Page 832 of the Book of Common Prayer has the prayer #59 For Quiet Confidence.
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 we visited the National Cathedral I was delighted to find a small plaque on the wall with this very prayer on it. The photo of that plaque hung on my wall for many years.
Many, many years ago I chose Isaiah 30:15 as my ‘life verse.’ It reads:
For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. But you refused NRSVUE
I have returned to the prayer and verse countless times over the years. I am always stung by the last phrase, “But you refused” or “But you would not.” Oh Lord deliver me from being one who refuses.
There truly is strength in practicing this verse in your daily life. Here are a few ways. Returning and rest, quietness and trust. That hushes my speculations. Calms my rushing about. (maiden name was Rush!) There are so many applications. Try pondering this prayer and verse for 7 days. See what impact it has upon you! I often print things like this and carry them in my pocket throughout the day.
By the might of Your Spirit, LIFT US WE PRAY, to Your Presence where we maybe still and KNOW that you are God.
Have I shared with you how much I like Wite-out? Not the fancy skinny applicators, but the old fashioned brush-on style. Bic makes it now. Took me forever to find it, but finally in the stationary aisle of a very, very large Kroger store. They call it correction fluid but I have found new uses for it.
We have electric sockets in our kitchen island. The plug on almost every one of my appliances is black. I get tired or figuring out, now does the plug go this way or that? So I plug in the appliance then mark what I see as the topside of the plug with a swipe of Wite-out. No more guessing on that mixer, crock pot, and air fryer!
One of the biggest objections we have to our new house is the lighting seems inadequate. When I go to plug in my iPad and keyboard at night it is almost impossible to see the placement socket. You guessed it! A little touch of Wite-out to outline the socket in white and voila-la! Easy to find and put that chord right in there.
Last summer Sister Corina taught the Journey Together in Stitches group how to do card stitching. I made intertwined hearts for a card for Bob. Then I researched other patterns on line. I found one that spoke to me of our son’s wife. It is a fairy sitting under a flower with 4 wings and golden hair. This pattern was one of the hardest things I have ever made. I almost gave up and threw it away several times. In the beginning I had to start completely over as the lower area did not look right. Then finally last week I was down to wire. Either finish it or pitch it. I got it finished. Here is part of the difficulty.
Pattern has a copy right that’s why I made it so small.
When you pierce the paper you wind up with a bunch of dots. If you see lines on this paper it is where I drew them to help me.
Then one is directed to sew with sewing thread from A to B, etc.
Here is the finished project that almost never was!
I was tickled that she seemed to really like it. I told Bob if I ever choose a pattern as complicated as this again to stop me and tell me, “NO!”
We actually found in our used frames a solid wood frame that seemed more fitting. Hardest gift of the 2024!!
When I was a child I remember my parents taking me to the Krohn Conservatory here in Cincinnati to see the nativity scene with live animals. When Bob and I moved back to this area I took him, and he, too, was enchanted. So we made it our habit to bring the children and then for a while the grandchildren to see the same wonder. We even took an elderly friend once and she was delighted!
This year we visited it alone. I love to watch the children delight in the animals. One toddler was telling the cow “Moo!” Another stooped over a little bit to look between the bars of the fence (there to keep us separate from the animals and characters). He was so cute and reminded me of our own kids at one time. The sheep were way out in the grassy yard. We could not figure out how to get them to come closer. Some of the young adults wanted to see the sheep up close. On one occasion one year they were so close we could pet them. This year they did not want to move.
photo by r m dutina
We waited around awhile to watch the families come through. Then I noticed a man leaned over the fence making a motion with his hand as if he had a treat in it. The sheep began to stir. He was not making a sound. I told him we had been trying to figure out how to get the sheep to move, and here he did it with a simple gesture. He replied, “Well, they are my sheep.”
Who better to scratch your ear than your own shepherd!
Sure enough in a matter of mere moments he had them up and moving towards him. One kiddo was delighted and kept saying “Sheep! Sheep!” The shepherd made a few clicking sounds and they came closer to the fence. He did not have treats, but those sheep obviously knew their shepherd. The shepherd told us he worked there at the Krohn and would slip out from time to time to visit his sheep. I thanked him for sharing them with us. Bob told him that we had been coming for years and all the delight those sheep brought to us and others we brought to visit.
