Good morning... Our Writers' Group from church has been meeting regularly since 2008, supporting the growth of God within one another. On Tuesday night a small group of us enjoyed a spur of the moment, "pop-up" gathering in one woman's back yard. "Gals," the hostess wrote the next day. "Had I known our dinner last night would be [...]
Good morning... Walking our dog in the cool of the morning, I found a black acorn for the first time ever. Returning home, I googled, "Why are some acorns black?" Here I found a simple answer: "Producing black acorns is a sign of stress. Immature seeds die mid-growth, with the stalk, or pedicle, withering on the twig." Stress. [...]
Good morning... I woke with one word on my mind. Balm. I can't even remember the last time I used "balm" in a sentence. When have you thought "balm" recently? When a weird word wakes me, I love treasure-hunting for the gift God may want to give. Here is what I found. A balm is a soothing substance [...]
Good morning... We wrapped up in blankets and sat in the cool autumn air beneath our back porch. Leftover stress lingered from the night before; we both had witnessed the ugly verbal street fight called a presidential debate. The leaf blowers from our neighbor's lawn guys were screaming loudly, relentlessly. It was symbolically perfect for the moment at [...]
Good morning... As we walked our dog along the bank of the Chattahoochee River, my husband told me about a Richard Rohr meditation that helped him visual prayer in a helpful new way. At my request, he shared with me Rohr's writing, and now I pass the important portion along to you. ****** Excerpt from Richard Rohr's morning [...]
Good morning... "The mind wakes, comes to life again," writes Anne Morrow Lindbergh in Gift from the Sea. "Not in a city sense - no - but beach-wise. It begins to drift, to play, to turn over in gentle careless rolls like those lazy waves on the beach. One never knows what chance treasures these easy unconscious rollers [...]
Good morning... We are an essential part of God's response to the anguish of this world. We are in God, God is in us, and from this place of intimate connection, giving and taking, loving and being loved, we become God's living presence responding to our hurting world. Henri Nouwen's morning devotional from yesterday tangibly identifies the first step [...]
Good morning... Rayshard Brooks was fatally shot by a police officer in the parking lot of a Wendy's restaurant here in Atlanta on Friday night. Rayshard was twenty-seven years old, a father of three daughters and one stepson. Last night, protesters calling for reform took to the streets and closed down one of Atlanta's main arteries, interstate 75. [...]
Good morning... I sat uncomfortably in the ant-filled grass, sweating in the sun, experiencing last weekend's rally. I listened attentively to story after story of unkind treatment, derogatory comments, rampant racism recalled by recent grads. I wanted to be witness. I wanted to give support. I wanted to say with my presence, "You are heard. You are valued. [...]
Good morning... After watching violence erupt all over the news following the very sad public killing of George Floyd and hearing story after story of private violence against young teenaged girls in the first episode of Filthy Rich, a documentary about Jeffery Epstein, I went to sleep. In the middle of the night I woke after a short [...]
