly in sync pool programs. He clapped and went back to work while we kept playing. His presence was as steady as the summer sun. He wasn’t merely my friend’s dad; he was a comfortable, expected constant in my life. The familiarity born by all those shared moments made his cancer diagnosis particularly awful ...

There was a woman who spent her life hiding. She hid in her home; she hid in bravado; she hid in toxic relationships. The day Jesus went after her, she was hiding in plain sight. I wish I knew her name and could invite her to coffee. I want to hear more about the conversation she had with Jesus beside the well in Samaria. It must have been a doozy, because it sent her off into public with a loud message. Something profound changed in her heart, making her a person who wasn’t afraid to be seen and heard.  She suddenly spoke words with power. John 4: 39-42  tells what happened next: Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.’ So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, “We no longer believe  just because  of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and ...

“ I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” ( John 16:33 ESV ) We all love a good police drama. My favorite episodes are when they call in a guy (or woman) to defuse a bomb or talk down a hostage taker. One guy steps forward, close to danger, willing to defy great odds. He knows he has expertise and preparation the rest of the world doesn’t have to offer. The expert has high-level training and has honed his skill through hours of practice. He has learned to mitigate the effects of stress on his body. He uses deep breathing to slow his heart rate and steady his hand. Good sleep and healthy living are serious issues to him, knowing he could get a call at any moment. Why is he this extreme? What has made him willing to sacrifice time and pleasure to prepare with unusual skills? He knows he’s on call and that his phone will ring when disaster strikes. He ...

“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. “The Christmas trees were huge, all lined up close together with their branches touching each other. And she was just a tiny thing, barely able to walk!” The Christmas season isn’t complete without my mom beginning one of her favorite stories with these words. The fear in my gut as she tells it must be a phantom feeling born of the forty-plus times I’ve heard the story. Nonetheless, it takes me right back to those pokey branches separating me from the safety of my mom. The only way back to her was through those branches. I froze. Fear blocked my way as surely as the tree. My eyes were screwed shut, so I didn’t know Mom had turned to face me until she spoke. Instead of scooping me up in a rescue, she knelt down and called to me. Her voice encouraged me to venture straight into what made my toddler mind scream, “Danger!” and became louder than the f...

 I can imagine the face of the Samaritan woman in John 4. You would expect downcast eyes but I think bold, challenging eye contact was her armor. Her face bore the hardness of one unfair day after another. There was a forced beauty about her...evidence that she was an expert at trying hard. I wish I could know her name. I would love to friend her on facebook and then meet up for coffee. She knows secrets about how Jesus wakes up a dry, numb heart. Those are secrets that all of us who mentor and reach out to lives around us need to hear. The first words out of her mouth when Jesus asked her for a drink sound like echoes of the attitudes I've encountered over the years in my small group of high school girls. For every handful of soft, eager learners I always find a girl with a heart like a rock. A girl who makes even an innocent request for a drink a challenge. I imagine the Samaritan woman pointing her finger at Jesus and spitting out the cold, hard truth of her unworthiness be...

There are so many days when you might feel like a fraud.  If you're like me, you rolled out of that hospital with your first baby in your arms, half looking over your shoulder expecting someone to come to take him away and tell you that you aren't qualified.  I mean, you're barely an adult, have only had a little practice playing house before a baby appeared, shattering all your certainties.  You have shining moments and pray God will let those be the memories cemented into your kids' brains.  But you feel sure those moments are overshadowed by your uncertainty and missteps. This is a serious job.  You feel the weight of eternal souls entrusted to your care and development.  You've seen Judge Judy's courtroom enough times to know that getting it wrong can get ugly.  The last thing you want is someone carrying your last name around in the future, like a banner of your parenting skills, while they're acting like a brat and being irresponsible. ...

We're on the verge of this adoption moving from the "something we're doing" column to the "what we've done" column.  I've met my daughters, touched them and started falling in love with their sweet faces and voices.  It won't be long before you all meet them and fall in love too and they will be the faces of this story.  I'm so happy that's going to happen....because you're going to love them.  You're going to be captivated by who they are and what they bring to all of our lives.  You're going to wonder how our family was ever complete without them.  I can't wait. Last night, a song and portions of the book of Acts brought me right back to the beginning of this whole thing....and the first face that we fell in love with, the face that started the ball rolling and made this whole things happen.  Before it's about us, before it's about our girls, as sweet and deserving as they are.....it's been about Him and I ...