Finally this one came to check us out. photo by r m dutina
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. John 10:27-31 NIV
My prayer is that now and throughout the coming year you would follow the voice, and touch, and signals from your Shepherd. The Great Shepherd of the sheep loves you immensely.
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13:20-21 ESV
My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together. Desmond Tutu
Isn’t that an interesting thought? Along with there is no we and them, just all human beings.
I pray you have calm and merry holiday preparations. Stay in touch with the humanity of others! Celebrate the coming of Christ both as a child and His return in glory!
“As I open my front door, remind me that I follow in the footsteps of others who have kept their eyes fixed on you.” From a Walk in My Neighborhood, Every Moment Holy Volume 3 Oh Lord, help me, help me keep my eyes fixed on You!
Rumi wrote, “There a thousand ways to kiss the earth.” How do you bow before the Majesty born to us? So many this to give thanks and praise for.
I cannot hear this song too often. I first heard it on a Christmas CD that Christ Tomlin recorded a few years ago. This year my heart just sings it again and again. No, I have not mastered the lyrics, but I made certain to find a recording that supplied them for you. Enjoy as you worship!
Written by Chris Tomlin, Jonas Myrin, Matthew James Redman
Once a woman came to our home. When she saw Bob’s copy of “Zen and the Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance” on the shelf she was immediately suspicious. The narrowness of her Christian belief system stunned me. As if Christ cannot handle other ways of thinking? I don’t know. I was just stunned. Good thing she never saw this title on the same bookcase! “Without Buddha I Could Not Be A Christian.”
Below is a talk by the theologian Doctor Paul Knitter given at the Faith and Life lecture series the Baldwin Wallace University located in Berea, Ohio just 12 miles from Cleveland. Paul was ordained in Rome in 1966, married in 1982 and taught undergraduates at the Xavier University for some 30 years.
I heard Paul Knitter speak at an Associates Retreat at the Convent of the Transfiguration. I bought his book. Wish I had put the purchase date in the front. Oh well. I recently pulled it off the shelf again as The Book of Joy reminded me that he is where I learned to use a Buddhist bucket in my Christian well. That refers to learning the power and importance of silence in my journey with the Trinity.
On Page 153 of his book, Dr. Knitter says “We need an additional Sacrament, the Sacrament of Silence. I believe we Christians need to receive this Sacrament regularly and frequently, as frequently as every day. (Fortunately, it’s a self-administered sacrament, so we don’t have to go to church.)
Page 154: To pick up the analogy used earlier in this chapter, Buddhism offers Christians a bucket that can draw up the mystical depths of the Cristian well. It provides a help, for some a decisive help, to realize and enter in the non-dualistic, or unitive, heart of Christian experience – a way to be one with the Father, to live Christ’s life, to be not just a container of the Spirit but an embodiment and expression of the Spirits, to live by and with and in the Spirit, to live and move and have our being in God.So I’m proposing a Buddhist means to a Christian end – Buddhist tools for a Christian project. Without Buddha I Could Not Be A Christian
I am going to stop copying the text now. I want you to give this some thought. I know this may be a lot to take in. I encourage you though to keep reading. Wouldn’t you like to find a means to deepen your ability to fulfill oneness with Christ? When I am in a retail place and they ask, “May I help you ma’am?” I always reply, “I need all the help I can get!” None of the things I have adapted into my prayer life from Buddhism have made me less of a Christ follower. I agree with Knitter, that learning about silence and stillness has made me better at following the Holy Spirit and walking with Christ. How do you accomplish stillness and silence?
The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. 5 The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears; I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away. Isaiah 50:4-5 NIV
I learned years ago I cannot open my own ears. At times I can barely yield myself to listening for the still, small voice of God! But God is my help and strength (Psalm 28). God shows me the way. When the chatter in my head proves daunting, I can choose to go to the Sacrament of Silence. I gently return again and again as often as it takes for 15 minutes. At times, I practice Psalm 131.
My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. 2 But I have calmed and quietened myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10
Everyday after lunch, we close the front door and take a rest. This one day I looked out the window of the front door only to see flames and smoke. A neighbor’s house was burning. I took my coat and ran to the area.
Our front door window looks out onto our neighborhood, Houses similar, vinyl siding colors differ We are glad our main windows look into an older more interesting neighborhood Like most American houses Our roofing is framed on wooden trusses.
