Rest Is Sweet, Light, Gentle
Good morning... Moonlight peeks through the shutters above our tub. "Another full moon is on her way," I think, noticing the slow passage of time. I am grateful for the tiny bladder of our little thirteen year old dog, Gracie. She takes me outside in the middle of most nights. Without stepping barefoot into the dark, cooling air, I would miss the exquisite smells, sounds, and sights of each ordinary night. [...]
Abide In The Quiet Of Now
Good morning... As the moon thickens above our home, I think back on our sacred weekend at the Ignatius House Retreat Center. Abiding in the quietness of now, I pull out my hand-scribbled notes. I return to the first quote shared on Friday night, the first teaching, the first song. "I remind myself that we are never promised anything," wrote author Jeanne Duprau, "and that what control we can exert is not over [...]
Death. Divorce. Depression.
Good morning... Up in the middle of night's darkness, I wonder, "God, where do we begin praying for loved ones facing death, divorce, depression?" I pull out a poem we received at this weekend's retreat at Ignatius House, and I whisper it out loud on behalf of all who are in pain, dear ones hurting deeply. ****** “Beloved Is Where We Begin” by Jan Richardson, from Circle of Grace If you would enter [...]
Night Heralds The Dawn
Good morning... On retreat at Ignatius House Retreat Center, we savored words from the New Zealand Prayer Book before we headed into two days and two nights of silence. Then we quietly stepped outside at the setting of the sun. Meandering through the gorgeous grounds, I took pictures of the blossoming night. The night is for stillness. [...]
A Mosaic Of Broken Pieces
Good morning... When a friend sent me the image above, everything inside me nodded. "A mosaic does not hide it's broken pieces." Why should I? God can hold every fragment of my story and gather them into something beautiful. The Eternal is still creating with me a life marked by grace. In the light of day, the Eternal shows me His love. When night settles in and all is dark, He keeps me [...]
Teetering On Life Or Death
Good morning... On Tuesday morning, we returned again to our therapeutic community group on the PAWkids campus in Grove Park. Men and women. Young and old. Black and white. We gathered again following our summer break. For our activity, we chose various cards from a deck of images to give voice to things we've experienced since last seeing each other in May. I chose a person holding a baby, telling them about my [...]
Lifting Prayers For Margit
Good morning... While at Northside Church on Sunday morning, I received a sad text from my dad in Ohio. "I just received a message from Margit," he wrote. "She said, 'I am very sick, and I probably won't make it home.'" Margit, a long time friend who lives in Norway, is journeying with pancreatic cancer. Margit stayed with our family for a year in 1975, her junior year in high school, my 7th [...]
I’m The Kick-Off Speaker
Good morning... Every August, I am the kick-off speaker for Lovett Moms In Prayer, a committed group of mothers who gather weekly to pray for the various needs of The Lovett School community. Every year I love gathering with this group of young women, a group that changes a bit annually, as kindergarteners arrive and high school seniors graduate. It's always a sweet reminder for me, with our kids' Lovett years in the [...]
We Build A Firm Foundation
Good morning... As the sun sets on summer, every August I am given the opportunity to speak in all three worship services at Northside Church. Northside is a welcoming place, offering two traditional services at 8:30 and 11:15 am and a contemporary service at 9:00 am, with a designated Sunday school hour for adults and for kids at 10:10 am. Yesterday was my day to speak, and I loved connecting with friends of [...]
Shed Control. Watch In Awe.
Good morning... I have always been puzzled by Proverbs 9:10a: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Things we fear we often avoid, we cower beneath, we put up our guard against. To avoid, to cower, to guard against the Lord does not seem wise to me. For the very first time this Proverb made sense when a friend defined "fear" as "a sense of reverent awe in the presence [...]
Cathy Snapp Inspires Us
Good morning... Several people wrote to me after yesterday's blog post, a post highlighting the ever-widening Circle of Love sparked by the life of Christian mystic Betty Skinner. Many of you wondered, "Is there a required registration for Dr. Cathy Snapp's talk?" (See flyer above.) I wondered that myself, so I reached out to the organizers and learned that the event is offered at no charge, but they would like us to register [...]
Betty Is Beside Us
Good morning... While on retreat Monday and Tuesday, we spread out into delightfully inviting guest rooms. One friend brought me into her room, and said, "Sue, look what's on my bedside table." Wow. It was The Circle of Love, a small, hardback book of meditations written by my spiritual mentor Betty Skinner. How dear. We just happened to open the book to Betty's poem entitled "Mountain House." As I read the words out [...]