Good. Better. Best.
Good morning... "Nothing on our spiritual journey is ever final," says The Hidden Life Awakened on page 104. "It is an ongoing process moving us deeper and deeper. It is a continuous change and movement from what is good (that place where most of us live, desiring to love and serve God) to what is better (an open and intense desire to hear God) to what is best (when all of our prayer [...]
The Heart Of My Husband
Good morning... Over the past few days, I have heard from many of you about disappointments, dashed dreams, hopes piling high before falling apart. It is important for us to share our stories of life's imperfect moments as we rise up from our low points, learning key lessons. 1) We are not alone when life gets hard. We breathe with God's breath, "It's okay to not be okay." 2) We rebuild resilience with [...]
We All Wrestle
Good morning... "Hi Sue," she wrote after yesterday's widely viewed post. "What I really love about today’s post is that this unknown Alabama resident was mentally/physically wrestling with anxiety while you were at the wrestling duels! My son wrestles too and I was in Macon that weekend as well." She explained: "Think about how hard these athletes work for two minutes at a time as they wrestle each other and how this is exactly [...]
Savor Sabbath: Be Thirsty
Good morning... A few weeks back, when I was sitting in the Macon Coliseum watching our son and his teammates wrestle in the State Duels team tournament, I received an unusual text. "Hi Sue. I was given your number through someone else. My name is _____ and I could use a lot of help." "Hi ____," I texted back. "I am happy to help. Let me know what I might do to be [...]
Wise Words From A Coach
Good morning... I have been pondering a portion of the Richard Rohr quote shared in our recent post Our Uphill Climb. "...do not waste a moment of time lamenting poor parenting, lost job, failed relationship, physical handicap, gender identity, economic poverty, or even the tragedy of any kind of abuse," wrote Rohr. In my heart of hearts, I disagree. Lamenting is not a waste of time. Our deep sadness turns to settled joy [...]
God’s Variety This Valentine’s Day
Good morning... God's friendly mystery takes different forms and the living Christ rays out in all directions, God's Word made flesh, the Light of life for all people. Parts of God's colorful prism resonate differently with each of us, but let's enjoy this sacred song and celebrate together this God-given, glorious day. At the beginning God expressed himself. That personal expression, that word, was with God, and was God, and he existed with [...]
Our Uphill Climb
Good morning... "I'm glad God is not fair," said the middle aged man who battled through life-shattering addiction to become a husband at age forty-two and a father at forty-four then again at forty-six. His story reminds me of the quote that ends Falling Upward by Richard Rohr. "Just remember: no one can keep you from the second half of your own life except yourself," writes Rohr. "Nothing can inhibit your second journey [...]
Stuck In Between
Good morning... She sat with me peacefully honest, straddling the first half of life and the second, shedding her false self to free her true, mothering a teenage son, no longer a boy, not quite at man. When she pulled out her phone and slowly read aloud to me this poem, my heart resonated with each word. What does your heart feel as you sit in peaceful honesty, slowly whispering this poem to [...]
When We Feel Cut Back
Good morning... "Good vines require cutting and more cutting," says Sr. Judith Sutera, a Benedictine nun and vinedresser. "A mile of runners won't give you one more grape, so get rid of the branches that do not bear fruit. Do you want to keep everything? Then expect nothing. Cut. And then cut some more." By nature, I am a keeper, not a cutter. I am a hoarder, not a hacker. I gather, I [...]
Oops. My Mistake.
Good morning... Oops. My mistake. Our friend Betty Skinner turned 94-years-old yesterday, not Saturday as I jumped the gun and announced. Again I am humbly reminded, I am a big picture person, not a detail diva. Yet God now morphs my mistake into another opportunity. Kitty Crenshaw, co-author of the book we are studying this semester, The Hidden Life Awakened, has given me permission to share her birthday letter posted yesterday. ****** Dear All, [...]
Savor Sabbath: Be Yourself
Good morning... How do we grow up into our Christlike true self? We follow in the faithful footprints left by Jesus as he walked his short lifetime on this dusty earth. We listen to Jesus' constant encouragement: “Ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who [...]
Building Our Life
Good morning... "I don't know exactly why or even when the idea came to me that I should keep a ledger on deep-felt thoughts," writes Betty Skinner the heroine of our semester's book, who is gracefully celebrating her 94th birthday today. "I have experienced that on one level, in matters of the heart, we are all alone, isolated, and unable to communicate with others, even those we love very dearly. Our tears, our [...]