Be Kind

Good morning... I puppy-sat briefly while my friend ran to the store. On the counter I noticed a pile of pink napkins. "In a world where you can be anything..." they read. "Be kind." The word "kind" drew me back to a page from the book I met face to face yesterday. Then the word "kind" brought me [...]

By |2020-07-29T05:54:40-04:00July 29th, 2020|Community, Everyday life, God's Love, Healing, Sadness|

When Our Hearts Hurt

Good morning... I took our two dogs for their annual check up, and guess what book was sitting on the bench as I waited for the vet? The Boy, the Mole, The Fox and the Horse by Charles Mackesy. In late May, I shared a picture of a page from this book passed along by a subscriber and [...]

By |2020-07-28T04:54:59-04:00July 28th, 2020|Anxiety, Everyday life, Friendship, Healing|

Far Away Friends

Good morning... As I plugged in my phone before climbing into bed, her text message instantly appeared. "Dearest Sue I have missed being in touch with you my friend," she wrote from afar. "I don't have a lot of time this moment because I am working on my mom's memorial service. I have been in Jackson, Mississippi for [...]

By |2020-07-27T08:33:55-04:00July 27th, 2020|Everyday life, Family and Friends, God's Love|

What Really Matters?

Good morning... As we wake on the final Sunday of July 2020, our minds meander toward fall. Masks. Social distancing. Balancing our need for safety with our craving for human contact. This will be an audacious autumn. In the shadow of a growing death toll, we are made keenly aware: "Life is short." Will we do stuff that [...]

By |2020-07-26T05:24:04-04:00July 26th, 2020|Community, Everyday life, New From Old, Sabbath, Trust God|

Our Lions. Our Lambs.

Good morning... Usually, the lion in me is sleeping. Calm is my style. Peace is my baseline. My roaring lion wakes infrequently, but this week she woke (see the details of these dynamics in our post I Was So Mad). Over happy hour, I was talking with a person I dearly love and out [...]

By |2020-07-23T12:06:21-04:00July 23rd, 2020|Everyday life, God's Love, Human Nature, Peace|

Relationships Come First

Good morning... She prayed over me as we finished our monthly spiritual direction phone call, and her words landed in my open journal: "LORD, these mixed emotions are so tender. There is so much wrapped up in the place where Sue is sitting. We know You are a resurrection God. We don't know what will be resurrected from the [...]

By |2020-07-22T10:00:25-04:00July 22nd, 2020|Everyday life, Letting Go, Trust God|

Next Time You Are Angry

Good morning... At 7:21 am yesterday, she wrote me in response to our post, I Was So Mad. "I am moved," she said. "This is so strong and authentic, Sue. Thank you for sharing this visceral and vivid depiction of a difficult process. I love the contemporary take on Philippians." Then at 7:23 am she wrote again: "This [...]

By |2020-07-21T03:47:45-04:00July 21st, 2020|Awareness, Everyday life, God's Timing, Nature|

I Was So Mad

Good morning... I was so mad. I was completely caught off guard. Her biting response felt unfair, unjust, underhanded. It was abrupt. It was painful. It was a slap-in-the-face, end-of-discussion. But she had the power. I did not. My anger made it hard to sleep, as Ephesians 4:26 (AMP) explains: Be angry [at sin—at immorality, at injustice, at ungodly [...]

By |2020-07-21T01:52:35-04:00July 20th, 2020|Discernment, Everyday life, God's Word|

Our Three Enemies

Good morning... "Morning sweet friend," she texted me this week. "We are headed out the door to walk the dogs, and I'm going to put this little gift on your doorstep." Nearly four hours later she texted again, "Hey there...just checking to see if you found the gift I left on your porch." "Oh, I have been totally [...]

Everything Went Wrong

Good morning... "Everything that could go wrong yesterday did," she emailed me, "and this morning didn't start off any better. I felt totally abandoned by God, even though I know He tells us, 'I will never leave or forsake you.'" She was right, God has promises repeatedly, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." The Lord himself [...]

By |2020-07-18T05:14:06-04:00July 18th, 2020|Anxiety, Community, Everyday life, Prayer, Trust God|
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