Good morning... I apologize about the challenges we are experiencing with our blog posts this week. The time change is something I am still trying to negotiate. I think I have figured out a solution, so hopefully we will move more smoothly into our morning messages from here on out. If you missed some of our earlier posts [...]
Good morning... It seems I am not the only one of us experiencing a chaotic brain. In class yesterday, one woman shared an old video about the differences between the brains of men and the brains of women. Like most good humor, enough truth is touched to make us feel seen, known, accepted where we are and growing [...]
Good morning... Last Friday, we began our class with silence, a reading, and a prayer. Before I read aloud the heartfelt prayer below, I asked people to consider, "Which words capture your attention?" After our time of prayer, we introduced ourselves to one another for the first time by sharing the words grabbing us most, explaining why these [...]
Good morning... Sometimes I reflect the love of God clearly, kindly, calmly. At other times, when life's residue piles up, I contaminate and clog. I open Biblegateway.com right now, and the "verse of the day" feels like God's answer to my daily dilemma. My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been [...]
Good morning... "Can you pray for me?" she texted. "I talked to her kindly from my heart, but she did not take it well. She's not talking to me. She said she can't say anything right now. I know I have to give her space but it's hard, because I love and care about her. All I can [...]
Good morning... I just woke from a dream, short and intriguing. My husband had forgotten to tell me that there was a large plastic container in our backyard with a huge pile of leaves beside it. He had spent hours raking the leaves in our yard, and he expected me to somehow transfer the leaves into this big [...]
Good morning... First, I snapped a photo of this original painting I saw on the shelf at Goodwill. The word "broken" in the top right corner is brought to life in a graphic display. At some point along life's way, the experience of "broken" unexpectedly unravels each of us. Next, I was deeply touched by a message in [...]
Good morning... "I need to change my attitude," she admitted by email. "I realized my heart has to change first." Then she shared with me a quirky song. Pared down. Honest. Blemishes and all. I am not quite sure why I love this low budget music video, but somehow it touches my heart. Escort me into your truth; [...]
Good morning... As you can imagine, after our past two posts which wrestle with "the will of God," I have received many heartfelt emails from fellow followers of Christ trying to explain the philosophy of life stabilizing us during tumultuous times, like an anchor steadies a ship. I will share a heavy handful of our treasured thoughts. "These [...]
Good morning... "Would you like me to seat you inside or out on the veranda?" asked the hostess. "I would love to sit on the veranda," my spirit leapt. As I enjoyed a quiet meal to myself, I thought about the word "veranda." By definition, it is a large, open porch, usually roofed and partly enclosed. Rarely stumbled [...]
