Slow. Soulful. Simple.
Good morning... Unable to gather for our weekly class, she and I walked around the public park. We found our place into the spacious stream of smiling people and friendly dogs. During this strange season of social distancing, it was the perfect way to unpack our deep thoughts. Slow. Soulful. Simple. After finishing our sunny stroll she said, "I thought of you when I read a quote this morning." "Will you read it [...]
Coronavirus Is So Limited
Good morning... I remember a poem read at the funeral of a dear friend who died of cancer. I search for it, I find it, and I adapt it to meet the deep need spreading across our globe today. ****** An adaptation of "What Cancer Cannot Do" by Dr. Robert L. Lynn Coronavirus is so limited... It cannot cripple love. It cannot shatter hope. It cannot corrode faith. It cannot eat away peace. [...]
A Still-Point In The Chaos
Good morning... With the Coronavirus changing life so rapidly, last Friday morning I didn't know if women would want to gather in our living room to discuss chapters 9 and 10 in The Hidden Life Awakened. So I sent out an email polling people's opinions about meeting for our weekly class. A few women were nursing a cold or allergies and stayed home as a precaution. A couple moms were home with children [...]
We Are Hemmed In
Good morning... This Sabbath Sunday is a unique one. As our bodies are held still at home, we refrain from gathering in large groups. Distancing from our normal "Cat in the Hat" balancing act, we slow down. We stay in. We sense God with our soul: "You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me" (Psalm 139:5, NIV). To hem means to form an edge around, to enclose with a [...]
Way Beyond Toilet Paper
Good morning... A friend sent me this poem written by a woman I probably will not meet until our souls see each other in heaven. ****** Pandemic What if you thought of it as the Jews consider the Sabbath— the most sacred of times? Cease from travel. Cease from buying and selling. Give up, just for now, on trying to make the world different than it is. Sing. Pray. Touch only those to [...]
Why Watch The News?
Good morning... I watch the news so I know how to best pray, day after day. I watch different television stations to consider various points of view. I lift in prayer those I see struggling and those I see serving, those I see hurting and those I see helping, those I see reporting and those I see recovering. I suppose I follow in the footsteps of famous theologian Karl Barth who says, “Take your [...]
Our Safe Place
Good morning... "Darkness - with its numbness, loneliness, and shame - very often accompanies a deep spiritual journey and can be the means to the knowledge of both God and self," says ninety-four-year-old Betty Skinner. "The freedom to love and be loved is often discovered in the darkness, so it is important to befriend it." Betty continues: "If we look upon this painful season not as the hand of an enemy trying to [...]
How To Respond
Good morning... After the longest night sleep I have had for a while, I opened my journal as usual. Two words formed two lists. On the left side of my blank page I wrote REACT in bold letters. On the right side I wrote the single word RESPOND. Then I allowed various words to cascade into place. REACT - Fear. Anxiety. Worry. Anger. Raw emotion. Impulse. Fiery. Dump. Panic. Spew. Rage. Knee jerk. [...]
Facing “The Day After”
Good morning... Following our recent post My Stupid Decision, she wrote a very encouraging email, encouragement I think we all can learn from in the classroom of God's grace. ****** Dear Sue, Stupid decisions, the little ones: I make them every day. Usually it is hitting “send” too quickly. But the recent big one came in a very public way – do you remember? Kind words and good advice flooded in. It is not [...]
Keep C.A.L.M.
Good morning... Certainly our anxieties could run rampant, with a deadly tornado suddenly ravaging Nashville, the wildfire spread of the Coronavirus, and the biggest drop in one day seen by the Stockmarket. Yet overwhelming anxiety is not our only option. Beloved author Max Lucado says, “Anxiety and gratitude cannot share the same heart.” I actually think anxiety and gratitude share a part of every heart, but where are we placing our attention? To shift our [...]
We Never Graduate
Good morning... "Oh Sue, do not beat yourself up," she wrote after yesterday's relatable post, My Stupid Decision. "Paul Tripp writes we are never 'grace graduates' and how blessed we are for that never ending hope." We are never "grace graduates." The phrase captures my curiosity. We never graduate from God's School of Grace. Life continually offers us advanced classes as we learn that, in every and in all situations, there is nothing we [...]
My Stupid Decision
Good morning... I made a poor choice and paid the price. On the spectrum of stupid decisions, mine was pretty tame, but gratefully it gave me a small taste of embarrassing shame. My mistake set my mind wondering. How do people get out of bed the morning after a devastating affair is exposed, a preventable accident brings permanent harm, or a full family fortune is gambled away? How do people face the world [...]