Good morning... Our soul stirs, soothes, speaks, as we walk quietly into the woods, sit patiently at the base of a tree, and fade into our surroundings like Parker Palmer recommends in A Hidden Wholeness. "You will likely be surprised at what your soul wants to say to God," concludes Ruth Haley Barton. As we unpack authentic intimacy [...]
Good morning... We discussed chapter two in our book for the semester, Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation by Ruth Haley Barton. Solitude. Creating Space for God. For me, this felt like an inviting chapter title. As always, we began our prayer time with several moments of silence to listen more keenly to the birds, our [...]
Good morning... "I need to change my attitude," she admitted by email. "I realized my heart has to change first." Then she shared with me a quirky song. Pared down. Honest. Blemishes and all. I am not quite sure why I love this low budget music video, but somehow it touches my heart. Escort me into your truth; [...]
Good morning... I listened and learned from my friend as we talked by phone on her way to work, my friend who has no umbrella in this hurricane season of her life. Then I drove twelve minutes downtown to PAWkids, a non-profit agency supporting kids and their families in the most poverty-stricken portion of our city. After our [...]
Good morning... A friend who is juggling a ton of extreme stressors called me on her way to work. "People who do not understand keep asking, 'Are you taking care of yourself?'" she explained. "Stopping to take care of myself amid all of this craziness would be like holding up an umbrella in a hurricane. Hard, driving rains [...]
Good morning... My husband Steve is a multi-faceted guy. Husband and father. Son and brother. High school teacher, chaplain, and wrestling coach. Good friend, loyal listener, and honest communicator. But one thing you may not know about Steve is this: he loves leading groups on trips to Israel. Every other year, Steve shepherds Lovett students in footprints left [...]
Good morning... After our sacred celebration of Betty Skinner's life, I moved to a rustic rental with Kitty Crenshaw and Dr. Cathy Snapp, authors of The Hidden Life Awakened. Our goal was to map out the rhythm of our "Awake To Wholeness Women's Retreat" being hosted at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church on November 6th. Curled up beneath [...]
Good morning... When we arrived at the trailhead of Rock Mountain in Cashiers, N.C., we spread out one by one to experience the sacred trek. "I feel like one of Betty's bridesmaids," I thought to myself as I took my first steps. Our destination for the day was a private spot Betty Skinner called Julian's Rock. Day after [...]
Good morning... Yesterday morning I clicked on the small lamp beside my guest bed to see my shorthaired Betty angel holding a tiny red leaf from our holy hike up the North Carolina mountain to lay to final rest the ashes of our spiritual mentor. I checked my phone to read 7:23. Instead of writing a blog post, [...]
Good morning... In her blog post from The Hidden Life Awakened website, this week co-author Kitty Crenshaw shared with us a loving update. ***** Dearest Friends, Betty is gone now, but the peace of her presence is with us in a new and perhaps more powerful way. She often said, "I can do more for you from there than [...]
