My Work Is Finished
Good morning... We often miss two words in the following sentence. By the seventh day God had finished his work, and so he rested (Genesis 2:2, CEV). We focus our attention on "work" and "rest," understanding our need to rock between both. Unfortunately, we overlook the words "finish" and "his." When my mind's eye gets tired, I envision two dream jobs. First, I would love to be a walking mail woman. In my old [...]
Please Slow Down
Good morning... Instinctively, we know, "It's time to slow down." For me, tangible indicators begin to pile up. 1) Often we get sick. Itchy ears. Scratchy throat. Fever and cough precede complete congestion. A full blown fall cold invaded my body last week. 2) Loved ones notice our need. As I scurried around last weekend, my husband said, "You are doing way too much. You never take a break. You are up in the [...]
Help In Life’s Hurricanes
Good morning... Hurricane Matthew has affected the lives of millions this weekend. The messy photos of wreckage from high winds and water tug at our hearts. Chaotic. Uprooted. Torn apart. We all lift prayers for the rebuilding of rummaged lives. Even inland here in Atlanta, the ripple effects are everywhere. Eerie skies and windy rain. Horrendous traffic traveling north and west. Cars with Florida license plates line our street as neighbors host loved ones [...]
Creativity From Chaos
Good morning... Speaking light into the formless dark, God creatively gave order to life's chaos. As we read the first chapter of Genesis, verbs tumble all over us. God saw and separated. God called and said. God made and named creation "good." Then the land itself creatively cooperated, producing and bearing, plants and trees. The expansive sky also joined the chorus, sun and moon lit and governed, marking time as sacred. Night and day. [...]
Hug The Mess
Good morning... "Transitions are messy. Transitions are chaotic. Transitions are where our hard-won order breaks down into disorder," admits Margaret Silf in The Other Side of Chaos: Breaking Through When Life is Breaking Down (p. 43). The Bible tells us that all of creation was born from chaotic disorder. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters [...]
Fly In Your “V”
Good morning... It has been just over six months since her son's sudden death, and she planned a beach getaway for a few inner circle friends, a tangible way of saying, "Thank you" for unwavering support. The women took time to soak in the sunset on their last night at the beach. Not long after settling into the sand, in silence they admired the beauty of a small flock of birds flying in V-formation [...]
Mooring Each Morning
Good morning... Emailing about the importance of our morning devotionals, she discovered a typo. Writing "mooring" instead of "morning" and she marveled at her mistake. "Wow - this is an accidental typo - but mooring is a good word. Choosing to cut from my regular schedule to make sure I had time to keep things in order at home and work while I focus my attention on wedding plans for our daughter felt like [...]
Who Are You?
Good morning... "You're a good, good Father. It's who You. It's who You are. It's who You are." "And I'm loved by You. It's who I am. It's who I am. It's who I am." "You are perfect in all of Your ways. You are perfect in of Your ways. You are perfect in all of Your ways, O LORD." Out of the blue, these lines from a praise song resound repeatedly within. I [...]
Love Is The Greatest
Good morning… If true friendship grows out of "What? You, too? I thought I was the only one," as C.S. Lewis so wisely teaches, then true love is bound to grow from the same sacred spot. CNN ran a story a few days ago chronicling the life and the love of Katie and Dalton, a young couple who bonded over the life-ravaging effects of cystic fibrosis. If they had been given the opportunity to [...]
Friends Share A Meal
Good morning... Meeting through my blog, we regularly write encouragement back and forth, but our eyes had never met until this week. After sharing stories over a meal, he gave me handwritten copies of some of his favorite quotes. I said, "You may see these words returning to your heart some early hour." Sure enough, here is wisdom he shared, wisdom I cherish. "The farther we drift from a day-to-day faith-walk with Christ, the [...]
NOT This
Good morning... We are wise to heed Jesus' warning: “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces" (Matthew 7:6, NIV). I think Jesus would also say, "Do NOT be these swine." On page 10 in The Gifts of Imperfection, Brene Browne describes in detail what it looks like when human skin [...]
Shame And Joy Metastasize
Good morning... "Shame hates it when we reach out and tell our story. It hates having words wrapped around it - it can't survive being shared. Shame loves secrecy. The most dangerous thing to do after a shaming experience is hide or bury our story. When we bury our story, the shame metastasizes" (p. 9. in Brene Browne's The Gifts of Imperfection). Metastasizes is a strong word, conjuring up cancer. To metastasize means to [...]