Good morning... "Take your sails out of their wind." I am not sure when I first heard this wise phrase, but I am learning to put it into practice regularly. When the fierce winds of crazy conflict start picking up speed inside and around us, we take down our sails. When anxious winds begin gusting hard in our direction, do [...]
Good morning... I recently told this story off the top of my head, but it is much more meaningful when read from the book. "Connie's son started wearing an earring. She became annoyed and told her husband, 'I'm going to pray his ears bleed!' But as her prayers took on the contemplative tone of surrendering instead of managing and [...]
Good morning... Inside the funeral bulletin silently rested a powerful insert. I have returned to the words again and again, intrigued by their challenge. ****** Excerpt from The Tree of Life by Terrance Malick Job imagined he might build his nest on high - that the integrity of his behavior would protect him against misfortune. And his friends thought, [...]
Good morning... I wondered as I left an important meeting, "How and when will I know which steps to take?" Driving home in silent turmoil, music from within surprised my meandering mind: "I need You, God, I need You. Every hour I need You. My one defense. My righteousness. Oh, God, how I need You." Wisdom dawned. I do not [...]
Good morning... Traveling into a hard day, a hard decision, a hard dialogue? Open or closed? The choice is ours. "As they continued their travel, Jesus entered a village," says the Bible in Luke 10:38-42 (MSG). A woman by the name of Martha welcomed him and made him feel quite at home. She had a sister, Mary, who sat before [...]
Good morning... At our final Bible study gathering for the semester, we each identified "Words of the Soul," words, sentences, and quotes we would take with us from our Friday discussions of Jan Johnson's When the Soul Listens. Collectively, some of our most memorable words are: Pause. Listen. Wait. Trust. Space. Abide. Soak. Favorite sentences include: "Jesus is relentlessly [...]
Good morning... Walking with my friend, we were stunned to see a dying cardinal lying on the sidewalk. The little creature was slowly moving his bright red head, looking around, blinking his eyes, but his chubby body was stationary, paralyzed on the pavement. When I said, "Oh, let's pick him up and put him in a soft, private place," I [...]
Good morning... Collaging my journal at our With God Weather Life retreat, I cut from a magazine this poignant poem and pasted it on the inner flap of my journal's front cover. These words hold up for us a meaningful mirror as we examine our hearts this first day of December. ****** Morning Chores by Joann Nesser I pick [...]
Good morning... "Grief is just love with nowhere to go," lingers a line from his recent funeral. When we are face to face, we can show love. We can share love. We can express love. We can receive love. We can shower love. We can speak love. We can exchange love. We can hear love. We can touch love. [...]
Good morning... When caught in grief's riptide, how do we survive? Rip currents are powerful, channeled currents flowing us away from the safety of the shore. To learn about surviving grief, I google "What to do when caught in a riptide." Here are the eight top tips one article teaches. Watch the waves. Remain alert for storms brewing on [...]
