Good morning... This Sabbath Sunday is a unique one. As our bodies are held still at home, we refrain from gathering in large groups. Distancing from our normal "Cat in the Hat" balancing act, we slow down. We stay in. We sense God with our soul: "You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand [...]
Good morning... Certainly our anxieties could run rampant, with a deadly tornado suddenly ravaging Nashville, the wildfire spread of the Coronavirus, and the biggest drop in one day seen by the Stockmarket. Yet overwhelming anxiety is not our only option. Beloved author Max Lucado says, “Anxiety and gratitude cannot share the same heart.” I actually think anxiety and gratitude [...]
Good morning... Leading a yoga class on the beach, the instructor said an interesting phrase, "Surrender. Do nothing but allow..." I have never really considered the practical definition of surrender. When I look it up now, I discover these addition phrases. Stop resisting an enemy. Submit to the authority of an opponent. Give into the powerful influence of another. [...]
Good morning... As I have invested hours upon hours creating a companion journal for our upcoming "Awake To Wholeness" Women's Retreat, I ran across these very life-giving words: "Only those who have confronted their pride and come to humility fully experience harmony in relationship with God, with others, and with self," says ninety-four year old Christian mystic Betty Skinner. [...]
Good morning... Her dear friend quickly became her quiet enemy. She was hoping for one thing, closeness, connection, and collaboration, and she received the opposite, distance, disconnection, and disappointment. Facing a weekend she dreaded, her heart was filled with jealousy and frustration, anger and angst. This is when God dropped a perfect podcast onto her path. Feeling cared for [...]
Good morning... "Hi Sue," she wrote after yesterday's widely viewed post. "What I really love about today’s post is that this unknown Alabama resident was mentally/physically wrestling with anxiety while you were at the wrestling duels! My son wrestles too and I was in Macon that weekend as well." She explained: "Think about how hard these athletes work for [...]
Good morning... We are invited into deeper trust. God feels every fear, God knows every need, and God offers permeating peace to calm our anxiety. In the privacy of our personal prayers, will we take time to let go and lay down our worries? Fear will not leave us alone, worries naturally well up in each human heart. [...]
Good morning... I was not expecting to wake up yesterday to the message below written by my husband, a high school chaplain who takes his monthly turn writing a weekly devotional with their team of chaplains. It is as if he opened up the bag and let out all our scared cats. ****** Morning Devotional for January 7, [...]
Good morning... I was looking forward to our time together, sharing face-to-face, one-on-one. I was hoping for an important, intimate conversation. I was anticipating wonderful, but completely against my will wonderful changed its form. I was disappointed. Frustrated. Mad that my well formed expectations were not being met. If I had stayed angrily stuck on how I thought [...]
Good morning... "No matter who we are and no matter what we do, we all got our own show, we got our own life," explains TobyMac from the stage at the end of his live concert. "We can either take that life and we can make it ours or we can give it to God and ask Him [...]
