On My Dad’s 85th Birthday
Good morning... My father is 85-years-old today. Right now, at 3:40 am, I am gently unwrapping his first birthday gift. For the first time in weeks he is asleep in their familiar bed, hopefully receiving some much needed rest. I took his place on the couch nearby my mom who is sleeping in her recliner, continuing to recover from her fall, her broken femur, and a small stroke with a life-threatening infection which [...]
Bleeding Into Today
Good morning... Yesterday's post continued to bleed into my day. Our final words became my constant prayer. "Lord, please heighten our sensitiveness to you. May we see, hear, taste, touch, and smell your magic all around us." Right away a loyal reader from Florida wrote. "Good morning Sue," she texted. "I have always stopped daily to notice something in nature, like a bonus going about my day, but during this difficult season with [...]
In The Midst Of My Anxieties
Good morning... "God is present with me this day," I read aloud one of my favorite Howard Thurman passages found in Meditations of the Heart. "God is present with me in the midst of my anxieties. . . . Little by little, I am beginning to understand that deliverance from anxiety means a fundamental growth in spiritual character and awareness. It becomes a quality of being, emerging from deep within, giving to all [...]
My Mistake
Good morning... "Unfortunately, this is not true," a loyal subscriber from Canada wrote after the music video I posted yesterday of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy reportedly singing "Endless Love" with his wife in March 2022. Our regular reader sent me a link exposing the truth that the music video was mis-captioned, adding the following facts. "While Zelenskky can’t be seen singing 'Endless Love' with his wife in this video, he truly had a successful [...]
Zelenskyy Shares Love
Good morning... I just happened upon a music video expressing the love of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife, recorded on March 15th, 2022. It is touching to consider how the endless love of this young couple pours into the lives of so many who are losing their loved ones in this ugly war. Lord, your faithful love continues forever (Psalm 138:8b, NIRV). ...Sue...
Today’s Funeral
Good morning... I wake early in deep prayer for my special friend. Today I support her, as she supports her husband, as he lays his father to final rest. After weeks of facing serious health challenges, her father-in-law went to heaven at age 85. My own dad turns 85 this week, and, as many of you know, my 83-year-old mom has struggled with her own serious health challenges this month. So I walk [...]
Joy Expands
Good morning... "For the joy set before him, Jesus endured the cross," explains Hebrews 12:2. Part of the joy I believe Jesus envisioned was the fun we had making forty-seven Easter baskets last week for the PAWkids community as well as the joy of the Easter celebration hosted in their new outdoor space. Revisiting the photos now, the joy of Jesus continues to expand in and through each of us. [...]
Face Today With A Friend
Good morning... "God is protecting you in the midst of his presence," says the tender image above, an image I reworked into yesterday's post. Then I received a text from a friend who is going through a very challenging time. We planned a spontaneous walk and talk to the nearby horse farm, meeting up at the stop sign centered between our two homes. Through candid, back-and-forth conversation, God's voice was amplified. Together we [...]
Do You Trust Life’s Umpire?
Good morning... Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace (Colossians 3:15, NIV). I ponder this Scripture verse at the end of Henri Nouwen's morning message from yesterday. Now I am drawn back to our four word prayer. Here. Now. Accept. Allow. In my mind, "allow" is synonymous with the word "let." Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts... [...]
Here. Now. Accept. Allow.
Good morning... On her way to our spiritual direction session in our basement, she ran into traffic on a drizzly Monday morning. "I had to calm down my racing mind," she said. "Sue will not care if I arrive a bit late. I needed to breathe myself down from my head to my heart." A red light happened to happen. She said, "The prayer I have learned to pray rose up in me [...]
An Abrupt Goodbye
Good morning... On different devices, our immediate family Zoomed with my mom and dad in Ohio as part of our Easter celebration. We had a real scare with my 83-year-old mother's health this past month - a broken femur following a fall, a small stroke, a life-threatening infection, organs shutting down, on a ventilator in the ICU. Yet through massive amounts of prayer and the healing power of God rising up from within, [...]
Multiplying This Easter Morn
Happy Easter! One of the most impactful part of our trip to the Holy Land of Israel was witnessing on our final day the power of an empty tomb. With Jesus rising to sit on the right hand of God, our Father, the love of the living Christ now rises in us. Jesus said on the final night of his life: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have [...]