Good morning... "While the Fourth of July, 1776, is the day America declared independence from Great Britain, people of color were not able to celebrate that same freedom," explains a letter I recently received from my spiritual direction training program. "On July 4th, 1852, here is what Frederick Douglass said in his speech The Meaning of July Fourth [...]
Good morning... It seems to me, grey is the color of waiting. Not old, not new. Not now, not yet. No agenda, no time frame. No end of the tunnel, no finish line in sight. I think back to my most fertile times of waiting, when new life was gestating inside my womb, out of my sight, expanding [...]
Good morning... Her short text included one soulful sketch created by Atlanta artist Danielle Coke. Postive. Powerful. Process-oriented, right? And I will give them one heart [a new heart], and put a new spirit within them. I will take from them the heart of stone, and will give them a heart of flesh [that is responsive to [...]
Good morning... "Our tendency is to run away from the painful realities or to try to change them as soon as possible," Henri Nouwen's morning meditation from yesterday joins our life-giving conversation. "But cure without care makes us into rulers, controllers, manipulators, and prevents a real community from taking shape. Cure without care makes us preoccupied with quick [...]
Good morning... "Love our daily dose of love vitamin!" Short and sweet came her encouraging email after yesterday's blog post, The Wind And The Sailor. "Love, God's love, this is the nutrient we need in these challenging times. Thank you for the infusions. My favorite quote from anonymous: 'The winds of grace are always blowing. But, we must raise [...]
Good morning... "Loving can be a difficult business," writes Roberta Bondi on page 35 in To Love As God Loves. "It is impossible to grit the teeth and love, no matter how much we want to. That is because human effort is only one of the two basic elements necessary for the fulfillment of all Christian goals and [...]
Good morning... After writing yesterday's controversial post, A Mother's Perspective, I climbed back into bed, hoping for more sleep. That's when the wisdom of Ecclesiastes 5:3 (CEV) filled me full, integrating my mind, my body, and my soul. If you keep thinking about something, you will dream about it. If you talk too much, you will say the [...]
Good morning... As a wide variety of passionate people share with me very personal perspectives, God is building through us an honest online community. Yesterday's post, The Fierce Urgency Of Now, unleashed an avalanche of raw responses, covering most every inch of our fertile common ground. I will gradually unpack our various perspectives on the unrest across our [...]
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... "I keep this quote by my bedside," she wrote, sharing words from Lisa Beamer, whose husband died on 9/11. "Who is becoming whole again on your watch? What is being healed by your influence? How is God redeeming His creation by way of your life?” Then she added, "And I pray for God’s grace to recognize the opportunities [...]
