Savor Sabbath: Be Kind
Good morning... Stilling, noticing, taking Sabbath, we look back over our shared steps for this one-of-a-kind week. ****** Monday: After a tragic weekend when more innocent, voiceless people lost their lives to bullying bullets, her blessing came as a breath of fresh hope. "May we raise children who love the unloved things - the dandelion, the worms & spiderlings. Children who sense the rose needs the thorn & run into rainswept days the [...]
We Memorize A Mother
Good morning... Last week, I went to a memorial service for a mother I never knew, Caroline Lamar Mason Gilham. I love her daughter, her granddaughters, her son-in-law, but I never knew Caroline, until I went to the service celebrating her eighty-five years of vibrant life. The meditative music in the Preludes included so many old favorites. Lord of the Dance. Morning has broken. All things bright and beautiful. For the beauty of [...]
Here Is Your Permission Slip
Good morning... "I would rather be late than be yelling," one wise young mom confessed a few years back, as she struggled to shift gears from summertime slow to school-year stress. Securing supplies. Earlier bedtime. Homework, half-days, and "have-to's" galore. Between now and mid October, parents shepherding children to school from home will settle into a more steady autumn stride. Yet for a handful of hectic weeks, please use this permission slip as [...]
I Shall Not Rush
Good morning... Yesterday morning her email came in. "Happy end of summer, Sue," she wrote. "Looking forward to our group getting back together soon. Below is from Richard Rohr's website --- glad we are going to be studying one of his books this semester. Thought this might help 'someone who is struggling' to better hear the voice of God. It's always a comfort to me to be reminded of God's everywhere presence. Here [...]
Someone Is Struggling
Good morning... "Good morning," she began. "The posts this week have really resonated with me and the place that I am working through in my life. I am struggling to quiet the voices in my head and truly be open to hear God’s word for me. I have a number of complicated relationships at the moment where I am unsure of next steps. I worry about the difference between being still and listening [...]
God Speaks In Surround Sound
Good morning... "Love that the summer blog is not recycled," she encouraged. "I enjoy the new posts ❤️." She continued: "I also love how God uses all things to speak to us. Nature, His Word, the spoken words of a friend, and even a blog or an email or a perfectly timed article. This week I chose 'kindness week' for the theme for my new parenting Facebook group (because of an email I [...]
Be The One
Good morning... After a tragic weekend when more innocent, voiceless people lost their lives to a bullying bullets, her blessing came as a breath of fresh hope. "Saw this online today and it made me think of you and your butterflies," she wrote. "May we all 'be the one.' xo." "Wow. I absolutely love this," I said, especially after a weekend of two mass shootings stealing the life of many voiceless, innocent people. "May [...]
Savor Sabbath: Make Space
Good morning... "Try to keep a little hermitage in the center of your being," encourages Henri Nouwen, "where you can continue your prayer even during a busy day." This morning I add "continue your prayer even in the aftermath of another mass shooting, even amid polarizing politics, even facing challenges you did not choose." We all need a little hermitage, a refuge and retreat, a haven and hideout, a shelter and sanctuary at [...]
Saturday’s Song
Good morning... As we talked about the Holy Spirit actively guiding our daily lives, she said, "I only want to do what God wants me to do. Everything else fades away. It reminds me of the song I love most right now." Then together we enjoyed her current favorite song. I hope you will too. All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, [...]
The Sound Of The Spirit
Good morning... "Love this Sue!" she wrote after yesterday's post Does God Really Speak? "I think God speaks most clearly through us, in and through His creation - if we are paying attention. For me, one of the most powerful experiences of God’s timing came from me responding to the inspiration of a sudden breeze and a simultaneous thought popping into my head while sitting alone on a porch swing staring at the [...]
Does God Really Speak?
Good morning... It was a Wednesday, last August 1st, 2018. As I drove into work I remember prayerfully pondering which book to teach for our annual Lovett Senior Moms Study group, slated to begin in mid September. Because it was raining, I parked in the inner most part of the church parking garage. Walking up the first flight of steps in the stairwell, I looked down to notice something quite unusual. There at [...]
Peace Is Present
Good morning... "Look what landed on me all tennis game long," she texted me yesterday. "A little one on my shoulder." "A big one on my neck," I replied, texting her back one of my favorite pictures, taken this week last year in the North Carolina mountains. God's living, breathing Holy Spirit comforts us in so many creative ways, whispering day by day, "You, my dear, are not alone." The God of peace [...]