Good morning... As a class, we found Parker Palmer's insights very, very convicting. We all love people who experience seasons of suffering. We all want to help people out of their pain. Yet, when Parker was "in his misery," loved ones came to offer "sympathy that led him deeper into despair." Experience this excerpt from Let Your Life Speak [...]
Good morning... As the Holy Spirit slows down our pace, we pause and look left. Where were we when the God's glitches began wreaking havoc? Together we were diving deep into the valley of depression. After a rash of suicides, school shootings, and violence at home and abroad, concerned people are commenting, "We must closely consider the collective and personal [...]
Good morning... This spring, I told you earlier I Feel Pregnant With Quadruplets, holding, nurturing, expanding opportunities conceived by God's Spirit. Three weeks ago, our Northside Writers' Group birthed the Women's Lenten Communion Service; a special, sacred evening was enjoyed by all. Two weeks ago, we birthed a second, powerful With God Weather Life Retreat in Ellijay, Georgia; the ripples set [...]
Good morning... After sharing a quote in yesterday's post from Jan Johnson's When The Soul Listens, I quietly rest in the rest of the nurturing chapter. I eat from the feast prepared on pages 170 and 171. ****** The rhythm of action and contemplation makes compassion fatigue and burnout unnecessary. Your conversational life with God will keep you richly [...]
Good morning... "Significant doers draw from a well of quietness before God," writes author and spiritual director Jan Johnson. "For example, Amy Carmichael was a single missionary to India who received temple prostitutes, eventually establishing a home and school for them. She also wrote this: 'Give much time to quietness. We have to get our help for the most [...]
Good morning... Two weeks ago I ran out of gas. Completely embarrassed, I did not mention it to you before now. What almost-fifty-five-year-old runs out of gas? Then in the title of yesterday's post, God sparked the word "fueled" and I remembered my recent experience of literally running out of fuel. I had had one of those weeks. Drained [...]
Good morning... Nibbling on nuts and sipping a glass of wine, I enjoyed the new-book-signing for a man I admire. If God had a human voice, it would be Ron Greer's. Strong. Steady. Soothing. If anyone lives like Christ most moments of most days, it is Ron Greer. Real. Reliable. Relentlessly relational. If anyone needs a referral for pastoral [...]
Good morning... This hurting world needs Our Special Endowment, the unique spiritual gift God has placed within each of us. Tucked inside the bulletin from our Women's Lenten Communion Service, we meet deep questions to help us discern: “GOD, WHAT AM I MADE FOR?” Focusing on these eight questions as we journey through the forty days of Lent, we [...]
Good morning... I am not sure why the Spirit nudged me to google: "Mother Teresa quotes." I suppose I was looking for a bit of wisdom from a woman who loved well, loved both our God and the hurting people around her. The following poem was reportedly inscribed on the wall of the home she founded for orphaned children [...]
Good morning... Looking for something else in our storage room, I found an unexpected gift. This week both of our daughters have had a friend end their earthly lives early. One young man a senior, one a freshman, each at different colleges. In life's darkest hours, I struggle: "Where are You, God? Who are You, God? God, what are [...]
