Good morning... 7:53 am. The sun will rise at 7:53 am on the sacred grounds of the Ignatius House Retreat Center. Fifteen courageous women, who are recovering from homelessness and addiction, will awaken on spiritual retreat in their own private rooms. What an incredible gift, the gift of alone time with God. My prayers are with these precious [...]
Good morning... We have been praying through the cancer journey of Audrey DeShetler for the past fourteen and a half years. Now, with her at nineteen years old, we have arrived at her father's powerful Facebook post from yesterday. ****** Back home / healing from above by Ben DeShetler So much has happened since I last posted and [...]
Good morning... "Sue," she wrote yesterday from Jacksonville, Florida. "I'm getting chills reading today's reflection, He Closed His Eyes. When I pressed play and heard Christy Nockel's stunning, distinctive voice, I was brought back to my Mom's final moments last Valentine's Day as I played Christy's version of 'Be Thou My Vision.' Mom was ushered on to heaven [...]
Good morning... Last Saturday night, the Spirit exploded. To cap off our day of learning at the Stir Up the Gift of God in You retreat, I led a Soul Collage session with about fifty women in St. Simons, Georgia. Trained as a Soul Collage facilitator a few years back, it was really fun to share this creative [...]
Good morning... When I look in my rearview mirror, I savor the healing power of last weekend's Stir Up the Gift of God in You retreat in St. Simons, Georgia. With content based on the true story of Christian mystic Betty Skinner, the Spirit of our living God, and the science of awakening, we learned practical ways to [...]
Good morning... I copied the wisdom of Kate Bowler into my current journal. "Blessed are we, the ones whose emotions show up like uninvited houseguests and refuse to leave," says Kate. "May we learn to offer them a cup of tea, sit with them awkwardly, and realize they're not as scary as we thought. Most of the time. [...]
Good morning... Notre Dame 27. Penn State 24. Having fallen asleep last night watching the game, I just woke to check the final score. Amazing! Audrey DeShetler's team won. Having reserved a $150 student ticket, Audrey will be going to the National Championship game to cheer on her Fighting Irish. It was certainly a high for Audrey in [...]
Good morning... As the sun rises on this new day, there are layers and layers of crowded needs. Where do we begin? We deepen into a poem which has guided the lives of many for over a decade. ****** The Work of Christmas by Howard Thurman from Bread for the Preacher, Dec. 2009 When the song of the [...]
Good morning... "I want to share this tune written by my nephew, which was released yesterday," a friend wrote on Saturday. "He's a father of three neat kids (15, 17, 20) and recently divorced. He's reflecting on his hope that his kids know that the time they spend together outweighs any of the mundane daily 'stuff.' Definitely comes [...]
Good morning... I'm not very good at big parties, since small talk is not my forte. So when my old friend's annual Christmas cookie party rolls around, I walk in through the familiar back door with internal questions swirling. "Who will I talk with?" "Will I anxiety-eat too much?" "Might I just drink sparkling water?" Last night began [...]
