Author: Molly Lin Dutina

52+ YEARS as wife to Robert! Still deeply loving that man!! He is often responsible for the photos I post. I try to always give him credit!
Posted on in Aging, Book quotes, Faith, Memories, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Traveling

Telling the Destruction of Babylon

We visited Faith Church in Rio Rancho where Dan and Betty worship. Pastor Mike McDonald has been doing a series preaching on Jeremiah and this week was Chapters 50-51. “God’s judgement is a word to His people of future hope in their present hardship.”

And then the Word says:

He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the Maker of all things, including the people of his inheritance—the Lord Almighty is his name.

Jeremiah 51:19 NIV

The Maker of all things. The Lord Almighty is his name. Our portion.

Our strength, our reward. Father You bless us even when we are not aware of Your blessing. Help us to bring attention to You and Your holy power in all that we do.

He is our portion We are exceedingly blessed. Look to Him at all times.

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Faith, Humor, Special Event, Traveling

Beauty in a Glaze

Take a look at this from the craft show!

https://temperedearthfarms.com/products

The city of Corrales, New Mexico had their 34th annual juried craft show on Saturday morning at the historic Old San Ysidro church which has been decommissioned. Dan and Bob dropped Betty and me off to browse the show and shop while they went to get coffee and chat together.

There was handmade jewelry, hand painted silk shawls, paintings, ceramics, porcelain dishes, amazing photographs, gourd art, icons, jams, notecards, wood work, creations made with old sewing machine parts, fold art quilted hangings, metal outdoor sculptures and more.It was amazing.

I found this tumbler made by Jenn Noel. I hemmed and hawed. I wanted the smaller design, but the only one on display had hand pinched places. I talked myself out of the tumbler. We left the show.

And then I thought about the glaze all evening. And I could not forget it. I searched for her work on line. And drooled again over that amazing “sunset” glaze.

To indulge me, Bob said we could return to the craft show after church the next day and see if the item I liked was still available. It certainly was! I walked up to Jenn, the artist, and told her I thought about her work all night and especially that glaze. The piece I admired was still there!! Sold! Next challenge is to get it home in one piece!If you are still Christmas shopping, the good news is Jenn has free shipping for the few weeks left building up to Christmas. Click on https://temperedearthfarms.com/collections/all/handmade-pottery?sort_by=manual

For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.

Malachi 1:11 ESV

Here is comic Family Circus humor for the season.

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Challenge, Faith, Nature, Traveling

Dirt in Treetops?

I was driving and listening to NPR when I heard this episode of Radio Lab. I hope you enjoy the wonders of their discoveries as a much as I did.

Really? There is dirt in the canopy? The canopy even sends out roots for more trees up in the air?

Here is a quote from the transcript:

ANNIE: Her job up there was to take samples of the moss that was growing on these branches.

NALINI NADKARNI: I had to cut off chunks of it.

ANNIE: So using some clippers, she begins to cut down into that moss on the branch she’s sitting on.

NALINI NADKARNI: And as I peeled back those mats of mosses …

ANNIE: Beneath, instead of just bare branch …

NALINI NADKARNI: I saw that there was all this soil up there.

ANNIE: This branch has a foot of soil piled up on it.

ROBERT: Oh wow!

ANNIE: Soil that had built up over many, many years of mosses and leaves dying and decomposing right there on the branch.

What? I was intrigued. Temperate forest in Olympic rainforest in western Washington state. 100 feet up – a 10 story building! Copepods in the top of Redwoods. Amazing discoveries. And we, the little humans, think we know it all! NOT!!

The wonders our God of Creation made for us to discover. New things after new things we never even imagined.

Cloudy day in Corrales, New Mexico

I am seated in New Mexico looking at the peaks of Sandia Mountain. Visible valleys where water has run down the mountains side. A few places where snow has began to accumulate. Trees that look like dark green fuzz from here, trees that likely are much taller than I am. What wonders reside there? Discoveries the scientists and explorers have not yet made. How many eons have people gazed upon this mountain? Yet, the God of Wonders is NEVER surprised by what we find!!

Same mountain, different day!

Go outside. Take a walk around. Dig into the moss, or rocks, or dirt. See what wonders God has created for you to discover. Treasures in plain sight or on a treetop.

Posted on in Aging, Faith, Family, Illness and Health, medical treatment, Prayer, Special Event, Thanks

Best News in A Long Time!!

Bob was bemoaning another pre-op physical. It will be too many days between his first cataract surgery and his second, more extensive cataract and eye surgery in December. So they require another physical. He went to the doc, got check up with nurse practitioner and blood work. (Will we ever see the actual doctor again?!?)

When the results came in he was thrilled, (me, too!). The kidney values were normal and the best he has ever had since his serious illness in 2018!! His kidneys are completely healed!

If you know someone who has ever experienced kidney failure in the midst of sepsis you realize how important this is. At first in 2018 when they put him on dialysis there was no indication how long he would need the multiple times a week treatment. Perhaps for the remainder of his life? Slowly his kidneys showed signs of beginning to function. Very slowly. Then gradually he was told he no longer needed dialysis. He was cautioned to be very careful with salt intake, certain medications, even over the counter ones, etc.

So he has been very conscientious since then. Now this good news! Best reason I have ever heard for repeated physical check ups!

