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 [...]
Getting The Picture
Good morning... God sometimes teaches truth in funky ways. In yesterday's blog message, I sent a captivating picture, a picture received by some subscribers and not by others. Then last night before heading to bed, I put the title "An unseen picture," as a place holder in my computer program and it accidentally sent while I was asleep. Now God wakes me unusually late this morning. It is almost 6:00 am. Why all this [...]
Walk With The Broken
Good morning... A powerful picture was sent to me by a woman whose heart has been shattered more than once, a soulful friend with whom I have shared many a meaningful conversation. In the picture, I am captivated by a stately lion with tender, almost tearful eyes, a lion overlooking the words, "How we walk with the broken speaks louder than how we sit with the great." Over my fifty-three years of life, I [...]
Tell Your Heart To Beat Again
Good morning... When are shattered like we have never been before and the life we knew lies in a thousand pieces on the floor, we are rushed into heart surgery. The Great Physician promises, "I will give them one heart [a new heart], and put a new spirit within them. I will take from them the heart of stone, and will give them a heart of flesh [that is responsive to My touch], that [...]
God Can Grow A Salvation-Garden
Good morning... Sharing the devastating effects of an extramarital affair, heartbroken and hurting she wrote to me for support: "My 16-year-old niece said, 'Who will walk me down the aisle when I get married? I don't want someone who cheated doing it.'" The LORD gave me these words to give to my friend: "Your niece could walk down the aisle with someone fallen and forgiven, if everyone involved gives God permission." In simple humility, [...]
Unwashed And Unwanted
Good morning... I just stumbled upon a fascinating Bible story, expressed vividly in the Message translation. On the day you were born your umbilical cord was not cut, you weren’t bathed and cleaned up, you weren’t rubbed with salt, you weren’t wrapped in a baby blanket. No one cared a fig for you. No one did one thing to care for you tenderly in these ways. You were thrown out into a vacant lot [...]
My Story Is Your Story
Good morning… Letting down our guard and sharing our genuine self is a lot easier said than done. In truth, our guard is an important part of us, serving us well until it doesn't anymore. We are handmade uniquely in our Creator's image (Genesis 1:27) and filled with the living breath of God (Genesis 2:7). Freshly formed from our Father's fingers, we each come into the world "naked and unashamed" (Genesis 2:25). But it [...]
When Hiding Hurts
Letting down our guard and sharing our true self is easier said than done. Our guard is an important part of us, serving us well until it doesn't anymore. We are handmade uniquely in our Creator's image (Genesis 1:27) and filled with the living breath of God (Genesis 2:7). Freshly formed from our Father's fingers, we each come into the world "naked and unashamed" (Genesis 2:25). But it does not take long before God's [...]
What? You Too?
Good morning... "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What? You, too? I thought I was the only one!'" - C.S. Lewis I have witnessed similar exchanges amid Bible study after Bible study these past few weeks. When we let down our guard and share our genuine selves, "What? You, too?" experiences birth new friends. ...God will be the bond between me and you (1 Samuel 20:42b, MSG). ...Sue... [...]
Silver And Gold – New And Old
Good morning... This morning I wake pondering the song "Make new friends but keep the old." So I write to my friend of twenty-something years, a friend with whom I share a two or three hour meal most every month. She keeps in good touch with old friends and family while remaining openhearted to the new friends God brings into her life. I emailed her these thoughts: "I recognize that you 'Make new friends [...]