Good morning... I usually think of the word "branch" as a noun. A natural subdivision of a plant stem. A secondary shoot arising from the main axis of a tree. A part of complex body, like a division of a family descending from a particular ancestor. As I marveled [...]
Good morning... "The second week of our Gift from the Sea study brings to my mind a poem," she writes. "Slow Me Down, Lord" has graced my home and heart for many years and is a constant source of comfort and peace with the busyness of life." ****** SLOW ME DOWN, LORD (by Wilfred Arlan Peterson) Slow [...]
Good morning... Every August since 1995, my husband Steve has started a new school year as a chaplain at The Lovett School (minus our brief, beloved stint in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania from 2001-2003). Hands down, this August has been the most unusual, unsettling beginning of school, ever. Unable to gather all the upper school students in the chapel [...]
Good morning... As communities across our globe are gathering together to pray for healing, I want to tell you a story about a growing prayer garden planted in the heart of our small town community. To do so, I pull out my phone and scroll back on a string of texts that began on Wednesday, January 22, 2020. "Hi [...]
Good morning... After writing yesterday's controversial post, A Mother's Perspective, I climbed back into bed, hoping for more sleep. That's when the wisdom of Ecclesiastes 5:3 (CEV) filled me full, integrating my mind, my body, and my soul. If you keep thinking about something, you will dream about it. If you talk too much, you will say the [...]
Good morning... If I am a grain of wheat, I wrestle with John 12:24. Jesus says, “Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over." You see, I like [...]
Good morning... "As terrific as chemo was on my body (and soul)," she wrote to me after yesterday's post, "losing my hair was an indescribable blow. I felt diminished, even invisible, and it was difficult to face myself in a mirror. Wigs, scarves, and hats felt fake and uncomfortable. I am sure that this huge ego recheck was [...]
Good morning... "Good vines require cutting and more cutting," says Sr. Judith Sutera, a Benedictine nun and vinedresser. "A mile of runners won't give you one more grape, so get rid of the branches that do not bear fruit. Do you want to keep everything? Then expect nothing. Cut. And then cut some more." By nature, I am [...]
Good morning... As I touch on the "Past Blog Posts" button below to review the wisdom woven around us this week, "nest" is the word filling my mind. As a noun, a "nest" is a pocketlike, circular structure of twigs, grass, and mud formed by a bird, often high in a tree, providing a protected place in which [...]
Good morning... “How can we picture God’s kingdom?" asks Mark 4:30-32 in the Message translation. "What kind of story can we use?" we wonder within. "It’s like a pine nut," Mark says. "When it lands on the ground it is quite small as seeds go, yet once it is planted it grows into a huge pine tree with [...]
