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... "Nature, at a glance, is random and chaotic," my artist friend Corinne Adams wrote in her email. "Yet underlying this apparently disordered and complex system are intricate patterns, interconnected relationships, bold repetitions and a system of self-organization." "I am called into nature," she explains, "first, to observe what is there and to invite it [...]
Good morning... On a walk and talk one morning this week, I listened to a friend express concern over these troubling times. Then I was surprised to hear myself say, "We just need to gaze at God. We can glance at the world's unrest, but we need to keep our gaze on God." Then, before noon, I talked [...]
Good morning... Yesterday a friend from church forwarded me a poem forwarded by a friend. As I read the words slowly, calmly, aloud to myself, it took no time for serenity to spread from my eyes through my lips, into my ears to my soul. Now it's your turn to experience the spread of peace. ****** Time for [...]
Good morning... "Be Kind" was the title of yesterday's blog post. "Sue," she responded. "This is one of the most profound of all of your posts. It speaks into my unsettled heart. The one that has journaled just now about the chaos of our current time. The out of control acting out behavior running rampant in our country [...]
Good morning... When I think of a lamb, I think of this sketch. I received a copy of this print after one of our four miscarriages. Instinctively I knew that the soul of the little being inside me had been scooped up and embraced by the loving care of our Lord. What do you notice about this simple [...]
Good morning... Usually, the lion in me is sleeping. Calm is my style. Peace is my baseline. My roaring lion wakes infrequently, but this week she woke (see the details of these dynamics in our post I Was So Mad). Over happy hour, I was talking with a person I dearly love and out [...]
Good morning... Pictured above, I saved this "peace lily plant" years ago when the previous owner was throwing her in the trash. After I tenderly nursed her back to life, she now rests just over the threshold of our front door, bathed in sunlight, welcoming in guests. She has lived in our home for years and years, but [...]
Good morning... "I don't think I have hated anyone like this before," she said. "I can't stand being around her. I just feel so unsafe, like she might attack me with her words at any time, belittling me in front of everyone, making me feel horrible. I know we are supposed to love our enemies, but I don't [...]
Good morning... My old iPhone 5-S died. I posted about that yesterday. As the day unfolded, it became clear: our morning message was not about my phone. It was about our shared sense of losing touch. Stripped by the chaos of Corona, our economic breakdown, and the unrest of injustice, collectively we have lost a lot. As manmade [...]
