Thursday, February 26, 2026

Dear God,

Throughout history we have learned that nothing stays the same, neither the good nor the bad. We wish the good would stay and the bad would slip away.  But that is not life.

What you have promised and given is to be with us through every time.  With your presence we have opportunity to grow, to rise higher, to change some things, to trust more deeply and to gain new strength.  If this is true for the individual, then it must be true for the nation and the world.

The truth is we all need change.  We need transformation at the hand of the creator.  Otherwise, we grow dull and stale.  We fail to see our neighbor.  We remain the same lacking luster, imagination and creativity.  How can we possibly help one another using yesterday's power?  We need the power of today, the motivation of Godly strength and a loving compassion that is filled daily by the river of your spirit.  

Right now we need so much transformation in our nation and world.  And we can only be transformed by a power greater than ourselves.  We need you.

Holy God,

we are desperate

for change.

We need

your direction,

your mercy

and your power.

Lead us

in your 

holy way.

May we

drink from

the well

of your

living water.

May we

eat the food

of heaven.

May we

follow you

to our

next destination.

Yours, Andrea

Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Dear God,

For several nights I have been tormented by a dark night of the soul.  I have been awakened by old tapes of rejection, loss and pain.  Over and over they play reminding me of unwanted, untrue statements.  But as they kept being repeated, I distinctly heard your voice saying, "Climb the ladder of faith, climb the ladder of faith."  As tears filled my eyes, I realized that the past can be our present if we let it or we can climb the ladder of faith.  The higher we climb the more easily we are able to see the light of day telling us the truth of our selves.  There may be those who wish to define us as something else but there is only one opinion, the truthteller who repeats to us who we really are.  The beloved of God.

Thank you,

dear God,

for endearing words

of faith,

truth,

hope,

peace and love.

There is

no one

who speaks

the truth

the way

you do.

Let your truth

rest in

our heads,

hearts and soul

as we sleep,

I pray.

Thank you.

Yours, Andrea

Thursday, February 19, 2026

Dear God,

After two years I finally had all my windows washed.  I couldn't believe the difference.  This morning as the darkness gave way to the light, I couldn't help but stare out the window.  Although clouds were gray and heavy with moisture, it was beautiful.

As is often true, nature reminded me that we too have to clean our emotional, physical and psychological lens so we can see the beauty that is all around us.  If not, all we see is dirt, smudge and smears.  I confess when I am thinking about our president and his followers who are attempting to dismantle the heart of our nation, all I see is dirt.  I get frustrated, angry and depressed.  I start to blame all the foolish people who voted for the tyrant.  I add more dirt to my glasses.  

While many others and I continue to protest, I begin to see good citizens who are helping our immigrant neighbors, people who are sacrificing to help others who are hungry and don't have money for groceries and yet more who are speaking out to protect human and civil rights.  I realize there is more to the picture and I do not have to lose hope.

You aid us in our endeavor, O God.  You lead us to help those around us who have special needs.  You guide us to live lives as neighbors, friends and family.  You open our eyes and our hearts to love our neighbors and do good.  And you challenge us to do our part not only to save our nation but also our world who also depends on one other.

Thank you

for clean windows,

dear God,

Help me

also to be

a cleaner-upper.

Help me 

see clearer

and do

my best

to help

my neighbor

near and far.

Love, Andrea

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Dear God,

How good it is to spend liminal time with you, that time of in-between the not-over-yet and the what-is-to come.  It is a time for assessment, reflection and decision-making.  For me it is winter-not-over and spring-that-is-to-come.  Since I love winter more than all other seasons, this is always the time for thanksgiving and surrender.

Recently when the Buddhist monks were walking for peace across the United States to Washington, D C, one word came to me and I have spent some time really pondering it.  That is the word Detachment.  I must confess I am attached to many things I love.  I love my books, my frosties and my retreat materials.  They have all served me well.  But do they still?  Would they bless someone else?  Is it time to give away or give back?

Every season offers life lessons.  For interested persons, we can learn so much by watching and waiting, by considering and giving and by listening and responding.  In September as I enter into my 80th year, what are you telling me, O God?  What lesson do you want to teach me?  What are you asking me to surrender?

Thank you,

Compassionate God,

for all

the gifts

of life.

Thank you

for teaching me

the way

of life,

of faith and

of gratitude.

Open the

whole of me

to the whole

of you

that I

may hear

your voice

every day

this year.

