A Special Baby Gift
Good morning... After snapping a few pictures, pictures featured in the past few posts, I picked up the red, heart-shaped leaf and brought it home to my friend's beach house. In my mind, I knew instinctively exactly where to place it for the next season of her earthy life. Earlier in my private retreat, I had admired another calming collection lying on the coffee table. A golden clay cross and black rocks with [...]
Moved By A “Dead” Leaf
Good morning... "Aimlessness is akin to lifelessness," writes a famous religious teacher of our day. His devotional went on to say, "Dead leaves in the backyard may move around more than the dog, more than the children. The wind blows this way, they go this way. The wind blows that way, they go that way. They tumble, they bounce, they skip, they press against a fence, but they have no aim whatsoever. They [...]
When Our Heart Waits
Good morning... One week from today we will begin a new semester of learning in our living room, exploring the wisdom of When The Heart Waits. I am intrigued by the words of author Sue Monk Kidd. Sue writes: “Is it possible," I asked myself, “that I’m being summoned from some deep and holy place from within? Am I being asked to enter a new passage in my spiritual life - the journey from [...]
Savor Sabbath: What’s Next?
Good morning... Each sabbath we take a day to rest and review lessons we have learned together in our everyday blog. As the curtain opens on 2019, we are wise to look back, securing our bearings, before seeking and sensing: "God, what's next?" Using the "Previous." link above this message, savor again the inner terrain we have explored this week. But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. [...]
When Grief Taints Our Holidays
Good morning... "I'll have a Blue Christmas without you," Elvis Presley sang into our hearts with his 1964 single, the year after I was born. As I have aged into deeper awareness, I wonder, "When people lose loved ones during the holiday season, is Christmas always tainted with the blue of grief?" Something within me feels an answer forming from Paula D'Arcy's transformative words. ****** Excerpt from Paula D'Arcy's Seeking With All My [...]
Someone With Skin On
Good morning... Two Fridays ago loved ones packed the place, celebrating the life of a young man who died on his nineteenth birthday. Friends and family members shared stories, tearful and touching, funny and full-of-life. One of the minsters urged us to trust this truth: "Nothing is lost that love remembers." The other minister, my husband, told the story of a little girl who climbed in bed with her mom during a terrifying [...]
We Share Each Other’s Pain
Good morning... Re-editing our post from a few days ago, I stick in a strange new word that somehow feels right. Viscerally. I am drawn to add viscerally (touch "Previous. Previous." above to revisit this message). The sentence now reads: "My gut viscerally felt like the knotted debris still littering the roads after Hurricane Michael." I google this foreign-to-me word to figure out its meaning and run into this question: "What does visceral pain [...]
Yes Or No?
Good morning... When heading into a brand new year, we face a plethora of possibilities. Developing the art of discernment, 92 year old Betty Skinner recommends, "Be inspired, not impulsive." Impulsive is rash, quick, emotionally reactive. Inspired is walking "in-sync with the Spirit," calmly seeking and sensing, "Does this opportunity deserve my yes or my no?" Flipping back to a dog-eared page, here is some wisdom that may help us more deeply discover the [...]
God’s Wind Wins
Good morning... 2 Peter 3:8-9 The Message [ The Day the Sky Will Collapse ] Don’t overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to [...]
Peaks And Valleys Of 2018
Happy New Year, my friend... I wake thinking to myself, "Yesterday, the last day of 2018, summed up well the peaks and the valleys of my entire year." Thinking back over your own yesterday, how did that one day encapsulate your whole year? Observation #1: I woke in Grayton Beach, Florida in the cozy home of a generous friend. 4:00 am nudge awake from God. Finger-to-fur time with our dogs enhanced the smell, [...]
Experiment With Letting Go
Good morning... I happen upon an old quote from one of my favorite books. "Experiment with different forms of still and quiet," encourages well-loved author and speaker Brene Brown. "We all need to find something that works or us. To be honest, I'm never more open and emotionally clutter-free than when I'm walking alone outside. It's not technically still, but it is emotionally opening for me." (The Gifts Of Imperfection, 110) If we [...]
Savor Sabbath: Be Still
Good morning... As we are still, we let go to let God lead. You, Lord, are my shepherd. I will never be in need. You let me rest in fields of green grass. You lead me to streams of peaceful water, and you refresh my life. You are true to your name, and you lead me along the right paths (Psalm 23:1-3, CEV). Resting this sabbath in silence and solitude, as the Spirit [...]