Good morning... I knew exactly what she meant: "I feel like I am tiptoeing on broken glass." When life shatters into shards, we tread tenderly with loved ones, fearing their pain, fearing ours, fearing bare and bloodied feet. Vulnerably inching into grief, the only way through is through. Sometimes shoes are necessary. Sometimes they are not. I knew exactly [...]
Good morning... Resolutions. Some make them. Few keep them. Why, by now, have many good intentions waned? Because the focus of most resolutions is on our own external efforts. We promise to do more or less. We strive to look better, feel better, act better. At the beginning of each year, many of us commit again to perfecting our [...]
Good morning... "Friendship is one of the greatest gifts a human being can receive," observes Henri Nouwen's morning meditation from 1.7.18. "It is a bond beyond common goals, common interests, or common histories. It is a bond stronger than sexual union can create, deeper than a shared fate can solidify, and even more intimate than the bonds of marriage [...]
Good morning... Today, I could write about football, yesterday's rainy day off school, or our daughter's safe return from Australia with her tattered, three-wheeled suitcase. This morning, I could write about our finicky coffee pot, this week's beginning of our new class semester, or the strengthening pull of God's call upon my life. Right now, I could write about [...]
Good morning... She texted me this poem as she lay in bed following surgery. I sense deep peace gathering strength, within and around her. ****** Amazing Peace by Maya Angelou It is the Glad Season. Hope is born again in the faces of children. It rides on the shoulders of our aged as they walk into their sunsets. Hope spreads [...]
Good morning... As I wake, an old song wells up within my soul and I marinate in a tried, true favorite performed live in 2007. Though I do not know what language is being translated in this YouTube video, I love the foreign subtitles and the clearly-moved crowd visually reminding me: God's Word lights the path for every person [...]
Good morning... Waking to frigid temperatures, she playfully texted me after yesterday's post, "Heaven may be better than Hawaii, but I wouldn't mind going to Hawaii now..." (three smiley, sunglassed emoji faces). "Agreed. Do you know Messiah and his family?" I asked because my friend has close ties to our cancer community. "No, I don't," she answered. "I was [...]
Good morning... A prayer grows roots deep in my soul. "LORD, You are the Director. Help me be a clear reflector." I envision a still lake reflecting the pink-purple pastels painted by the rising sun and the old oak trees silhouetted by the same sun as it sets. The more still the water, the more clear the moving reflection. [...]
Good morning... After yesterday's post, I pondered all day, "What is my 'one thing'?" What is the 'one thing' I cling to that shrinks heavens treasures while I walk this earth? My fear of pain. My love of comfort. My desire to get what I want when I want it. "LORD, is there really only 'one thing' I lack?" [...]
Good morning… I accidentally ran into a Bible verse I have never before met. This blessing is tucked away in Jude, the easily-missed, two-page book of the Bible appearing just before Revelation. This sentence sums up my deep prayer for each of us, as we tiptoe slowly into a brand new year. May mercy and peace and love be [...]