There was a fire yesterday As I closed the front door and looked out the front door window I saw flames and smoke Big nasty flames of red and orange, devouring that roof as thick smoke billowed into the sky A still point of unbelief
Thank God no people were at home Now the view out our front door is the Dark black framing charred wood - What remains of our neighbor’s roof
As I stood in a neighbor’s driveway and watched the burning house Waiting for one neighbor to return home Firemen and firewomen calmly doing their work, occasionally asking me if I had a key to this house or knew how to get in Horror finally erupted for me as some of the roof timbers fell Siding on houses both south and north melting
It had been an unreal scene until then The dog inside did not survive the smoke inhalation The fire workers were able to save some of the woman’s possessions, especially the things her husband had made for her before he died. Cause of the fire is still to be determined.
We are more grateful than usual having witnessed this destruction Now the view out our front window is blackened trusses Like original close grown trees Occasional sun shows through No longer a shelter
I have been too busy for my own good. The crochet group party and decorations are finished.
Actually there were 3 battery candles in all four arrangements
Then we volunteered to collect the gifts our church donated to Interparish Ministry for families to choose from for Christmas. I emptied the Rav4 of every single thing to make room for the gifts. We took my car and Bob’s Volkswagen Taos to church. We packed both of them to the rafters. Unbelievable the generosity of the church members. Amazed at how much the cars could hold. And there were more gifts to be cataloged and delivered the next day! That was work that filled us with joy. The next day all were delivered to the distribution site safely in the pouring rain. No matter, knowing the joy they will bring.
There has not been time so far this season to make gingerbread with the grandgirls. We decided to do it on a date after our family celebration this weekend. Ouch! That hurts but is understandable with both young ladies working now. Traditions can bring disappointment as well as joy. Oh yeah, change is inevitable! I almost forgot.
So as the final gifts roll in and we wrap a few in paper, (most will be given in cloth bags I sewed throughout the year), I will be baking cookies to go with our favorite ice cream for dessert after gift sharing. Need to purchase the items for the sandwich making. That became a tradition when the Grandkids were all little and not interested in food when gifts are so much more exciting!
Neighbors on both side will have to have siding replaced. One also has 2 broken windows from the heat of the flames. Uncertain what the neighbor who suffered such destruction will do next. The rumor is she was going to move in with her grandson in 2025. That is occurring now. There has not been a fire in this neighborhood before, so the Homeowners Board will have to determine if there are rules about re-building? They are deciding how to make a monetary collection for her to show our sympathy.
Please remember her in your prayers this season. I am certain the Lord will take care of her in her loss. Yes, she lost all of the gifts she had already purchased. But thank God she has her life and her health. No injuries for the fire personnel either.
Remember the ring above worn by Jonathan Roumie? It so fits with this post!
I thought of the quote below recently when I attended a Zoom book discussion of The Book of Joy. I was very late but did not want to miss the group entirely. I could not recall the poem at the time so I looked it up later. I guess the framed version I used to have was edited to the calligrapher’s liking, because I do not remember anything about a cloud of smoke.
Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!” ― Hunter S. Thompson, The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967
Rather I think of it like I will skid into heaven with a mouthful of chocolate, used up … etc. I might even be late arriving!
Our discussion that night was on chapter about the Illness and Fear of Death. Not a topic most of us enjoy. I once heard. “Change is inevitable. Come to accept it.” I do not know a single human who actually likes change, do you? I wrote about this once before here https://wordpress.com/post/treasures-in-plain-sight.org/153
Impermanence can also be a comfort! I am promised a new body after my death. That will be a relief!! Things will not always remain the same and that is great news regarding the things I absolutely cannot stand.
How about you? As you practice holding all things loosely can you rejoice in the impermanence of life? What might you loosen your grip on? What topic plagues you with negative thinking? Perhaps you could remind yourself that it will not ALWAYS be like this!
When my children were growing up, especially when they were in high school I was sorrowful. Many people asked, “Can’t you be excited about who they will become? What their future holds?” What I had a difficult time explaining was that I so enjoyed being a mother and knowing they were about to fledge from our nest made me sorrowful. No, they hardly need a mother these days. I don’t think they will not really miss me until I leave this earth. The impermanence of life hit me hard in those days.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaking in the Book of Joy spoke much about death.
