Good morning... Beloved American poet Mary Oliver tiptoed over from earth to heaven one week ago today in Hobe Sound, Florida. Might three of her most famous quotes shape our prayer time this morning? Read each. Pause quiet. Wait inspired. "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" "Instructions for [...]
Good morning... I love the unifying murmuration of Holy Spirit power I feel with Betty Skinner as she nears 93 years old and with Kitty Crenshaw and Dr. Cathy Snapp, the authors of The Hidden Life Awakened, the captivating book chronicling Betty's journey from deep clinical depression to the height of God's healing to wholeness. Together we also [...]
Good morning... Like morning manna falling for the first followers, God rains down the nourishment we each need for this day. When the dew evaporated, a flaky substance as fine as frost blanketed the ground. The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it. “What is it?” they asked each other. They had no idea what it was (Exodus 16:14-15a, [...]
Good morning... Several months back I read aloud to a Sunday school class the Message translation of John 15:4. I asked people to ponder, "What word or phrase most tickles your heart and grabs your attention?" “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear [...]
Good morning... Millions of people around the world turned out for hundreds of simultaneous gatherings on Saturday. More than one million people joined marches in the United States, including hundreds of thousands in Washington, D.C., for the Women’s March on Washington. “Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy,” President Trump tweeted. “Even if I don’t always agree, I [...]
Good morning... Clinging to our heart's desire can keep us from God's abundant life. When Paula D'Arcy lost her husband and her young daughter to the carelessness of a drunk driver, she was three months pregnant. In deep despair she was forced to give birth six months later. The one thing her heart desired most was a natural childbirth, [...]
Good morning... I wake with a Christmas song dancing in my head. "Still. Still. Still." I know this first word, but I can not come up with the next line. So, I crawl out of bed. I plug in the tree lights and silently scoop coffee before brewing a small pot. I choose my cobalt blue 'Whistler' mug (a [...]
Good morning... God's wisdom echoes. “Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys [...]
Good morning... Donning my name and address, a padded, manila envelop arrived at my doorstep. Doesn't everyone love an unexpected gift? I took time to carefully open the seal, and my heart smiled big as I pulled from the protective package my personal copy of The Hidden Life Awakened, a freshly reprinted, expanded version of one of my all [...]
Good morning... It seems to me, we have a choice to make. We can mindlessly let time take us or we can prayerfully learn the art of taking time. In Ephesians 5:11-16 (MSG), I discover a clarifying call to action. Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness (unconsciously numbing, going through the [...]