Yours, Andrea

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Dearest God,

This morning I heard the whisperings of peace.  As I looked out the windows of my home, all seemed quiet.  Actually, it was like creation was sighing with a hushed hope and peace.  With blue-gray skies, the sun shining and even the stillness of birds, I felt more at peace than I have felt in a long time.    Perhaps it is a portent of springtime, new life, rebirth and renewal.

Who doesn't need just such a picture?  We are a hungry people, hungry for peace not violence, hope not despair and joy not sadness, loss and grief.  We long for the beauty of hope to be birthed in every soul on the planet.  How could we ever want it just for ourselves and not for our neighbor near and far?  

As I reflect upon these holy moments in my teeny tiny spot on the map, I breathe out peace and joy as I pray for all people.

Thank you,

O God,

for the 

serene picture

of joy

and peace.

Thank you

for the

rich blessing

just outside

my window

and inside

my soul.

Thank you.

Love, Andrea

Sunday, February 15, 2026

Dear God,

How do we all live harmoniously on the planet where we all reside?  Is that really possible?  I confess I do not believe it possible; however, I do believe we can create harmonious communities where we all care about one another, where we reach out when there is need and we recognize and acknowledge that neighborhoods, communities and towns can be reshaped when we affirm the value and worth of every person.

Such a lofty ideal requires change on the part of all of us.  I can't expect change in others if I do not willingly change myself.  It is true I see much that needs to change among others but it is harder to examine what change needs to happen within myself.  Perhaps that's where the change begins with me.  I have to examine my life more deeply.  I have to be willing to go deep and wide to see where the gray, the dark and the ugly lives in my own soul.  I have to get honest with myself.

The stakes are high in our nation and world.  Do we want a change in our nation and world, really do we?  I do, Lord; please help me, please transform me; please transform us all.

Lead us

to purity

and beauty,

dear God.

Help me see

my neighbor

the way

you see them.

Help my neighbor

see me

in the 

same way.

Please bring about

a new day

in our nation

and world,

Almighty God.

Love, Andrea

Saturday, February 14, 2026

Dear God,

It seems in life we are always on a journey to somewhere.  For young children, they are on their way to growing up.  Teenagers can't wait to leave home for college and/or their independence.  As young people we can't wait to make our way to a great job, a partner for life, a new home.  And so it goes.

But there is another journey that is more invisible.  It is sometimes the journey to truth, to meaning, to understanding.  We step forward to love and friendship and affirmation.  Sometimes we simply want to start the journey home.  Often, it is a journey to our own self.

Such journeys can take us deep and wide, to unknown places and spaces high and low.  These are perhaps the most important journeys of our lives.  As I journey to my 80th birthday months from now, I realize I am on a big journey of detachment, surrender and movement that will lead me to where, I do not know.  What I do know is that one of the things I carry with me in my journeys is faith.

Lead me,

O God,

lead me

in your direction.

Open my eyes

that I 

will not miss

anything you

want to

show me.

Help me arrive

to that destination

that helps me

begin anew

all over again.

Yours, Andrea

Friday, February 13, 2026

Dear God,

When love, peace and joy seem so far off, when darkness, pain and suffering feel so close and there seems to be no opening to something better, I return to you, the author of love, peace and joy.  In a nation devoid of good, light and peace, we must find a way to the most authentic kind of goodness.  That is to you.

In so many ways, faith seems to have evaporated.  We seem to have lost our way to that which is good, beautiful and life-giving.  We want relief.  We want to wade out of the muck of Washington, DC and elsewhere.  We want to see the light again.  We want assurance that light lives.  Faith, the kind rooted and grounded in something more than plastic substitutes can give us that once again.  Most answers do not come immediately.  Yet faith can give us hope in the meantime.

Teach us

to trust again,

not in 

the follies presented

to us

but rather

in that which

is tried

and true.

We want

the real thing

not that which

will dissolve

in the wind.

Draw us close,

dear God,

and give 

strength to

return home.

Yours, Andrea

Thursday, February 12, 2026

Dear God,

I am sitting here in the quiet except for the low murmur of the furnace.  Although there is peace all around me, I still feel restless from national and international chaos.  I have allowed it to get inside my skin and if I am honest, in my DNA cells.  

Is it possible to rid myself of it, or should I?  There is part of me that believes I need to keep it where it is to keep me on my toes and engaged in the fight for freedom, justice and peace for all.  The battle is never a fight for myself or those I love.  It is the struggle to release the whole human family from tyranny, hatred, lies, threats and death.  What good is it if my life is free and easy when countless millions are in the long conflict to rise from man-made evil?  How can I be truly free when so many others are caged in fear, loss and suffering?

