Good morning… After I spoke at a recent gathering, I was given a precious "Thank you" gift, a pack of tiny cards bearing scripture verses and a miniature cardholder. The gift now lives in my guest bath, and I change the position of the twenty-three cards regularly. This morning, the card in the front bears this Bible verse. "I [...]
Good morning... I learned lots of tantalizing tidbits as I read my two Spiritual Direction books. In passing, one set of authors wrote, "The next time you feel enthusiastic about something, remember that that word means literally 'God within' you" (p. 87 in Hagberg and Guelich's The Critical Journey: Stages in the Life of Faith). With my intrigue sparked, [...]
Good morning... We are wise to heed Jesus' warning: “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces" (Matthew 7:6, NIV). I think Jesus would also say, "Do NOT be these swine." On page 10 in The [...]
Letting down our guard and sharing our true self is easier said than done. Our guard is an important part of us, serving us well until it doesn't anymore. We are handmade uniquely in our Creator's image (Genesis 1:27) and filled with the living breath of God (Genesis 2:7). Freshly formed from our Father's fingers, we each come into [...]
Good morning... "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What? You, too? I thought I was the only one!'" - C.S. Lewis I have witnessed similar exchanges amid Bible study after Bible study these past few weeks. When we let down our guard and share our genuine selves, "What? You, too?" experiences birth new [...]
Good morning... In art class, our eleven-year-old made a telling clay mask. Taped-tight beneath layers of newsprint, she secretly hid it in the garage. Spring cleaning several weeks later, I found the package lying amid odd-and-ends. Still wrapped. Still unexposed. Still hidden. Picking it up, I was surprised by its thick heaviness. “Honey, this has your name on it. [...]
Good morning... If I were a neat freak, I wouldn’t be a writer. If I needed eight hours of sleep every night, I wouldn’t be a writer. If I loved to read, filling my time and my head with words written by others, I wouldn’t be a writer. God made me a messy insomniac, with dyslexic tendencies, so that [...]
