Rest
Good morning... I looked more closely at the intricate nest. Sticks. Leaves. Dried grass. I noticed that the floor of the nest was made out of one large piece of light colored bark, bark I had recently seen shedding from unusually looking trees. Three-in-one trees. One-in-three trees. Growing forever from the same stable root, I fondly nickname these beauties "Trinity trees." Trinity trees shed their bark continually, much like our sustaining Creator sheds [...]
How Can We Get Tested?
Good morning... So so so many of you reached out to ask, "Where did you get your COVID test done?" So, I figured I would do an informative post about what to do if and when you or a family member want to get tested for coronavirus. First off, our family of six has had a lot of varied experiences in this area this summer, so we have put in lots of legwork [...]
Out Of The Nest
Good morning... Walking each day, admiring the newly born baby cardinals, and sharing pictures with you has been a real joy this week (see our post To My Surprise). But my heart sank to my stomach when I peered into the nest yesterday and saw it empty. No baby birds. No daddy cardinal. No living beings. Instinctively I sensed, "These little creatures were too tiny to fly and they were too vulnerable [...]
Are We Being Tested?
Good morning... As I wake on Day #7, still self-quarantining in our basement, I think, "And this type of COVID testing was designed to produce results in two days." We easily got a testing appointment with our doctor friend last Thursday, we waited in line for about thirty minutes to experience the uncomfortable procedure, and we were told these two day tests are now taking five to seven days to process, backlogged by [...]
How To Grow A Child
Good morning... Still savoring this week's post, To My Surprise, I thought to myself, "Within the first twenty-four hours of life, these baby cardinals felt their own hunger, found their own voice, asked for what they craved, and their red feathered father naturally nurtured their basic needs. If birds can do this, why is it so hard for us-humans?" My question had me digging in our basement of old boxes for colorful strips [...]
What Have We Forgotten?
Good morning... When I woke yesterday, I re-read our life-giving post, To My Surprise. Again, I thoroughly enjoyed the photos of the beach, the rainbow, and the nest of baby cardinals being protected and nourished by their father. A few minutes later, I checked out the headline news on my phone, and I was heartbroken by the July 5th interview with Atlanta mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms (who by the way, a fifty year [...]
To My Surprise
Good morning.. I went out our back gate and strolled down the familiar sidewalk, knowing that if anyone walked my way I would social distance on the other side of the street. No person came near, but a small, peaceful bunny hopped up beside me. I stood watching the calm creature, lifting a prayer for my forever friend who absolutely loves bunnies. After a few still moments, my eyes noticed movement to my [...]
I Am Shut-In
Good morning... "On one level, shut-ins allow ordinary people to approximate the experience of 'cloistering,'" our blog post said the morning I unexpectedly woke with achy symptoms (see our post A Cold Or COVID?). "But on another level, shut-ins focus the attention of the community on tarrying. Although prayers can be as diverse as those who utter them, tarrying implies a waiting expectantly." Over the years, I have enjoyed being bedside with shut-ins. [...]
Freedom On The Fourth
Good morning... "While the Fourth of July, 1776, is the day America declared independence from Great Britain, people of color were not able to celebrate that same freedom," explains a letter I recently received from my spiritual direction training program. "On July 4th, 1852, here is what Frederick Douglass said in his speech The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro: 'What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; [...]
A Cold Or COVID?
Good morning... I woke yesterday congested, with a scratchy throat, possibly a bit of a fever. It is common for me to get a summer cold, out in the heat and back into the air conditioning, swimming in a pool and hanging out with wet hair. Hence the term "common cold." I know what to do when I feel a cold coming on; I take Zicam (zinc) every three hours until the symptoms [...]
Let’s Tarry Together
Good morning... "Tarrying, in the African American Church, is a big deal," she emailed me after yesterday's post, Come Rest, which unpacked the meaning of the word tarry. "This word just happens to be in my reading for today. Very interesting description of what tarrying means within this group." She emailed me a snapshot of a single page from her book. "God’s timing is amazing," I replied. "I have not thought about the [...]
Come Rest
Good morning... "I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses," a song stirs in me after yesterday's post, In Her Rose Garden. "And the voice I hear falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses. And He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am his own. And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known." [...]