Good morning... "Our normal response to unpleasant emotions is to do whatever we can to push them out of our awareness," says the David Benner quote we read aloud in class. "Something quite remarkable happens when, instead of following this well-worn path, we welcome them as a guest in the home of our self." Of course, this insight [...]
Good morning... In the place where the full moon exists, I see only layers of clouds. Anticipating fullness of light, this night feels anticlimactic, a drooping disappointing. The soupy, grey sky mirrors our hearts as our hopes for a permanent solution, for lasting relief, for fullness of life feel clouded over. Prayers fall limp. High hopes feel dashed. [...]
Good morning... At 7:15 pm, her text came in with the image above and these two sentences: "Friend just shared this. I know you'll love it!!!!!!" She's right. I love it. Sometimes it hurts to open our eyes. Sometimes taking a deep breath feels impossible. Sometimes it's really hard to move our feet from the bed to the [...]
Good morning... Amid this time of year with graduations, weddings, and special days dedicated to mothers and fathers, depression can creep in for some of us who feel depleted and disconnected, with high hopes and deep dreams derailed. I just read the obituary for Libby Wood, with this challenging sentence: "Sadly, she lost her battle with depression on [...]
Good morning... She shared this reading out loud with us. By the end, her eyes were wet with tears. ****** The voice of despair says, “I sin over and over again. After endless promises to myself and others to do better next time, I find myself back again in the old dark places. Forget about trying to change. [...]
Good morning... As the song from yesterday's blog post ended, I was mysteriously led into a music video entitled "The Story Behind - The Anchor Holds written and performed by Lawrence Chewning." "We had one of those years," Lawrence admits. "It was 1992. My wife and I call it 'our year of sorrows.'" Pain piled up. The death [...]
Good morning... "Years ago, someone told me that humility is central to the spiritual life," writes Parker Palmer on page seventy of Let Your Life Speak. "That made sense to me: I was proud to be humble! But this person did not tell me that the path to humility, for some of us at least, goes through humiliation, [...]
Good morning... "God cares," she quietly responded after yesterday's post Does Anyone Care? "This is beautiful, Sue. I feel so alone right now and need to be reminded that I am never alone. Thank you." God's living Word carried on our conversation. "You are right," I emailed back. "God cares. God loves you relentlessly, forever and always. You [...]
Good morning... "I love your post today!" she wrote yesterday after experiencing our morning message Just Show Love. "I posted one of your quotes to my Instagram. So cool. God is really talking through you these days!" Look at God's love shining through my creative friend. As I have told you before, I do not Instagram, [...]
Good morning... After pushing through our post Pregnant With Worry, around 2:15 pm yesterday little Lucy breathed her first breath. She now joins her family and friends on the adventure of her lifetime. I was overjoyed to receive the birth texts and first photos shared with loved ones. When it comes to parenting newborns and toddlers, "Retrospect is [...]
