Receiving As We Send
Good morning... As I send the Spirit's stirrings in yesterday's post, Listening To Learn, God's mysterious voice echos back. "In Less Than Fifteen Minutes," is the title of her early morning poem immediately received by my inbox. Much like me, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer writes in sync with the song of the bird. Where God's divine guidance through me ends, the Spirit's wisdom through Rosemerry begins. ****** As easy as stepping out the door, [...]
Listening To Learn
Good morning... After days of drizzly rain, I stepped outside with our dogs at dawn. For the first time this approaching spring, I heard an invisible bird sing, sing, sing. Melodic. Mesmerizing. Mysteriously unseen. I stood a while in the soggy grass, admiring the playful song. This early morning experience drew me to a book I have loved for so so long, The Song of the Bird by Anthony de Mello. Inspired by [...]
Pay Attention. Now.
Good morning... "Now pay attention," God whispers in Revelation 3:20 in the VOICE translation. "I am standing at the door and knocking. If any of you hear My voice and open the door, then I will come in to visit with you and to share a meal at your table, and you will be with Me." Now. Paying attention to God is not easy. Wars. Worries. Wondering "Why?" Doubts. Distractions. Deep divides. Fears. [...]
Wise Words For Tender Times
Good morning... Last week, I posted a poem shared by a friend from our Friday morning class. ****** some types of sadness by Cleo Wade some types of sadness appear and vanish a quick hello & goodbye some types of sadness linger like a moon cycling through its phases in your being full half a sliver barely there but there do not lose hope for on the darkest night the lightless moon is [...]
Why Be Stingy?
Good morning... I love the way God bubbles up to blossom between us. The Holy Spirit nudged a loyal friend to share encouragement with our class yesterday: "Thinking of each of you and your families this 3rd Sunday in Lent. What a beautiful reflection below from my ever-favorite Henri Nouwen." ****** The Spring of Living Water by Henri Nouwen from Show Me the Way - Daily Lenten Readings, 1992 In the midst of [...]
It’s Never Too Early To Plan With Peace
Good morning... For thirteen consecutive years, our Women's Ministry at Northside Church hosted an annual gathering each spring. We called the well-attended evening event the "Women's Lenten Communion Service." Each year, we would invite a different woman from our faith community to share an uplifting talk about some pressing issue we might face in our lifetime. Together we tackled many important topics. Cancer and our journey through. Divorce and remarriage. Mental illness in [...]
Two Moms Went To Heaven
Good morning... Over the past several months, we have prayed diligently for my mom to pull through surgery after surgery and, gratefully, she is now slowly healing at home with my dad. At the same time, two other friends have said "goodbye" to their mothers on earth, releasing them to God's eternal care in the home of heaven. "Good morning Sue," one friend wrote this week from Florida. "My heart breaks for the [...]
My Muddled Emotions
Good morning... When I arrived at our therapeutic community group at PAWkids yesterday morning, I didn't know what "blob" from the "blob tree" described how I felt (this is a check-in ritual we share each week). My emotions were deeply muddled. I had just received a return text from a close friend who lives in Athens, Georgia, and, overwhelmed by her words, I read them out loud to the trusted men and women [...]
Polar Opposites Melt Together
Good morning... "Soak with me a while," I sense God whisper, as I snap this photo on a busy afternoon. The dark and the light. The cream and the color. The wet and the dry. The simple and the sacred. When the Spirit leads, opposites melt together. Within us and around us, opposites melt together. It doesn't take long to take quality time with God. A silent soak is well worth the investment. [...]
When Our World Feels On Fire
Good morning... She shared with us a photo when we met for class, a photo from St. Luke's church in Baton Rouge (her husband's parents' church) that burned last weekend. We marveled at the cross standing strong amid the fiery devastation. As I later read about the fire, I was struck by this hopeful line shared by Father Bryan Owen: "In the face of adversity, let us find solace and strength in our [...]
A Murder And A Suicide
Good morning... My prayers are sent forth to the families and friends of the two young people who died this week at the University of Georgia. A young woman was murdered while on a run in a familiar area and a young man hung himself in a freshman dorm. Classes were canceled yesterday as the whole community processes fear, shock, grief. God, I don't know how You might bring healing out of all [...]
Our Personal Transformation
Good morning... "The essence of Christian spirituality is following Christ on a journey of personal transformation," explains David G. Benner in Sacred Companions: The Gift of Spiritual Friendship & Direction. "The distant land to which we are called . . . is the new creature into which Christ wishes to fashion us - the whole and holy person that finds his or her uniqueness, identity and calling in Christ." If you have heard [...]