Good morning... Last Wednesday, I spent quality time with a new friend from Northside Church. She’s been a very active member for a long, long time, but, as she has taught art to kids during the day for over twenty years, she’s never been able to take one of the daytime classes I teach each semester. Now in [...]
Good morning... From all sides we are bombarded. Wars and worries. Death and depression. Anxiety and addiction. Conflict and confusion. Pain and problems. Into life's cacophony, my neighbor sent a centering image. Slow down. Notice blessings. Love the people on your path. “Eternal Lord, [...]
Good morning... In addition to my weekday work as Women's Ministry Director at Northside Church, I have joined my husband Steve on many Sundays as he has helped out a little Presbyterian church nearby. With their beloved pastor leaving, the small church family needed an ordained pastor to step into temporary gaps. As needed, he would pray and [...]
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... This weekend's full moon passed quietly. With cloudy skies and thick overgrowth, inside me and around us, the power of God felt muted, present but subdued. This weekend, no one sent me gorgeous, glowing full moon photos, which people so often do. Grieving friends have lost loved [...]
Good morning... Several of you responded to yesterday's blog post, I Am Feeling Lonely. Here is some of what you said. Beautiful words. Prayers that God will show you His way for you. I can relate to your feelings of loneliness. Morning sweet friend…loved your post this morning and join you in that longing to go deeper in [...]
Good morning... Back to back devotional messages from Henri Nouwen keep me company this week. Both writings come from Nouwen's deeply personal book The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom. During my dad's 89th birthday week, it's hard to live far away from my aging parents in Ohio. All of our four grown kids [...]
Good morning... Last week in class, we read aloud much of my favorite chapter in Parker Palmer's Let Your Life Speak. In a chapter entitled All the Way Down, Parker unpacks the most life-giving description of depression I have ever experienced. I posted some of his words yesterday in our blog Befriending Our Depression. Today, I feel drawn [...]
Good morning... "After hours of careful listening, my therapist offered an image that helped me eventually reclaim my life," writes Parker Palmer on page 50 of Let Your Life Speak. "You seem to look upon depression as the hand of an enemy trying to crush you," he said. "Do you think you could see it instead as the [...]
Good morning... Last Saturday night, the Spirit exploded. To cap off our day of learning at the Stir Up the Gift of God in You retreat, I led a Soul Collage session with about fifty women in St. Simons, Georgia. Trained as a Soul Collage facilitator a few years back, it was really fun to share this creative [...]