“Because God is God, because God is infinite, because none of us who are creatures will ever fathom the infinitude that is God, heaven is going to be forever a place of new discovery.” The author, Douglas Abrams, goes on to say, Perhaps death and the fear of death is truly the greatest challenge to joy. Well, when we are dead, it does not really matter, but it is the of its approaching, of the suffering that often precedes it, and ultimately the fear of the oblivion and the loss of our person hood that frighten us. Many psychologists say the fear of death lies behind all other fears, and many historians of religion argue that religion arose to try to solve the mystery of death. Modern life keeps that fear at bay, as we don’t interact with the very old or the very sick, and illness, frailty, and death get tucked away behind institutional walls from our everyday lives.
Death is part of our life. Fact. I always opine that none of us are getting out of here alive, unless Jesus comes before we die. And even in living, we are exhorted to die to self! The Dalai Lama pointed out that “the Buddha’s last teaching at the time of his death ends with the truth of impermanence, reminding us how it is the nature of all things that come into existence to have an end. The Buddha said nothing lasts.”
“Everything is in a constant state of change – nothing remains static, and nothing remains permanent,” he reminded them. “What is important to remember is that sooner or later death to comes and to make our life meaningful while we’re alive.” Another contributor to the book, Jinpa, mentioned,”The true measure of spiritual development is how one confronts one’s won mortality. The best way is when one is able to approach death with joy; the next best way is without fear; third best way is at least not to have regrets.”
Guess we each have work to do as we review those ways, checking our own heart and moving towards our inevitable end! May this season as winter approaches, find you ready to perform some of that important self examination. Blessing, Molly D.
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18 NIV
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 NIV
7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. 9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. Psalm 36:7-9
Even Amy Carmichael in The Edges of His Ways comments on abundance using Romans 5
Much more they which receive abundance of grace . . . shall reign in life by One, Jesus Christ.Romans 5:17
There is a lovely word in this verse, it is “abundance.” The word is translated “overflowing” in Weymouth and elsewhere, and Way has “The measureless overflowing of the fountain of the grace of God.” This is the grace that is ready to help us in time of need, this and nothing less. Thank God, He does not measure out grace in teaspoons. The measureless overflowings of the fountain are for each one of us today. Need we fail? NEVER.
How can we comprehend this abundance? Have you tried to drink from this fountain?
Often at Christmas we overwhelm ones we love with gifts. Did you realize that was God’s idea first? When gifting our kids at Christmas we often chose to only give them three since that is what the Wise Men brought to Jesus at His birth. This year I found myself stuffing more than one gift in each bag!
Love, grace, delights, life, and light to name a few. Amy says each one of us need these everyday. Sit with your heavenly Father and make yourself receptive to His gifts DAILY. It makes a tremendous difference!
Have you ever thought of prayer in terms of giving and taking, receiving and offering, letting God use your offering as God sees fit? This blog offers a few how-tos. I hope to draw parallels between the faiths in an understandable and useful way.
Dalai Lama speaks in The Book of Joy about the practice of Tonglen. At the end of the book there are Joy Practices and Tonglen is included. I am not skilled with Word Press lists, but the basic steps are as follows:
Begin by settling your mind with several long breaths through your nose.
Think of someone who is suffering. You can choose a loved one, a friend, or even a whole group of people, such as refugees.
Reflect on the fact that, just like you, they wish to overcome suffering and to be joyful. Try to feel a sense of concern for the well-being of the person or group you are focusing on. Feel deep within your heart the desire for them to be free of suffering.
4. For my own practice I move here to the teachings of Christianity and plead the Blood of Jesus over myself. I also take on the Whole Armor of God. The Word says the Blood of Jesus has mighty power and along with the Armor of God (Ephesians 6) brings us protection and power. If you place your palms about 5 or 6 inches apart, you can sense the power of life that is within you. This power through Christ is full of Light. He is the Light of the world, and darkness cannot put it out. John 1:5
5. Taking their suffering. As you inhale, imagine the pain being drawn from the other person (or peoples) and dissolving when it encounters the warmth and bright light of your compassionate heart. Imagine their suffering dissolving into the bright orb of light in front of you that is radiating out from your hands and compassionate heart.
