Good morning... Just before preparing last night's family dinner, I turned in the manuscript for our 2018 Summertime Devotional. After hours and hours and still more and more hours, the passionate patchwork of our ninety-two favorite blog posts from this school year was sent as a cozy, completed quilt to the Creative Arts Director at Northside Church. She will [...]
Good morning... God inspired words for the pastor's sermon. The wisdom traveled into my friend's ear, through her fingers, onto a notecard that greets her daily on her bathroom mirror. She shared the G.R.A.C.E. acronym at our final Friday gathering, and emailed the Spirit-filled words to our interested group. Then I posted the acronym on our blog, We Grow G.R.A.C.E., [...]
Good morning... My dear friend emailed after yesterday's post, Hearing Me Let Go. "In the spirit of 'letting go,'” she wrote, "I share this precious story that my dad shared with me. He’s nearly 85, and his buddy from when he was a kid sends him all kinds of things that he finds online. Thinking of this story being [...]
Good morning... Hearing wisdom spoken feels different than reading truth with eyes alone. So I was intrigued when a friend told me of our well-loved poem being read aloud in a male's voice, "She Let Go." As I listen to this interestingly matter-of-fact rendition, I sense God seeing my subtle, silent bits of softly letting go. The eyes of [...]
Good morning... "I am so sorry to have missed our final meeting on Monday," she wrote after yesterday's post, Our Seasonal Life. "I have been meaning to email you to thank you for the semester and for the timeliness of the book in my own journey (Parker Palmer's Let Your Life Speak)." "Had I been able to be there [...]
Good morning... On the day she was retiring, our Monday afternoon class gathered for the last time this semester. At age 70, her health issues have made breathing more difficult, nudging her to close the doors to her counseling practice earlier than she had hoped. For years now, I have admired her giving into God's call to return to [...]
Good morning... "Blessings to you for daily messages that are life changing," she wrote after Revisiting Our Favorite Posts. "Sue - I am a creature of habit," a friend emailed. "I read your post every morning and love your daily messages. I have two to suggest to repeat this summer..." "Truly, ALL your messages are my favorites and special gifts [...]
Good morning... Those who have subscribed to our blog for a while now remember that in June, July, and August we revisit our favorite posts from the school year. Many of you share with me the titles of messages that have been most meaningful to you, I tally your responses, and I gift those words to the Creative Services [...]
Good morning... "I am grateful for not having to know in advance what God was planning for me," continues Henri Nouwen in the book I quoted in yesterday's post At Home With God. "But I am grateful as well for the new place that has been opened in me through all the inner pain." Nouwen continues: "I have a [...]
Good morning... God gives me space to connect the day's dots. I sit on our back porch eating chicken noodle soup, breathing in the breezy grey, admiring the dance of bushy green. Early I woke to a short and sweet email. "GRACE - another acronym I learned years ago: God's Riches At Christ's Expense." A few hours later, I [...]
