Good morning... It seems to me, we have a choice to make. We can mindlessly let time take us or we can prayerfully learn the art of taking time. In Ephesians 5:11-16 (MSG), I discover a clarifying call to action. Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness (unconsciously numbing, going through the [...]
Good morning... I will always remember one phrase shared in our young moms' class this semester: "I would rather be late than be yelling." I ponder the roots beneath the fruits of this statement. The ancient Greeks had two words for time, chronos and kairos. Chronos refers to clock time, time that can be measured in seconds and minutes, [...]
Good morning... “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest,” says Jesus as we pick up the story in Mark 6:30-44 (NIV). Ahhh. Sweet rest. After all of the chaotic comings and goings, Jesus invites his close friends to rest and rejuvenate. So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary [...]
Good morning... Yesterday was the first Thanksgiving their loved one was not physically present at their earthly feast, having crossed over to heaven last spring. In a brand new way, this grieving family is making mashed potatoes. As I listened to his mourning mom talk about the conversations around their dinner table this fall, she said, "I have grown [...]
Happy Thanksgiving morn... You simply must give yourself at least a few-second-gift of this peaceful video passed along to me by a dear, wise friend. https://www.google.com/search?q=hamster+eating+carrot+in+blanket&rlz=1CDGOYI_ enUS711US711&oq=hamster+eating+carrot+in+blanket&aqs=chrome..69i57.15735j0j9&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8 If this hamster could speak english, she might encourage us this day, "Hold with your two bare hands the slice of life given to you today. Remember you are blanketed in God's [...]
Good morning... Have you ever read the following Bible story? Until yesterday, I had not. Listen with me to this incredible account, and let's ponder together what God is saying to us today. ...Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him. A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the [...]
Good morning... My daughter said, "Mom, you have to read the article I just sent you. It's about the boy I know from Ole Miss who took his life." Opening her email, I read these heartbreaking words from the Clarion-Ledger newspaper article. "Rivers sent a text moments before pulling the trigger. He wrote: 'Mom, I love you, and I [...]
Good morning... “The accumulated sorrows of your exile (your being barred from comfort, your being kept from closeness, your inability to feel completely at home) will dissipate,” whispers the LORD through the pen of an Old Testament prophet. Zephaniah 3:19-20 in the Message translation continues: “I, your God, will get rid of them, your sorrows, for you. You’ve carried [...]
Good morning... When I meet a new word, I am exceedingly grateful for Wikipedia, the free, online encyclopedia. Yesterday I was introduced for the first time to the noun "liminality." Wikipedia teaches me, "In anthropology, liminality (from the Latin word līmen, meaning 'a threshold') is the quality of ambiguity or disorientation that occurs in the middle stage of rituals, [...]
Good morning... I sit at a red light behind this bumper sticker: "Neither one 2016." My mind yearns to exchange this old sticker with a new one: "All of us 2016." I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s [...]
