Good morning... I just experienced a surprise blessing. In the midst of my quiet time, God coaxed me to read the beginning of each of the four gospels (Matthew 1:18-25, Mark 1:1-11, Luke 2:1-7, John 1:1-18). Melting together all of these accounts, these words shimmer for me this Christmas morning. What is conceived is from the Holy Spirit. Give [...]
Good morning... With her husband and kids away, our friend invited a cool group of women to a "Pop-Up Christmas Party." Yummy food. Water and wine. Great conversations. "It's been a very hard year," said one person I see periodically. Her husband, in his fifties, has faced life-threatening health scares. "It has been humbling to need people in a [...]
Good morning... "I used to think that God's gifts were on shelves one above the other and that the taller we grew in Christian character, the more easily we should reach them," a friend from our peer supervision group read to us over the phone an F.B. Meyer quote. "I find now that God's gifts are on shelves one [...]
Good morning... In our final Listening Group of the semester, I intended to unwrap Chapter 3, but by "mistake" I read aloud excerpts from Chapter 4, a chapter entitled "God's Compassion for the Rebellious." I shared aloud these introductory words before we slowly read, reread, and reflected on the parable of the prodigal son found in Luke 15:11-24. "You [...]
Good morning... The image filling my mind has three parts: a single red rose bud in a simple vase, a clean kitchen counter, and an under cabinet beam of accent light. Today I wake late following an annual Christmas gathering with the vision of a rose resting on the counter, basking in warmth of cozy kitchen light. As I [...]
Good morning... "Take your sails out of their wind." I am not sure when I first heard this wise phrase, but I am learning to put it into practice regularly. When the fierce winds of crazy conflict start picking up speed inside and around us, we take down our sails. When anxious winds begin gusting hard in our direction, do [...]
Good morning... I recently told this story off the top of my head, but it is much more meaningful when read from the book. "Connie's son started wearing an earring. She became annoyed and told her husband, 'I'm going to pray his ears bleed!' But as her prayers took on the contemplative tone of surrendering instead of managing and [...]
Good morning... Collaging my journal at our With God Weather Life retreat, I cut from a magazine this poignant poem and pasted it on the inner flap of my journal's front cover. These words hold up for us a meaningful mirror as we examine our hearts this first day of December. ****** Morning Chores by Joann Nesser I pick [...]
Good morning... "Grief is just love with nowhere to go," lingers a line from his recent funeral. When we are face to face, we can show love. We can share love. We can express love. We can receive love. We can shower love. We can speak love. We can exchange love. We can hear love. We can touch love. [...]
Good morning... "Breath prayers" quiet our buzzing thoughts, thoughts swarming like mosquitos in the mayhem of our mind. After reading this wisdom in yesterday's post, she wrote: "Thank you for this lesson. I guide my yoga class with what I like to call 'sacred breath' and so appreciate your mantras. It's helpful to have concise thoughts - even just two [...]
