Good morning... Yesterday was Betty Skinner's sixth birthday in heaven. Betty was a Christian mystic and the heroine of my all-time favorite book, The Hidden Life Awakened by Kitty Crenshaw and Dr. Cathy Snapp. Incredibly drawn to her Jesus-like qualities, I took an annual pilgrimage to visit with Betty in Ponta Vedra, Florida for the last five years [...]
Good morning... As I walked with a young mom last week, we talked about the unique quality of friendships in the Atlanta area. So many amazing women come and go throughout the seasons of our lives. Without the regular overlaps which happen naturally in small town living, we need to be intentional about connecting with the important ladies [...]
Good morning... This week in class, we read aloud these words from the prologue of our book, Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May. ****** Wintering is a season in the cold. It is a fallow period in your life when you're cut off from the world, feeling rejected, sidelined, blocked from [...]
Good morning... "Part of hearing God is listening," she said, filled with Holy Spirit wisdom. Those in our monthly spiritual growth group automatically responded, "That's profound. Can you say the sentence again?" "Part of hearing God is listening," she repeated herself. I typed the six words into my phone, knowing I might share them with you. "Words can [...]
Good morning... As we came in from the sunny winter cold to celebrate a friend's 80th birthday with our Thursday morning class, I received photos from Ohio. "We have about 5" of snow and most schools are closed," my dad texted. "It's much worse in the snow belt east of Cleveland." "Snow days off school," was one thing [...]
Good morning... "Good morning, Sue!" her text greeted me first thing yesterday. "AHHHH!!! I can’t stop thinking about the ZESTY women and the ZESTY honest sharing yesterday - I feel one thousand percent closer to God in that transparent space than certain times in the past when I had all the perfect answers and impression of total certainty! [...]
Good morning... This Winter/Spring semester began yesterday. She began with a BAM! I spoke in all three worship services, 8:30 am, 9:00 am, and 11:15 am, sharing the opportunities offered through our Women's Ministry at Northside Church. Before and after each service, I enjoyed talking with longtime friends and staff members. Here is the invitation I extended. ****** [...]
Good morning... We are on the cusp of a new semester. Cusp. I love that little word. A point of transition between two different states. On the verge of what comes next. An interval of time just before the onset of something new. Brink. Edge. Threshold. This week, as we begin a new semester of learning in our [...]
Good morning... In yesterday's post We Experience Epiphany, I shared the spiritual practice of choosing a star word to guide us into the new year. Journalist Marissa Hermanson explains, "Star words are given out to the congregation in early January on Epiphany Sunday as a way of remembering the story of the Magi following the star to find [...]
Good morning... "I get overwhelmed by everything," she said in our spiritual growth group yesterday. Then the Holy Spirit stirred within her a new thought. "I only need to find a path, I don't have to clear the wilderness." The rest of us get overwhelmed too, so, touched by what she said, we had her repeat the sentence. [...]
