Good morning... In an email entitled "Memories," I received encouragement from Judy Wise, a close friend of my parents who must also be in her late 80's. I don't think I have seen Judy since our wedding day in 1987, but she reads our daily blog diligently from her home in North Carolina. After a week of us [...]
Good morning... Yesterday, in the middle of the night, I felt drawn to write about the metamorphosis of a butterfly. Then by midday, I read for the first time the following words in our assigned book chapters for this week. ****** Excerpt from God's Joyful Surprise by Sue Monk Kidd Not long ago my daughter received a butterfly [...]
Good morning... As we walked the streets of Asheville, North Carolina last weekend, we happened upon three words etched in sidewalk chalk. I just had to snap a photo. Change is good. Really? I'm not sure what I think about this statement. Part of me loves it. We are always changing. Always growing. Always evolving. Part of me [...]
Good morning... My friendship with inspiring fitness instructor Martha Kimbel is truly a gift from God. At 6:07 am yesterday, Martha texted me. "I have our new song on repeat this morning & it’s better than coffee! 💃🏻🎶 Loved your message again this morning & I’m so deeply honored to be in the same writing as Katherine Wolf. [...]
Good morning... I have a story to tell you about a dog, my dad, and the timing of God. After the loss of our beloved dog Tate in June, we have been working for the past six weeks to find the next golden retriever puppy for our family. With the help of our dog-loving friend, we located our [...]
Good morning... Most every day, I walk the sidewalk pictured above. One day, no leaves. The next day, a ton. What a silent, visual truth: The neighborhood trees, just like you and me, are altered by the rainstorms of life. As I have been trying to "obey my muddle clear" this week, I enjoyed lunch with an old, [...]
Good morning... Adorned with a new, nearly naked haircut, our little dog Gracie and I drove to her annual vet visit in the pouring rain. The completely drenching experience reminded me of a writing my friend recently shared. ****** The Call of Rain by Matthew Kelly in Reflections of a Trappist Hermit, pp. 117-119 ...Water is always an [...]
Good morning... Last Saturday, the end of a cherished era came to a quiet end. My husband and I were planning to spend the night at Red Top Mountain in our beloved pop-up camper, but the night before he said, "Suz, we are 62 years old, I wonder if we have reached the end of our camping days." [...]
Good morning... “What kills a soul?" asks Shauna Niequist author of Present Over Perfect. She answers herself: "Exhaustion, secret-keeping, image management." "And what brings a soul back from the dead?" she wonders. "Honesty, connection, grace.” For me, what will it be? Exhaustion. Secret-keeping. Image management. Honesty. Connection. Grace. As I notice where my heart is drawn, I focus [...]
Good morning... "Sue," she wrote. "Yesterday a local acquaintance posted this on Facebook and I shared it with another still reeling from a death. I found it a different kind of living with grief, and it gave me comfort, even though it's been years since my Mother died." ***** The Sacred Work of Grieving by Spirit of a [...]
