I’m Here. I’m Listening.
Good morning... God's voice whispers all over our everyday lives, yet each of us sometimes wonder, "How do I know when I am actually hearing from God?" One creative answer to this deeply important question comes to us in the spoken word of a powerful poet. "Great poem from Amena Brown!" wrote a friend from our Sunday afternoon group. "Some of you probably already know of her - she lives here in Atlanta. [...]
We Freed A Hawk On Our Walk
Good morning... Yesterday I met up with a friend for a walk-and-talk early, before the high heat of the day set in like soup. She happened to be nannying for a baby, pushing the cute redhead in a stroller. Our usual weekly routine includes walking through the entrance to the horse farm on Polo Lane, but this day our regular habit was interrupted by the closed front gate. With no ability to slip [...]
Our Thick, Dark Jumble
Good morning... Last week, our therapeutic community group began meeting again at PAWkids in the Grove Park neighborhood of our city. Men and women, young and old, black and white, how wonderful it felt to be back together again. Gathering after our summer break felt like coming home. Then yesterday, one group member was battling an ugly infection in his swollen mouth. Waking in pain, he reached out for help. One man in [...]
We All Worry
Good morning... As I prepared with God for my annual kickoff talk with the Lovett School Moms In Prayer group, I sensed one thing we all have in common: we all worry. We don't want to worry. We don't plan to worry. We don't have to be taught to worry. Our human minds just seem to automatically worry. We worry about the welfare of our children, sports, friends, belonging. We worry about the [...]
Bridging The Holy, Hazy Unknown
Good morning... In honor of a few friends facing immense transition, this weekend I created the wordless prayer card above. "Thinking of you as you cross today's bridge into the holy, hazy unknown," I texted the image to each of these soul friends. As this new morning dawns, I expand the reach of my wordless prayer to gently touch you, my soulful friend. As the haze lifts on a this unique day, may [...]
When Our Old Life Burns Away
Good morning... I prayerfully bow my head and read one vulnerable sentence. "The fires crept up on residents and tourists of the Hawaii island of Maui on Aug. 8," a news feed said seven minutes ago, "as a perfect storm of strong winds and dry conditions left Maui vulnerable to what state officials say has become the deadliest natural disaster in the state's history." Profound is [...]
Where Love And Hatred Meet
Good morning... She also loved the same profound sentence from yesterday's post, The Mathematics of Love. "Your love has a math that compounds according to the mystical science of the cross." Opening wide the blessing, she read aloud to me a poem about God's compounding love. Now it's our turn to embody these words, to read slowly and to ponder deeply the mystical science of the cross. [...]
The Mathematics Of Love
Good morning... "Sue and Steve," a longtime friend emailed my husband and me yesterday. "Sending blessings to the two of you who minister to so many in so many ways. I bet you already have this resource, but I’m forwarding in case you don't. Steve, I am praying for you and our community at Lovett as we begin a new school year. God is in the mix!" Then she shared with us the [...]
Audrey Amazes Everyone
Good morning... This wordless prayer card I created, which remains front and center for me this week, depicts my deepest desire for Audrey DeShetler: May she live to be a wise, old woman. A resilient eighteen year old, who is battling through her fifth relapse, Audrey was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at age five. Being treated with risky radioactive therapy at the Children's Healthcare of Philadelphia, Audrey amazed the doctors as her body processed [...]
I Want To Know…
Good morning... It doesn't interest me to know... what my husband and I will look like as we age. I want to know... how to connect amid the toxicity of our world. I want to know... how to rise above my self-protection (my clenched fists, my rushing forward, my eyes down), rising above to let my true colors come out to play. I want to [...]
Family Photos Whisper Truth
Good morning... With our oldest son's wedding less than three weeks away, we pulled out our plastic picture bin to search for framable photos for the rehearsal dinner. Along with lots of fun pictures of Kyler and Chandler as a couple, we will include photos from our own wedding, from her parents' wedding, and from the weddings of the four sets of grandparents grounding our family tree. Wandering through a visual lineage of [...]
We All Need Help
Good morning... The Holy Spirit of God gives power, wisdom, and guidance to all of us, each day. How often do we fully access this gracious gift? But this is what God told the prophet Joel to say, “When the last days come, I will give my Spirit to everyone. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will have dreams. In those days I [...]