Good morning... After snapping a few pictures, pictures featured in the past few posts, I picked up the red, heart-shaped leaf and brought it home to my friend's beach house. In my mind, I knew instinctively exactly where to place it for the next season of her earthy life. Earlier in my private retreat, I had admired another [...]
Good morning... "Aimlessness is akin to lifelessness," writes a famous religious teacher of our day. His devotional went on to say, "Dead leaves in the backyard may move around more than the dog, more than the children. The wind blows this way, they go this way. The wind blows that way, they go that way. They tumble, they [...]
Good morning... One week from today we will begin a new semester of learning in our living room, exploring the wisdom of When The Heart Waits. I am intrigued by the words of author Sue Monk Kidd. Sue writes: “Is it possible," I asked myself, “that I’m being summoned from some deep and holy place from within? Am I [...]
Good morning... When heading into a brand new year, we face a plethora of possibilities. Developing the art of discernment, 92 year old Betty Skinner recommends, "Be inspired, not impulsive." Impulsive is rash, quick, emotionally reactive. Inspired is walking "in-sync with the Spirit," calmly seeking and sensing, "Does this opportunity deserve my yes or my no?" Flipping back to [...]
Good morning... "When you go before the LORD, let your words be few," my heart said first thing this morning. I knew it was a paraphrase of a Bible verse, so after my quiet journaling time, I got on my computer and went to Bible Gateway to hear Ecclesiastes 5:2 say in the Amplified translation, "Do not be [...]
Good morning... Our morning messages catch seeds of thought dropped in the wee early hours. So many times the small seeds grow roots and sprout in an expansive way throughout the day. Often, God draws me back into our morning message, editing it, developing it, making it more. That is exactly what happened with yesterday's post. The Holy [...]
Good morning... At church on Sunday, we sang one of my favorite Christmas songs. Pregnant. Powerful. Provocative. How could Mary know that Jesus would enter her small life and change everything for everyone? Instead of reading written words this morning, why not lean back, listen in, and let God touch you through the gift of song. Mary said: [...]
Good morning... The day she left a wrapped gift on my doorstep, I could not wait to rush home to feel with my fingers this fresh fractal of God from my friend Lisa West. Lisa had diligently worked for years preparing to self-publish her book Fear Not! The True Story of a Cancer Survivor Who Was Healed and [...]
Good morning... Before the first Christmas morn, Jesus thrived in the wholeness of heaven. Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, [...]
Good morning... During times of discombobulating stress, a helpful saying saturates me. "The brook would lose its song if God removed the rocks." We hate the hard knocks from life's jagged rocks, but we love the calming beauty babbling from the brook. Stones and songs. Songs and stones. We do not get one without the other. Stones and songs. [...]
