Good morning... "The facts of everyday life are a rich source for doomsday thinking and feeling," says Henri Nouwen in his 9.19.17 morning message. "But it is possible for us to resist this temptation and to stand with self-confidence in this world, never losing our spiritual ground, always aware that 'sky and earth will pass away' but the words [...]
Good morning... Yesterday at 6:11 am, I pressed "send" on my blog message entitled, "Unraveled, We Are Re-woven." At 7:24 am, a subscriber sent me yesterday's words from Sarah Young's Jesus Calling. Amplifying the voice of God, her message concludes: "You inhabit a fallen, disjointed world, where things are constantly unraveling around the edges. Only a vibrant relationship with [...]
Good morning... In God's perfect time, her testimonial came in too late to be included with your heartfelt testimonials rotating at the bottom of each of our "Sue To You" website pages. She gave me permission to share her words as a separate blog post, helping us all to better understand the powerful ministry of spiritual direction. "From the [...]
Good morning... Guiding wisdom lingers from this week's walk with a friend. "Doing the hard thing now eventually makes life easy. Doing the easy thing now eventually makes life hard." It is easy to do the easy thing. Avoid pain. React impulsively. Lie, cheat, shortcut. Skirt commitment to God, true self, and others. It is hard to do the [...]
Good morning... My own email address was dropped from my "Sue to You" subscription list again. The reason given? "I am no longer interested." Let me assure you, I am still very interested in listening to God with you, morning by morning. Glitches. We all have them. We all hate them. Yet, glitches hold up for us a very important [...]
Good morning... On my back porch, I ate my lunch in the post-storm sunshine. A butterfly flew around the corner of our home and rested on the table right beside me. Watching me as I watched her, she inched closer and fanned her black wings, spotted with shimmering turquoise and gold. I was amazed as this bold, brave creature [...]
Good morning... “I know you lost a beloved tree to Irma,” she kindly wrote in her email. “I hope any other losses are minimal.” Our old, sturdy tree toppled in the high, drenching winds. I never thought of a fallen tree as a key loss until my fingers and my keyboard formed my tender response. “We did lose our [...]
Good morning... "Hoping high tide doesn't bring the river into our living room," a friend texted from Jacksonville, Florida as Hurricane Irma slammed her state. "Please pray that the water recedes and we don't see the predicted 4-6 foot surge. Thank you." I lifted prayers all day and was grateful for her final message. "Waters came up to the [...]
Good morning... We wake to the rubble of another 9/11. Wet, windy, weepy. Rubble again. Be lifted by Chris Tomlin's 9/11 music video as God rains mercy on us all. I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 121:1-2, NIV). Today [...]
Good morning... Powerful. Widespread. Catastrophic. Explosive words wake the morning news. Loss of power. Devastation closes in. The damage is really just beginning. What do we do when we face the inevitable pain of powerlessness, intense darkness, lights out on the life we love? We open our Bible to experience the promises of Isaiah 58:10-12 expressed in the Message [...]
