Treasures In This Darkness
Good morning... Hurricane hell. Deep depression. Open heart surgery. Harsh cancer treatment. War and terror. Division, divorce, and death. Darkness seems to seep into every crevice of our wounding world. "The power of God's promise stunned me so much that I actually gasped out loud," writes Kay Warren on page 105 of Choose Joy. I will give you treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I [...]
Audrey’s Pivotal Week
Good morning... Audrey DeShetler has been living with neuroblastoma since she was five and a half years old. Now she is a freshman at Notre Dame, loving her new friends and her college experience. "She is doing so well at ND," her mom wrote yesterday. "She has a group of friends who include her in everything. They have long talks in the group. With medical treatments, she misses about 30% of her classes. [...]
Visiting Family In Ohio
Good morning... Living miles away makes a family visit even sweeter. With my mom's slow recovery from a series of serious surgeries, she has not felt up for a large family gathering since November of 2021. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder," explains the truth we experienced this weekend. On Friday evening, our immediate family of seven flew into my hometown of Berea, Ohio. [...]
Deep Needs In N.C.
Good morning... I have been emailing back and forth with my special friend, Gina Macfarland, who lives in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Yesterday, she sent me a very real, very touching documentary created to shed light on the vulnerable human experience in the wake of Hurricane Helene. "In all the heaviness, almost every time there is an equal amount of beauty in it, as well," explains one of the producers of this intensely [...]
Rooted In Tragedy
Good morning... During class yesterday, we read aloud Kay Warren's words on page 107 in Choose Joy. "But the reality is, this is earth, not heaven. Sin, pain, illness, loss, separation, grief, mental illness, financial ruin, death, and a whole host of other terrible circumstances happen on a daily basis, and each of us needs to prepare for dark days. And the thing is, you don't prepare for the emotional darkness by stockpiling [...]
Her Fullness Is Glowing
Good morning... Much like the moon, her fullness is glowing. After yesterday's post - "It's Cancer." - she put words to God's slow, steady process of healing her whole. "Dear Sue," she wrote. "God is still molding me. Even though more refining fires are needed to purify me, I am aware of and grateful for his guidance over the years, especially these last four since my husband died. Just last night as I [...]
“It’s Cancer.”
Good morning... Tonight the nearly full moon lit up the room, beaconing me outside. Barefoot I stood in the damp, cold grass, marveling at the light piercing the night. I thought of a book excerpt we read aloud in class this week from page 87 of Choose Joy by Kay Warren. "My brain froze," Warren writes. "I wanted to scream and I wanted to cry and I wanted to do everything at once. [...]
The Gift Of Exhaustion
Good morning... For many people, today is a day off. In local school districts, it is fall break. For others, it is the Canadian Thanksgiving. For still others, today is called "Indigenous Peoples' Day." "Indigenous Peoples' Day is a holiday in the United States that celebrates and honors Indigenous American peoples and commemorates their histories and cultures," explains Wikipedia. "It is celebrated across the United States on the second Monday in October, and [...]
Unclog Your Bathtub
Good morning... "Hi Sue," a longtime friend wrote to me this week. "Your blog about The Coffee Cup Analogy reminds me of something I heard on the radio years ago. The doctor (a psychologist, I believe) said your brain is like a bathtub, and genetics plays a role in the size of bathtub you have. When we encounter challenges and stress, our bathtub fills and can overflow. Our job is to make sure [...]
Finding Peace Of Mind
Good morning... Friday, November 15th has been excitedly filled in on my calendar for a very long time. My dear friend Dr. Cathy Snapp, Director of Behavioral Sciences and Professor at the Medical College of Georgia, will be one of the keynote speakers at the "Finding Peace of Mind" symposium hosted at The Carter Center. Then yesterday, I received a detailed description of the event to share with our written word community. Another [...]
The Coffee Cup Analogy
Good morning... Taking our dogs outside in the middle of this night, all is calm, all is dark. Instinctively, I turn toward the south and lift prayers for the lives being ravaged in Florida by the drenching winds and the storm surge of Hurricane Milton. Prayer. What does prayer do at a time like this? I lift prayers for God's presence to be with family members of friends and the vulnerable people I [...]
“That’s Not Okay.”
Good morning... As I was nudged awake by the Holy Spirit, I climbed out of bed and sat on our couch in the dark of night. A few ideas were dancing with the question, "God, what might I write about right now?" I prayed. I pondered. Then I paused. I opened an email just arriving in my inbox. The blessing below is what I experienced. Might you touch on the link and also [...]