Lost In Time
Good morning... "I think we are all living in what Rohr calls liminal time," she said to me at a backyard reception following the funeral. Intuitively I agreed, then I thought to myself, "I need to look up the definition of that word again." Liminal. Wikipedia shares this drawing and this detailed description: "In anthropology, liminality is the quality of ambiguity or disorientation that occurs in the middle stage [...]
Two Funerals In One Day
Good morning... I followed the suggestion given in yesterday's blog post, Stand Actively Silent. "Active silence," Dr. James Johnson explained, "is stepping to the back of the line and creating space and opportunity for others to speak, especially those who don’t look like me or experience life as I do – those voices that I don’t normally hear." In active silence I watched on TV the memorial service for George Floyd. Stepping back. Giving [...]
Stand Actively Silent
Good morning... Since 2006, God has organically grown my spiritual gifts in the rich soil of Northside Church. I have seen many staff members come and many go, but one person I have seen stay, grow, and flourish is Dr. James Johnson, our Director of Adult Discipleship. During this period of pandemic, our church has begun sharing online devotionals, written by different staff members on different days. The morning message James shared with [...]
One Single Seed
Good morning... If I am a grain of wheat, I wrestle with John 12:24. Jesus says, “Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over." You see, I like being a grain of wheat, secured by my stalk, swaying in the breeze. Passive. Pristine. [...]
What Do We Really Need?
Good morning... My old iPhone 5-S died. I posted about that yesterday. As the day unfolded, it became clear: our morning message was not about my phone. It was about our shared sense of losing touch. Stripped by the chaos of Corona, our economic breakdown, and the unrest of injustice, collectively we have lost a lot. As manmade lifelines are severed, one by one, we are reducing down to God alone. "Hi Sue," [...]
I Feel Out Of Touch
Good morning... Separation from our old normal happened bit by bit. First the cancelation of highly anticipated large group gatherings, then unplugging from beloved small group supports. Next staying away from familiar buildings, church, school, office, then safely distancing from the homes of family and friends. Gradually we reduced ourselves down to computer contact, Zoom, online learning, and creative expressions. In this strange season of social distancing, ultimately our phones have become our [...]
Spread The Spirit
Good morning... We wake to a special morning in the worldwide church. Today we celebrate Pentecost Sunday. Remember how the wildfire spread of God's Holy Spirit began? On the day of Pentecost all the Lord’s followers were together in one place. Suddenly there was a noise from heaven like the sound of a mighty wind! It filled the house where they were meeting. Then they saw what looked like fiery tongues moving in [...]
Facing Violence
Good morning... After watching violence erupt all over the news following the very sad public killing of George Floyd and hearing story after story of private violence against young teenaged girls in the first episode of Filthy Rich, a documentary about Jeffery Epstein, I went to sleep. In the middle of the night I woke after a short disturbing dream. I was trapped on a dangerous island, alone, without supplies. Somehow I sensed [...]
Fresh Every Morning
Good morning... Fortunately, God does not come to us in just one life-altering moment, whispering from within, "You are fully known. You are fully loved. You don't need to pretend to be anyone." Instead God comes to us again and again, in refreshing new ways, day after day. The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning (Lamentations 3:22-23, NLT). I think to myself, "What are [...]
You Are Fully Loved
Good morning... "Good morning Sue," she wrote after yesterday's post, Some Parents Do Harm. "I discovered this beautiful book The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charles Mackesy. Wow! It is a true gem that echoes your message today. Below is a link to his story and two touching pages from the book - just amazing!" Enrolled together in the school of unlearning, unlearning from the hard knocks of comparing [...]
Some Parents Do Harm
Good morning... "When parents are positive, you become positive, and hopefully you pass that positivity to your children," our subscriber concluded in yesterday's post, Make Good Lemonade. Next my mind asked the flip-sided question, "What happens when parents are negative?" Well, we know "negative" and "positive" are relative terms, and all parenting lives on a subjective spectrum. "Good parents" have bad moments and "bad parents" have good ones. Yet relentless negativity can contort [...]
Make Good Lemonade
Good morning... "I thoroughly enjoyed last week's post about the power of perspective," one subscriber wrote. "It resonated with me and my family history. My parents were born in the United States but my grandparents were born in Japan. My grandparents immigrated to the United States when they were teenagers looking for a better life. My parents lived in California and were typical teenagers, my mother a graduate of high school and my father [...]