I began my gratitude list on Thanksgiving morning. There are things I am definitely grateful for and it was not at all difficult to list three, even four. As soon as I finished, like in a split second, things that I do not like popped into my head mind.
The Word says take captive every thought to Christ Jesus. Paul was not kidding when he wrote that and his life had more challenges than most today.
“Useless thought spoil everything, and much mischief begins there.” Brother Lawrence had wisdom, too.
How is your gratitude list going? Do you find ungrateful, or unwelcome thoughts intruding? Pondering things we cannot change, things we have no control over creates mischief in the realm of thankfulness. Can you praise the recognition of those intrusive thoughts and return to thanks and praise to the Living God?
Easy to write. Difficult to accomplish. That is why it is called disciple and we must practice.
for DPT I heard this. Took me days to find it on line! Yes it was from my mother’s era! There is no longer an account at the grocer and if you are late on rent today you might get evicted with no notice. But one line is certain: “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer!” And at least, Bob and I are still having fun!
Ain’t We Got Fun?
Doris Day
Every morning Every evening Ain’t we got fun Not much money Oh, but honey Ain’t we got fun The rent’s unpaid dear And we haven’t a car Oh, but anyway dear We’ll stay as we are Even if we owe the grocer Don’t we have fun Tax collector’s getting closer,(au) Still we have fun There’s nothing surer The rich get rich and the poor get poorer In the meantime In between time Ain’t we got fun
Every morning Every evening Ain’t we got fun Not much money Oh, but honey Ain’t we got fun The rent’s unpaid dear And we haven’t a car But anyway dear We’ll stay as we are Even if we owe the grocer Don’t we have fun Tax collector’s getting closer Still we have fun There’s nothing surer The rich get rich and the poor get poorer In the meantime In between time
Ain’t we got fun
Even if we owe the grocer, don’t we have fun Tax collector’s getting closer Still… that they are around again There’s nothing surer The rich get rich and the poor get poorer In the meantime In between time Still we’ve got a lot of fun
Written by: Richard Whiting, Gus Kahn, Raymond Egan
And to keep up-to-date I also need the RSV immunization and a DEXA Scan. Thank You, Lord for the miracles of modern medicine! Keep me singing as I fulfill the doctor’s wishes!
The local Kroger chain had an offer for purchase a certain amount of groceries and get a Turkey for 49 cents a pound. I bought one. Whew are having dinner with 9 people. I had a turkey in the freezer and was not absolutely certain when I thawed it that it would be okay. So I cooked two turkeys! And they both look and taste great. We will certainly have leftovers!! Saved a turkey leg for our grandson who likes to pretend he is eating like a caveman!
Well, I had to be in Kroger again and now that there is room in the freezer I just could not resist that great price. I picked up a turkey using the plastic mesh and put it in the cart. At the checkout I left it in the cart and use the bar scanner to ring it in.
Took it out to the car and once I had a place cleared I again used the mesh to put it in the back of the car. When I got home I lifted it out of the trunk using the mesh, but on the way to the freezer I also supported the weight with my other hand. The thing was not frozen!!
What?!? I know it takes 3 days to thaw a frozen turkey in the refrigerator and even then there might be ice in the center. How long had this thing been thawed? I might never know. Was it safe to refreeze it? I did not want to know. I was worried about if it was even safe to consume. I had also bought it at a Kroger not close to my home. Grrr.
I had been running errands for hours and decided to take at least a short rest before I dealt with this.
I went to my local Kroger to see what could be done. My receipt had a time stamp on it. I figured I was good. There was a long line at the service desk. I had promised myself an afternoon Starbucks coffee. I purchased that first to ease the long wait.
The poor guy at the customer service desk looked as if he had been tortured for hours by angry, unhappy, nasty, customers. I gave him a smile. Told him to take a deep breath and told him my almost unbelievable saga.
