Good morning... "Horrific," one of you wrote after yesterday's post, My Piece In The Puzzle Of Poverty. "It is just absolutely horrific the pain and suffering of this world. I heard a really good sermon on Sunday about Luke 9:11-17 - we sin in solidarity and our salvation is in solidarity, and if we look at the world [...]
Good morning... "The unseen Spirit of God was real to Betsy Anderson," said the minister with delight. Betsy captured breadcrumbs of Spirit-led living, compiling over her nine decades a coveted document called "Betsy's Bullets." Each person who attended Saturday's celebration of life service got a bright yellow copy of Betsy's words of wisdom, "learned here, there, and everywhere [...]
Good morning... Wow. As on online community, we have experience the deep-wide fullness of real life this week, colorful highs amid painstaking lows. As we savor this Sabbath, revisiting past posts, please don't miss this video likely lost in our shuffle of mixed, meaningful emotions. Snuggle up with God in the sacred space at your center, and enjoy [...]
Good morning... "There is a difference between being driven and being drawn," she said at the end of yesterday's phone conversation. Intrigued by the crossroads of these two words, I jotted her concluding statement in my journal, returning to her wisdom when I woke around 2:00 am. Around 3:30 am, I climbed back into bed, sensing God's message [...]
Good morning... Last Monday's post set off a creative chorus of responses. Our post, A Little Boy's T-Shirt, ended with an invitation. "If the joy of the LORD is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10), what song lyrics well up in your brain when strong emotions get all steamed up? P.S. If you feel compelled, send me your brain’s knee-jerk reaction and [...]
Good morning... Before J Schroeder died, he taught people how to live. Stepping up to the microphone at his memorial service, his deeply loved wife described J as "a force of nature," admitting "Everyone wanted to be in his orbit." Grateful for joy-filled years together, she said, "I am so glad he chose me." After sharing bonding stories, [...]
Good morning... "Sad songs, they say so much," sings a lyric many of us know. Yet "sad" is relative and "saying so much" is important for every one of us. The music at yesterday's memorial service honoring J Schroeder, beloved 61-year-old husband and dad, son, brother, friend, was moving and meaningful. The following song invited us to quietly [...]
Good morning... On the morning when another family in our community will host a memorial service for a beloved husband, father, friend, I return to the illusive promise eluded to in yesterday's post. On this one-of-a-kind day, how can the joy of the Lord be our strength? And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods [...]
Good morning... I cannot unplug from Richard Rohr's quote in Falling Upward: "As Desmond Tutu told me on a recent trip to Cape Town, 'We are only the light bulbs, Richard, and our job is just to remain screwed in!'" (ix) Jesus says a similar thing, "Remain in Me, and I [will remain] in you...for [otherwise] apart from Me [that [...]
Good morning... Our writers' group of ten women has been meeting most months for over ten years. So when one writer challenged us last week with the quandary of a quote, a variety of comments came cascading down. You will remember the initial words from our recent post Drill Deep. "This a small section of something I read [...]
