Good morning... Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace (Colossians 3:15, NIV). I ponder this Scripture verse at the end of Henri Nouwen's morning message from yesterday. Now I am drawn back to our four word prayer. Here. Now. Accept. Allow. In my mind, "allow" [...]
Good morning... On her way to our spiritual direction session in our basement, she ran into traffic on a drizzly Monday morning. "I had to calm down my racing mind," she said. "Sue will not care if I arrive a bit late. I needed to breathe myself down from my head to my heart." A red light happened [...]
Good morning... The beautiful image above, sent by a loyal subscriber is Charlotte, N.C., shares my deepest prayer for you this humbling Holy Week. Our hope comes from God. May He fill you with joy and peace because of your trust in Him. May your hope grow stronger by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13, NLV). ...Sue... [...]
Good morning... Yesterday we walked through Jerusalem, the city of King David, which he established as the central gathering place for the Jewish people. We explored parts visible, like the Temple of the Western Wall and the wall which encloses the Holy of Holies, an inner sanctuary where only women are invited to pray. [...]
Good morning... Today is Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of Lent, the 46 days before Easter Sunday. Christianity.com explains: "Lent is a 40-day season (not counting Sundays) marked by repentance, fasting, reflection, and ultimately celebration. The 40-day period represents Christ’s time of temptation in the wilderness, where he fasted and where Satan tempted him. Lent asks believers to [...]
Our Friday group gathered to discuss our next chapter in Paula D'Arcy's book Sacred Threshold: Crossing the Inner Barrier to Deeper Love. To begin our time together, we shared various prayer concerns. One woman has a dear friend, Olga, who lives in Ukraine with her two daughters. Olga had sent a telegram earlier in the day: "According to [...]
Good morning... Yesterday as we pulled up to drop off donated dinner items for the men overcoming homelessness and addiction at Trinity House, I asked my husband Steve, "For how many years have we been doing this every month?" We thought back to when a student in the junior class called to ask if kids from The Lovett [...]
Good morning... The gathering at PAWkids tonight has been loosely planned. Given a brief description of the needs for the night, "snacks and drinks," an excited group of us stepped forward to provide refreshments as the police officers in Grove Park hold open the blue house to provide safety and loving care for the hungry and the homeless [...]
Good morning... If you look closely at our old weathered tree skirt, you will see that it was handmade in 2001, twenty years ago this Advent season. Red felt. Gold cording. Not sewn but glued. Glittery gold paint captured our children's names, ages, and handprints. Back then, our kids were six, four, two, and six months old. Born [...]
Good morning... My new favorite tree ornament is a transparent two inch square holding a tiny ice skater. Handmade by our wildly creative friend Corinne Adams, this symbol sums up my Advent season thus far, gliding along almost effortlessly, empowered by the Spirit of God with us. Yet today is Monday and by the time we skate through [...]