He told me to go find a turkey as close to the weight of the original one as possible. When I returned to the line he was having an even worse day and had to call in someone in to deal with one outraged customer. Some shopping service had doubled the items on her shopping list and charged her bank account. She was livid.
I told him I found one within one pound of the unfrozen turkey. I told him I thought I owed him about 49 cents. He took my receipt, scanned the two turkeys and at first was so flustered he thought I owed him $7 and something. Then realized he forget to enter the reduced price and eventually said, “Yes, ma’am. that will be 49 cents please.”
This turkey was frozen solid and now lives in my freezer. I prayed for the poor fellow all the way home. In fact writing this I am moved to pray for all the retail workers who are having to put up with bad attitudes from customers. Kindness and gratitude cost us nothing. We should spend it lavishly! We are mostly an ungrateful bunch with “first world problems.” Stephen summed it up just before he was stoned for speaking truth.
“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53 you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.” Act 7: 51-53 NIV
More than once God calls His people stiff-necked and ungrateful. Lord, please forgive us.
We need to get a load of gratitude. Perhaps this day is a time to begin a new habit that will benefit us always. Research says that listing at least 3 things we are grateful for each day can do us a world of good. So I urge you to begin today! What a great way to finish out the year!!
I think I likely need a small toy dump truck as an object lesson to myself about spreading a dump truck of gratitude every single day!
This is the time of year when there is much talk about giving thanks. The election made many of us question so many things. Perhaps it is time to get away from politics and back to the basics of faith?
How do we see the world as sacred again? By radical noticing. Looking for awe in all of life. -Lucy Jones
Regardless of whether your candidate won or lost, the world is still sacred. The majority of human beings are still kind. We were in traffic the other day and there were two other drivers actually letting folks turn left in front of them. We were delighted to witness that people can still be kind after all the ugly rhetoric that has been flying.
“Radical noticing.”
The leaves have finally all fallen from our spindly little oak tree out front. There is a nest that remains. Occasionally a bird will perch on the edge of the empty nest awaiting its turn at the feeder. I do not know who lived right in my front yard, right outside my window in our office where I write this blog. I find that amazing! I thought I was observant. Looking for awe in all of life, I missed that one! If I had a drone camera I would send you a picture of that architectural wonder nestled right along the trunk of that oak!
“Looking for awe in all of life.”
I asked Alexa to play music by George Winston during dinner the other night. Suddenly the theme from a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving came on. I thought, “Stupid Alexa. I asked for George Winston.” Ha! There is a George Winston collection called Thanksgiving and it not only has that song but also the Great Pumpkin Waltz and others. I had no idea, I just know I like his arrangements and compositions.
Time to take notice of the little things in life that have gone right past me. Eyes off politics and back to the wonders of creation and music and the Word of God.
Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
Jesus took the bread in his hands and gave thanks to God. Then he passed the bread to the people, and he did the same with the fish, until everyone had plenty to eat. John 6:11
Be filled with the Spirit; speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father. Ephesians 5:18-20
In every thing give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18
One thing that is difficult for me to do is to maintain quietness in my heart and mind. My “life verse” Isaiah 30:15 helps me with this, WHEN I remember it!
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:
“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.” Isaiah 30:15
In the Book of Common Prayer I am often frustrated because the scriptures used are not given a cross reference. I delighted when I came across this prayer in the Book of Common Prayer on Page 832. For this prayer, I already knew the Scripture!
O God of peace, who hast taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and confidence shall be our strength: By the might of thy Spirit lift us, we pray thee, to thy presence, where we may be still and know that thou art God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
When Bob and Jeff were both confirmed in the Episcopal Church we stayed in that community for many years. When the choir director set up every song during worship in Latin, I was furious, declaring “If we are going to sing in Latin I think we ought to sing in tongues with or without interpretation!” Irish German temper showing there! We then migrated from the Episcopal church to the Vineyard.
