Prayer really works. Essentially, God is good.

Bullying carries a lot of weight these days; it's weighing heavily on me. More so on my youngest.



The situation is not overt, more under the radar, which makes it more difficult terrain. I keep asking myself if what she describes and I have observed firsthand is, indeed, bullying. It borders more on stalking. I…

I was thinking today how quickly people will grab a Bible Commentary, read a book, listen to a YouTube Video or ask a friend for spiritual answers, yet they are deathly afraid of listening to allow God to teach them. We have been trained to think it is impossible for God to speak to us or teach us directly, even through the Scriptures. The religious culture always points us to "experts" who are more learned than the rest of us.



Yet the Scriptures often speak of waiting and hearing…

Listen to this post: http://www.turtleboxstories.com/audio/take20.mp3

This morning, after a swim and before I sat down to do some work, I worried myself into some centering prayer. I have been trying to make it a somewhat regular (almost daily) practice because it sets a much…

Listen to this post: http://www.turtleboxstories.com/audio/quietgiant.mp3

I want to rail ... rail that someone I consider a rock is suffering. I just don't understand this kind of pain and why it's inflicted so randomly. The phrase shit happens comes to mind, but that does not begin to cover the scope…

I woke up three hours early this morning. God’s to blame. She always uses the early morning to nudge me about the things that are good for me. The trouble is, I wake with the nudge, and then have to work at figuring out what the nudge is telling me. That’s why I’m writing now – to figure out this morning’s nudge.

I woke with worried thoughts about my children. My kids, of course, think I worry too much. All kids think their mothers worry too much. They don’t know the half of it,…

Catholics recently made changes to the English wording of the Mass.  The priest says “The Lord be with you,” and where the congregation once responded with “And with you,” they now are supposed to say “And with your spirit.” I confess these changes don’t matter much to me.  Perhaps the change was necessary to redefine the relationship between priest and congregation, or because God might not hear these prayers if they were not said exactly right.

These invocational prayers, along with…

Tried NOT to dwell on the thought that I needed a second mammogram all of last week and I did well in not keeping it front and center, but it did gnaw a bit, always at the back of my mind. I presume that's natural. This is the third time in 12 years I've been called back. Each time I worry a little less, telling myself it was ok last time, but remembering my mother's sister who died of breast…

I awoke with a new prayer on my lips and in my heart yesterday:

Please, use my brokenness.

Certainly, I have prayed for healing and for God to use me, but never to use my brokenness. Before the words formed, there was an image of a mosaic, specifically the…

... listening in prayer is necessary as you learn how to see, test, taste, and value your ministry—the nature of the gift, and of your stewardship of it. You should seek to be able to pray honestly about your service, and expect to be shown what is missing, what is worth preserving, and what is to be rejected. As ever, the first motion is to wait until you can feel the cool, quiet, strong flow of light and love. … —Brian Drayton. On Living with a Concern for Gospel Ministry, 2006,…

I've just had the great luxury of four nights away from the everyday, on retreat, at Woodbrooke, the Quaker Study Centre in Birmingham UK.  Luxury because…