Dear God,

I believe

you designed us

with the capacity

for peace

and love

and justice.

You gave us

faith and courage

as our strength

and power.

Remind us

of your gifts

then guide us

to do

your perfect will

for all

you have made.

Yours, Andrea

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

Dear God,

Where do we go when we don't know where to go?  Life is difficult right now in our country and the world.  As a nation who chose Donald Trump as president, we bear responsibility for the unrest, hatred and chaos.  Although I did not vote for him, I carry the burden as an American for those being hurt, frightened and threatened.  But I don't know how to help.

I realize when I don't know what to do, I must fall back on what I do know.  I do know you are a loving God, one who loves all, not just some.  I do know your truth sets people free.  I do know you want to bring peace to all.  All this leads me to you, who knows more than I know, loves more than I am capable and is wiser than I am.  I draw close to you not so much for concrete answers (although that is ultimately what I want) but rather for direction, compassion and assistance.  I know you are always to be trusted.

Oh Lord, as I come, warm my own heart, give me a love for all and show me the way to the hurting, the suffering and the needy.  Lead me to resistance to all that is evil, to your guiding spirit for your leading power and to your will and way as my orders for daily living.  Help me be a peacemaker, a light bearer and a helpmate.  

You are God;

I am not.

Lead me

to broken places

where I

can make

a difference.

Heal our world,

I pray.

Yours, Andrea

Monday, February 9, 2026

Dear God,

I want to love the earth and all her people into life.  I want to give acceptance and joy.  I want to give away peace and light.  Now, how in the world do I do it, God?

Can I just will myself to give away what good stuff I have?  Can I give love to a stranger thousands of miles away?  Can I offer peace?

Although I do not know how to give away good things on a large scale, I do know how to give a smile to a grouchy or sad person.  I know how to offer help to someone who is struggling.  I know how to give kindness and compassion.  I know how to offer acceptance and appreciation.  I know how to share with someone that they matter.  These I do on a regular basis.  Perhaps the way to larger things is to start with the small ones.

Lord, make me

a light

to the nations

and to 

my neighbors

near and far.

Help compassion grow

from a

tiny seed.

Help me

make a difference

in the lives

all around me.

Yours, Andrea

Sunday, February 8, 2026

Dear God,

Where does courage come from?  How can I find it?  How can I be courageous?

I love all kinds of novels, historical, Christmas and mystery novels.  I love entering into someone else's story, learning about them, especially what makes them tick.  But more than anything, I read for clues as to what makes a person courageous.

I have read many novels set in Europe during the Nazi period.  I hear stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.  I read over and over again stories of courage, people who make a decision to do miraculous things.  They save lives, they thwart enemies and they sacrifice themselves for the greater good.  I always ask myself if I could do the same.

Months ago, I sat in the Charlotte, North Carolina airport waiting for my flight.  I was shocked to see two black clothes-clad individuals wearing black helmets ride their bikes into our terminal.  They quietly climbed off the bikes and looked around.  It was then I saw the sign on the side of the bicycle.  It was very clear who they were.  ICE, they were ICE agents.  I was frightened and incensed.  I looked at the small Asian family of four who sat across from me.  Two little kids, a mom and dad.  In my bewildered mind, I felt afraid for every person at our gate.  Have they come for them?  Are they going to drag them away?  That's when the really big question came to me.  How much are you willing to sacrifice for them, Andrea?

In today's chaotic, divided world led by people who intend for it to be that way, we have to think like resistance people.  We have to ask what we are willing to do to help targeted people.  We have to consider what price we are willing to pay to assist innocent neighbors and strangers.  

Courage is your gift, O God. Faith is too.  When we wed them together, we have what we need to be courageous people.

Bless us

with faith first

and courage second,

Gracious God.

Feed us

with your spirit.

Strengthen us

with your power

for your purpose.

Love, Andrea

Saturday, February 7, 2026

Dear God,

I want peace!  I want peace not just for me but for people who are afraid, those who are tormented and those who are lost in despair.  I want peace to sweep over them, through them and inside them.  I want peace for their body, mind and spirit.  Not a partial peace, not a peace for today and none for tomorrow.  I want the real thing, the authentic thing, the peace that knows no bounds, the peace that heals, reconciles and renews.  How could I possibly want peace just for me without wanting it for everyone else?

