We Choose: Open Or Closed?
Good morning... Traveling into a hard day, a hard decision, a hard dialogue? Open or closed? The choice is ours. "As they continued their travel, Jesus entered a village," says the Bible in Luke 10:38-42 (MSG). A woman by the name of Martha welcomed him and made him feel quite at home. She had a sister, Mary, who sat before the Master, hanging on every word he said. Both sisters begin the day wide open to [...]
What Is Prayer – Really?
Good morning... At our final Bible study gathering for the semester, we each identified "Words of the Soul," words, sentences, and quotes we would take with us from our Friday discussions of Jan Johnson's When the Soul Listens. Collectively, some of our most memorable words are: Pause. Listen. Wait. Trust. Space. Abide. Soak. Favorite sentences include: "Jesus is relentlessly relational...'Start the car!' he says." "When in doubt, wait." "Our spirit is on tiptoe - [...]
Lessons From A Dying Cardinal
Good morning... Walking with my friend, we were stunned to see a dying cardinal lying on the sidewalk. The little creature was slowly moving his bright red head, looking around, blinking his eyes, but his chubby body was stationary, paralyzed on the pavement. When I said, "Oh, let's pick him up and put him in a soft, private place," I could feel my friend's wordless resistance: "Let's not intervene." After walking on in silence, my [...]
Who Will Do The Morning Chores?
Good morning... Collaging my journal at our With God Weather Life retreat, I cut from a magazine this poignant poem and pasted it on the inner flap of my journal's front cover. These words hold up for us a meaningful mirror as we examine our hearts this first day of December. ****** Morning Chores by Joann Nesser I pick up a dish, a cup, straighten the pillows on the sofa where my husband dozes [...]
Grief Is Love With Nowhere To Go
Good morning... "Grief is just love with nowhere to go," lingers a line from his recent funeral. When we are face to face, we can show love. We can share love. We can express love. We can receive love. We can shower love. We can speak love. We can exchange love. We can hear love. We can touch love. We can smell love. We can sense love. We can know love. We can enjoy [...]
Surviving Grief’s Riptide
Good morning... When caught in grief's riptide, how do we survive? Rip currents are powerful, channeled currents flowing us away from the safety of the shore. To learn about surviving grief, I google "What to do when caught in a riptide." Here are the eight top tips one article teaches. Watch the waves. Remain alert for storms brewing on the horizon. Holidays. Anniversaries. Beloved, shared people and places. Know that these conditions naturally create [...]
An Unhappy Holiday
Good morning... Mary, a subscriber I have never met, wrote me again to share her process of grief following the sudden death of her son eighteen months ago. "Hi Sue, I loved reading Mosquitos In Our Mind the other day and really needed it! It was so beautifully written yet simple AND powerful! I say a lot of “breath prayers”, usually, "Jesus, help me", but never knew what to call them. Now I do! [...]
The Magic Of Mondays
Good morning... "Mondays have become magical for me," writes my friend on her October 24th music blog. "I know, I know," she continues, "most people dread them and wish them away, but for now, my Mondays hit a lovely sweet spot. Today, the day began with a torrential rain storm, coffee on the porch, and a quick catch up of sifting through e-mails and this week’s schedule. Each Monday afternoon, I set aside time for [...]
Breathing Lessons
Good morning... "Breath prayers" quiet our buzzing thoughts, thoughts swarming like mosquitos in the mayhem of our mind. After reading this wisdom in yesterday's post, she wrote: "Thank you for this lesson. I guide my yoga class with what I like to call 'sacred breath' and so appreciate your mantras. It's helpful to have concise thoughts - even just two words or syllables. My 'go-to's' are LET on the inhale & GO on the exhale [...]
Mosquitos In Our Mind
Good morning... A "breath prayer" can be lifted any time, any where, alone aloud or silently in a crowd. Usually nine syllables or less, breath prayers can calm our anxious thoughts. Richard Foster, Christian author and theologian in the Quaker tradition, writes: “Commenting on breath prayers, Theophane the Recluse notes, ‘Thoughts continue to jostle in your head like mosquitos. To stop this jostling, you must bind the mind with one thought, or the thought of [...]
More God, Less Me
Good morning... She taught me her favorite "breath prayer," a centering word or a short phrase which can be said within a single breath. Inhaling deeply we request, "More of God." Exhaling fully we release, "Less of me." Slowly, methodically we breathe in then out, "More of God. Less of me." Again and again we request and release, "More of God. Less of me." With "less of me," God gradually transforms more. He must [...]
Come Home For God’s Love
Good morning... Morning after morning, I choose a different coffee mug for a different reason. Today I sip from a big, blue mug bearing the words: "Donut Hole - Established in 1978." A few years back, our 22-year-old son and I bought matching keepsakes after enjoying a yummy breakfast at the Donut Hole restaurant near Rosemary Beach, Florida. I sip from my memory-keeping mug right now, since today is the first Thanksgiving morn he [...]