Good morning... Our nine year old dog went to heaven recently, and what I learned from our choice to release Tate's spirit from her cancer-filled body helped me this week. A friend called, distraught. Their ten year old dog had inoperable tumors growing in his liver. He would happily walk their five mile route, then he would suddenly [...]
Good morning... I send the photo above to my friend in Atlanta, exchanging a string of texts with these loving thoughts. Me: I wake this morning in the nest of the upper floor of my friend’s old home in Connecticut. Jayne is a soulmate from my graduate school days at UConn. This image greets me as I walk [...]
Good morning... I have been texting with a friend who is making a very hard decision. "I woke up thinking about Tate," she wrote. "And the unwanted space in your house. I am so sorry, Sue. I haven't called because we are heartsick and stomach sick. I feel God is guiding us to memory care. We are crying [...]
Good morning... Each dark night when I am stirred from sleep, I find myself in search of a pearl, a pearl of wisdom, a fresh revelation. Like a mesmerized mermaid, I dive deep down, deep down to the foot of Christ's heavy cross. There I discover a gem, a gift of the Holy Spirit. [...]
Good morning... As I blogged about Our Retreat In Review, I shared with you our acronym to S.T.I.R. U.P. the Gifts of God. S. – Savor Six Senses T. – Trust God’s Time I. – “I” Must Die R. – Release All Resistance U. – Unite With God P. – Power Rises Up Grow God’s Gifts Immediately, a reader responded: "Sue, what are six [...]
Good morning... I woke to an email sharing one of my favorite poems. ****** "The Guest House" by Rumi This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, who [...]
Good morning... As we drove home from a wonderful wedding weekend, Steve and I listened to a podcast which included a story about two wolves. Later, I researched the Native American tale. I invite you to take three minutes to enjoy the retelling of the first version I uncovered. “Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. [...]
Good morning... As I was cleaning out my closet, I came across this card, a card filled with words I had written years ago during a spiritual retreat. I remember being on the annual retreat with our Northside Writers' Group, and we were given quality time to write about our sphere of influence, how we sense ourselves impacting [...]
Good morning... After our post Pause. Breathe. Expand., a longtime friend texted: "I saw this last night and thought it coincided with your post this morning. This is more academic, but we need to allow the Holy Spirit into our Learning Spaces too." How wonderfully wired by God we are! We are drawn regularly into the fertile, frustrating [...]
Good morning... In our therapeutic community group downtown, the leader shared a quote from Victor Frankl, the author of the book we are discussing on Sunday afternoons, Man's Search for Meaning. "Between stimulus and response," she quoted Frankl, "there is a space." "Expand that space and invite the Holy Spirit into it," she encouraged us. "Pause. Breathe. Expand." [...]
