Good morning... Last week at our final Monthly Listening Group of the semester, we read aloud the Martha and Mary story (Luke 10:38-42). Since Wednesday morning, the story has continued to percolate in me. The first time through the sacred reading, we looked at the story through the eyes of Martha. As I continue to personalize her experience, I [...]
Good morning... Pondering yesterday's post it dawns on me: "I not only enjoy my back door people, I simply adore my comfort clothes." Long kept clothes feel like favorite friends, soft and cozy, well-worn, trusted. A beloved cubby in my closet hosts a stash of baggy pants, outdated sweaters, and anything velour. Do you have a similar stash? We [...]
Good morning... Yesterday I made a devastating technological mistake. In the wee hours of the night, I woke feeling convicted to send a follow-up email to my Monday class, encouraging the small group to keep confidential a story of transition God is orchestrating in my daughter's life. "It's her story to share, not mine, not ours," I reminded myself [...]
Good morning... Mistakes. I hate making them. I am leading book discussions on the gifts of imperfection and discovering the other side of chaos, but I never get comfortable with my own imperfections and the chaos they wreak. I made a selfish mistake earlier in the week, unintentional but selfish. The offended person prayed over her response for several [...]
Good morning... Meeting through my blog, we regularly write encouragement back and forth, but our eyes had never met until this week. After sharing stories over a meal, he gave me handwritten copies of some of his favorite quotes. I said, "You may see these words returning to your heart some early hour." Sure enough, here is wisdom he [...]
Good morning... God sometimes teaches truth in funky ways. In yesterday's blog message, I sent a captivating picture, a picture received by some subscribers and not by others. Then last night before heading to bed, I put the title "An unseen picture," as a place holder in my computer program and it accidentally sent while I was asleep. Now [...]
Good morning… Letting down our guard and sharing our genuine self is a lot easier said than done. In truth, our guard is an important part of us, serving us well until it doesn't anymore. We are handmade uniquely in our Creator's image (Genesis 1:27) and filled with the living breath of God (Genesis 2:7). Freshly formed from our [...]
Good morning... Chaos. We hate the word. We hate the experience. We hate her synonyms. Disarray. Jumble. Turmoil. We love her antonyms. Order. Peace. Calm. Yet one line from one book has stayed with me for twenty five years. "Identity is born out of chaos," penned Sue Bender in her 1991 book, Plain and Simple. What does Bender mean? [...]
Good morning... Regrets ruin. The unsaid undermines. When the moment is lost, so is the opportunity. As spring fades to summer, my unsaid regrets linger. I have lost an opportunity. I feel convicted to say "I am sorry" for two things this spring. First, in March, I went on two spring break trips back to back. One week to [...]
