Good morning... So deeply loving her book Gift Of The Red Bird, I joined author Paula D'Arcy for a weekend at Ignatius House Retreat Center in August of 2015. Many who had loved boldly and lost abruptly came to be with this vibrant woman, a woman who was not only standing, breathing, and living on after the 1975 death [...]
Good morning... When we moved into the tiny, Pennsylvania town-of-my-dreams in the third week of June in 2001, our kids were six, four, two, and two weeks old. As God had planned our placement perfectly, my next door neighbor, Betsy, was also nurturing a two year old and a two week old. Betsy and I became fast, deep-seeded [...]
Good morning... You know I wake up whenever God wakes me. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught (Isaiah 50:4b, NIV). First things first. I brew a few mugs of coffee, I curl up in silent solitude, and, with a great sense of expectancy, I open my Bible, my journal, [...]
Good morning... As I wake on this lazy Labor Day weekend, what is the strange word tickling the tip of my brain's tongue? "Hiatus." I google the meaning of "hiatus" and a plethora of possibility pours forth. A pause in a series, sequence, or process. A break. An intermission. A lull, respite, breather. I learn that in Latin [...]
Good morning... I enjoy periodic movie nights with my close friend. Last month we saw Manchester by the Sea and last night we experienced Moonlight. Both movies are heavy and heartbreaking, painful and poignant, raw and redemptive. After each movie, my friend and I talked for hours, untangling jumbled thoughts, expressing myriad emotions, connecting insightful dots. "The purpose of [...]
Good morning... She read aloud another favorite quote: "And then it felt as though these thoughts came across to me in a prayer: 'Walk on with empty hands, because I have so much more to give you in the future, and you can't receive it if your hands are full. Don't be afraid that in letting go you are [...]
Good morning... In John 14:6, Jesus strikes a match and lights a flickering candle, "I am the way..." When pitch black descends, deep pain and dark loneliness, Jesus speaks light, "I am the way..." Through God, tucked in Christ, empowered by Spirit, we shuffle each day, step by step, with the way. Jesus spoke to the people once more [...]
Good morning... "When you arrive at the manger, where do you stand? What do you do, think, feel, and say," asks my devotional book. My imagination responds: "After asking, 'Mary, may I hold your sweet baby?' I cradle Jesus in my arms. I kiss his forehead gently. I slowly rub my cheek against his cheek then draw back to [...]
Good morning... I searched high and low, downstairs and up, trying to find the book containing the quote God laid upon my heart. During my early morning prayer time, I sensed somehow that at least one of you needs these words today. So I searched for the book, searched and searched. I finally found my well-worn copy of Paula [...]
Good morning... As I sat in dense, inching traffic at 5:45 pm, I felt gratitude gradually grow. With the winter sun setting early, I was unexpectedly stopped, stilled in awe. I watched God at work, painting playful pastels in the evening sky. Had I focused my eyes on the bumper to bumper frustration, anger and anxiety would have welled [...]
