Still Quiet Moments Of Grief
Good morning... Sometimes we meet soul-to-soul before we ever see one another face-to-face. This is the sacred situation occurring between me and a subscriber from Charlotte, North Carolina. Mary writes me periodically to fill me in on her painful process of grieving her son, Dalton, who died suddenly at age twenty-one. In previous posts on the topic of grief I have shared her gorgeous, articulate words, and Mary has given me permission to [...]
One Scribbled Prayer
Good morning... Often I allow some silence before I pray aloud with a group or when I am meeting with an individual, one-on-one or over the phone. Silence slows the pace; it opens breathing space and curtsies to the God of grace. As I offered closed-eyed silence before I said our prayer, a stream of words naturally bubbled up to scribble blindly on my page. At God's perfect moment, I opened my eyes [...]
Two Powerful Pages
Good morning... I hate it when I spend early morning hours crafting a blog post, and then a misguided mistake makes it vanish, disappear, blip away in an instant. Of course it's me. I swipe wrong. I touch something I shouldn't. My non-technical mind makes some errant error. I hate it when I spend early morning hours crafting a blog post, and then it's just gone, gone for good. That is exactly what [...]
Our Three Jugs
Good morning... Morning by morning, I begin empty, open, thirsty. In each day's first hours, I silently pray, "LORD, please fill me up with Your endless love." I envision my mind, my heart, and my soul as three empty jugs. One vessel (my mind) collects timeless truths from the Creator, the Father, the Almighty, the Maker of all. One container (my heart) captures the compassion of Christ, our Savior, our Shepherd, our suffering [...]
Savor Sabbath: Be Mentored
Good morning... Following in the footsteps of someone who is following in the footsteps of the Savior who whispers to each one of us, "Follow me." This is my definition of a spiritual mentor, a person leaving relatable footprints while following Jesus with their everyday life. The Hidden Life Awakened tracks the footprints of Betty Skinner as God meets her personally in the valley of debilitating depression and shepherds her up the mountain [...]
Be The Ball
Good morning... Being with my spiritual mentor Betty Skinner last weekend reminds me of the "Be the Ball" scene from the 1980 movie Caddyshack. Traveling to Ponte Vedra, Florida to visit with 93-year-old Betty, I had questions about life, about faith, about God. I have admired the way Betty has landed herself in the center of God's will for her one ordinary life, and I wanted Betty's input on how to give God's holistic [...]
One Peaceful Picture
Good morning... How happy was I when this peaceful photo graced my iPhone yesterday? Renewal. Redemption. Restoration feels sweet. After Sunday's messy mishap (see yesterday's post, I Made A Mess), Kitty Crenshaw sent six celebratory emojies beneath this pristine picture of the unstained carpet in her gorgeous guest room. Whenever I think of this beautiful bedroom, I will remember Betty Skinner's quote: "Whatever God brings will be exactly what you need." There are [...]
I Made A Mess
Good morning... I woke early in Kitty Crenshaw's gorgeous guest room on Sunday. Everything was so soft, so simple, so serene. So I made some coffee, puffed up the pillows, and cozied beneath the covers to visit my notes from the day before. Several pages held my handwriting, capturing timeless truth Betty Skinner had effortlessly brought up from her gut, through her heart, and into her brain, before the Spirit of God came [...]
Laughter For Lunch
Good morning... How can you not laugh when someone you love says, "I just woke up one morning and my front teeth were gone. I have no idea where they went!" 93-year-old Betty Skinner looked like a jolly jack-o-lantern the week before Halloween. On Saturday morning we talked for a few hours in Betty's nursing home room, which included by speaker phone the cheerful voice of our friend Cathy Snapp. Then Betty showed [...]
Being With Betty
Good morning... I woke early on Saturday morning, surprise, surprise. It was the long awaited day to visit again with Betty Skinner, the 93-year-old Christian mystic whom God has used to shape my soul. Betty's captivating story, a rise from clinical depression into the joy of oneness with God, is chronicled beautifully by Kitty Crenshaw and Dr. Cathy Snapp in The Hidden Life Awakened. I made myself some coffee and slipped out onto Kitty's [...]
Less Sue, More Spirit
Good morning... At home in my skin. This is how I feel when I am with Kitty Crenshaw, co-author of my favorite book The Hidden Life Awakened. "Wait right there," Kitty said Friday before disappearing through the sliding glass door into her condo, soon returning to the back porch with her phone. "I have to take your picture. The lighting looks so perfect with your white shirt and my brother's Holy Spirit sculpture [...]
Savor Sabbath: With God
Good morning... This Sabbath morn, join me as I read quietly aloud the Message translation of Psalm 23. God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction. Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I’m not afraid when you walk [...]