Good morning... Just before 6:00 o'clock in the middle of a busy week, the grocery store line was long, slow, ugh. After a full day of good work, I was ready to get home, ready to relax, ready to unwind, please. Finally walking out to my car, I noticed the setting sun sinking beneath the rising moon. "Stop. [...]
Good morning... As the December rush picks up, our good intentions break down. Overindulging everything, we underestimate the stress. Too much. Too fast. Too loud. Then, one of my old favorite songs meets us just where we are. "This one knocked me to the ground This one dropped me to my knees I should have seen it coming [...]
Good morning... A longtime friend texted our monthly book group, sharing with us a poem from her Advent readings -- a compilation, Sacred Journeys, by Jan L. Richardson. ****** "Annunciation” This was the minute no one speaks of, when she could still refuse. A breath unbreathed, Spirit, suspended, waiting. _________________________ She did not cry, “I cannot, I am [...]
Good morning... As we savor memorable moments from this holiday week, what experiences will leave a lasting mark? Unexpected joys. Life-shaping conversations. Painful realizations. Leftover feelings. Learning to love through whatever "is" allows us to process our part in this mystery called life. To savor means to enjoy the full flavor of something, especially by digesting every ounce [...]
Good morning... A short poem greets me in the middle of this full-bellied night. ****** One on Thanksgiving one hand opens in grief the other in gratitude pressing them together to pray —Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer ****** All across the globe, we open one hand in grief, missing those missing from our homes. Our other hand holds gratitude for [...]
Good morning... On a last minute walk yesterday, a friend shared with me the quote above. "God will take you where you hadn't intended to go in order to produce in you what you could not achieve on your own. It's uncomfortable, but it's grace." A few minutes later, we noticed a spider dangling precariously close to the [...]
Good morning... Two tiny pounds. The smallest puppy I ever snuggled weighed two tiny pounds. Yesterday, our finger-to-fur time was free, and his soft little licks were precious, just precious. And puppy breath, wow, it's one of the best scents on earth. Fitting in the palm of my hand, this new creature of God was a source of [...]
Good morning... One recent evening, I was feeling blue. Swirling, muted worries shaded my inner world. Then, I looked outside our window. The sky seemed to match my mood. Stepping out into it, I took myself on a walk at dusk. As the black silhouette criss-crossed the painted sky, new [...]
Good morning... "Finding peace," she wrote me the day after the election, having just returned home from a trip to Portugal. "It certainly is a practice right now for me of 'breaking up' with the addictive consumption of news. I am also using all of the strategies I learned in Alanon about how to be at peace 'even [...]
Good morning... On my way to the Peace of Mind symposium last Friday, I suddenly found myself stuck in traffic. Stand still traffic. Frustrating traffic. Really, really annoying traffic. Two friends were counting on me to pick them up, and I was stuck. Powerless. Letting them down. Feeling really bad. Running late, I texted my apology. I beat [...]
