Our Cushion Of Eternal Calm
Good morning... "Here's today's excerpt from Streams in the Desert," she texted me a copy of yesterday's devotional message. "I'm trying to position myself in the cushion of God's peace today!" I loved discovering the "wisdom of the day" from this well-loved collection. ****** Excerpt from October 20 - Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [...]
Torn To Pieces
Good morning... I happen upon a German word, "Zerrissenheit," which means "torn-to-pieces-hood." Researching further, I meet some synonyms. Rift. Strife. Disunity. Fragmentation. Brokenness. Disjointedness. Inner turmoil or conflict. "Zerrissenheit," what a perfect word to meet two weeks before Election Day 2020. If feels like we are living in a ragged state of "torn-to-pieces-hood." Some think this, others think that. Some question this, others question that. Some proclaim this, others proclaim that. Some argue this, [...]
God Is Happening
Good morning... "I enjoyed this week’s materials and hearing your story," wrote the Creative Director who had just finished programming Week Six our Gift from the Sea study. "I admire your courage and vulnerability not just with God, but with your audience in sharing that story. It feels like a heavy one, but beautiful in its faithful ending." (Check out my most pivot life story below in Segments Four and Five of our [...]
Rest By The Light
Good morning... After re-waking in the morning, I re-read yesterday's post, Be Electrically Aware. In that moment, I lifted my energized eyes to see God's sermon sitting on the couch right in front of me. In one ordinary snapshot Gracie, our little yorkie-shitzu rescue, taught me a little bit more about prayer. Prayer is curling up by a patch of light cast by our living LORD, trusting that what is ours to do [...]
Be Electrically Aware
Good morning... “Prayer, according to Brother David, is waking up to the presence of God no matter where I am or what I am doing," writes Barbara Brown Taylor, in An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith. "When I am fully alert to whatever or whoever is right in front of me; when I am electrically aware of the tremendous gift of being alive; when I am able to give myself wholly [...]
Dismantling Our Wall
Good morning... We were wired by God so very differently. One more this, the other more that. With differences dividing us, neither one of us felt safe being our true self with each another. Naive to the damage we felt or inflicted, we bulldozed each other back and forth. God's light shined on both of us, seeing all sides of our flawed relationship. Quietly defending, we each picked up [...]
Ah-ha Moments
Good morning... "Sue - I’m having the most amazing ah-ha moments right now," she wrote. "I had to share this with you, both, because it relates to your recent stories of friendships dying & because I’m so grateful God is walking beside me so closely, leading me to new understanding & transformation - some truths I think I’ve been scared to face before." "Talking with my 'cohort' buddy today, who is not a subscriber [...]
A Friend Understands
Good morning... In her text yesterday she made reference to her all time favorite blog post. I dug around and found it. I first shared this message with our online community on my birthday, March 23rd, in 2015. ****** Welcome Aboard the Train of Life by Sue Allen When we are born, our Creator pushes us from the womb into the world. “Welcome aboard the train of life!” Our inner circle expands from [...]
Endings Birth Beginnings
Good morning... Soon after my longtime friend cut our ties, my husband and I went to a wedding in Virginia. The morning after we arrived, I woke and went on a walk down an unfamiliar path. When the road forked, I noticed a less traveled path. Robert Frost's poem came to mind: "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the [...]
When Friends Falls Apart
Good morning... I have heard from many of you who have suffered the loss of a lifelong friend due to differing beliefs, since mentioning my own unexpected loss in our recent post, Being Bulldozed. One of your responses touched me so deeply that I asked permission to share the story with our online community as God tenderizes our hearts with the Lord's loving grace. ****** On The Loss of a Meaningful Friend - [...]
Can You Hear It?
Good morning... This week, a friend sent me an inspiring music video. Sense with me the voice of God expanding out in all directions this sacred Sabbath morn. What we heard we have also seen. We have seen it in the city of the Lord who rules over all. We have seen it in the city of our God. We have heard and seen that God makes it secure forever (Psalm 48:8, NIRV). [...]
Rebuild And Restore
Good morning... It seems many of us can relate to the sensation of being bulldozed, as expressed in yesterday's blog post. The word was still on my fingertips when I ran into it in another form. "Standing here on an empty hilltop in New Hampshire, as a bulldozer slowly pushes the debris of a small red house into a neat pile," writes Katrina Kenison in Mitten Strings For God: Reflections for Mothers In a [...]