The Gift Of Tears
Good morning... She expressed concerned over crying so much. So I wrote to her my thoughts about the gift of tears. Grief is an unpredictable thing. "Crying so much lately" may feel like "going backward" instead of "making headway," but I think tears are a sign of the Holy Spirit deeply at work. Tears tenderize us and express overwhelming emotions. Tears release penned up pain and give voice to unspeakable words. Tears accompany our [...]
Feeding Our Faith And Courage Muscles
Good morning... Heading into a difficult day, a close friend wrote to request my prayers of solidarity. God crafted through me the message below, a message I sense He wants all of us to experience. As we face various challenges requiring the brute strength of what my friend calls our "faith and courage muscles," we tap into the power of God Almighty. I prayerfully emailed my friend the following encouragement. After some edits, I [...]
May Is A Month Of Change
Good morning… A well-loved subscriber from Jacksonville, Florida often sends me words of loving encouragement. This week she sent me the 5.4.17 blog of Maureen Ahearn Cully entitled "Begin with the End in Mind." I resonate with these words as our oldest son graduates from college today and my youngest daughter graduates from high school next Sunday. I am grateful Cully shares God's eternal wisdom. "May is a month of change – it has [...]
From The Mouth Of Julie’s Mom
Good morning... Our prayers for healing from cancer for our friend Julie were not answered as we had hoped, but Julie's mom still believes in God's healing power, just like I do. Taught to trust through painful life experience after painful life experience, she still believes boldly in God's higher plan. "I only know that throughout my life, even as a child, I have felt God's presence," she wrote me and gave me permission [...]
Raised Up With Purpose
Good morning... After yesterday's post, one subscriber wrote: "How to have faith and belief in God when you can’t KNOW everything is something I struggle with all the time. Your daily words help so much. I especially love your last words this morning and will keep them with me: 'My sinking heart can rise up and trust what my brain can’t understand.' That is such a simply perfect way to think about faith and [...]
My Sinking Heart
Good morning... My heart sank when my close friend texted yesterday morning, four days into her unexpected hospital stay: "Waiting for the pathology from the spinal tap. Yes, no doubt there is an abnormality. They have it in one of two camps: a very rare syndrome that causes recurrent meningitis or a malignant tumor. Praying no malignant or other cancer that can do harm. That is the prayer. I know you will echo this [...]
Every Day Of My Eternal Life
Good morning... In my early morning hours, why has God been teaching me about boundaries? Boundaries seem like such a human construct, such a worldly theory, such a man made model for heathy living. Why focus my quiet time on boundaries, LORD? I sense God saying, "It is time to exchange your boundaries for My boundaries. As I melt your layers of self-protection, obsolete are the walls you erected in fear to keep yourself [...]
Beefing Up Our Boundaries
Good morning... When I googled the term "semi-permeable boundaries" for yesterday's post, I happened upon this article by Dr. Neill Neill entitled: "Personal Boundaries and Healthy Relationships." The wisdom shared here is very important as we consider how we are made in the image of God and empowered by the Holy Spirit to follow in Jesus' footsteps into healthy relationships. Dr. Neill shares with us the truth about boundaries. "A lot of difficulties and [...]
God’s Semi-permiable Boundary
Good morning... When I was training in my twenties to be a Marriage and Family Therapist, I learned a lot about boundaries. Some families have rigid boundaries. Secrets and unresolved pain grow like weeds in the petri dish of a closed system. Some families are open systems, where anything goes all the time, stripping members of privacy and protection. The healthiest families have semi-permeable boundaries, opening the door to good, life-giving experiences and closing [...]
One Funky Find
Good morning... God can break into our daily lives in very funky ways. I have a hilariously weird story for you. Last week, my senior in high school was playing her important lacrosse game at a faraway school. Fortunately, I thought the game started at 5:00 pm instead of 5:30 pm so I had plenty of time to settle into the stadium when I arrived at the field at 4:55 pm. Unfortunately, I did [...]
God Is In Our “Parking Lot” Moments
Good morning... If you know anything about the collapse of the I-85 bridge in Atlanta a few weeks back, you know that traffic has been horrible on surface streets around town. Getting anywhere from anywhere has been laden with frustrating delays. I had this experience yesterday when I drove to my friend's home for an early morning walk. What usually takes me ten minutes took me thirty. My gracious friend welcomed me at her [...]
Meaningful Mishaps
Good morning... Through a series of mishaps, we met in the grocery store parking lot, me loading my trunk, she driving up in her SUV. I was delayed since I went back for a few items I had forgotten my first time through the check out line. "Ugh." She had forgotten to take home some items she had purchased, so she was driving back to the store to retrieve them. Double "Ugh." But because [...]