“God Within” Us
Good morning... I learned lots of tantalizing tidbits as I read my two Spiritual Direction books. In passing, one set of authors wrote, "The next time you feel enthusiastic about something, remember that that word means literally 'God within' you" (p. 87 in Hagberg and Guelich's The Critical Journey: Stages in the Life of Faith). With my intrigue sparked, I drove home from my spiritual retreat and hopped on my computer. Of course, I [...]
Boiling On My Back Burner
Good morning... As many of you know, I am in the middle of a Spiritual Direction training program and the dense, intense reading is very hard for me. With my dyslexic, ADD brain, I read slowly and I struggle with comprehension. Unlike many of you avid readers, I cannot read for thirty minutes, do another task, then return to my book and start where I left off. I read thirty minutes, put the book [...]
My SAT Score
Good morning... 900. That's right. A whoppin' 900 points were scored on the single SAT test I took in 1980. Nowadays, a handful of brainiacs score the perfect 1600, many kids score just below perfection, and every high school student I know gets a tutor and takes the test two, three, four or more times to boost their chances of getting into the college of their dreams. 900 got me to a life that [...]
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 [...]