When we worshiped at the Vineyard at the time they were on the cutting edge of contemporary worship music. Many scriptures were incorporated into lyrics. One of the best ways to learn scripture is to sing it! And we sang, learned and the Word of God went into our hearts. This is one of those songs from long ago. The lyrics for the song are below. Hear it as the Trinity singing to you.
Song for the Bride, written by Brian Doerksen
I have longed to hold you in my arms And take all of your fear away I will take your filthy rags And make them clean
If you receive my love If you will receive my love Return to me And hear my spirit say
In repentance and rest Is your salvation In quietness and trust Is your strength
Return to me Return to me And hear my spirit say
Return to me Says the Lord Let me love you once again
In repentance and rest Is your salvation In quietness and trust Is your strength
I hope you will sit with the song, listen to it more than once and open your heart and mind to God’s love for you, His Bride. Can you envision yourself as the Bride of Christ? He longs for our fellowship with Him. If you wonder about the image of a Bride consider reviewing these verses.
The Trinity desires intimacy with us just as a bride and groom are intimate with each other. Jesus literally wants to ‘walk with us and talk with us’ as we journey through this life. Preparations are being made to take us to His side in the next.
I pray you will find rest in with the Groom now, in this time and place. I pray you will carry a reminder that you can enter that rest at any time. Choose to stay there. Do not fulfill that last part of Isaiah 30:15 NRSVA “but you refused.”
There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. Hebrews 4:9-11
I attended a Soul Collage retreat last weekend. Mooydeen C. Frees, (R.N., MAPC, MEd, diploma in Spiritual Direction, Trained SoulCollage Facilitator and Retired Deacon) conducts these on occasion at the Sisters of Charity convent. There are literally thousands of magazine photos cut out and arranged on tables by topic. Participants are provided with a work table, ruler, Exact-o knife, glue stick, matte board, scissors, roller, clear sleeves for storage, etc., everything you would need to make a 5 x 8 inch collage. We are then set free to make as many or as few collages as we desire.
Some folks have told me they did not want to attend because they do not see themselves as artistic. This does not have to do with art as much as finding pictures that speak to your soul and then assembling them in a collage to express yourself.
We arrived at 8:45 and began making our cards at about 9:30. Broke for lunch at noon and began again about 12:30. This process helps tap into some deep places of the soul. We are told to strive for metaphor as that keeps us out the part of the left brain where too much rational/logical thinking occurs.
I made one card that was wrenching with the honest pain of the past few months. I was exhausted when it was finished. Then I also made a card that reminded me of the wisdom of having fun. Some photos I had gathered at other Soul Collage retreats. This time I was determined to incorporate them in one or more collages for myself.
Mooydeen cautioned us about not posting these online as many of the magazine images are copyrighted. Well, I looked up two of the images I used and they were online so I assume they are alright to share?
In the lower right corner is a young child laughing. She reminds me of myself as a child. Next to her is the image below. As if she is watching Mr. Pavarotti and laughing with great joy!
Besides the serious opera star saying to me not to take life too seriously, he reminds me of my husband Bob. Bob cannot get in a swimming pool without spitting a similar fountain! Bob’s fountain is usually aimed at whoever is closest to him in the water.
Above Pavarotti is an owl perched on a pole. The owl always symbolizes wisdom, so of course the owl needed to be here. The owl reminds me there is wisdom in having fun.
Upper right hand corner is a wheelbarrow full of monkeys. The exact photo I used was online!!
Look at their varied expressions! Remind you of folks you know? “More fun than a barrow of monkeys!” Not a barrel in this case, but a wheelbarrow. Guess they like to ride? I do not see any straps or means of making them stay in, do you?
Card reading consists of using the statement, “I am the one who .. ” has learned to laugh even during difficult, painful times. ” I am the one who…” wonders what monkey brains are pondering as they ride along. “I am the one who…” is learning the wisdom of humor. ” I am the one who…” hopes I am never too old to delight like a child.
