Survivors Can Heal
Good morning... "Hi Sue!" On Saturday, the Retreat and Program Director texted me from Ignatius House Retreat Center. "Our next ISP overnight retreat is September 9-10. Let me know if your group is available to make 15 welcome bags." "Yes, we are happy to create bags," I texted immediately. Then I reached out to a friend who generously provides toiletry kits for each retreat, and in less than 24 hours, the box pictured [...]
Who Are We Becoming?
Good morning... This day after Labor Day, summer is becoming fall. There are so many forms of natural becoming which surround us at all times. Clever cartoonist, Grant Snider, holds up a mirror to our daily lives, helping us to ponder, "Who am I becoming?" We become what we set our hearts on. And so we are transfigured...our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become [...]
A Hard Labor Day
Good morning... On a day set aside to celebrate the American worker, this is a hard Labor Day for many. Job loss. Unemployment. How to pay the bills? Instability. Threat of violence. Uncertainty about the future. Many feel torn apart, as discombobulated as this shadow photo taken by my artist friend Corinne Adams. "So many colleagues and amazing joint programs have been forced to go," one friend wrote this weekend. "The whole thing [...]
Live A Grateful Life
Good morning... The truth is sometimes hard to read. "you cannot cram the glory of God into something so thin as a fact," whisper the tiny words on this black central line. As we wholeheartedly say "YES" to the glory of God, gratitude becomes our way of living. Let us ground ourselves in the gift of grace, as the stong, gentle voice below leads us into this Labor Day weekend. And now to [...]
Pray With Your Feet
Good morning... Yesterday afternoon, I spent quality time with a friend who grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She's been to Annunciation Catholic School where this week's school shooting took place. She described loving her hometown and the people with whom she grew up. One high school classmate, Mark Donicht, is now a published author who writes under the name Marc Allen. Following the tragic shooting, Marc shared these words on his Facebook page, [...]
Her Journal Page
Good morning... My parents have twelve grandkids and two great grandkids. Yesterday, my sister sent this photo of her youngest of six children, the final grandchild, heading to his first day as a high school senior. In the picture, he is reenacting a cute photo from his younger school days. Just after I smiled at this photo, I got word about the deadly shooting at Annunciation Catholic School [...]
Overwhelming Trust
Good morning... Yesterday began with this prayer, a prayer sent by a friend. "It was the best to see you at church and to share a hug," she wrote. "God has surrounded me since with overwhelming trust. I hope you are feeling it too this week. XO" "Overwhelming trust," I replied. "What a beautiful gift from God. Overwhelming trust is not a human trait. It is a supernatural intervention." [...]
You Know My Pain
DeeplGood morning... "Joy and sorrow will always be linked," writes author Kay Warren. "And in the strange paradox of the universe, at the exact moment you and I are experiencing pain, we are also aware of the sweetness of loving and the beauty still to be found." I reread those words from yesterday's post, and I noticed the word pain. Unexpectedly, within a few minutes, I happened upon a Lauren Daigle song I [...]
Our Parallel Tracks
Good morning... Last Monday morning, the room was abuzz with the voices of about fifty to sixty women. Catching up. Sharing stories. Starting a new school year. I felt honored to be the kick-off speaker for the Lovett Moms in Prayer group, an annual commitment I enjoy every fall. Each year, I prayerfully consider what I feel led to share. This year, I asked myself, "If I knew I was going to die, [...]
Love. Pray. Trust.
Good morning... Yesterday morning I blogged about A Dog And My Dad. Then in the afternoon, I opened the brown cardboard package that arrived on our doorstep. A loving book, pictured above, greeted me with aging-dog eyes. Awww. A golden retriever, so much like our deeply-missed Tate. No card. Kind gift. No name. God, who is this from? Later, I opened an email to find the mystery solved. A dear friend wrote: I [...]
A Dog And My Dad
Good morning... I have a story to tell you about a dog, my dad, and the timing of God. After the loss of our beloved dog Tate in June, we have been working for the past six weeks to find the next golden retriever puppy for our family. With the help of our dog-loving friend, we located our next family member at an Amish farm in Lancaster, PA, a quaint town that I [...]
Things Just Fall Off
Good morning... Most every day, I walk the sidewalk pictured above. One day, no leaves. The next day, a ton. What a silent, visual truth: The neighborhood trees, just like you and me, are altered by the rainstorms of life. As I have been trying to "obey my muddle clear" this week, I enjoyed lunch with an old, loyal friend. "To meet the needs of others, we don't give up our own needs," [...]