Good morning... A few days back, a sobering announcement came into my blog email. It took away my breath and brought me to tears. Your list has lost a subscriber: Julie Harlan. I thought to myself, "What an understatement. We have lost much more than a subscriber." Julie was a devoted wife and mother, a beloved daughter and friend, [...]
Good morning... In my message yesterday morning, I honored my faithful friend Julie Harlan and by mid afternoon I got word that Julie had passed on to heaven. Her husband's words posted earlier this week have met their sequel. Chad wrote on Julie's CaringBridge page, "EVERYONE wonders how this rare form of cancer could happen to a healthy, fit, [...]
Good morning... In class, I made an observation, "God gave us two ears and one mouth. I think He designed us to listen twice as much as we talk." One woman leaving our study said, "I never thought about that, but it is so true. I cannot envision how two mouths would work on my face!" When I reflected [...]
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... "Our minds are always active," said Henri Nouwen's 1.14.16 morning meditation. "We analyze, reflect, daydream, or dream. There is not a moment during the day or night when we are not thinking. You might say our thinking is 'unceasing.' Sometimes we wish that we could stop thinking for a while; that would save us from many worries, [...]
Good morning... "The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you really are," says Carl Yung, the Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. 'Who we really are' is established by our Creator long before the day of our birth. Each of us whispers in wonder the words of Psalm 139:13-16 (NLT). "You made all the delicate, [...]
Good morning... Following our opening prayer, we began a new semester. "As I read aloud the first paragraph of our book, notice which words pop out to grab you." Together we listened attentively. "When applied to the spiritual life, the metaphor of a journey is both helpful and somewhat misleading. Helpfully it reflects the fact that the essence of [...]
Following our opening prayer, we began a new semester. "As I read aloud the first paragraph of our book, notice which words pop out to grab you," I encouraged. Together we listened attentively. "When applied to the spiritual life, the metaphor of a journey is both helpful and somewhat misleading. Helpfully it reflects the fact that the essence of [...]
Good morning... God reminds me once again. The word 'cling' in Old English is 'clingan' and 'clingan' means to shrink. Those smaller gods to which we cling shrink very important parts of us. Very important parts of us atrophy when we cling to anything but God. “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from...the place of your [...]
Good morning... My son sends me his favorite sermons sometimes. This week he sent me the link to Matt Chandler's 5.27.07 sermon from The Village Church near Dallas, Texas. I found Chandler's wisdom to be very eye-opening, quite appropriate to consider as we end one year and begin another. Chandler challenges us: "Idolatry in your heart and in my [...]
