Good morning... What does the invisible love of God look like visibly, as the Holy Spirit morphs fluidly between our individuality and our cohesiveness? “Let there be spaces in your togetherness," says Khalil Gibran in his most famous literary work, The Prophet. "And let the winds of the heavens dance between you." "Fill each other's cup but drink [...]
Good morning... Inspired by our post about the unifying synchronicity of the leaf-feather-stick trio resting on the sands of Grayton Beach, Florida, one of you turned me on to the God-designed instinct implanted in starlings. "When you read about what murmuration is, you will see lots of possibilities for how groups/teams/families/systems might work together to flex and adapt [...]
Happy New Year, my friend... I wake thinking to myself, "Yesterday, the last day of 2018, summed up well the peaks and the valleys of my entire year." Thinking back over your own yesterday, how did that one day encapsulate your whole year? Observation #1: I woke in Grayton Beach, Florida in the cozy home of a generous [...]
Good morning... Many of you could relate to yesterday's post Sadness Is A Low-grade Fever. As I was editing the message to make it more meaningful, the sun came out after several grey days and a subscriber sent me this heart-warming video. "I hope this makes you smile, Sue," he wrote, understanding that sadness and joy are flip-sides [...]
Good morning... Another Mary has come into my life this holiday season. A subscriber wrote: "Sue, your readers may enjoy 'Making the House Ready for the Lord' by Mary Oliver. It's a favorite of my poetry group at St. Anne's Terrace." So I took his advice and I checked out this poem, written in 2006, by this new-to-me Mary, [...]
Good morning... My inbox was inundated after yesterday's post, I Was Just Trying To Help. Often we are blind to the ways our "helping" hurts. I will share three email exchanges fleshing out our tendency to addictively "help" without God's consent. Why do we think we are a better savior than our Savior? ****** Martha's comment: "Oh Sue what [...]
Good morning... "Blessed are the flexable, for they shall not be bent out of shape," says the church sign welcoming the holidays. To be "bent out of shape" implies that we start with a strong, solid shape in mind. Consciously or unconsciously, we think we know how the holidays "should" go, "should" look, "should" feel. Yet our best [...]
Good morning... On Saturday, August 4th, 2018, three of us hiked quietly through a mountainous forest near Cashiers, North Carolina. We came upon an interesting plaque beside a fallen tree. "Competition is fierce in nature," read the engraved words, "even among the beautiful trees, shrubs, and herbs in the forest. Sunlight, water, and nutrients are quietly 'fought over' by [...]
Good morning... Media images expose California's charred devastation. Haunting. Horrifying. Heartbreaking. So much beauty and vibrant life reduced to soot, ashes, remains. The smoldering stench in the air must smell suffocating. Two men I love live in California. One a family member, the other a forever friend. One a Democrat, the other a Republican. One homosexual, the other [...]
Good morning... At ages eight and eighty-one, my mom and dad diligently dismantled their home this fall to leave Berea, Ohio on November 1st. Having thrived in our hometown for fifty-something years, this morning they wake up in an unfamiliar two bedroom, two bath villa about twenty-five minutes away. I sensed the imminent move last spring when my [...]
