Good morning... This meaningful hand-hewn birthday gift became the central figure in our Friday class yesterday. With all of us wired very differently to thrive in this world, but the one thing we all have in common is our deep need to surrender everything to God, if we are to grow up into our God-gifted true self. We [...]
Good morning... Spending quality time with a friend who is seventy-eight years old, I read aloud to her this poem written by Becky Hemsley. "I have spent my whole life trying to please people," she responded. "It's exhausting and impossible. This poem gives me permission to just breathe and be me." Now as you read aloud this life-giving [...]
Good morning... A few weeks ago, I watched a fascinating interview with Cillian Murphy, the actor who played Oppenheimer in the movie which won best picture at the Oscars last night. Murphy described the acting technique which has taken him over thirty years to develop. "His portrayal of Oppenheimer was not so much a miracle as hard work," [...]
Good morning... "The essence of Christian spirituality is following Christ on a journey of personal transformation," explains David G. Benner in Sacred Companions: The Gift of Spiritual Friendship & Direction. "The distant land to which we are called . . . is the new creature into which Christ wishes to fashion us - the whole and holy person [...]
Good morning... I woke with a weird word on my mind. Smattering. When is the last time you heard smattering used in a sentence? Dictionary.com defines the noun smattering in two different ways. a slight, superficial, or introductory knowledge of something. For example, "She knows a smattering of Latin." a small amount or number. Used in a sentence [...]
Good morning... Our tree is down. Our hopes are up. Before the new day dawns, a poem breezes in. ****** i am running into a new year By Lucille Clifton i am running into a new year and the old years blow back like a wind that i catch in my hair like strong fingers like all my [...]
Good morning... After walking with a friend, she took me upstairs and showed me this painting she had been given for Christmas. Magical and mesmerizing, we discussed what we noticed in this unique piece of art. A golden heart dripping with lemon drop light. Various swirling colors, playing, mixing, blending. The movement of dark and light, muted and [...]
Good morning... After our soulful walk this week, my friend sent me two thought-provoking images. The first speaks to a common fear. Ending a year. Ending a life phase. Ending the "normal" we've come to know and to love. We often struggle with endings, don't we? The second image she shared [...]
Good morning... "We heal what we feel," said Ron Greer, author of The Quiet House. I felt a lot when my dad said last night, "Today, I got a tree at Loews." Together, we reminisced about our annual trek around a tree farm as a family, cutting down our favorite Christmas bush (it was always wider than it [...]
Good morning... "God Works While We Wait," says the ornament in a pristine box. But waiting feels like being stuck, and being stuck feels yuck. "If you get stuck, lower your standards," my mentor said nonchalantly. ***** If You Get Stuck by Sue Allen If you get stuck, lower your standards. Breathe deep, intentionally. Open space. Wait. Wait [...]
