Good morning... My spiritual director opens our phone conversation with a sacred reading each month. Through her surrendered spirit, God channels life-giving words. This month's poem woke up my wonder. ****** TRILLIUMS by Mary Oliver 'Every spring among the ambiguities of childhood the hillsides grew white with the wild trilliums. I believed in the world. Oh, I wanted [...]
Good morning... Too much to say. There's just too much to say. How do I center myself down, Lord, to sense your concise, caring message for this unique day? I could write all about our incredibly meaningful morning at PAWkids yesterday. I could write about yesterday's moving retirement celebration for a loving pastor I have partnered with at [...]
Good morning... "This poem plays beautifully with your post about radical empathy," she wrote. Remember? Radical empathy is "actively striving to better understand and share the feelings of others. To fundamentally change our perspectives from judgmental to accepting, in an attempt to more authentically connect with ourselves and others." I agree with my friend. This powerful poem plays [...]
Good morning... "Hi Sue," she texted, "the above image, shared by a friend but photographer unknown, is evocative of Lent and these lingering grey days. It may resonate with your artist/writer soul." Inviting my soul to dance, this photo is fantastic, mysterious, ethereal. A snow covered prayer labyrinth. The pointy tips of a cathedral in the hazy fog. [...]
Good morning... For me, tonight quietly signifies another invisible loss. Since 2007, each Tuesday night before Ash Wednesday we have hosted our annual Women's Lenten Communion Service. For fourteen straight years, God has prepared our hearts for the season of Lent by gathering at church with a standing-room-only crowd, listening to a life-changing, God-revealing story from the ordinary [...]
Good morning... "Parked at a local church, I found my car window shattered," remembers my dear friend Corinne Adams. "I was distraught…until I saw the beauty of the broken glass. I knew I had to take it home. Slowly and surely, the little glass nuggets made their way into cuffs, pendants, belt buckles, rings and earrings. These unique [...]
Good morning... Earlier this month we received the photo above, sent from the well known town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Steve and I were married in my hometown of Berea, Ohio in 1987, we enjoyed his final two years in seminary at Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut, then we moved to Gettysburg for his first real job [...]
Good morning... It was hard to leave the beach last night, turning my back to the setting sun. Who was it that said, "Parting is such sweet sorrow?" Sweet, what a deliciously sweet week this has been. Deepening down, alone with God and our dogs, has been so fruitful, so so fantastic. Yesterday, to the sound of the [...]
Good morning... I left our home yesterday to prepare for a week of work, one delightful week fully focused on bringing to life this semester's study Waking Up Whole: Mind, Body, and Soul, which begins on January 22nd. (By the way...for those who live nearby or far away, if you would like to register for this class or [...]
Good morning... "I found it uncanny...after reading your devotional, this article was in the N.Y. Times..." she wrote after yesterday's post, My Prayers For The Church. "So obviously God is in tune with these thoughts and quietly teaching all of us... enjoy!" ****** Eriks Esenvalds: ‘Earth Teach Me Quiet’ Earlier this year, when singing together became just about [...]
