Good morning... This Christmas season we pared down to essentials. Immediate family. A handful of favorite ornaments on our ten foot fresh tree. And one nativity, this tiny nativity brought home from a late November yard sale. Because we were living lighter, we were able to spontaneously adjust when generous friends offered us a getaway to their mountain [...]
Good morning... Writing yesterday's blog post, Grass Isn't Always Greener, I was tucked in between two life-giving emails. Before I began writing around 4:30 am, I read the following encouragement from my eighty-seven year old friend. Sue, Thank you for including me in your blog, which cheered me up, once again in the story of our Lord's birth. [...]
Good morning... Over Thanksgiving our oldest son said, "Mom, I'm reading this book I think you'd really like." So I opened the beautifully textured hard cover and cozied up to read a few chapters. Here is one quote that taught me more deeply why Jesus coming to earth matters profoundly. The living presence of our loving Lord might [...]
Good morning... The Spirit's synchronicity astounds me. Many, many of us related to yesterday's post My Inner Critic. It seems I'm not the only one prone to critical comparison, sometimes judging myself as less, unworthy, unimportant. But look at the text I received after yesterday's blog. "Hey dear friend," she wrote from another town. "I thought your posting [...]
Good morning... I hold in one hand our newest nativity, brought home for a dollar from last weekend's yard sale. The intimacy surprises me. Animals and humans, angel and baby, each handcrafted clay figure rests securely on the open palms of the Almighty Creator. What is the one thing this small nativity has in common with all other [...]
Good morning... I found this unique cross at Goodwill years back. It hangs on our bedroom wall, reminding me that our broken pieces are mended mysteriously by the grace of God. I have pointy pieces, shattered shards, childhood chips. So does everyone I love and everyone I sometimes hate. The question for each of us becomes, "How might [...]
Good morning... I woke on Thanksgiving morn with this inspiring meditation blessing my inbox. Community Makes God Visible by Henri Nouwen, November 27th, 2020 Nothing is sweet or easy about community. Community is a fellowship of people who do not hide their joys and sorrows but make them visible to each other as a gesture of hope. In [...]
Good morning... Led by the Spirit, an altar is being created in our foyer with all of the tiny treasures I find on my walks. Things fall off. It's nature's way. Things fall off. Colorful feathers, black acorns, buckeye nuts, chipped off hearts made of bark or stone. When I walked and talked with a friend recently, we [...]
Good morning... Every day I love the dog calendar my dear friend gifted me. I adore the cute photo from Election Day 2020, but even more I love the Will Rogers quote: "I love a dog. He does nothing for political reasons." A few minutes after flipping to the above calendar page, I happened upon the comforting video [...]
Good morning... He has made everything beautiful in its appropriate time. He has also put obscurity in their hearts so that no one comes to know the work that God has done from the beginning to the end (Ecclesiastes 3:11, MEV). "Imagine that you're unwell and in a foul mood, and you're driving through some lovely countryside," writes [...]