When we pray for ourselves but not for our neighbors near and far, we can never expect peace to come our way.  If my peace if full but someone else's is not, then my peace will be short-lived. Peace is to be shared, never hoarded.  When I have my peace, there will always be enough to share with others.  My peace is reliant on others' peace and vice versa.

Please, dear God, bless my neighbor near and far away with peace, your peace.

Thank you,

Loving God,

for offering

us peace.

Make us receptive

to peace.

Then remind us

to let

our peace

spill out

onto our neighbors

near and far.

Peace is

only peace

when we all

have it.

Yours, Andrea

Friday, February 6, 2026

Dear God,

This year I celebrate my 80th birthday.  Not one interested in a focus solely on me, I have been pondering on ways to acknowledge my 80 years that would be uplifting, caring and inspirational.  I am considering my birthday celebration as a time of giving away.

My family used to tell me about my first year of life.  As the first child born into my family group, I was much loved, passed around to be held and given gifts.  I received so much my first year of life.  As I consider the other decades, I remember teachers, neighbors, my mother's friends and others who blessed my life with kindness, love and help. 

Through my thirties and forties when I was a single mother and a student, there were those who encouraged me, offered me wisdom and grace and blessed me in so many ways as I navigated first-time experiences of college and seminary.  I had people who believed in me that I could do what I thought impossible.

The last forty years have been a time of special inspiration as I offered ministry through preaching, counselling and leading retreats.  The trust people gave me still brings tears to my soul.

So, now, at this place in my life, I want to offer others gifts I have received.  I want to give away kindness, compassion, love, special gifts and joy.  I want to add more love and peace into the cosmos.  I don't know how that all works.  What I do know is in this chaotic, divisive time, that love, peace, hope, light and joy are needed and I want to give that to people near and far away for all are family, all are precious and all are beloved.

O God,

when we listen,

we can hear

your voice.

When we hear,

we can follow

your idea,

your hope,

and your will

for our lives.

When we follow,

we can 

be filled

with great delight

and joy.

Yours forever and ever, Andrea

Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Dear God,

As we sat at our favorite Mexican restaurant and the women drank their margaritas at Book Club, I reminded them that we must reach for the whole story and not just the part where we are stuck.  We had just discussed how the historical account of our latest book is so much like what we are experiencing in America today.  There was a visceral feeling of being in a black hole.

Years ago during another dark time in my life, I had a vision of being stuck in a very deep well.  It was dark, scary and tight.  I felt as if I would be there the rest of my life with no help, no light and no chance of recovery.  But at that very realization, I felt the tiniest of movement when all of a sudden there was a sliver of light coming from the deeper part of the space.  I began to move and the light grew wider and higher.

That vision reminds me today that there is always more to the story.  That light was always there; I just couldn't see it at the moment.  In today's chaotic, conflictual, divided world, there is more than blackness.  There is light shining across every nation.  People of every background and status are gathering together to resist and proclaim light and hope and compassion.  People are giving to food banks and taking risks to help their neighbors.  People are doing things beyond what they thought they could do to help, to love and to change things.  This is the best part of the story and we can't forget it!

Open our eyes

to the 

best part

of the story,

dear God,

help us

see what

is before

our eyes.

Help us widen

and deepen

the story

by shining light

and helping.

Help us connect

to your story

of love

and power

and courage

and strength

and mercy.

Love, Andrea

Sunday, February 1, 2026

Dear God,

Hope is light being held in the darkness even when we can't visibly see it!  It is so easy to fall into despair when life is hard day after day.  Our only picture seems to be the one where everything except our pain is dim.

The truth is always bigger than what we see in any given moment.  Suffering and pain can pervade our consciousness robbing us of the whole of what is happening.  The light still shines dimly sometimes but it still glows in the darkness.

Years ago I was in a dark place.  I remember getting on a plane for a destination I can't remember.  Outside the clouds were thick, dark and heavy.  Rain threatened.  My mood was the same.  I recall thinking it would be a difficult ride with turbulence.  I leaned back in my seat resigned.  Minutes later I was shocked when we rose above the clouds to the most beautiful sunshine and blue skies.  Tears filled my eyes as I leaned into the window.  I captured both the amazing scene before me and the message that what we see is only part of the picture.  There is always more to come, more of what is awe-inspiring and peace-giving.  I learned that day to trust in a light that is eternal.

Holy God,

thank you

for the

rest of

the story.

Teach us

to trust beyond 

our small visions.

Lead us

to the light

and help us

hold the light

for others.

Yours, always yours, Andrea