Taught By A Tree
Good morning... A longtime friend responded instantly to the photo in yesterday's blog post, Hanging Up My Mask. For years our families lived in the same Vinings, Georgia neighborhood, her kids babysat our kids, and she is one of the committed people who completed our entire Gift from the Sea study last fall. Her email made me smile and helped me to remember back to a cherished phase in the life of our [...]
Hanging Up My Mask
Good morning... "As of today you are not required to wear a mask," the friendly woman said as she checked me into the two-night retreat entitled "Caring For The Whole Person." How amazing to return to the holy grounds of the Ignatius House Retreat Center for the first time since the worldwide pandemic began. Silent. Yoga. Retreat. What a sacred space to unmask myself, to breathe unhindered God's fresh air. Settling into a [...]
The Discomfort Of Rebirth
Good morning... As we enjoyed our current favorite show from the comfort of our bed, one sentence in a commercial caught my attention. I grabbed a pen and a box of Christmas matches still lingering on my dresser, and I jotted down the five words piquing my interest. "Everything is birthed through discomfort." These words are too important to forget. Having experienced four miscarriages and four natural childbirths, I remember well the dreaded [...]
Book Studies This Summer
Good morning... As our immediate family celebrated the college graduation of our third child last night, it is a perfect morning to feed our ongoing needs as lifelong learners. Privately reading books and collaboratively discussing them is a great way to continue our spiritual education as followers of Christ. For the past few weeks, the following announcement has appeared in our Northside Church bulletin. Today I feel privileged to share it with you. [...]
Why Are You Here?
Good morning... Strolling our dog down a very familiar street, a breeze picked up and this beautiful blossom floated down at my feet. I stopped and marveled at the exquisite design. Right before my eyes, this fragile flower had just switched from the process of living fully to the process of dying quietly. In one instant, one moment, I witnessed the mysterious movement of God's gentle Spirit. Then I thought of a short [...]
Our Wheel Of Emotions
Good morning... Many of you have written to ask more about the EMOTION WHEEL talked about in yesterday's blog post, Treasure Each Tuesday. So, I went on a treasure hunt to find a copy of a similar image for our written word community, and viola! Here it is. Take a moment to look over the emotions detailed above. What do you notice yourself noticing? I find this diagram incredibly helpful. Regardless of our [...]
Treasure Each Tuesday
Good morning... Last Tuesday, I excitedly gathered the treasures pictured above. I collected these items in my little corner of our community, I packed them in my car and I drove to PAWkids, a non-profit ministry in the Grove Park neighborhood of downtown Atlanta. (PAWkids partners with Julie's Dream, a non-profit begun in honor of our dear friend Julie Harlan, a ministry born out of our Northside Church drawing city kids into a [...]
Diamonds In Our Rough
Good morning... These rocks sit on the table beside the couch where I journal with God every morning. They are hard. They are rough. They are ugly, an eye sore. But when I turn them over, I see the sparking beauty of the gems inside. Recently I received words of wisdom unpacking for the the deeper truth of these soulful symbols. "Hi!" wrote a friend from our Friday class. "Not [...]
Unwrap Joy This Morning
Good morning... Wildly generous artist Corinne Adams and I had a delightful time creating jewelry this month for the kids at the Agape Youth and Family Center (see our recent post I Feel Like Santa's Elf). Then our joy was made more complete as we and a few Julie's Dream volunteers spent Wednesday afternoon helping bilingual children of all ages to create colorful cards, to decorate gift bags, and to choose two of [...]
My Rude, Selfish Choice
Good morning... My mind wakes from sleep filled with a short sentence. "This is an incredibly broken place." What an odd first thought for me, an eternal optimist. When I experience odd, unexpected, surprising, I figure the Spirit of God is somehow rising up to shed light on something new. What might this strange revelation mean? "This is an incredibly broken place." First off, I look around me to see all kinds of [...]
Growing Childlike Trust
Good morning... My spiritual director opens our phone conversation with a sacred reading each month. Through her surrendered spirit, God channels life-giving words. This month's poem woke up my wonder. ****** TRILLIUMS by Mary Oliver 'Every spring among the ambiguities of childhood the hillsides grew white with the wild trilliums. I believed in the world. Oh, I wanted to be easy in the peopled kingdoms, to take my place there, but there was [...]
My Early Mother’s Day Gift
Good morning... As I was sipping on coffee and writing our devotional message this morning, our twenty-six year old son came downstairs and climbed into our king-sized bed beside me and our dogs. With his acting up car still sitting at the mechanic's shop nearby, he unexpectedly spent the night at home. A few minutes later, coming upstairs from the basement bedroom where she is living before heading to grad school, our twenty-four [...]