Good morning... There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re [...]
Good morning... I am touched by the final line in a poem I met yesterday. uncertain wind stirring the leaves: this is the world we have: take it - A. R. Ammons I think to myself, "Would I take another wind if it was more certain, more predictable, more limited to my control? Would I want a God [...]
Good morning... After our post Pause. Breathe. Expand., a longtime friend texted: "I saw this last night and thought it coincided with your post this morning. This is more academic, but we need to allow the Holy Spirit into our Learning Spaces too." How wonderfully wired by God we are! We are drawn regularly into the fertile, frustrating [...]
Good morning... As we hosted a prayer vigil for Audrey DeShelter on Sunday and we gathered to celebrate the unique life of Mary Lynne Hamilton on Monday, one thing that repeated itself again and again was the word hope. Between the two powerful experiences of Christian community, a friend tucked into my day a little poem. [...]
Good morning... "Your greatest gift is not your gifts, but your surrendered yes to be a space for God," writes Ann Voskamp in The Greatest Gift. "The miscarriage of Christmas begins when anxieties crowd out the space within simply to carry Christ. Make room; be a womb. Be a womb to receive Christ everywhere, and it is He [...]
Good morning... As the December rush picks up, our good intentions break down. Overindulging everything, we underestimate the stress. Too much. Too fast. Too loud. Then, one of my old favorite songs meets us just where we are. "This one knocked me to the ground This one dropped me to my knees I should have seen it coming [...]
Good morning... A longtime friend texted our monthly book group, sharing with us a poem from her Advent readings -- a compilation, Sacred Journeys, by Jan L. Richardson. ****** "Annunciation” This was the minute no one speaks of, when she could still refuse. A breath unbreathed, Spirit, suspended, waiting. _________________________ She did not cry, “I cannot, I am [...]
Good morning... On a last minute walk yesterday, a friend shared with me the quote above. "God will take you where you hadn't intended to go in order to produce in you what you could not achieve on your own. It's uncomfortable, but it's grace." A few minutes later, we noticed a spider dangling precariously close to the [...]
Good morning... One recent evening, I was feeling blue. Swirling, muted worries shaded my inner world. Then, I looked outside our window. The sky seemed to match my mood. Stepping out into it, I took myself on a walk at dusk. As the black silhouette criss-crossed the painted sky, new [...]
Good morning... On my way to the Peace of Mind symposium last Friday, I suddenly found myself stuck in traffic. Stand still traffic. Frustrating traffic. Really, really annoying traffic. Two friends were counting on me to pick them up, and I was stuck. Powerless. Letting them down. Feeling really bad. Running late, I texted my apology. I beat [...]
