Good morning... "Beneath or inside the life we lead every day is another life," says the John Tarrant quote in the notes I borrowed from our 93-year-old friend, Christian mystic Betty Skinner. For years Betty used these notes to facilitate spiritual retreats on the Enneagram, the ancient study of the nine basic types of people. Now as I [...]
Good morning... Our Saturday breakdown in communication really had no rhyme and no reason. I checked everything I knew to check and found no sign of why we got "Oops. This Page Could Not Be Found!" instead of our post "So It Was With Marian." In my life "no rhyme or reason" usually has God's fingerprints all over it, [...]
Good morning... In the early morning darkness, I quietly unravel more. My soul skips back to that verb from yesterday's post. "Unravel" piques my interest, so I google her definition on Dictionary.com to disentangle her many facets. clear up resolve disclose explain sort out unriddle To separate or disentangle the threads of (a woven or knitted fabric, a [...]
Good morning... "Good morning Sue," she emailed me yesterday from Jacksonville, Florida. "Our hearts are in stereo again with the same verse. I shared 2 Corinthians 8:9 with my group of 7th grade girls on Tuesday." Remember? This is the same verse concluding our blog post yesterday. For you are becoming progressively acquainted with and recognizing more strongly [...]
Good morning... "Aren’t we all still like that 20 year old in some way?" she wrote after yesterday's post. "We too must wait..." She continued: "I didn’t sleep well last night. Awake for 2 hours, thinking about all that is uncertain and all that needs to be done. I just don’t want to miss any piece of the [...]
Good morning... This week we have discovered the beautiful art of murmuration. Allowing space in our togetherness, God empowers us as we flock together. I was reminded of this concept as I read the introductory page of a study being offered at our church this semester, Breathe: Making Room for Sabbath by Priscilla Shirer. Priscilla writes a dedication [...]
Good morning... When heading into a brand new year, we face a plethora of possibilities. Developing the art of discernment, 92 year old Betty Skinner recommends, "Be inspired, not impulsive." Impulsive is rash, quick, emotionally reactive. Inspired is walking "in-sync with the Spirit," calmly seeking and sensing, "Does this opportunity deserve my yes or my no?" Flipping back to [...]
Good morning... December hosts a plethora of pop-up possibilities. On top of our regular commitments, we add gift buying, Christmas cards, and holiday visits. We pile on parties, special foods, and annual traditions. We struggle with people-pleasing, perfectionist tendencies, and performing our priorities with the greatest of ease. But December is not easy, December can be hard. Yet [...]
Good morning... My feelings were hurt. After I had prayed diligently for the months leading up to our second "Awake To Wellness Retreat," after I had left my family behind to travel from Atlanta to Orlando, after we had passionately provided a day of music and teaching, poems and prayers, videos and stories about the life of Christian [...]
Good morning... God woke me from sleep with an anxious image. I sensed, somewhere not far away, terrorists had attacked and destroyed a billboard bearing six big letters: ALWAYS. There seemed healing for the nations in this ALWAYS. The salvation of our world was dependent upon this ALWAYS. And this tangible reminder of ALWAYS was ripped up and [...]
