Easter Every Day
Good morning... "Sue," he emailed me, "isn’t it wonderful that as Christians, it is Easter every day? Enjoy, dear friend!" And he sent me this incredible music video below. Now it is your turn, "Enjoy, dear friend!" Jesus said: "I am the resurrection and the source of all life; those who believe in Me will live even in death. Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never truly die. Do you believe [...]
A Story From Steve
Good morning... "I was lounging on my couch on a beautiful Easter Sunday afternoon with the TV on, when the screen in front of me began to show one of the oldest and most beloved stories of our time," writes my husband Steve in his chaplain's devotional. "It was as much a part of my childhood as anything. Every year, once a year, my family would gather around and view this epic tale. [...]
Yield to Yield Abundantly
Good morning... One word sticks with me from this week's blog posts: yield. It strikes me that yield has a double meaning. The Free Dictionary tells us that to yield, on one hand, means to give up one's place to one who is superior, to surrender or to submit, to defer to or to concede. Day after day, we are designed to yield ourselves to the grace of God. On the other hand, to [...]
Seven Key Questions
Good morning... As I allowed the second COVID vaccine to settle into my body, I pulled out the 3 x 5 card my longtime friend gave me at our birthday season lunch. I quietly ground myself in these seven key questions to see what God grows. ****** 7 Questions to Journal About from NY Times article via Austin Kleon What's one thing you made this year? Did you have any bad ideas this [...]
Yield And Increase
Good morning... After yesterday's blog post, Claim This First Love, a dear friend sent me Richard Rohr's morning meditation for the same day, April 6th. It is as if Rohr is singing to us the next stanza in God's endless love song. ****** Love Revealed by Richard Rohr Julian of Norwich... teaches us that God’s love has nothing to do with rules and retribution and everything to do with mercy and compassion. She [...]
Claim This First Love
Good morning... "The spiritual life starts at the place where you can hear God’s voice," says the Henri Nouwen meditation from yesterday. "Where somehow you can claim that long before your father, your mother, your brother, your sister, your school, your church touched you, loved you, and wounded you—long before that, you were held safe in an eternal embrace. You were seen with eyes of perfect love long before you entered into the [...]
Generosity Is Contagious
Good morning... Waking this Easter Monday morning, I wonder, "What does it really look like for Christ to live in us?" In the quiet of these early hours, my mind is drawn back to a letter I received on Saturday from the leader of our Disaster Response Team from church. A lightbulb goes on right now: "This is a tangible example of how the risen Christ lives in ordinary people." With permission I [...]
Puppies This Easter
Good morning... This Easter morn, we remember back to the final moments of Jesus hanging on the cross. A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit (John 19:29-30, ESV). Why did Jesus [...]
My God, My God, Why?
Good morning... I knelt in the prayer chapel at Northside Church, asking God to hold close, to gently lead, to heal whole those facing various forms of agony. I had followed the footsteps of Jesus into this inner sanctuary. Then he withdrew from them a short distance to be alone. Kneeling down, he prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup of agony... But no matter what, your will must be mine.” [...]
Perfect Timing
Good morning... I love this hand-painted clock that lives in our basement. It is a clock with no hands which mysteriously sets itself to God's perfect timing. I just experienced a moment of God-ordained timing. I have been up since 4:30 am working on this morning's blog post with God. Just as I was about to push "send," an email arrived in my inbox from Julie Harlan's amazing mother. Remember? Julie is my [...]
Wait Wild Awake
Good morning... Since the evening my spiritual mentor texted me this poem, I have been prayerfully pondering, 'What might these words mean for me?" ****** Gethsemane: A Poem By Mary Oliver The grass never sleeps. Or the roses. Nor does the lily have a secret eye that shuts until morning. Jesus said, wait with me. But the disciples slept. The cricket has such splendid fringe on its feet, and it sings, have you [...]
More Than A Facebook Friend
Good morning... My oldest daughter chose to give up social media for Lent. "Welcome to my world," I said, "it's peacefully wonderful." I don't twitter or tweeter, "snap a chat," "inst a gram" or "face a book," but I do love when friends send me nourishing nuggets. That's what happened on February 28th, 2021. The image above came to me with this letter below. ****** Letter from Mary Waite, February 28th, 2021 Hello [...]