We Play Hide And Seek
Good morning... Wrapped beneath a cozy blanket, I nestle alone on the outdoor couch below our back porch. With my ear to my phone, I savor the four familiar voices on our monthly call. After the silence of our opening prayer, one friend reads aloud a poem. What a quietly transformational place to begin. ****** Hide and Seek by Malcolm Guite Ready or not, you tell me, here I come! And I know [...]
I Love This Taste!
Good morning... This baffled woman surrounded by a wide variety of delicious possibilities represents the way I feel the morning after my fun filled birthday: "I don't remember the name, but it had a taste that I liked." I couldn't possibly name all of the nuanced ways God's love pours through you to me yesterday. Just like a rich, robust bottle of wine, the small hints of unique flavors blended beautifully into one [...]
On My 59th Birthday
Good morning... "Hi there," yesterday I texted a dear friend I have enjoyed quality time with for nearly thirty years. "I have our birthday season lunch on my calendar. What time do you want to meet at our special spot?" "Argh," she replied immediately, "was just going to write you. Spent five hours in Kaiser Urgent Care yesterday. They ran tests. Good news is that there is no abscess or perforation. Just a [...]
How To Feed Our Hungry World
Good morning... I have continued to think about a random quote shared in our supervision group last week. "There are a lot of people who work for God and very few who actually work with God." Changing just one word makes all the difference. What might it mean for us to work with God rather than working for God to feed the many needs in our hungry world? Jesus himself explains the distinction [...]
“Be Patient.”
Good morning... During our Friday morning class, we wondered together how we ordinary people might actually hear the guiding voice of God. Enlivening our discussion, one of our classmates told us a true story. Lake Blue Ridge is a thin place for this friend, a sacred spot where heaven and earth seem seamlessly bound. On one of her many hikes through the woods, she recently discovered an eagle's nest high up in a [...]
My 2:00 AM Self
Good morning... After texted about My Rough Re-entry, my friend responded with life-giving words. "You are carrying the load," she noticed, "yoking with so many." "This morning I read a Kate Bowler devotional (my Lenten practice) from _Good Enough_," my friend explained. "She wrote about this idea: Sometimes there are two selves - a 2:00 am self (the one who thinks about challenges - family, kids, spouse, money, work, health, etc.) vs. the [...]
My Rough Re-entry
Good morning... It can be hard to re-enter life's normal rhythm after being swept up into mountaintop moments. Personally, quietly, my re-entry has been rough. Sharing my truth, I found myself texting a friend in the middle of the night. "I am taking my time re-entering the rhythm of life following our ten day trip through Israel," I shared honestly. "So many people are facing tough challenges. Quiet, sad endings. Cancer treatment ravaging [...]
I’m Sorry. It’s Time.
Good morning... I have texted with a dear friend whose husband was forced to retire this week due to worsening health concerns. "My heart is heavy," she wrote. "We finished moving him completely out of his office yesterday. 35 years as a lawyer, reduced to a few boxes piled in a closet in the home office we are getting set for him. Quite sad." "What a sobering sentence," I texted back. "'35 years [...]
Trip Summary From Steve
Good morning... After exploring the varied history and terrain of the countryside of Israel, Steve emailed our group a summary of our time together. Reliving our moments through the Hebrew words chosen for each day brings on a collective smile, helping us to hear, to remember, to live out our own personal love affair with God. ****** Israel 2022, What a blessing (Barak) it was to be with you all in [...]
Plant Your Feet Now
Good morning... Walking the unique path set before our feet, we might be encouraged by this devotional message rising with the sunshine yesterday morning. ****** DAILY MEDITATION | MARCH 14, 2022 - Find Your Own Path to Love by Henri Nouwen Every time you make free time for God, you clear up a bit of the descending path, and you see where you can plant your feet on the way to love. Nothing [...]
After Mountaintop Moments
Good morning... In every life there are mountaintop moments. The birth of a baby and grand graduations. Joyful engagements and fabulous weddings. Quiet "Ah-ha" moments experienced in private and loud celebrations swarming with loved ones. Once in a lifetime trips and breathtaking vistas. (See the photos and reflections taken from the mountaintop of my first trip to Israel, touching "next" seven times to experience all of our blog posts.) The one thing shared [...]
Israel Day #8: Love And Peace
Good morning... Yesterday we walked through Jerusalem, the city of King David, which he established as the central gathering place for the Jewish people. We explored parts visible, like the Temple of the Western Wall and the wall which encloses the Holy of Holies, an inner sanctuary where only women are invited to pray. Then we explored parts hidden beneath the City of David. Some [...]