I used one image of an old woman shedding tears in two of my collages. Yes, there are things to cry about and tears help provide that emotional release. There is value in tears. There is also value in laughter.
Where are your humor images today? How can you keep laughing even in the midst of hard, painful times?
Somehow we got it in our heads that prayer must be polite. That there are only certain ways we should talk to God. Yet, the Bible is full of people talking to God with lament and anger and frustration and all sorts of things beyond adoration or groveling. (Read Jeremiah 12 for an example.)
The most genuine relationships are those where we can express ourselves openly without fear of censure or judgement. I have learned that my God can handle whatever form of communication I want to use with Him. When I was nine months pregnant with our first baby, my mother died suddenly. It took me ten years to adjust to that loss. When I was in the deepest throes of grief I cried out to God, reminded Him that in the Bible it says He would comfort those who mourn. Matthew 5:4 So where was my comfort? And comfort came. I can get angry at God and He can take it. Even then grace and mercy are not withdrawn from me.
Have you been transparent in your prayers. Are your communications with God authentic? Do you dare let yourself talk or shout at Him like you would a friend? The Scripture says to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. (Psalm 96:9) If you feel free to holler at God you are no less beautiful than one kneeling in silence.
There are so many Americans fearful of what the return of Donald Trump to the Oval Office will usher in. From scientists, to law makers, to immigrants, to those on the fringes of society, fear is rampant and on the minds of many every single day. With each appointment of cabinet members and advisors who seem outlandish to moderate Americans the cries of fear increase.
In 1996 I wrote this and even heard a melody to go with it. I have not pursued getting it published or sung in public. I believe it holds true especially today.
Somewhere in the knowing there is peace,
Right there in the longing is a pull to draw near,
Almost at the brink a hand reaches out to save,
In response to the cry of our soul.
Cry then, soul, out loud!
Feel all your feelings.
Declare to God every single thing.
He's not repelled, He made you and
He loves you.
So speak with Him
Through song or shouts of pain.
Independence is the bane of our lives,
Drawing near the bless`ed, chosen way;
Narrow though it seems,
Eternal vistas open forth,
As we sacrifice with Holy trust and praise.
Chorus
Give Him all your shattered dreams and longings,
Every vain attempt to take control;
He alone is worthy of the powers we desire,
He alone can save and make us whole.
Cry then, soul, out loud!
Feel all your feelings.
Declare to God every single thing.
He's not repelled, He made you and
He loves you.
So speak with Him
Through song or shouts of pain.
I would love for you to try being authentic with the Trinity. Your emotions are not too much for the Mighty One to handle. By being transparent you might actually move into a new dimension of prayer that you have not had before.
Cry the soul, out loud!
Say it like you mean it. Don’t begin with grit or faith. Start with disappointment, naming your pain and need to God. He collects our tears, and we begin by doing up the same, dragging up our painful experiences of his perceived absence, silence, or rejection. Tell God your disappointments in prayer, and don’t water it down. Forget your manners. Tell it like it is. -Tyler Staton from Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools
Each Sunday our 9:15 service ends with the charge from the priest,
“Our worship has ended. Now our service begins.”
I just love that call to action for Christ!
When I was participating in the other denominations, I still maintained my attendance at the Convent of the Transfiguration. I made it my business to learn the contemporary version of the Lord’s Prayer from the Book of Common Prayer so I would not be stumbling over the words of the prayer when we said it in unison. Now that we are back to worship at the Episcopal church I find myself having to concentrate on the words of the traditional Lord’s Prayer as they are not using the contemporary version. Always something to learn!!
Here are the two versions for your consumption.
Traditional Version from Book of Common Prayer: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
And the Contemporary Version from Book of Common Prayer:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen.
Forgive us AS. I hope the AS always stands out in your heart when you say this prayer, what ever version you choose.
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matthew 6:14-15 NIV
There is lots of grief among people I know regarding the election results. None of us know what the election of Donald Trump will mean. Bob read something that said, “When a clown enters a palace, he does not become king. When a clown enters a palace, the palace becomes a circus.”
