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 [...]
On My 61st Birthday
Good morning... On my 61st birthday, I wake to an empty home, two dogs, and one spring birthday doll. My husband is away in Nicaragua, checking out a possible location for his upcoming new adventure as travel director for Lovett Expeditions. One daughter is in a wedding in Nashville, Tennessee; the other daughter is visiting with college friends in Dallas, Texas. Our sons are in Athens, Georgia; one a graduating UGA senior, the [...]
Life’s Secret Is Simple
Good morning... In the middle of the night, I pull out the "blob tree" tree that I crafted during our therapeutic community group at PAWkids this week. I know there is violence on the corner of a distant branch. I know there is loneliness and isolation and despair. But, feeling like the purple person on the perch, I also know the absolute joy of authentic community. As often as I can, I try [...]
Let Beauty And Terror Happen
Good morning... As she read to me over the phone this poem by Ranier Maria Rilke, I calmed into my body in a very settled way. "Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final. Don't let yourself lose me." Embodying this whisper, everything is okay. I take God up on the offer, letting my hand be held. I keep [...]
The Luxury Of Sleep
Good morning... "God, thank You for allowing me to sleep through the night." This prayer fills me as I wake. Extended sleep is a rare occurrence for me, a listening nocturnal writer. "7:34," says my phone as I take my first peek. What a restorative luxury, this sleeping through the night. Now my prayers lift a protective covering over all who wake from a sleepless night. The hungry. The homeless. The hostages. Their [...]
Five Deaths And One Life
Good morning... Many have lost loved ones this week all over the globe, but personally I have been touched by five deaths and one life. "I shed a few tears on the way to work," my husband said after school last Monday. "Eric Carmen died over the weekend, and they were playing his songs in tribute. I used to listen to his albums all the time growing up." Born in Cleveland, Ohio near [...]
My Most Vulnerable Post
Good morning... I am still processing my most vulnerable post from this month, "Did I Suck As A Teacher?" When I taught the Enneagram to a new group of women, I let the Spirit lead. By the end of the interactive night, I felt like God left us all in the confusing dark, not understanding this ancient tool measuring our spiritual growth into Christlikeness, not knowing which Enneagram number might most resemble our [...]
A New Prayer For Anxiety
Good morning... "A dear friend sent this to me," she texted yesterday. "Thought it was too lovely not to share with my other dear friend Sue!" With too many cooks in my mind's chaotic kitchen, I opened the blog post. Breathing. Focusing. Taking time. I fed on calming wisdom. ****** A New Prayer for Anxiety by Esther Liu, March 7, 2024 Living with anxiety is hard. Yet as finite beings in a fallen [...]
Enjoy The Good Stuff
Good morning... Up in the middle of the night, I read the Post Hope blog message crafted by Elizabeth, the daughter-in-law of my longtime soul friend. Elizabeth has been invited to share her story at a gala for the American Cancer Society tonight. Prayers go out to her, her friends and her family as they attend this long awaited evening. As she faces the highs and lows of nurturing her young family while [...]
Our Ghastly Struggle
Good morning... Evil is not a word I use very often. Yet, in yesterday's post I shared the words from Romans 12:21 bleached into my tattered shirt: "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." After waking from my second sleep, I re-read our blog post before opening a weekly devotional sent to my inbox. There was the word again. Evil. "If I did not believe," says the Dorothy Day [...]
My Act Of Hope
Good morning... I voted yesterday in the Georgia primary election, a voting endeavor which had a pre-determined outcome before I walked through the little church doors. Neither of the two front running presidential candidates needed my single vote, so why did I take time out of my full Tuesday to cast a ballot? I am committed to living out the Bible verse etched into the shirt I recently purchased from two black teens [...]
The Lighthouse: A Story Of Restoration
Good morning... As I have shared with you, this season in my life is saturated with learning and teaching about the Enneagram, a study of the nine basic types of people we meet in the world. This dynamic measure of spiritual transformation, conceived of by the Christian desert mothers and fathers in the fourth century, helps to explain why we behave the way we do. It allows us to identify when we are [...]