A Fun Tale Of Two Brains
Good morning... It seems I am not the only one of us experiencing a chaotic brain. In class yesterday, one woman shared an old video about the differences between the brains of men and the brains of women. Like most good humor, enough truth is touched to make us feel seen, known, accepted where we are and growing as we go. Enjoy these five funny minutes this winter morning. ...a time to weep [...]
Heavy Heart. Chaotic Brain.
Good morning... The images above, sent by a fun friend in North Carolina, help me as I try to process my heavy heart and my chaotic brain. Honestly, it feels like both are about to burst. How can I joyfully be creating with a handful of you 100 Valentine's Day gift bags for impoverished senior citizens while at the same time remain in such sorrowful solidarity with my dear friend whose daughter is [...]
Repeat The Sound Of Joy
Good morning... In December, many of you pitched in to donate items to fill 100 gift bags for the senior citizens of the impoverished Grove Park area of our city. A handful of us joyfully assembled the Christmas gifts at Corinne Adam's art studio over two magic-making work shifts. Then I drove the precious presents to PAWkids, who in turn gave them to the neighborhood police officers to deliver the gift bags to [...]
Our Happy Place
Good morning... Yesterday, spontaneously, the chorus of an old favorite song erupted in me. I unashamedly sang out loud as I drove to PAWkids for our therapeutic community group, remembering the comment made there the night before by a first time homework helper: "You can definitely feel God's presence in this place." "Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place," I sang quietly to myself. "I can feel God's mighty power [...]
Living Julie’s Dream
Good morning... "You can definitely feel God's presence in this place," said one of the new volunteers after we helped kids with their homework at PAWkids yesterday. I totally agree. God's presence feels unmistakable in such a life-giving space. Don’t you know? Haven’t you been listening? Yahweh is the one and only everlasting God, the Creator of all you can see and imagine! He never gets weary or worn out. His intelligence is [...]
One Month Ago
Good morning... One month ago today, I filled our car with generously donated items and drove the requested "snacks and drinks" to PAWkids for New Year's Eve. Homemade cupcakes, cookies, and oatmeal packets. Waters, juices, cocoa mix and milk. Chips, protein bars, and paper goods. The day before, I had also made a big batch of homemade turkey/vegetable soup to share. The policemen in the Grove Park area planned to hold open the [...]
A Six Month Nightmare
Good morning... The photo above was sent with the email below. "Dear Sue," a close friend wrote. "You know well the agonies of parenthood as well as the joys, and your contacts are so wide. Please share as you are able and see fit. This message under Will's photo is from his mom, RuthAnn." "So much heaviness in our time and in our days," my friend's email continued. "I have complete [...]
Help Me Find Me
Good morning... Last Friday, we began our class with silence, a reading, and a prayer. Before I read aloud the heartfelt prayer below, I asked people to consider, "Which words capture your attention?" After our time of prayer, we introduced ourselves to one another for the first time by sharing the words grabbing us most, explaining why these words might have touched us so. Now if you were to introduce yourself to a [...]
Celebrating Angie’s Life
Good morning... At 2:00 pm today we will gather in the church sanctuary to celebrate Angie's life. How utterly impossible to sum up a whole vibrant lifetime in one touching hour. Reading Angie's obituary, I am struck by the expanse and the generosity of her love for others. How deeply she will be missed by so many left on earth. Mission-minded, family-oriented, an ordinary person just like us, Angie went to heaven last [...]
Grief Is Hard Work
Good morning... This encouraging video was created last April by our author for this semester, Paula D'Arcy, and her seasoned spiritual friend, Khris Ford. Well worth five minutes of our time, the insights shared may be helpful for those personally struggling through grief and for those seeking to walk beside a loved one who is slowly trudging through. Deepening into our common ground, we all nod in agreement, "Grief is really hard work." [...]
When Our World Is Upended
Good morning... Author Paula D'Arcy knows the upending sensation of sudden loss. Before diving into Paula's book Sacred Threshold: Crossing the Inner Barrier to Deeper Love, I read aloud to our class a few pages from her first book, Gift of the Red Bird, written in 1996. Listen to the healing heart of the wise woman who guides us towards God's light amid life's deepest darkness. ***** Chapter Two, page 29-30 In January [...]
A Grandparent’s Grief
Good morning... In our post We Need Friends, I shared about our grieving friend who lost her first grandchild to a miscarriage. "Oh my!" one reader wrote from South Carolina. "God is surely speaking in stereo AGAIN. My heart hurt and my eyes pricked with tears this morning when I read about your class participant’s loss. In 2012 I lost my first grandchild to adoption, and that was one of the most secret, [...]