The Lyrics Of Love
Good morning... She sang the perfect song for this Lenten season. Let's explore the lyrics of God's love before experiencing these powerful words brought to life. [Verse 1: Brandon Lake] It's so good I almost can't believe it Far beyond what hearts could ever dream The God who set the galaxies in motion Would descend to give His life for me [Pre-Chorus 1: Brandon Lake] For what could make perfection bleed for sinners? [...]
Who I Am, Really?
Good morning... As I was cleaning out my closet, I came across this card, a card filled with words I had written years ago during a spiritual retreat. I remember being on the annual retreat with our Northside Writers' Group, and we were given quality time to write about our sphere of influence, how we sense ourselves impacting the world in a significant way. After jotting down notes, we were guided to begin [...]
This 24 Hour Circle
Good morning... I began my 62nd birthday week writing a blog post entitled The Art of Aging. Now, look what I just found tucked on our bookshelf - a book entitled The Art of Aging by Sherwin B. Nuland. I vaguely remember a generous friend giving me this gift a while back, and I had yet to open its cover until this moment. On the pristine page before the Table of Contents, I [...]
Lift Your Voice
Good morning... In our reading for this week, our class discovered a unique quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on page 153 of Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer. "Whatever your life's work is, do it well... If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep the streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, like Shakespeare wrote poetry, like Beethoven composed music; sweep streets so well that all the host of [...]
Celebrating A Seder
Good morning... Last night, we enjoyed an ecumenical Unity Seder at Temple Emanu-el in Sandy Springs. What a fun and festive evening! A very large room was filled to the brim with people from various faith communities throughout our city. "Good people of all different faiths can come together to celebrate people of all faiths coming together," said one of our hosts for the evening. "The world needs it, this coming together." We [...]
Your One Particular Life
Good morning... Yesterday, I received this precious birthday card from my parents in Ohio. It blended beautifully with the touching poem I received at 7:30 am. "Birth-day" by Lucille Clifton blessed my inbox. The poem's first words and final words sum up our life at every age. today we are possible. what we will become waits in us like an ache. The particulars of our uniquely possible life, these particulars lie beyond our [...]
The Art Of Aging
Good morning... A handful of people disagreed with a quote I shared in our last post, a quote from John Mark Comer's book Practicing the Way. On page 74, Comer writes: “The spiritual teacher Pete Scazzero once told me a maxim that was passed on to him by an older, wiser mentor: ‘The best decade of your life will be your seventies, the second best will be your eighties, and the third best [...]
As I Turn 62
Good morning... As I turn 62 on Sunday, March 23rd, I am learning so many marvelous, new things. The best birthday cake is shared. A friend in our therapeutic community group shared with us a homemade pound cake. My piece to eat and my piece to take home were instead sliced and shared with about eight young adult strangers playing basketball at PAWkids. 2) [...]
Feel Joy Expand
Good morning... The cards I chose in our art activity this week highlighted the wisdom of Victor Frankel, laid out in Man's Search for Meaning. "Will I choose to behave like a swine (greedy, selfish, overindulgent) or will I choose to behave like a saint (peaceful, prayerful, at home in God's light)?" Through his experience in the concentration camp, Frankel came to believe that all of us have both swine and saint potentialities [...]
One Barefoot Artist
Good morning... In the morning, I watched the trailer below, a trailer for The Barefoot Artist, an inspirational documentary about Lily Yeh. "Our world is full of darkness. What can an artist do?" asks Yeh. At 84 years old, Lily is fueled by the profound belief that people can instill social change by creating art projects in some of the world's most troubled areas and empowering weakened spirits in deeply broken communities. Then [...]
Coping In Our World
Good morning... After our life-giving discussion, she sent us all a text: "I just read this poem and it makes me think of our book and the special bond within this group, as we each remind each other that the sun does indeed shine." ****** "Coping" by Audre Lorde It has rained for five days running the world is a round puddle of sunless water where small islands are only beginning to cope [...]
We Decide Who We Are
Good morning... On my own, I did not understand the material assigned for Sunday's discussion of Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankel. I needed our small group to help spark wise thoughts, make real connections, and weave random words into a warm cloak of wisdom. About ten or twelve of us talked through the chapter, finding our way to these final words on page 134. "In the concentration camps, for example, in [...]