God’s G.R.A.C.E. Travels
Good morning... God inspired words for the pastor's sermon. The wisdom traveled into my friend's ear, through her fingers, onto a notecard that greets her daily on her bathroom mirror. She shared the G.R.A.C.E. acronym at our final Friday gathering, and emailed the Spirit-filled words to our interested group. Then I posted the acronym on our blog, We Grow G.R.A.C.E., a morning message appearing in the inbox of 839 people. In the middle of a [...]
We All Need A Trouble Tree
Good morning... My dear friend emailed after yesterday's post, Hearing Me Let Go. "In the spirit of 'letting go,'” she wrote, "I share this precious story that my dad shared with me. He’s nearly 85, and his buddy from when he was a kid sends him all kinds of things that he finds online. Thinking of this story being shared between two old men—extraordinary dads and grandfathers—makes me fill will gratitude for how they’ve [...]
Hearing Me Let Go
Good morning... Hearing wisdom spoken feels different than reading truth with eyes alone. So I was intrigued when a friend told me of our well-loved poem being read aloud in a male's voice, "She Let Go." As I listen to this interestingly matter-of-fact rendition, I sense God seeing my subtle, silent bits of softly letting go. The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully [...]
Savoring Life’s Seasons
Good morning... "I am so sorry to have missed our final meeting on Monday," she wrote after yesterday's post, Our Seasonal Life. "I have been meaning to email you to thank you for the semester and for the timeliness of the book in my own journey (Parker Palmer's Let Your Life Speak)." "Had I been able to be there on Monday, my input about what was meaningful to me about the book would have [...]
Our Seasonal Life
Good morning... On the day she was retiring, our Monday afternoon class gathered for the last time this semester. At age 70, her health issues have made breathing more difficult, nudging her to close the doors to her counseling practice earlier than she had hoped. For years now, I have admired her giving into God's call to return to school in her 50's to complete her degree at the same university where I gave [...]
The Blessing Of Our Blog
Good morning... "Blessings to you for daily messages that are life changing," she wrote after Revisiting Our Favorite Posts. "Sue - I am a creature of habit," a friend emailed. "I read your post every morning and love your daily messages. I have two to suggest to repeat this summer..." "Truly, ALL your messages are my favorites and special gifts each day!" responded another faithful subscriber. "These are just a few I have forwarded to [...]
Revisiting Our Favorite Posts
Good morning... Those who have subscribed to our blog for a while now remember that in June, July, and August we revisit our favorite posts from the school year. Many of you share with me the titles of messages that have been most meaningful to you, I tally your responses, and I gift those words to the Creative Services department at Northside Church, where I am the Women's Ministry Director. Then Northside creates an online [...]
Hearing God’s Heartbeat
Good morning... "I am grateful for not having to know in advance what God was planning for me," continues Henri Nouwen in the book I quoted in yesterday's post At Home With God. "But I am grateful as well for the new place that has been opened in me through all the inner pain." Nouwen continues: "I have a new vocation now. It is the vocation to speak and to write from that place [...]
At Home With God
Good morning... God gives me space to connect the day's dots. I sit on our back porch eating chicken noodle soup, breathing in the breezy grey, admiring the dance of bushy green. Early I woke to a short and sweet email. "GRACE - another acronym I learned years ago: God's Riches At Christ's Expense." A few hours later, I welcomed women into our basement for our April Listening Group. I heard myself slowly read [...]
Letting It All Be
Good morning... So many of us loved yesterday's post, She Let Go. Why are we so touched by this Ernest Holmes poem? Because we feel seen, known, and accepted, as we hide behind the bricks in our self-protective wall. Incessant thoughts. Too many words. Fears. Judgements. Swarming opinions. Our committee of indecision. All the "right" reasons. Hesitation. Worry. Conflicting advice. How-to books. Self-selected scriptures. Memories. Anxieties. Excessive planning. Precise calculations. Unkept promises. Stacks of [...]
She Let Go
Good morning... My friend's sleep was disturbed by obsessive feelings. Jealousy. Entitlement. Confusion. Rejection. Her voracious mind craved answers. Hash it out. Decide some details. Needing answers became a nightmare. Her mind went into overdrive until she read our post We Grow G.R.A.C.E. She texted me her middle-of-the-night realization: "I took a little trip away from GRACE." Moving back into God's strong arms of GRACE, she let go. ****** She let go by Ernest Holmes [...]
A Little Trip Away From GRACE
Good morning... "Sue - love your post this morning," she texted me yesterday at 6:29 am after reading We Grow G.R.A.C.E. "I woke up having a terrible night sleep because I felt feelings of envy, jealousy, entitlement, confusion, and rejection about a situation in my life. And all this felt out of the blue after having a great, full, grateful day in peace and contentment. So I woke confused." She continued: "And when I [...]