Weird indeed. Fear of what may happen is tinging many parts of the US population.
Those who have been on the margins of society are fearful that the President Elect will unleash another wave of violence towards them in cities across the nation. Even people with valid American citizenship who do not look like the WASP population are fearful. What has this country come to?
I have waited my entire lifetime for the government to take notice of those who are on the margins, the mentally ill, the unhoused, those who look unlike me and all of us in need of help, compassion, mercy. That dream seems to get further and further away as I age. Instead those people seem to be neglected more each year.
On a recent visit to the San Francisco Bay area, Bob said that the homeless population seems to increase every time he visits. The climate there is temperate and the unhoused find it easier to live on the streets there than on the streets of Cincinnati. There is no national plan that I know of being made to approach this problem.
I was crushed in 1984 when the hospital for the mentally ill, Longview State hospital, closed in Cincinnati. Where were these folks to get help? I did not understand the problems with institutionalized asylums. I just could not comprehend turning people out in the streets. People that needed our care and compassion.
Now people are beaten in the street if they look Asian. Those of Mexican or South American descent are being told they will be rounded up and deported unless they can prove American citizenship. I wonder who is going to do suburban lawn care, pick the crops, slaughter the chickens and replace roofing on homes? Much less, clean motel rooms and manicure golf courses?
People in twenty some states are being sent texts telling them they should prepare to be picked up from their homes and be sent to pick cotton. What is this evil force being unleashed among Americans? As if farms even picked cotton by hand anymore! That pretty much ended in the 1970s!
Is this all politically driven or has America always been this mean? Has an undercurrent of hatred tinged every generation? Have I been a fool wearing rose tinted glasses my entire life?
Such violent hatred. Floods of intentionally unkind vitriolic language! How have we come to this blatant disregard for the ones we see as other? Do we not believe we are all made in God’s image and given certain rights? Each of us is human!!
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.Preamble to the Declaration of Independence
I do not have answers as to how we should solve all these problems but I do believe it begins with respecting other persons as part of us, the human race. I recently bought a license plate frame for my car that reads:
We are Humankind. Be both: human and kind.
Oh that we would all take this to heart! We are people. We are human. We each need kindness.
Even the President Elect. God help us, I pray.
Bless this house O Lord we pray; Make it safe by night and day; Bless these walls so firm and stout, Keeping want and trouble out: Bless the roof and chimneys tall, Let thy peace lie over all; Bless this door, that it may prove ever open to joy and love.
Bless these windows shining bright, Letting in God's heav'nly light; Bless the hearth a'blazing there, with smoke ascending like a prayer; Bless the folk who dwell within, keep them pure and free from sin; Bless us all that we may be Fit O Lord to dwell with thee; Bless us all that one day we May dwell O Lord with thee.
I purposefully began this blog with a photo of Mother Eva Mary who helped found the Convent of the Transfiguration where I am an Associate. Since one of their principles is cheerfulness, I believe she would have liked the prayer below.
We found this among my mother’s things after she died. She copied it from Reader’s Digest! Evidently, it was written by a Mother Superior who wished to be anonymous. I shared it in a group recently and had such a positive response I thought the blog readers might enjoy it also!
Lord, Thou knowest better than I myself that I am growing older, and will some day be old.
Keep me from getting talkative, and particularly from the fatal habit of thinking that I must say something on every subject and on every occasion.
Release me from craving to try to straighten our everybody’s affairs.
Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details. Give me wings to get to the point.
I ask for grace enough to listen to the tales of others’ pains. Help me to endure them with patience. But seal my lips on my own aches and pains. They are increasing and my love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by.
Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally it is possible that I may be mistaken.
Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a saint … some of them are so hard to live with… but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil.
Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end.
Oh yes, You know Lord that I want at least a few friends in the end! Keep laughing, especially at yourself.
Treasures in Plain Sight, A Christian Blog 