Good morning... I felt burdened by heavy homework for a summer class I am taking. Reading. Podcast. TED Talk. I was drowning in a sea of complicated words, overwhelmed by crowded conclusions others have drawn. Suddenly, I turned off the assignment mid-sentence and followed my inner teacher, the Holy Spirit of the living God. Surrounded by a gorgeous [...]
Good morning... Blogging most days for eleven years, I have been trained to glimpse God in everyday life. People in our written word community have honed a similar awareness. Subscribers often send me pictures or stories, quotes or songs, insights or occurrences revealing the presence of our God-with-us God. Yesterday, my neighbor sent me the photo above, a [...]
Good morning... At 1:00 pm, our son texted us about losing a high school friend to suicide. Then at 1:50 pm, a longtime friend texted me while I was walking at the horse farm. "Hi - can you talk?" began our exchange. "Yes, please call." We talked for a while about how best to support her close friend, [...]
Good morning... After reading yesterday's post, I Give Up Our Daily Blog, a longtime friend emailed me, along with several other supportive subscribers. Her simple words really resonated. "Reading your blog this morning I sensed many of the words and slogans I hear in my 12 step alanaon program," she explained. Detachment (with love ) Let Go and [...]
Good morning... Our daily blog has noticed slivers of light in the dark of night since 2015. Last week, our website shut down for nine quiet days. We wondered if our large file of archived writings had exceeded its limit. As experts worked on the problem, I was forced to wait and to wonder, "Is God inviting me [...]
Good morning... "Once in a blue moon someone like you comes along," Van Morrison sings into our soul. A friend sent me an article, an article written by Alissa Barry. These are perfect thoughts to ponder as May tips into June. ******* Once in a blue moon. Today is a rare celestial event. It's a blue moon. A [...]
Good morning... As I stroll into our summer reading of Henri Nouwen's Here and Now, I meet these words on page 43. "Joy and hope are never separate. I have never met a hopeful person who was depressed or a joyful person who has lost hope." I think to myself, "Actually, I think I am a hopeful person [...]
Good morning... Yesterday, our Thursday class met for our first monthly gathering of the summer. We celebrated a special seventieth birthday, with a homemade cake and candles, balloons and flowers, cards and gifts. We caught up on our stories. Stories of babies born and concerns for our aging parents. Stories of painful health issues and the frustration of [...]
Good morning... I love the rhythm of our Women's Ministry at Northside Church. We enjoy a fertile fall semester and a wonderful winter/spring semester, then, for the summer, we channel all of our study and our service opportunities into a few awesome options. Our weekly summer reading group begins at 10:00 am on Wednesday, June 3rd. Our first [...]
Good morning... One thing that has lifted my spirits this year is the act of spring cleaning. My friend Elizabeth has begun a small decluttering business, and she used me as her guinea pig. Here is what she wrote up about our hands-on experience. ****** Most of us slowly grow blind to our clutter. We walk around it—or [...]
