Good morning... "The essence of Christian spirituality is following Christ on a journey of personal transformation," explains David G. Benner in Sacred Companions: The Gift of Spiritual Friendship & Direction. "The distant land to which we are called . . . is the new creature into which Christ wishes to fashion us - the whole and holy person [...]
Good morning... The waxing moon, three nights before full, casts a funky design on our bathroom floor, and moonlight paints cool shadows all over our living room walls. Beckoned barefoot out into the mild night, I marvel at the dark branches stretching toward the light of the moon. [...]
Good morning... "It is a blessing to still have our mothers," a friend wrote after visiting her mom for her 86th birthday. I just returned home from Ohio after a successful surgery for my own 85-year-old mom. "Praise the Lord for good news about your mom's surgery, Sue!" wrote another dear friend. "Speaking of [...]
Good morning... I loved overhearing my parents' conversation in the kitchen as I got ready in the living room for my mom's surgery day. "Well, I had my first surgery on Labor Day and now hopefully my last reversal surgery on President's Day," astutely said my 85-year-old mom. "You can tell I was a kindergarten teacher, always moving [...]
Good morning... "Another minute. Another day. Year after year. Life lives through us. What an incredible gift." I had just finished reading these final words from our Saturday morning blog post, We Live Through Death. The message shared a moving poem by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer entitled Still Here. Suddenly, I felt a prick on my left arm, and, [...]
Good morning... We live through death. The death of a dream. The death of a special someone. The death of a life phase we so dearly loved. After the death of her son to suicide, Rosemerry tenderly expresses how it feels to still be here. ****** Still Here by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer After I did not die the [...]
Good morning... In the presence of God, we have been here before. In the beginning, God created everything: the heavens above and the earth below. Here’s what happened: At first the earth lacked shape and was totally empty, and a dark fog draped over the deep while God’s spirit-wind hovered over the surface of the empty waters. Then there was the voice of God. God said, "Let there be light." [...]
Good morning... This Monday was different. I was asked to teach a three-part series on the Enneagram for the St. Clare's Guild of women at the Cathedral of St. Philips in February, March, and April. Monday was our first class, so I put the unfamiliar church address in Waze to gather with an unknown number of mostly unfamiliar [...]
Good morning... I discovered a poem which means more to me this Valentine's Day than ever before. With my mom's surgeries and hospital stays, with our friend's successful heart transplant, and with the grueling medical treatments endured by so many loved ones this year, I have marveled at the gentle care given by skilled professionals. For all of [...]
Good morning... We are on a journey. "It's a journey that includes paying attention to yourself over a period of time, being curious about your reactions to situations, and reflecting on your inner world," encourages Marilyn Vancil on page 48 of Self to Lose, Self to Find; Using the Enneagram to Uncover Your True, God-Gifted Self. "It is, [...]
