A Total Eclipse Of Our Heart
Good morning... In much of Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, the enormity and regularity of God's rhythms, set in motion before the beginning of time, will be on full display today, April 8th, 2024. Now up in the middle of the night, I prayerfully research and happily discover. Wikipedia tells us that "a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, briefly obscuring the view of the Sun from [...]
Surrender Everything Now
Good morning... This meaningful hand-hewn birthday gift became the central figure in our Friday class yesterday. With all of us wired very differently to thrive in this world, but the one thing we all have in common is our deep need to surrender everything to God, if we are to grow up into our God-gifted true self. We turned over the card and read this prayer on the back. [...]
Read Slow And Breathe
Good morning... Spending quality time with a friend who is seventy-eight years old, I read aloud to her this poem written by Becky Hemsley. "I have spent my whole life trying to please people," she responded. "It's exhausting and impossible. This poem gives me permission to just breathe and be me." Now as you read aloud this life-giving poem, slow and soft, might you also sense the same invitation? [...]
Feel Everything Often
Good morning... Returning to our collective wisdom, I pulled out my page of notes from our therapeutic community group at PAWkids on Tuesday morning. These words strengthened me for unexpectedly hard moments ahead. We can’t selectively feel our emotions. We can’t choose the “good” ones without dealing with the “bad" ones. Our feelings are all intertwined. I don’t like feeling… lonely, angry, confused, depressed. I do like feeling… hopeful, amazed, peaceful, bonded. Might [...]
My Heart Feels Broken
Good morning... On Monday during the wee hours of the morning, I posted a Scripture referring to "all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe." Then on Tuesday night when I woke to write, our website was weirdly "broken." Unable to craft a blog message, yesterday our written word community went without. Later in the day, with the help of our web designer, we were able to create a template for this post, [...]
All Of Our Broken Pieces
Good morning... "Christ Holds It All Together" reads the heading above Colossians 1:15-20 in the Message translation. As we bullet point the wisdom of this lively section of Scripture, we begin to sense why the risen Christ is so essential to our entire existence. We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely [...]
Is The Tomb A Womb?
Good morning... In the dark of this night, I feel drawn to page 154 in one of my favorite books, When the Heart Waits, by Sue Monk Kidd. I return to the section entitled EASTERING. Midway through the next page I read: "My thoughts about Jesus waiting in the tomb for Easter began to blend with the thoughts I had during the week about the soul waiting in the womb for new birth. [...]
A Gift On Good Friday
Good morning... I brought two good friends with me to the Maundy Thursday service at Northside Church yesterday. After reading about Jesus serving his first communion at the Last Supper (Luke 22:14-23) and his painful struggle to surrender to the will of God in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-53), we were all invited to kneel at the welcoming communion table. The final scripture [...]
People Live With Cancer
Good morning... A friend's comment caused an important shift. "People do not die of cancer," she said. "People live with cancer." I suppose it is the same with Alzheimers, heart disease, and grief. With the moments we are given, might we ask, "God, how might I best live this day?" It was almost time for the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that it was time for him to leave this world and go back [...]
When Cancer Spreads
Good morning... In the middle of this droopy, drizzly night, I think back on the most meaningful two hours of this week. On Sunday night, Elizabeth, the 38-year-old daughter-in-law of our dear friend Joan, shared a really hard post, explaining that her colon cancer had spread. "Any chance you all can have lunch with Joan and I tomorrow?" a friend texted a handful of us after hearing the news. "She has requested each [...]
When Life Feels Clouded Over
Good morning... In the place where the full moon exists, I see only layers of clouds. Anticipating fullness of light, this night feels anticlimactic, a drooping disappointing. The soupy, grey sky mirrors our hearts as our hopes for a permanent solution, for lasting relief, for fullness of life feel clouded over. Prayers fall limp. High hopes feel dashed. Life goes on, but unexpectedly different. God's full moon still exists tonight. We just don't [...]
Without Our Dogs
Good morning... Without our dogs, I would miss so much. Finger-to-fur time. Companionship on walks. Eyes that melt the tensions of life. Adorable sleeping snores. The loud lapping of water. The funny habit of flipping and chasing food. A loving ear to lean on, always. Whole-bodied happiness as anyone walks in the door. Without our dogs, I would miss so much. Top on my list today is this: I would have missed my [...]