Good morning... "I'm LOVING your posts on tears," wrote one subscriber. "The psalm verse from yesterday's message has been a favorite. I clung to it through my divorce tears." Her written words continued. "Fun fact: tears caused by pain, when tested, are full of stress hormones; tears when cutting an onion are not. Tears are physically helpful in pain [...]
Good morning... As we drove through the valleys and the mountains of New Zealand, we had long, important talks, enjoyed good music together, and listened to a handful of interesting podcasts. I was so fascinated by one podcast that I sat in the backseat and jotted notes in my journal. Turning to those scratchings now, I put flesh on [...]
Good morning... A passing comment by Dr. Cathy Snapp at our Awake To Wellness Women’s Retreat unloosened an important memory, floating it to the top of my conscious awareness before forming it into yesterday’s post, Feeling Healing. Cathy said something like this: “Sometimes I envision Jesus putting his hands on my head, sending light into my brain, loosening my [...]
Good morning... During our Spiritual Direction training program, our visiting professor Jan Johnson called me forward. She invited me to sit in a chair in front of the whole class. Jan stood beside me, leaning in close, gently laying her hands on my head, softly stroking my hair, as she slowly recited the 23rd Psalm from the Message translation. [...]
Good morning... "Sue, I am so glad you posted this," she wrote after yesterday's message Depression Varies. "Making peace with mystery runs counter to our culture. Sharing this truth with others can help open the door to honesty in God. And, usher us out of the false phrases that stand in for those things we really don't/can't understand...but feel compelled [...]
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... 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... 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 [...]
Good morning... A woman who sits with me in spiritual direction, for one hour each month, offered simple, straightforward encouragement: "I feel you have this gift. Wanted to share." Intrigued, I read Bob Dannals' devotional from 2.1.18. ****** Some interpreters are always trying to figure out what really happened in the Bible's healing stories, as if they in some [...]
Good morning... I heard myself say an interesting thing: "I pray that the LORD melts me all the way down, so that I grow really thin and God grows very thick." When I am afraid, LORD, thin me out. When I am angry, LORD, thin me out. When I am anxious, LORD, thin me out. Within me, please grow [...]
