Savor Sabbath: Be Learning
Good morning... Tonight is a night I have been looking forward to for a long time. At Northside Church we are hosting an important ninety minutes. ****** Biblical and Theological Perspectives on Human Sexuality Presented by Dr. Kendall Soulen, Candler School of Theology Sunday, January 26 | 5:00–6:30PM | Watson Faith & Arts Center, Northside Church, 2799 Northside Dr NW, Atlanta, GA 30305 Please join us tonight for part two in our series of [...]
Caught In My Pajamas
Good morning... Okay. So I am an ENFP on the Myers Briggs personality test. Extroverted. Intuitive. Feeling. Perceiving. That's me. Creatively collaborative, highly intuitive, and deeply perceptive, I feel every facet of life with great gusto. As a very strong "P," I get so caught up in the joy of flying that I have a hard time landing the plane, placing the final period, closing the deal because . . . new possibilities always [...]
If We Let Him
Good morning... "It’s the unknown which God's enemy uses to create fear, worry, anxiety," she quietly shared. Once we accept life as it is, uncertainty and all, we can face God's opponent saying with confidence, "You meant to hurt me, but God turned your evil into good to save the lives of many people, which is being done" (Genesis 50:20, NCV). With God, good is always being done, lives are always being saved, [...]
I Scarfed Down Three Cookies
Good morning... "God, why did I scarf down three cookies?" became my deep prayer after my impulsive episode. I must tell you, these were not tiny Girl Scout cookies. These three cookies were mammoth mommas. "What was going on in me?" Fear, worry, anxiety. I faced a hard phone call. I didn't know exactly what to say, how I would be received, and if a budding friendship would weather disagreement. I didn't want [...]
See And Experience
Good morning... I woke to the company of an odd phrase. "Before Your word is on my lips." It sounded a bit biblical to me, so I typed the seven words into the subject line of Biblegateway.com. Nothing popped up. No references. No inspiration. I hit a dead end. So, I reduced the seven words down to three. "Before word lips." Two verses popped up. Proverbs 5:3-6 said something about the lips of [...]
How Healing Happens
Good morning... Two quotes of divine wisdom creatively collided and fell into me yesterday. “There's a lovely Hasidic story," writes author Anne Lamott, "of a rabbi who always told his people that if they studied the Torah, it would put Scripture on their hearts. One of them asked, 'Why on our hearts, and not in them?' The rabbi answered, 'Only God can put Scripture inside. But reading sacred text can put it on [...]
Will You Get In The Boat?
Good morning... "On this morning, if I can leave anything with you, let me urge you to be sure that you have a strong boat of faith," said Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. on March 3rd, 1968 at Ebenezer Baptist Church here in Atlanta, Georgia. "The winds are going to blow. The storms of disappointment are coming. The agonies and anguishes of life are coming. And be sure your boat is strong, and [...]
Savor Sabbath: Be Nesting
Good morning... As I touch on the "Past Blog Posts" button below to review the wisdom woven around us this week, "nest" is the word filling my mind. As a noun, a "nest" is a pocketlike, circular structure of twigs, grass, and mud formed by a bird, often high in a tree, providing a protected place in which to incubate its eggs and rear its young. Transferred to our human experience, a "nest" [...]
We Are Fed By Our Focus
Good morning... "Good evening, my dear friend Sue," he wrote after our recent posts about the turbulent turmoil and torment swirling around and within us. "I hope you are fully recovered after your illness earlier in the week. I read with interest your messages these past two days. You are right. We live in challenging times. But our loving God has seen our country through many difficult times. Thanks be to God." He went [...]
What Torment Teaches
Good morning... The Spirit of God continues to speak. Isaiah 50:10b-11 (NIV) sheds more Light on this portion of our path. Let the one who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on their God. But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my [...]
The Gift Of Turmoil
Good morning... Turmoil stirs us from sleep. Deep hunger and homelessness litter our streets. Senseless violence and the threat of war push us to the brink. Fires of all kinds blaze around our globe, and we are witnessing the third-ever impeachment of a President in the history of our deeply divided United States. This is just a fraction of the unrest sounding our alarm clock. We wipe our sleepy eyes and turn inward [...]
After My Bubble Bath
Good morning... Thirty-six hours after being bit hard by a stomach bug, I took a hot bubble bath and felt like a brand new woman. Then my mind turned to those without a home, without a bathtub, without hot running water. What makes homeless people feel brand new after they have the flu? Our family's kitchen is stocked with food from generous friends, soups and salads, breads and cookies, lasagna and rotisserie chicken. [...]