a prophetic voice-

Decision-making, of the momentous, life-changing sort, has always  been a lengthy and even painful process for me. l agonize and pray  and try to discern how my heart is being led...usually I seek out the  counsel of friends I trust, as well as perusing words of wisdom from  favorite writers, biblical and otherwise. And- eventually- the way  seems clear...the answer seeming to arise from my very depths... an inner voice of sorts affirming my decision. Now this not to say I have not made some colossal mistakes over  the years. But even those "mistakes", it seems, have been the  source of learning and growth (once I get past the consternation at being wrong, of course.) But seldom have I been faced with a  decision with as much potential for both pain and pleasure or as fraught with emotion as the one with which I have been wrestling for the past several months: whether or not to sell my house and move into an apartment...to downsize ...

Greetings, dear ones, on this lovely fully spring morning! The sun is promising a beautiful day, though i believe we're supposed to get some showers later. But nothing can dim my spirits on this glorious day, as last evening, my friend, mae, and i confirmed our flight to Kenya in July. Hallelujah!!!! Step one accomplished in this lengthy process of putting a 5-week trip together. Oh, for those of you who did not know, i'm returning to east Africa this summer with Mary Martin of the Nyanya Project to visit our present projects and begin work on at least one more. And i'll get to see the amazing women i met last summer, to see the lovely children at our preschool in Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya, and to experience the incredibly gracious hospitality of the African people. Do you get the idea that i am excited?! Spent some time this morning reading about "Differences" in Uncommon Gratitude. If you have never encountered the writing of Joan Chittister, i commend it to you...

Dear ones, with the on-going tragic news from Japan, more deaths, continual aftershocks, the meltdown at the nuclear plant, i have heard any number of people reflecting that "God" should do something...wondering why "God" caused the earthquake and tsunami to happen. And it has made me wonder yet again about this thing we call "faith"...what it is and is not. This morning, i began a thought-provoking little book by Sister Joan Chittister and Archbishop Rowan Williams, Uncommon Gratitude: Alleluia for All that Is and found that the very first chapter was entitled "Faith". The words of Joan Chittister rang so true with me as i read that i happily share them with you with the hope that they will provoke thought...reflection...discussion.    The fact is that it might well be that deep down we are still substituting a kind of magic for faith. God we make a cornucopia of human desires, a vending machine of human delights. We coax God to be on our si...