Good morning... Fortunately, I forgot how to spell the name of the garden where Jesus prayed, after the last supper, before he was crucified. I tried typing it a handful of ways, but spellcheck nixed me again and again. I googled "Gathsamany" or "Gathsamane" or "Gethsemany" and finally I found my way to the correct spelling. "Gethsemane." Jesus prayed [...]
Good morning... "When we sit in silence, it’s true, we may not be doing anything. But we are un-doing so much," says blogger Emily P. Freeman. Emily continues: "The soul is made to receive. In the presence of God, we experience a right full-ness. But like a bucket left out in the yard, it will hold anything that comes [...]
Good morning... Each day I write along the tender tightrope spanning transparency and trust. Developing trust in our living LORD, in God's Holy Spirit power, my vulnerable fingers need to listen well for wisdom. Encouraging transparency in myself and other people, I share the raw-real, expanding edge of my imperfect self. On the cusp between my conscious and unconscious [...]
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... I love the contemporary worship service at Northside Church. I am welcomed each week by singers and musicians gifted in ways I am not. Music can disintegrate the thin veil between earth and heaven. Yesterday morning, my imperfect voice joined in praise with the live band, merging my heart and with the heart of our God. Enjoy [...]
Good morning... Performing a routine check on our home's heating units before winter, the technician found cracked heat exchangers in two of our systems. He took pictures of the cracks. He said, "Unless you replace these two parts, dangerous carbon monoxide may be released in the air when you turn on your heaters." After calling my husband to discuss [...]
Good morning... 900. That's right. A whoppin' 900 points were scored on the single SAT test I took in 1980. Nowadays, a handful of brainiacs score the perfect 1600, many kids score just below perfection, and every high school student I know gets a tutor and takes the test two, three, four or more times to boost their chances [...]
Good morning... "Transitions are messy. Transitions are chaotic. Transitions are where our hard-won order breaks down into disorder," admits Margaret Silf in The Other Side of Chaos: Breaking Through When Life is Breaking Down (p. 43). The Bible tells us that all of creation was born from chaotic disorder. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the [...]
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 [...]
