God’s New Gift
Good morning... I love to notice God's new gifts expanding in the heart of ordinary people. So I adore this email from my friend. ****** Dear Sue, I have been ruminating on your recent post, Infused With Peace. Since 2003, I have been scared of the word "infusion." To me it was something that hurt, that was scary, that might not have a good outcome, and "infusion" forced me into a place I did not want [...]
Comforted In Community
Good morning... From Jacksonville, Florida to Atlanta, Georgia, one subscriber sent an interesting quote to comfort our community: "I remember reading this quote in Tullian Tchvidjian’s (Billy Graham’s grandson) book Glorious Ruin - 'The good news of suffering is that it brings us to the end of ourselves...brings us to the place of honesty, which is the place of desperation, which is the place of faith, which is the place of freedom... God sent His son [...]
Where The Cherries Grow
Good morning... To help the family gather pictures for her funeral reception, I went to my friend's condo last week. My heart was overjoyed to see an antique painting of fruit hanging on her bedroom wall. This handprinted original was a gift she had opened from me, by-chance, at our recent “Symbols of the Soul Gift Exchange," a final exchange of wrapped gifts symbolizing something important learned together from the semester. This painting reminded both [...]
In Heaven By Dinner
Good morning... I wake on the morning of an important funeral, a funeral I am not able to attend. Funny, but it feels somehow fitting for our funky friendship to experience no formal goodbye. Formal is not her way and neither is it mine. We were strangers when she came to my living room for our weekly class. Shuffling over from the other side of life's experiential tracks, she plopped down on my couch [...]
Infused With Peace
Good morning... Yesterday's post, Living A Secret, ended with an empowering statement: I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace (Philippians 4:13, AMP). Infuse. I do not meet that word very often, yet just now I open my book to read today's Bible study homework and here are the paragraphs seeping into me. ****** My favorite translation of Philippians 4:13 is from the late Greek [...]
Living A Secret
Good morning... This morning, I curl up in the corner of our couch, nestled beneath a bushy blanket, to read the first words of the book she gave me last night. ****** Sometimes in the stillness you can hear it, the sound of a million quiet-beating hearts. We're all looking for it, searching desperately for the secret to abundance. Will this bring what I'm seeking? You can almost hear the asking echoing in every [...]
Melt Me Thin
Good morning... I heard myself say an interesting thing: "I pray that the LORD melts me all the way down, so that I grow really thin and God grows very thick." When I am afraid, LORD, thin me out. When I am angry, LORD, thin me out. When I am anxious, LORD, thin me out. Within me, please grow very thick. Lost people. Lonely people. Hungry people. Hurting people. Greedy people. Grieving people. God [...]
Our Purpose Is Born
Good morning... "I have been receiving such confirmation through you, my stewardship coach, and my therapist that reading Let Your Life Speak will be beneficial in discerning vocation," writes Mary from Charlotte, N.C., the author of the words from our recent post, Gratitude Holds Hands With Grief. She says, "Here is what really jumped out at me so far, 'True vocation joins self and service…as the place where your deep gladness meets the worlds deepest needs.' [...]
My Fingers Hold God’s Flashlight
Good morning… One of the beauties of our Everyday Blog is its interactive quality. As subscribers write me daily, we converse back and forth. In addition, when a subscriber unsubscribes, he or she can choose to let me know the reason why. One who unsubscribed this week wrote to me this message: “Honestly, recently (the last 9 months to a year) the topic of every devotional has been death – death from cancer, sudden [...]
After A Tragic Loss
Good morning... "I love the last paragraph of today's post," she wrote after reading yesterday's morning message Shocked Grievers Have No Words. Given each breath, we inch our way into moment by moment. Hour by hour. Day by day. Week by week. Month by month. Season by season. Year by year. "That is exactly how we proceed after a tragic loss without even realizing it," she continued. "At first, in a blur not even realizing [...]
Shocked Grievers Have No Words
Good morning… I pick up my pen and stand in the gap for shocked grievers who have no words. Life can change abruptly. Unexpectedly. Forever. One morning we wake up to “normal” and by nightfall we toss and turn, turn and toss. “Why? How? What if?” What do we do when death destroys our face to face, skin to skin, voice to voice connection? We join the cries of those who have walked the [...]
Gratitude Holds Hands With Grief
Good morning... Mary, my soulmate from Charlotte, N.C. whom I have never met, wrote to me from the beach yesterday. Her words are perfect and poignant. ****** My life is Blessed…But My Son Is Dead?!?! How can it be? I am taking in the majesty of God’s Kingdom at the beach in the winter…the ocean with it’s vastness, rolling waves, and churning power, glorious sunsets, glass-like water reflecting the sun with dolphins dancing in [...]