Good morning... As summer nears her end and this new school year begins, a friend read aloud a prayer. Once. Again. With silence surrounding. Might we do the same? Privately. Now. ****** Help me to journey beyond the familiar and into the unknown. Give me the faith to leave old ways and break fresh ground with you. Christ [...]
Good morning... One of my favorite Bible stories can be found in Luke 9:12-17 (NIV). Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him (Jesus) and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.” He replied, “You give [...]
Good morning... With a kind and grateful heart, the Development Director wrote to me from Ignatius House Retreat Center. This week, we, as a written word community, tangibly supported an ISP retreat for women recovering from homelessness and addiction. We filled fifteen welcome bags for their private rooms and provided financial donations to offset the cost of this [...]
Good morning... St. Francis of Assisi made poetry of our common daily experiences. Such love does the sky now pour, that whenever I stand in a field, I have to wring out the light when I get home. Constantly drenched by God's endless love, might we wring out vibrant light wherever we go? Anyone who claims to live [...]
Good morning... All weekend long, gift items kept arriving on our doorstep. Toiletry packs. Beautiful, reusable bags. Bibles and Scripture cards. A bunch of brown boxes were dropped off by Amazon. Kleenex packs. Nail files and gum. Lotions and lip gloss. Some people left their offerings on our front porch. Fuzzy socks. Colorful journals and pens. Handwritten notes [...]
Good morning... Yesterday I went to the memorial service for Edith (Dede) Burnette, the mom of a loyal friend in our Friday morning class. Held in our small chapel at Northside Church, the service offered beautiful music (Blessed Assurance and Amazing Grace), encouraging Scriptures (Psalm 23, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Revelation 21:1-7), and a few prayers with brief, touching remarks [...]
Good morning... With the humid heat and our furry dog, I began a short walk to take care of her business. When I saw a gorgeous plume of colorful clouds blessing the morning sky, I turned around and went back to our home to get my phone. With leash in hand, I awkwardly took photos of the gentle [...]
Good morning... On the same morning my 86 year old mom left the skilled nursing care center to return home to the villa with my dad in Ohio, a dear, dear friend settled her own aging mom into her new home, a memory care facility in Huntsville, Alabama. That same evening, another loyal friend rested beside her mom [...]
Good morning... Sarah Otto, the Retreat and Program Director at Ignatius House Retreat Center, reached out to me on Tuesday morning. "I realize I didn't text you about an upcoming ISP retreat!" she wrote. (Remember, ISP stands for Ignatian Spirituality Project, a program which offers quarterly spiritual retreats for people recovering from homelessness and addiction in our community). [...]
Good morning... "Hi Sue," she wrote after yesterday's blog post. "Up early today and feeling connected to you and your thoughts. Your messages always draw me back toward a centering orbit. Thank you for the beacon, the reminder - that every day we live, breathe, and walk through our day - is the most precious blessing." Below her [...]
