Good morning.. I went out our back gate and strolled down the familiar sidewalk, knowing that if anyone walked my way I would social distance on the other side of the street. No person came near, but a small, peaceful bunny hopped up beside me. I stood watching the calm creature, lifting a prayer for my forever friend [...]
Good morning... "On one level, shut-ins allow ordinary people to approximate the experience of 'cloistering,'" our blog post said the morning I unexpectedly woke with achy symptoms (see our post A Cold Or COVID?). "But on another level, shut-ins focus the attention of the community on tarrying. Although prayers can be as diverse as those who utter them, [...]
Good morning... "While the Fourth of July, 1776, is the day America declared independence from Great Britain, people of color were not able to celebrate that same freedom," explains a letter I recently received from my spiritual direction training program. "On July 4th, 1852, here is what Frederick Douglass said in his speech The Meaning of July Fourth [...]
Good morning... I woke yesterday congested, with a scratchy throat, possibly a bit of a fever. It is common for me to get a summer cold, out in the heat and back into the air conditioning, swimming in a pool and hanging out with wet hair. Hence the term "common cold." I know what to do when I [...]
Good morning... "Tarrying, in the African American Church, is a big deal," she emailed me after yesterday's post, Come Rest, which unpacked the meaning of the word tarry. "This word just happens to be in my reading for today. Very interesting description of what tarrying means within this group." She emailed me a snapshot of a single page [...]
Good morning... "I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses," a song stirs in me after yesterday's post, In Her Rose Garden. "And the voice I hear falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses. And He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am his [...]
Good morning... Our family is caring for a friend's home and dog while their family is away. I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting her roses, snapping pictures, marveling at God's intricate beauty. What life lessons have I learned while meandering through her rose garden, and which Bible verses whisper God's truth in my ears, my eyes, and my heart? [...]
Good morning... Pictured above, I saved this "peace lily plant" years ago when the previous owner was throwing her in the trash. After I tenderly nursed her back to life, she now rests just over the threshold of our front door, bathed in sunlight, welcoming in guests. She has lived in our home for years and years, but [...]
Good morning... It seems to me, grey is the color of waiting. Not old, not new. Not now, not yet. No agenda, no time frame. No end of the tunnel, no finish line in sight. I think back to my most fertile times of waiting, when new life was gestating inside my womb, out of my sight, expanding [...]
Good morning... Her short text included one soulful sketch created by Atlanta artist Danielle Coke. Postive. Powerful. Process-oriented, right? And I will give them one heart [a new heart], and put a new spirit within them. I will take from them the heart of stone, and will give them a heart of flesh [that is responsive to [...]
