Good morning... "May we have faith in the unfolding of our lives," hoped yesterday's paraphrase of Psalm 106, "and radical trust in the universe." What does it mean for us to learn to radically trust the Sustainer of our universe? Researching the meaning of "radical" in its original language, two Latin words pop up. The adjective "radicalis" means "of, [...]
Good morning... It is bittersweet for me to help craft words for the final email sent out to our August Enneagram class. Included here are the notes from last week's teaching, the focus for this week's lesson, and a link to register for fall classes at Northside Church, which begin the week of September 9th. What a joy [...]
Good morning... "In Christ's name we play," my Freudian slip ended our prayer, ushering us into a magical evening. "Researcher Stuart Brown, MD, describes play as time spent without purpose," Brene Brown stretches her own mind to welcome this new possibility. "To me this sounds like the definition of an anxiety attack. I feel behind if I’m not [...]
Good morning... After the second week of our Enneagram class, I got an email from a very good friend. "Sue, I thought you might want to read where the Enneagram originated. Also google Sufi. I just wasn’t sure if you knew this. Pray and see if this is something the Lord wants you to be involved with. Love you [...]
Good morning... Last Monday morning, Rev. Catherine Boothe Olson and I prepared the space for our noontime Enneagram class. As people began slowly trickling into the sacred chapel, I felt like a "welcome" greeter in heaven. I joyfully hugged women I love from book studies in our living room and women I adore from mission trips, outreach experiences, [...]
Good morning... At 9:46 am yesterday, he texted me, "Reading through John this morning. Checkout John 14:16-17 and let me know what you think." So I googled the passage on Biblegateway.com and perused five different translations of these two verses. I settled in on the most detailed one, the Amplified Bible version, a translation hosting the heading "Role [...]
Good morning... One week from today, we will host another four-week class on the Enneagram, an ancient tool used to identify our own core need as a unique child of God. Once our deepest drive is discerned, we will learn to track our spiritual growth as God's Spirit awakens our True Self. This time I will be teaching [...]
Good morning... I love the Scriptural image ending yesterday's post. You've had a taste of God. Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God's pure kindness. Then you'll grow up mature and whole in God (1 Peter 2:3, MSG). We are each nursing babes nourished intimately by God. As we daily drink deep, increasing amounts of [...]
Good morning... Over the years, my husband and I have been criticized, subtly and not-so-subtly, for not being “Christian” enough. Has similar judgement ever happened to you? People judging people feels so toxic. Can’t you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do…It is what God is doing, and he is creating something [...]
Good morning... I chuckled when I saw this cartoon at the bottom of last week's email from my friend Emily Wingfield. I chuckled, and I felt convicted. This cartoon parks in the lane of our shared hardened handicap, the handicap of our old human nature. We look around us and we want change, but we look inside ourselves [...]
