Good morning... "The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you really are," says Carl Yung, the Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. 'Who we really are' is established by our Creator long before the day of our birth. Each of us whispers in wonder the words of Psalm 139:13-16 (NLT). "You made all the delicate, [...]
Good morning... I discovered a short prayer formed in the humble heart of missionary Amy Carmichael. "Holy Spirit think through me till your ideas are my ideas." May this short prayer begin to form a humble heart within each one of us. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the [Holy] Spirit who is from [...]
Good morning... "Slow down your feet," the voice of a loving mom reminded her preoccupied preschooler. As the crowd rushed away from Sunday morning worship, I heard above the energized din, "Slow down your feet." "Don't run!" I have heard before. "Slow down your feet," is a new thing. This morning, I remind all of us: "Slow down your [...]
Good morning... As I finished off my Spiritual Direction paper due by midnight last night, I was drawn back to this quote. "We have been raised from the dull sphere of mere mind and matter into the heavenly radiance of the spirit world; and now, as spiritual (beings), we discern spiritual things, we feel the forces which are paramount [...]
Good morning... I learned lots of tantalizing tidbits as I read my two Spiritual Direction books. In passing, one set of authors wrote, "The next time you feel enthusiastic about something, remember that that word means literally 'God within' you" (p. 87 in Hagberg and Guelich's The Critical Journey: Stages in the Life of Faith). With my intrigue sparked, [...]
Good morning... I just stumbled upon a fascinating Bible story, expressed vividly in the Message translation. On the day you were born your umbilical cord was not cut, you weren’t bathed and cleaned up, you weren’t rubbed with salt, you weren’t wrapped in a baby blanket. No one cared a fig for you. No one did one thing to [...]
Good morning... Sometimes, someone shares something to give us a spiritual boost when our own energy is waning. Unexpectedly, we receive a gift we did not ask for, a gift only God knew we needed so desperately. From an angel wearing skin, we receive a breath of fresh air and our faith is renewed, our trust in God is [...]
“Bark less. Wag more.” I love this bumpersticker wisdom, but truthfully when I have the urge to bark, I don’t naturally wag. To wag more each day I must exchange my barking spirit for God’s Spirit that wags. Here are the traits of God’s wagging Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [...]
Bath water pours into the tub, inches-up the solid sides, and levels the powerless lip before it overflows onto the bathroom floor, flooding, flooding, flooding the room. The Almighty showers down on me, fills my heart with Spirit, and levels my powerless lip before God overflows into the lives around me, flooding, flooding, flooding the room. Such spiritual [...]
