Good morning... When I googled the term "semi-permeable boundaries" for yesterday's post, I happened upon this article by Dr. Neill Neill entitled: "Personal Boundaries and Healthy Relationships." The wisdom shared here is very important as we consider how we are made in the image of God and empowered by the Holy Spirit to follow in Jesus' footsteps into healthy [...]
Good morning... When I was training in my twenties to be a Marriage and Family Therapist, I learned a lot about boundaries. Some families have rigid boundaries. Secrets and unresolved pain grow like weeds in the petri dish of a closed system. Some families are open systems, where anything goes all the time, stripping members of privacy and protection. [...]
Good morning... Through a series of mishaps, we met in the grocery store parking lot, me loading my trunk, she driving up in her SUV. I was delayed since I went back for a few items I had forgotten my first time through the check out line. "Ugh." She had forgotten to take home some items she had purchased, [...]
Good morning... When asked to teach a Sunday school class at Peachtree Road Methodist, I was given the topic. "How best do we pass along faith to our young adult children?" God shepherded the spirited group through an interesting lesson, creatively cultivating the soil of our hearts. After unpacking a plethora of parenting possibilities, we shifted our focus from [...]
Good morning… I just got up from my morning ritual of quiet time with God and my open Bible, a random pen and my current journal. For my spiritual direction training program, our cohort of classmates has been walking slowly through Larry Warner's book Journey with Jesus, an adaptation of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, Exercises written to [...]
Good morning... The scheduled speaker reached out to me, asking if I would be a part of Tuesday's Lovett Moms in Prayer gathering, a group Julie Harlan had helped to facilitate weekly since her oldest son was in kindergarten. She emailed: "It should be a morning of celebrating our sweet Julie with prayer and you were so close to [...]
Good morning... "I always stand in awe of how my morning readings are woven together," she wrote as she shared with me Richard Rohr's meditation from yesterday morning. That very same day, God had been schooling me in this truth: "Comparison kills. Conversation brings life." Our heart raises the white flag of surrender as we exchange our will for [...]
Good morning... On our return flight, I could not wait to get home, to walk through our front door, and to be smothered by the whole-bodied affection of our two dogs. Unbridled excitement. Unfettered joy. Undeniable love. Yesterday afternoon in our Listening Group, one of the women shared her deep emotions about recently putting their 15.5 year old dog [...]
Good morning... Today I will enjoy the privilege of talking with the Preschool Prayer Moms at Northside Church. The organizer said, "I think it would be fun for you to talk about the movie Groundhog Day and liken it to our never-ending days as preschool moms, adding a scripture to encourage us along." "What an awesome idea!" My mind [...]
Good morning... A friend coined a new phrase for me yesterday, an important phrase for all of us to consider. As my cell phone rang, I saw her name pop up. I picked up immediately, no thought, just response. Her familiar, sweet voice was upset, unsettled. "Do you have a quick minute for an emergency?" "I have a long [...]
