Good morning... "Good morning, Sue," emailed a reader I have never met from Tennessee. "Just had to share that your message on marriage came to me on what would have been our 34th wedding anniversary, having been married at Northside United Methodist Church June 6, 1987. You and I, as believers, know that there are no coincidences! Thanks [...]
Good morning... I will remember last night's gorgeous wedding because of the white umbrellas passed out in the rain, my husband's heartfelt message to the bride and groom, a chance to talk and dance with incredible people, and the reading of a Mark Twain poem I had never heard before. A marriage makes of two fractional lives a [...]
Good morning... "The old song of my spirit has wearied itself out," on the first Monday of this month she read to me over the phone. "It has long ago been learned by heart so that now it repeats itself over and over, bringing no added joy to my days or lift to my spirit. It is a [...]
Good morning... "This poem plays beautifully with your post about radical empathy," she wrote. Remember? Radical empathy is "actively striving to better understand and share the feelings of others. To fundamentally change our perspectives from judgmental to accepting, in an attempt to more authentically connect with ourselves and others." I agree with my friend. This powerful poem plays [...]
Good morning... In yesterday's blog post, How To Avoid Burnout, together we witnessed the loving voice of God captured on my cell phone. As the day progressed, I was also able to witness the love of God caught wearing fur. My friend's year old puppy loves his momma dearly. To keep him company while she visited with her [...]
Good morning... A dear friend reconnected me to an old quote I adore from When the Heart Waits by Sue Monk Kidd: "What has happened to our ability to dwell in unknowing, to live inside a question and coexist with the tensions of uncertainty? Where is our willingness to incubate pain and let it birth something new? What [...]
Good morning... This Christmas season we pared down to essentials. Immediate family. A handful of favorite ornaments on our ten foot fresh tree. And one nativity, this tiny nativity brought home from a late November yard sale. Because we were living lighter, we were able to spontaneously adjust when generous friends offered us a getaway to their mountain [...]
Good morning... As the sun sets on 2020, we see more clearly the single purpose for which we are born. With all of this year's chaos and clashing, death and disconnection, unrest and uncertainty, our single purpose rests firmly in focus. Henri Nouwen said it well in a post from this week. ****** Henri Nouwen DAILY MEDITATION | [...]
Good morning... "Merry Christmas," she wrote after yesterday's post, A Nifty Poem. "I love this poem. Our special retreat in Blue Ridge is like an outdoor church for me with a beautiful open field and surrounding woods. I love to take long quiet walks. I can listen to the Bobolink and his bird friends sing their songs and [...]
Good morning... "Every year since we've been married, we've traveled to see our families," she said over the phone yesterday. "Today is the day we always leave, we head up north, we go to my parent's home to gather with all the aunts, uncles, and cousins. Then we spend time with my husband's family. For the first time, [...]
