Good morning... "Very well said, Sue," he wrote after yesterday's post, a post highlighting the loving response of a rabbi following a shooting in his California synagogue. "Incidents of pure evil like the one in Poway and the suicide bombings at the Christian churches in Sri Lanka during Easter services that killed more than 200 persons celebrating the [...]
Good morning... As I turned on the news I quickly opened my journal. From an interview with the rabbi whose California synagogue was attacked by a gunman, deep hurt and deeper hope splattered quotes on my page. There is a war out there between darkness and light. America is a nation who believes in God. Celebrating our religious [...]
Good morning... "Sue, I just read both Monday and Tuesday's posts," she wrote yesterday. "Well as your 'crazy' moment was about turkey, my UGLY moment was about what our young adult kids chose to wear to church on Easter Sunday. I went off before we left the house and ended up being the naggy mom. So, instead of just [...]
Good morning... After being moved by yesterday's quote, we asked a helper to run six copies, one for each of us to take home. On the copied page lived another set of wise words, words written by Frank Laubach (1884-1970) in Letters by a Modern Mystic. "I feel simply carried along each hour," writes Laubach, "doing my part [...]
Good morning... She said to me honestly, "With all of the division in our world, religiously and politically, I really am not sure how to pray." Her confusion made me think of Sue Monk Kidd's comment: "To believe you can find your way 'home' through the crises and the sufferings that fall upon you - and believe it [...]
Good morning... I simply must tell you, most every angel figure in our home has at least one broken wing. The angel pictured here, who sits beside us when I host outdoor spiritual direction sessions, broken. The angel in our main nativity creche, broken. The angels in the smaller nativity scenes kept at Christmas in each bedroom, broken. [...]
Good morning... I am grateful to be the Women's Ministry Director at Northside Church. My spiritual gifts have grown deep roots and fresh fruits in the rich nurturing soil of our family of faith. My True Self comes alive in collaboration with the diverse, creative people in our loving community. As we move toward the Lenten season, check [...]
Good morning... Life phases joined hands in the church hallway. A few weeks back, we hosted our United Methodist Women's Baby Celebration, a touching event honoring the babies born annually into our faith community. This was a particularly special celebration as five or six of the very active UMW members were new grandmothers at the gathering. These faithful [...]
Good morning... The annual tradition of our Women's Lenten Communion Service began in 2007. Working as Discipleship Coordinator in the Children's Ministry at the time, I was invited to be the inaugural speaker of this new Lenten event. None of us knew that by January 2008 God would equip me to become the second full-time Women's Ministry Director at [...]
Good morning... "I'll have a Blue Christmas without you," Elvis Presley sang into our hearts with his 1964 single, the year after I was born. As I have aged into deeper awareness, I wonder, "When people lose loved ones during the holiday season, is Christmas always tainted with the blue of grief?" Something within me feels an answer [...]
