Month: October 2026

Posted on in Challenge, Faith, Memories, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth

Join In

Lectio 360 “Today is Friday the 25th of September, and this week we are praying through a collection of the great prayers of the Old Testament – exploring motifs of honesty and hope, remembrance and thanksgiving, desperation and celebration, joining our…
… voices with priests, poets, prophets and saints who learned to pray to God openly and unafraid.”


Do we pray openly and unafraid? This was something the people of the Bible learned. Have you? Can you speak to the heavenly Father without editing your words and feelings? God can handle whatever it is you are dealing with.

When I was 9 months pregnant and I found my mother dead on our sofa bed I had plenty to say to God. I did not actually formulate those feelings into words until some months after our daughter was born. I had to learn that God was not afraid of my strong feelings.

There were so many platitudes spoken to my pregnant self at Mom’s funeral. It was very difficult to sort out truth from fiction. It was truly not until I came across the verse in Ezekiel 18: 32a NIV that I began to understand. For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord.

The relentless torment of the enemy of my soul asking, “How can you be a mother without a mother?” kept me unsettled and seeking the Lord. I finally cried out about 10 months after her death as I agonized in my grief, shouting from the depths of my soul to the Lord of heaven and earth, “You PROMISED that You would comfort those who mourn. (Matthew 5:4) Where are you?” doubled over I cried until there were no more tears. Then the Lord came to me with the comfort that only the God of all Comfort could offer. (2 Corinthians 1:3) Thus my long journey with the Savior of my soul was reignited.

I learned God could handle my anger and grief. I discovered that the comfort from heaven is real. Thus I began to learn to pray open and unafraid about anything and everything.

How have you learned to pray to God, open and unafraid? Do you feel as if you can go to God with all of your circumstances and reactions and stumbling blocks?

If not, what might be keeping you from going?

We can learn to trust the one who loves us the best and the most. “The Almighty HAS done great things for us and holy is His name.” (Adapted from Luke 1:49) Try expressing yourself with authenticity and transparency to God. You might very well be surprised at the welcome and acceptance you will receive, not to mention comfort and guidance.

Well, I could go on and on but I would rather you have the experience for yourself. Keep on seeking, keep on asking, keep on knocking. (Matthew 7:7 NLT) Discover the joy of coming to know God’s heart towards you.

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Challenge, Faith, Just do it, Listen, Music, Obedience, Praise, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth

All Are Welcome

We are made to tell the world that there are no outsiders.

ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU

During the communion prayers we sometimes pray, “Jesus taught us that the liberation of the whole world will not be in the brutality of violence. Rather, it will be in showing kindness to our neighbor, in standing up against injustice, in returning hate with love, in transforming one heart at a time. It will be in the simple but holy task of dining together, sharing bread and wine, truly seeing one another as beloved by you.”

One of our favorite lines in the Communion service is when the priest declares. “This is God’s table, not ours. All are welcome.”

Oh Father, we have such a long way to go to bring you delight. Purify our hearts we pray that we might not sin against you. Open our eyes to see our fellow humans as made in your likeness. Help us to esteem others as better than ourselves. (Philippians 2:3)

We have also been learning a song by Michael Stillwater that goes, “One by one everyone comes to remember, we’re healing the world one heart at a time.”

This is a German speaking group. We also sing it in rounds at church. I found myself singing it one day last week and had to stop to remember where I had heard it!!

May your eyes be opened and your heart know that there are no outsiders. Just humans walking each other home.

Posted on in Aging, Book quotes, Faith, Focus, Humor, Joy, Marriage and Memories, Music, Praise, Prayer, Thanks, Trust, Yield

Morning of Our 56th

Awoke singing this in my heart:

I could have danced all night
I could have danced all night
And still have begged for more

I could have spread my wings
And done a thousand things
I've never done before

I'll never know what made it so exciting
Why all at once my heart took flight
I only know when he began to dance with me
I could have danced, danced, danced all night

Yes, after 56 years I am more than willing to dance with Robert Milan. We have FUN together. Sometimes he carries his teasing and jokes too far for my emotion at a given moment, but overall, we have fun.

We create humor and jokes between ourselves. We are friends, yes, even best friends. There are times he gets on my last nerve and I get on his, but we each get over that and move on.

On this date in Edges of His Ways Amy wrote:

It is the little things of life, the minute, unimportant-looking things, that are most likely to shatter our peace, because they are so small that we are very likely to fight them ourselves instead of looking up at once to our Strong God, our Barrier between us and them. “Close the gate, or bar up the way, as the cloudy pillar formed a barricade between the Egyptians and Israel” is Kay’s note.

The deaths of Ginny and Chuck Lynch have taught us how short life is, how unexpectedly death can come and now is the time to love and laugh, to cherish and sing.

When I saw Bob Dutina for the first time, at a distance, it really was love at first sight. I have never understood exactly how our lives came to be together; however, I am grateful and blessed to have been given the gift of this incredible marriage.. Thanks be to God!

Psalm 90:12. So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.