The answer, my friends. . . .

Nature always wears the colors of the Spirit. –Ralph Waldo Emerson


What a windy week it has been! The towering blue spruce outside my window has been shaking its branches like a saucy flamenco dancer. Huge turkey buzzards and hawks catch the updraft, float lazily on the breeze and making me think, If I’ve got it all wrong and there is another go-round in life . . . I’d like to come back as a bird! Children cling to their grownup’s hand, afraid a sudden gust might knock them right off their feet!

It’s springtime in Ohio. A trip to the lakeshore reveals crashing waves, bobbing whitecaps, galloping horses along the horizon—but very few sailors brave enough to take on the wind. Even the colorful kites have been reeled in and tucked away.

No thing, large or small, remains untouched by the wind.

Jesus reminded Nicodemus: It is the same with God’s Spirit (John 3:8). Like the wind, the Holy Spirit is unpredictable; everything (and everyone) it touches is moved, or changed, or carried away—sometimes in big ways, but most often in little, everyday ways.

The next time the wind blows, instead of fighting or cursing it? Lean into it, lean into the Spirit. Feel its lively touch on your face. Let it restyle your hair—and change your life. In big ways or in small, everyday ways.


Monday First thing in the morning, stand at a window and watch the world wake up for a few minutes. (If it’s warm enough, open the window and listen.) Give thanks. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-21

Tuesday Take a walk outside today. Is it breezy? How does the sun (or rain) feel on your face? What about weather do you love—and what, not so much? Joel 2:28-29

Wednesday What can you do to help those in need of basic shelter or food in your community? Consider volunteering or making a donation. Isaiah 66:13

Thursday Pause today and meditate on how the Spirit has worked in or through your life, whether through big ways or small. Give thanks. 2 Peter 1:16-21
Friday (Can it really be May already?) As you turn up a new month on the calendar, consider making a mini-resolution, as you may have done in January. Make a pledge to keep just for 31 days. Tell someone. Job 33:1-4

Saturday As you pray for yourself today, consider inviting the Spirit to refresh your soul, breathe new life into your spirit or otherwise make her presence known. Give thanks and rest. Galatians 5:22-23

Sunday Focus today simply on worship. Give God your reverent attention and praise. Hebrews 3:7-11


I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons [and daughters] of one religion, and it is the Spirit. –Khalil Gibran

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