Dinner In The Dark
Good morning... Saturday night's gathering had been planned for a while. One friend invited me and another friend to sleepover as the final hurrah of my birthday season. When is the last time you had a pajama party with some of your best buddies? We arrived a little after 5:00 pm and started our all-nighter with some hors d'oevres, water, and wine. We laughed about middle school slumber parties, Ouija boards, "light as a [...]
His First Birthday In Heaven
Good morning... Her son would have celebrated his seventeenth birthday this week, if he had not gone to heaven last month. With her permission, I am posting a string of personal emails I have shared with a very special, grieving mom, a mom I had not known before this tragedy. Thursday, 4.28.19, would have been his birthday and that morning I sent her my post, "The extraordinary gift of ordinary days." Along with my [...]
Facing Difficult People And Situations
Good morning... One late afternoon, I came home from work to find a question emailed to me by a friend. She wrote, "This is the practice I find most difficult: trying to be a good 'christian' with people who drain you. I'm not talking about people who are sick or going through something difficult. It's people who thrive on drama or negativity and they suck you into their vortex.... I'd love to hear your [...]
Life’s Highlights And Bloopers
Good morning... Three thoughts pop to mind as I re-watch the moving video I shared with you yesterday (if you missed it, please enjoy it today at https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=olSyCLJU3O0). First, "What will my kids remember from their childhood years?" Will they recall my best parenting moments, my worst parenting moments, or some conglomerate of the two? Often times, photographs help to skew memories in the positive direction since no one snaps a picture when we [...]
The Gift Of Ordinary Days
Good morning... Each year for the past four years I have hosted a Bible study on Wednesday afternoons for the "moms of high school seniors" from my kids' school. Next week, I meet with a group of three moms who want to begin the special tradition at a neighboring school, and I have been asked to mentor another woman as she begins a "moms of seniors" study at her own son's school. I love [...]
Through Pain To Peace
Good morning... My post from 4.25.16, "Run toward the roar," has created a lot of great dialogue, face to face and through email exchanges. One long time friend, who has lived through an immensely painful loss, wrote: "Hey Sue. Wow, this one is powerful and hits me deeply. As I think about it I don't see myself having run towards the roar when bad things have happened in my life. It feels more like [...]
Sharing God’s Spirit
Good morning... Sometimes, someone shares something to give us a spiritual boost when our own energy is waning. Unexpectedly, we receive a gift we did not ask for, a gift only God knew we needed so desperately. From an angel wearing skin, we receive a breath of fresh air and our faith is renewed, our trust in God is once again galvanized, and our single focus upon the Giver of life is secured, emboldened. [...]
Run Toward The Roar
Good morning.. A friend in my Tuesday group sent me a very challenging article, an article passed on to her by a friend, an article by Davey Blackburn from 4.18.16 entitled "Running Toward the Roar." Some of the most profound comments, I will share here, with a link to the entire article below. "Perhaps one of the most impactful books I’ve read in this season is Levi Lusko's Through the Eyes of a Lion. [...]
Feathers Of Faith
Good morning... Visiting my parents in Ohio, I enjoyed their pets. They have well stocked bird feeders outside their large front window and another feeder at the back of their home, a wall of three picture windows overlooking the park. Their pets are the various species of birds, coming and going all day, as well as the chipmunks and the squirrels who enjoy the fallen seed (acrobatic squirrels are a great source of laughter, [...]
Letting Go To Grow
Good morning... At times, we must let go to grow. This fact is hard but true, we need to let go of much loved people and priorities all along life's way. Growth can be the byproduct of making difficult decisions. Recently, my fourteen year old son learned this tough truth personally. After going to summer camp for the past six years, he decided to withdraw from the Leader In Training (LIT) junior counselor program. [...]
God’s Descending And Ascending Way
Good morning... My friend shared her request, "I am praying that God will break me out of this downward spiral." I ponder her concern, lifting it to God, and I am drawn to page 176 in The Hidden Life to deepen and widen my prayer for my friend. Betty Skinner, my now ninety year old friend, explains: "Year after year, I sat there and pondered all that God was teaching me. I sat there [...]
Fear And Anger Turn To Joy
Good morning... God is able to communicate with us on multiple levels every single day. After I posted yesterday's blog in the middle of the night, "The gift of the gold finch," I saw several of gold finches while on my 9:00 am walk with a friend to and from the horse farm. Walking round and round the familiar trail several times a week, I always see lots of blue birds, lots of cardinals, [...]