Good morning... Walking each day, admiring the newly born baby cardinals, and sharing pictures with you has been a real joy this week (see our post To My Surprise). But my heart sank to my stomach when I peered into the nest yesterday and saw it empty. No baby birds. No daddy cardinal. No living beings. Instinctively [...]
Good morning... As I wake on Day #7, still self-quarantining in our basement, I think, "And this type of COVID testing was designed to produce results in two days." We easily got a testing appointment with our doctor friend last Thursday, we waited in line for about thirty minutes to experience the uncomfortable procedure, and we were told [...]
Good morning... Still savoring this week's post, To My Surprise, I thought to myself, "Within the first twenty-four hours of life, these baby cardinals felt their own hunger, found their own voice, asked for what they craved, and their red feathered father naturally nurtured their basic needs. If birds can do this, why is it so hard for [...]
Good morning.. I went out our back gate and strolled down the familiar sidewalk, knowing that if anyone walked my way I would social distance on the other side of the street. No person came near, but a small, peaceful bunny hopped up beside me. I stood watching the calm creature, lifting a prayer for my forever friend [...]
Good morning... "While the Fourth of July, 1776, is the day America declared independence from Great Britain, people of color were not able to celebrate that same freedom," explains a letter I recently received from my spiritual direction training program. "On July 4th, 1852, here is what Frederick Douglass said in his speech The Meaning of July Fourth [...]
Good morning... "I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses," a song stirs in me after yesterday's post, In Her Rose Garden. "And the voice I hear falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses. And He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am his [...]
Good morning... Our family is caring for a friend's home and dog while their family is away. I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting her roses, snapping pictures, marveling at God's intricate beauty. What life lessons have I learned while meandering through her rose garden, and which Bible verses whisper God's truth in my ears, my eyes, and my heart? [...]
Good morning... Pictured above, I saved this "peace lily plant" years ago when the previous owner was throwing her in the trash. After I tenderly nursed her back to life, she now rests just over the threshold of our front door, bathed in sunlight, welcoming in guests. She has lived in our home for years and years, but [...]
Good morning... Walking our dog, I noticed this conglomerate rock resting in the grass. I picked it up, held it in the palm of my hand, and thought, "This feels like a symbol of me right now. So much new is rising up from the depths of me, moving steadily from unconscious unknowing into conscious awareness." I brought [...]
Good morning... "Our tendency is to run away from the painful realities or to try to change them as soon as possible," Henri Nouwen's morning meditation from yesterday joins our life-giving conversation. "But cure without care makes us into rulers, controllers, manipulators, and prevents a real community from taking shape. Cure without care makes us preoccupied with quick [...]