6. Give out your joy. As you exhale, imagine that you are sending the person rays of light filled with your love and compassion, your courage and your confidence, your strength and your joy.
7. Repeat this practice of taking the suffering and transforming it by giving your joy.
The Catholic faith has a practice of “Offering Up Suffering to God. “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.: Galatians 6:2 NRSV I researched this a bit online as I did not totally understand how to explain it. I have heard of the same sort of prayers from others, especially the missionary Amy Carmichael. The article I consulted says it was written ‘by an anonymous priest.” https://laycistercians.com/how-to-offer-up-suffering/
Anonymous priest wrote, “You do this by making a small prayer or intention. You can simply ask God to apply the offering of your pain to help the person you are praying for in whatever way God sees fit. For example:
“Lord, I offer up the pain of this migraine for {this person}, asking You to bring them comfort, healing, or strength in their struggle. May my suffering unite with Your suffering (on the cross) to bring grace into that life.”
The goal is to unite your suffering to the suffering of Jesus on the cross and offer it as a means of healing to another person. You’re placing your pain before God, who knows how to use it for the best.
GOD KNOWS HOW TO USE WHAT YOU OFFER
“As a result you grow in patience, humility and empathy for others by offering up your pain. Offering your suffering can be a form of intercessory prayer, in which you ask God to intervene on behalf of others.”
Does it work? I am no healing expert, but it certainly cannot hurt you or the other person if prayed wisely and consciously. I always insist on being under the covering of Christ for this type of prayer. Jesus warned in Matthew 10, 28 and John 17 that we need His protection against the evil one and his minions.
Wikipedia says: Tong means “giving or sending”, and len means “receiving or taking”
Pema Chodron, a Buddhist priest says of Tonglen, You breathe in with the wish that those human beings could be free of that suffering, and you breathe in with the longing to remove their suffering. And then you send out – just relax …. Send enough space so that peoples’ hearts and minds feel big enough to live with their discomfort, fear, their anger or their despair, whatever the form of suffering takes.
So the in-breath you breath in with the wish to take away the suffering, and breathe out the wish to send comfort and happiness to the same people. The principal aim is to develop one’s own selfless and empathic qualities more than or at least as much as creating a real difference for others.
Taking on suffering does not mean to burden oneself with the misery of the world, but rather to acknowledge its existence and accept it. This makes it possible to increase one’s own peace of mind at the same time as acknowledging suffering and disharmony, so there is less contradiction than there might have been.
So where does that leave the rest of us? Most of us have experienced suffering of some sort during our lifetime. Perhaps the next time you are confronted by your own suffering or that of another you could try this combination of prayer forms?
Prayer of give and take. Prayers of substitution. Name it as you wish. We all know someone or many someones who are suffering. I just ask you to try it on behalf of another. Wouldn’t this be an amazing world if we prayed this for one another!? Love this image!
Are you familiar with the three images in Old Testament about God: wind, fire and earthquake.
In 1 Kings 19 Elijah was exhausted and afraid of the threats of Jezebel and had fled to the wilderness. Eventually, after an angel had fed him twice, he traveled forty days and nights into the wilderness of Mt Horeb. He slept in a cave and then the LORD God came to Him and told him to go outside, as follows,
He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ 1 Kings 19:11-13
There have been many songs written about this incident and how the LORD calls us to listen to His still, small voice. The one below was written by and sung by Audrey Assad. Lyrics below are slightly different from recording, but you will get the idea. Recorded and released on a Chris Tomlin Christmas CD entitled Abide. Snow is unusual in Bethlehem, but not unheard of. We have had a few light snows in our area lately. This song always returns me to listening for that still small voice in my heart.
Could’ve come like a mighty storm With all the strength of a hurricane You could’ve come like a forest fire With the power of heaven in your flame
[Chorus] But you came like a winter snow Quiet and soft and slow Falling from the sky in the night To the earth below
[Bridge] Ooh no, your voice wasn’t in a bush burning No, your voice wasn’t in a rushing wind It was still, it was small, it was hidden
[Chorus] You came like a winter snow Quiet and soft and slow Falling from the sky in the night To the earth below
[Outro] Falling, oh yeah, to the earth below You came falling from the sky in the night To the earth below
Listen for that tender voice as we celebrate Advent and await His coming again.
Treasures in Plain Sight, A Christian Blog 