Good morning... Freeing myself from the overgrowth of unimportant, I have spent the last week thinning out, pruning back, unsubscribing from the email lists of various establishments. Office Max. Home Deposit. Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye. Weight Watchers. Michael's Craft Store. Fantasy Football News. Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye. Pure Barre. Dick's Sporting Goods. Blue Mountain Cards. Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye. To tell you the truth, I do not even know how most of these [...]

Good morning... Several years back my kids' school played their rival football team right up the street and many in our community poured into the stands. It was a hard fought battle, back and forth, back and forth. The intensity was high, the competition thrilling. I do not remember who won the game (which means we probably lost!) but I do recall the overwhelming excitement and I do remember one other thing. As this [...]

Good morning... How do you remember which is which - stationary or stationery? This thought helps my dyslexic brain: the first vowel is "a" and we first need to be stationary, not moving, fixed. We rest motionless, immobile, anchored. From this place of stillness, we pull out our stationery, our writing materials, our pen, paper, and envelope. That leads my brain to another question - is it envelope or envelop? We keep the "e" [...]

Good morning... I am taking the night time shift of prayer on the behalf of my friend undergoing surgery in the morning. With her family accompanying her to Washington D.C. to support her through this leg of her cancer journey, her daughter posted a beautiful, heartfelt list of specific requests. "Some of you have asked for specific things to meditate on and pray for during our trip, so I've got a few for you. [...]

Good morning... Simple pleasures are truly the best. The aroma and taste of my freshly brewed coffee. Breathing in the big sky on my private back porch. Following a hot bath, the tender touch of a Q-tip relieving moisture from my ears. Simple pleasures are truly the best. The challenge for all of us is slowing down enough to notice, to appreciate, to savor with all of our senses the tiny blessings sprinkled throughout [...]

Good morning... I could wake up my 14 year old son 15 minutes earlier so that he could ride to school with his 16 year old sister. It took some angry clashing to realize that she wants to arrive early and he wants to take his good ole morning time. So, instead of finding a happy middle ground, her waiting a little for him, him waking a few minutes early for her, I volunteered [...]

Good morning... When I worked as a play therapist, I had an option every day. I could drive Route 30 from my home in Gettysburg, PA, a straight, twenty minute shot to my office in New Oxford. Or I could leave my home a little bit earlier and meander for thirty minutes, twisting-and-turning through farmlands strewn with cows, barns, and horses, weaving through the countryside of nature's colors, smells, and sounds. Over time, I [...]

Good morning... One of my favorite forms of therapy is sand tray therapy, a method of self expression using a tray of sand and a shelf full of miniature items symbolizing objects or people or experiences in a person's world. The client sitting in front of me, either a child or an adult, would choose from my shelf any miniatures sparking an emotional response. A curious intrigue. A negative reaction. A positive attraction to [...]

Good morning... I will never forget a boy named Corey. Trained as a play therapist and counseling in a non-profit agency in New Oxford, PA, I first met Corey as a scared five year old who was hiding beneath the glass coffee table in our waiting room. Loved deeply by his mom and abused harshly by his dad, Corey had a lot of healing to do. Corey and I met together most weeks for [...]

Good morning... When is the last time you were invited to a 4 year old birthday party? What honor I felt when my soulful, new neighbor sent me an invitation to her son's dinosaur birthday party. In an instant, would you not check "yes" to this adorable Evite? "Join us to celebrate the birthday of our almost 4 year old and resident paleontologist 🙂 We plan to have pizza and cake for all (please [...]

Good morning... I was in a bit of a funk. Battling self doubt orchestrated by God's enemy, I worried that the words pouring from my fingertips were losing power, getting ho-hum, limping ineffective. A few nights back, I prayerfully journaled onto the page my soul-searching angst. God must have been listening. Look at portions of an email greeting me in my inbox the very next morning. She wrote to me personally: "Good morning Sue. [...]

Good morning... Awareness is an interesting thing. When I am in a deeply contemplative state, quietly calm, I rest relaxed down deep in my soul. When I am in a more frantic, frenzied state, I am up in my obsessive mind, struggling for control on the surface of myself. So it was very interesting to watch myself caught in a meditative state, called to give a cognitive response, and losing my words somewhere between [...]