Good morning... This week I have run into one rare word twice, in the thought-provoking image above and in Henri Nouwen's meditation below. Pilgrimage. This is a fresh word found in my everyday life. "A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about [...]
Good morning... "Wow!" read her email heading after yesterday's post, Facing Life's Uncertainty. "God knew that I needed your words today. I am paralyzed by uncertainty right now and didn’t even realize it. I’m stuck in the mud of self-pity instead of planting whatever seeds will allow me to find God’s future choices for me. Thank you for [...]
Good morning... Daily I am fed by writers pouring hard, beautiful words into my inbox. My gut nods in agreement, "This truly is true." The wisdom of Betty Skinner, shared above, mysteriously mingles with words from Kate Bowler this week. Your world has shrunk. Pain or grief or fear has sucked up every bit of oxygen from the [...]
Good morning... When our oldest son was a little boy, he used to search for the smallest grape in every cluster. This fun memory quietly returned when I met an Estonian proverb: “Who does not thank for little will not thank for much.” Now please read with me a Biblical proverb, a proverb I have structured a bit [...]
Good morning... Developing resilience helps us to navigate life's tumult. Wars. Grief. Divorce. Addictions. Betrayals. Disappointments. Mass shootings. Mental and physical illness. Political, racial, economic polarization. How do we, ordinary people who are trying to process life's overwhelming experiences, how do we develop lifesaving resilience? I'm not asking a rhetorical question here. Really. Truly. How do we productively [...]
Good morning... "Though the cherry trees don't blossom (Habakkuk 3:17, MSG); though the bank account, the bed, the chair, and the calendar are empty; though the grave dirt may be heaped; and though the lungs ache with the weight of breathing through the drowning waves, in Christ what matters forever is always forever safe," explains the Ann Voskamp [...]
Good morning... My husband Steve has taught, coached, and ministered as the head chaplain of The Lovett School for over twenty-five years. He has served alongside fabulous faculty members, year after year, and their chaplain team tenderly cares for the upper, middle, and lower school students and their families, day in and day out. On Monday I received [...]
Good morning... This week I happened upon a powerful quote by Madeleine Delbrêl. "Once we have heard God’s Word, we no longer have the right not to accept it; once we have accepted it, we no longer have the right not to let it become flesh in us; once it has become flesh in us, we no longer [...]
Good morning... Anyone who knows me knows that I love hosting classes in our home, semester by semester. Part of the fun for me is being always on the lookout for the next read God will lead us to explore. Usually a hidden gem, I am drawn like a magnet to the book of God's own choosing. This [...]
Good morning... "Good morning Sue," she wrote me from Florida after yesterday's post I Had No Friends. "Our lives share so many parallels. After a year of unexplained numbness and uncharacteristic listlessness, I reluctantly accepted an invitation to join a Bible study. I think back now and realize that was God taking me by the scruff out of [...]
