Good morning... As a class, we found Parker Palmer's insights very, very convicting. We all love people who experience seasons of suffering. We all want to help people out of their pain. Yet, when Parker was "in his misery," loved ones came to offer "sympathy that led him deeper into despair." Experience this excerpt from Let Your Life Speak [...]
Good morning... He sent me a poem last week, a poem giving voice to our shocking loss, now a poem speaking truth in the wake of a school shooting, and, years back, a poem ringing true on the day it was written by a 12th-century Jewish poet. ****** 'Tis A Fearful Thing by Yehuda HaLevi (1075 – 1141) ‘Tis a [...]
Good morning... Looking for something else in our storage room, I found an unexpected gift. This week both of our daughters have had a friend end their earthly lives early. One young man a senior, one a freshman, each at different colleges. In life's darkest hours, I struggle: "Where are You, God? Who are You, God? God, what are [...]
Good morning... "Your post reminds me of one of my favorite poems," she wrote after reading yesterday's message, Be Deep-Spirited Friends. ****** “The Friend who Just Stands By,” B. Y. Williams When trouble comes your soul to try, You love the friend who just “stands by.” Perhaps there’s nothing he can do— The thing is strictly up to you; [...]
Good morning... In the midst of his suffering on the cross, Jesus dropped his words into the pool of prayer. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last, (Luke 23:46, NIV). In other translations, Jesus' words read, "Father, I entrust my spirit into [...]
Good morning... "I have been receiving such confirmation through you, my stewardship coach, and my therapist that reading Let Your Life Speak will be beneficial in discerning vocation," writes Mary from Charlotte, N.C., the author of the words from our recent post, Gratitude Holds Hands With Grief. She says, "Here is what really jumped out at me so far, 'True vocation [...]
Good morning... I knew exactly what she meant: "I feel like I am tiptoeing on broken glass." When life shatters into shards, we tread tenderly with loved ones, fearing their pain, fearing ours, fearing bare and bloodied feet. Vulnerably inching into grief, the only way through is through. Sometimes shoes are necessary. Sometimes they are not. I knew exactly [...]
Good morning... "This is an important one," my intuition whispers as the message I had been working on for two hours mysteriously vanished. So, I rewrote the wisdom, as best as I could discern. Here is the "important one" well-deserving of our full attention. "The agonizing pain of a major crisis had me writhing in anger and shame - [...]
Good morning... She texted me this poem as she lay in bed following surgery. I sense deep peace gathering strength, within and around her. ****** Amazing Peace by Maya Angelou It is the Glad Season. Hope is born again in the faces of children. It rides on the shoulders of our aged as they walk into their sunsets. Hope spreads [...]
Good morning... Life dishes out tons of trouble and some of us are served a high, heaping helping. Troubles come in many forms: short-lived or long-lasting, self-inflicted or unexpected, collectively experienced or randomly singled out. For some of us, troubles are fueled by our inner critic: "I can't believe you said that. Did that. Messed up. Again." For others, troubles [...]
