Good morning... A truckload of immigrants die in the heat. Loved ones are buried after mass shootings. Wars rage on and on, devastating ordinary lives. These are big newsworthy aches which beg for our prayers. Alongside our communal pain are quieter, daily challenges. Depression. Disabilities. Dementia. Divorce. Death. We all face various aches throughout our lifetime. Aches we [...]
Good morning... On our walk and talk last week, my friend earnestly asked, "Do you really believe it's true? Do you really believe Jesus lived, died and rose from the dead? How can we know that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is absolutely true?" Take a moment now. How might you, yourself, honestly answer my friend's candid question? [...]
Good morning... While on weekend retreat at Ignatius House Retreat Center, I happened upon a touching story. ****** Love Does That (by Meister Eckhart) All day long a little burro labors, sometimes with heavy loads on her back and sometimes just with worries about things that bother only burros. And worries, as we know, can be more exhausting [...]
Good morning... "I just read this devotional and it makes me think of our relationship," I wrote to LaTonya Gates, founder and director of PAWkids, and her compassionate daughter, Larenzia. "So much growth, so much God." I forwarded to them the challenging wisdom below. ****** DAILY MEDITATION | JUNE 18, 2022 - Henri Nouwen Compassionate Solidarity When we [...]
Good morning... Heading into this fertile Father's Day weekend, which includes celebrating the freedom gained on Juneteenth, we simplify down to the abundant gifts of God. We choose open and generous living rather than secure, selfish, sheltered. Like the cover of the PAWkids photo book above reminds: "For a community to be whole and healthy, it must be [...]
Good morning... "You and Richard Rohr are on the same page!" an old friend wrote yesterday after reading our post, My Mind Is Reeling. "I am with you … pondering how to simplify," she admitted, sharing the wise blog below. "I know listening to God more is part of the answer. Xo." ****** June 16: Simplicity Is about [...]
Good morning... My mind is reeling. I cannot sleep. Important needs play tug-o-war. Getting out of bed, I am drawn to an encouragement card: "The surest way to simplify your life is to focus on what matters most." I sit and ponder prayerfully, "Lord, what matters most?" What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed [...]
Good morning... "If you don't sit down, share a cup of coffee and talk with people," said Jane Goodall in her documentary The Hope, "can you ever expect them to change? It's no good arguing. You have got to reach their heart." The beauty is when we reach their heart, our own heart is also changed. Heart to [...]
Good morning... Today is my parents' 62nd wedding anniversary. After dinner at the dining hall last night, I snapped this picture of them as couple #28, front and center, in the wedding photo contest currently being held at their senior living community. When the photo was taken, my mom was twenty-two and my dad was twenty-three, college sweethearts [...]
Good morning... After a full night's sleep, I wake in the guest room of my parent's villa in the Renaissance senior living community near my hometown of Berea, Ohio. The walls here are filled with pictures our of our extended family growing up over the years. Two of my favorite photo collages live in this room, a frame [...]
