Good morning... Sarah Otto, the Retreat and Program Director at Ignatius House Retreat Center, reached out to me on Tuesday morning. "I realize I didn't text you about an upcoming ISP retreat!" she wrote. (Remember, ISP stands for Ignatian Spirituality Project, a program which offers quarterly spiritual retreats for people recovering from homelessness and addiction in our community). [...]
Good morning... "Hi Sue," she wrote after yesterday's blog post. "Up early today and feeling connected to you and your thoughts. Your messages always draw me back toward a centering orbit. Thank you for the beacon, the reminder - that every day we live, breathe, and walk through our day - is the most precious blessing." Below her [...]
Good morning... Stuck at the airport, so many people have experienced travel troubles this summer. In solidarity with the mixed-up masses, a friend shared a real story which gently shifts our perspective. ****** "Gate A-4" by Naomi Shihab Nye Wandering around the Albuquerque Airport Terminal, after learning my flight had been delayed four hours, I heard an announcement: [...]
Good morning... One line lingers from the prayer she prayed. "Lord, knead us into one." Jesus makes clear God's vision. The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind— Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, so they might be one heart and mind with us (John 17:21a, MSG). Form. [...]
Good morning... Our friend read this poem aloud to us over the phone. Now might we read these tender words aloud to ourselves? ****** have courage to be a beginner entrust your time to telling a tale in which the ending is veiled. build patience for the harsh voice inside; she is still a child who believes perfection [...]
Good morning... After driving nine hours toward home from Pennsylvania, we stopped in North Carolina to visit our oldest best friends. With ease, we talked about everything that came to mind; how wonderful to feel truly seen, known, and loved. After our long dinner and our soulful discussion, we went to bed. Being the first to wake around [...]
Good morning... This week, we have been considering the three simple rules which will change our world. First we commit to "Do No Harm." In practical ways, what might this look like? I just met a story that helps me understand more clearly the transformational love of God. ****** Transitions by Paula D'Arcy In the 1990s, I heard [...]
Good morning... Purple is the common ground created when red, white, and blue are combined with loving care. Purple taps into God's guiding power, creative, cooperative, collaborative. As I was pondering these thoughts, I was surprised to find and to follow an actual path in the woods clearly marked by purple blazes. On page 26, we pick up [...]
Good morning... As I walked the back roads of rural Pennsylvania, flags were everywhere. Red. White. Blue. Everywhere. It dawned on me that something new is created as we melt together the distinct colors of these manmade symbols. Red. White. Blue. Blended, these different shades become purple. I [...]
Good morning... She emailed me after yesterday's post, Imagine Something Better. "So crazy, Sue," she wrote, "my husband and I were having a similar conversation yesterday over coffee after I mentioned a quote I’d recently read that said in previous generations people used to naturally seek and focus on what we have in common with one another, but [...]
