Good morning... I have never met Mary, but yesterday she wrote: "Hi Sue, I saw your devotionals about brokenness and the verse in today’s has been one I have experienced so personally the last year and a half (He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds [healing their pain and comforting their sorrow] Psalm 147:3). I wanted to share what I [...]
Good morning... As I pushed "send" on yesterday's message "With God Weather Life," a quirky song welled up from my soul, through my heart, and into my mind. Enjoy God's gift shared through the voice of Ellie Holcomb. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds [healing their pain and comforting their sorrow] (Psalm 147:3). ...Sue... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5CpH5iBXZc [...]
Good Morning... As I walked the beach last summer, I saw tons of broken seashells. Picking up various shells, I noticed their unique beauty, their one-of-a-kind shape, texture, color. I wondered with each, “What story do you have to tell?” Weathering. The word weathering filled my mind. To weather is to bear up against and come safely through trouble [...]
Good morning... I received a surprise email from one of the directors from my two year spiritual direction training program. From Cleveland, Ohio she wrote: "Hoping the event goes well for Same Kind of Different as Me. I am asking God to bless your effort to reach out to others about with the message of this story. I am [...]
Good Morning... On her Facebook page our friend Laura Deisley wrote these words last week: "Fred Rogers often told this story about when he was a boy and would see scary things on the news: My mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' To this day, especially in times [...]
Good Morning... Another benefit of being the first awake on a mountain retreat is the joy of choosing one mug from the many. I picked mine in a groggy state - picked one with words - that's about all I noticed. And its size - it was the biggest of the bunch - more coffee sips to savor. As [...]
Good Morning... Being the first awake at our writers' retreat offers a plethora of pleasures. I embody Richard Foster's quote: my "spirit is on tiptoe - alert and listening." The air is dark. Alone time, peaceful. Quiet rings in my ears as I perch on the open-air porch, filling my open-blank journal. What is that sound? Critters rub their [...]
Good Morning... I was the first to wake in my friend's mountain home. Surprise. Surprise. As I shuffled my way down the stairs in the dimly lit dark, I noticed a children's book sitting in a pile on the third step from the bottom: Same Kind of Different As Me For Kids: Everybody Can Help Somebody by Ron Hall [...]
Good Morning... As I nestled in for the annual retreat weekend with my Writing Sisters from Northside Church, my cell phone read, "No Service." Initially I was frustrated, afraid I might miss something important with family and friends back home. Yet over time I felt my anxiety melt into the mountains of Highlands, North Carolina, and I settled softly into my [...]
Good Morning... Remember the huge tree that fell in our yard during the high, drenching winds of Hurricane Irma? From various tree removal companies, we got estimate after estimate. When we settled on the crew that would care for our old oak, my husband met with the coordinator to discuss all the details. After they talked, my husband told me, "Instead [...]
