The First Day Of Our Last Year
Good morning... I remember dropping off our first kindergartener for his first day of school, driving home, and crying emotions all over my journal. That was August 2000. Back then I was nurturing two more kids at home, three-and-a-half and seventeen months, and our final baby was just a hope in my heart, born the next June to round out our clan. This morning our last child, now eighteen years old, will drive himself [...]
One Quiet Video
Good morning... I am grateful God allowed me to sleep in today, until about half an hour before my 8:00 am meeting. Had I crafted our morning message in the wee hours of the night, it would not have been this one, and this one is exquisite, for all the ways you will discover. "I thought you would like this!" her email arrived in my inbox at 8:27 am to greet me after [...]
My 90 Minutes In Heaven
Good morning... Last Monday morning, Rev. Catherine Boothe Olson and I prepared the space for our noontime Enneagram class. As people began slowly trickling into the sacred chapel, I felt like a "welcome" greeter in heaven. I joyfully hugged women I love from book studies in our living room and women I adore from mission trips, outreach experiences, and Bible studies at church. I excitedly reconnected with women I have led on retreats, [...]
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, [...]