Stir Up God’s Gifts
Good morning... I brew a twelve cup pot of coffee before our house guests stir and marvel in amazement at the gifts God stirred up in us. "Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you," says our central Scripture from yesterday's Awake To Wholeness Women's Retreat. "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind" (2 [...]
Our Rescheduled Retreat
Good morning... Today we are crossing the finish line of the marathon we began in 2019. Our planning for the Awake To Wholeness Women's Retreat scheduled for March 28th, 2020 ended as COVID forced us instead to shelter in place. Our rescheduled retreat day is today. Please join us in any way the Spirit might lead. ****** Awaken to Wholeness Women’s Retreat Saturday, November 6, 9:00 am – 2:30 pm, Livestream In this special [...]
Life Is Messy
Good morning... "I am completely convinced that God is a fan of life's messy," I found myself texting a friend yesterday. "Think childbirth. Think artist's studio. Think crucifixion. We are the ones who crave neat, straight, controllable order." In the middle of the night my mind wanders to add to my list. Might God be in all of these messy places? Politics. Gardening. Baking with children. Finances. Opposing opinions. The floor of a [...]
You Belong Here
Good morning... In cleaning our home to welcome our guests later this afternoon, I ran across a book I had totally forgotten about. Underlined. Highlighted. Circled and starred. A few years back I devoured each page during my two year training to become a spiritual director. Guided by the Spirit, I am now drawn to dog-eared page number ninety-eight to feast again on fresh, enduring wisdom. ****** Excerpt from Hearing God: Developing A [...]
Living The Dream
Good morning... I just woke from a short, silly dream. In my dream, I was driving a familiar road I travel most days. Slowly, meandering, half alert. Then a policeman pulled up behind me and pressed his siren twice, "beeeeep, beeeeep." I pulled over to the side of the road, interestingly at peace. Rolling down my window, I heard the officer say, "Mama, I pulled you over because your license plate registration sticker [...]
Unpacking My Bag
Good morning... I nestle into my quiet time spot, a mug of coffee beside me, to unpack my bag from last night's "Day of the Dead" party. Annually, a group of about twenty of us gather on November 1st at a mutual friend's home. In her living room we set up small altars with candles, photos, and symbols of loved ones who have stepped over from earth to heaven. Last year we could [...]
Become The True You
Good morning... "Makes me think of many of our conversations on Friday mornings❤️," she emailed me yesterday. She included the devotional thoughts below, shared this week by Richard Rohr. ****** Friday, October 29, 2021 Week Forty-Three: Original Goodness by Richard Rohr Being “God’s Somebody” Everybody is God’s somebody. —Bishop Michael Curry, Love Is the Way Episcopal Bishop Michael Curry, with whom Fr. Richard has worked on several occasions, shares how knowing we are [...]
I Know He Lives
Good morning... Growing up in a Christian home, he had believed in Jesus all his life. Dutifully he went through the habits of faith. Church. Baptism. Confirmation. Prayer. Bible study. Trying to be good and do good. Yet when God's moment was exactly right, he finally heard the voice of the risen Christ knocking on the door to his very own heart: "Please let me in." "I knew that to open the door [...]
If You Hear My Voice
Good morning... "Listen! I am standing and knocking at your door. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and we will eat together," whispers Jesus in Revelation 3:20 (CEV). Listen. Hear. Open. "Come in." We will eat together. "I am reminded me of what The Reverend John Stott had to say about the impact Revelation 3:20 had on him as a young man," shared one reader. “Here, [...]
The Scary But Better Path
Good morning... "I loved your post today," she texted right after receiving Our Jumbled Emotions. "How inspirational. I cherish this subscriber's quote: 'Surrender and trust - the scary but better path that leads to life!' That is exactly where I am at! So scary!!" "I listened to an intriguing podcast yesterday," her text continued. "It said that we are all running on fear and caffeine, which is unfortunately a sad truth for so [...]
Our Jumbled Emotions
Good morning... "Good morning Sue," she wrote me from Florida after yesterday's post I Had No Friends. "Our lives share so many parallels. After a year of unexplained numbness and uncharacteristic listlessness, I reluctantly accepted an invitation to join a Bible study. I think back now and realize that was God taking me by the scruff out of my, what I believe, premenopausal/hormonal fog and recalibrating my heart. I also believe another factor [...]
I Had No Friends
Good morning... She asked me to write an 800 word article for our November newsletter at Northside Church. She knew the story of how God has organically grown our ministry to women. She shared with me the Scripture verse for the month: Base your happiness on your hope in Christ. When trials come endure them patiently, steadfastly maintain the habit of prayer (Romans 12:12, PHILLIPS). From this enduring Word of truth, God birthed [...]