All glory to “Jehovah Rapha”: the God Who Heals. I do not understand how He heals or why He sometimes chooses not to heal, but each time I see His healing touch I am moved to worship.

Jehovah-Rapha has the power to heal physically (2 Kings 5:10), emotionally (Psalm 34:18), mentally (Daniel 4:34), and spiritually (Psalm 103:2–3). Neither impurity of body nor impurity of soul can withstand the purifying, healing power of Jehovah-Rapha.

https://www.gotquestions.org/Jehovah-Rapha.html
Posted on in Faith, Thanks, Traveling

Saturday

Saturday used to bring up thoughts of cartoons, unlimited: Tom & Jerry, Roadrunner, Bugs and the gang. Then it brought up my children watching those shows and me having time to myself. And now? Well, this close to Christmas it usually means too many activities to be done in too little time!

How are you filling your Saturday? We are actually taking the day off. We had 2 airline tickets we needed to use before December 31 so months ago we booked a flight to go see Betty & Dan, our dear friends in Albuquerque. This past week Bob began questioning if this was a good idea with so MANY holiday things to get checked off the list. He also wants to get as many items accomplished as possible before his eye surgery December 15!

Sometimes during Advent we make a one day retreat at the Convent of the Transfiguration. Well this year we will visit the Cookseys. It is often like attending a retreat just being with them! All four of us love the Lord dearly and share our faith walk details when we are together.

We are looking forward to seeing the luminaries which Ohio sort of dabbles in.

The tradition of Christmas luminaries has a long and varied history as part of religious tradition. Luminarias (Spanish for “small bonfires”) were first recorded in the 16th century, when Spanish people lit bonfires along the roads to guide people to Midnight Mass on the final night of Las Posadas. This was done to reenact the story of Mary and Joseph’s quest for lodging in Bethlehem. This tradition was brought to the Santa Fe Trail in the early 19th century, when settlers lit their entrance-ways with beautiful Chinese paper lanterns. This tradition was introduced to Mexican Indians by Spanish missionaries, who lit paper lanterns for nine consecutive nights beginning December 16th. It was representational of lighting the way for Christ’s birth and illumination of the spirit.

https://www.lumabase.com/blog/2020/09/history-of-luminarias/

And even more information about Las Posadas from https://www.culturalworld.org/what-is-las-posadas.htm

Las Posadas is a traditional Mexican festival which takes place from 16 December to 24 December. It commemorates the search for shelter by Mary and Joseph with a series of parties around the neighborhood. In some parts of Mexico, it is a major holiday, with the whole community taking part. Mexican immigrants in other parts of the world may also celebrate Las Posadas, if the immigrant community is large enough, and participation isn’t restricted to Mexicans; other people in the community are certainly welcome to participate.

In Spanish, Las Posadas means “The Inns,” and during this festival, people form a procession which symbolically visits homes asking for shelter. People in the procession dress up, sing songs, and sometimes bring a burro or donkey along to represent the donkey which brought Mary into Jerusalem. One home in particular is designated as the “inn” each night, and when the procession reaches that home, the hosts welcome them in for a Posadas party which includes music, dancing, food, and prayer.

Not certain we will actually be in a procession or seeking shelter, but remembering the Lord’s first coming and His subsequent return will be a blessing to share with Betty and Dan.

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

1 John 1:5 NIV
Posted on in Challenge, Collection of Quotes, Faith, Just do it, Memories, Poetry, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth

Advent Began November 27 This Year

Christianity.com offers these quotes:

“The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come.” ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holidays/what-is-advent.html

“God of hope, I look to you with an open heart and yearning spirit. During this Advent season, I will keep alert and awake, listening for your word and keeping to your precepts. My hope is in you.” ~ Matthew Kelly

https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holidays/what-is-advent.html

If you go to the website mentioned above you will read that this church season is a time to prepare our hearts for Christ but also a time to prepare our hearts for the RETURN of Christ. The author speaks of both looking back and looking forward, “balancing the two elements of remembrance and anticipation.”

I made the sketch below showing myself in the form of a manger. Each year at this time I return to my Advent poem from 1993. HERE AM I ©Molly Lin Dutina

Here am I, stuff of earth
But by the Spirit's power rebirth
has brought me receptivity.
Fill me with Yourself.
 
Molded by Your Holy Hand
I wait before You
Cupped and ready,
cleansed, atoned
eager for Your radiant touch
Virtue compelled to enfold Your own
the vessel of Your making.
 
Here am I, stuff of earth
yielded for Messiah's birth
be it unto me, O Lord,
as in Your word and will.
 
The Great I AM
dwells in my heart
there to impart the power
courage and propulsion for
His dream to be fulfilled.

My prayer for you is that this season you will wait for the Lord to fill you with His power, courage and propulsion that His dream will be fulfilled in your heart. We can gift ourselves to Jesus this year. Have at it!

May the words of Matthew Kelly keep your heart on track: “I will keep alert and awake, listening for Your word and keeping to Your precepts.” Amen!

Posted on in Challenge, Faith, Family, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Thanks

Blast of Spending

Each year we set a budget for Christmas gift spending. This year we have spent most of that as we try to get Christmas things done well in advance of our travel to New Mexico and then Bob’s second eye surgery. What about you? Is there a plan to your spending?

With the economic woes from this rampant inflation the news was reporting on something I too have noticed with on-line shopping …. this offer of ‘buy now, pay later’ on line. They keep offering to let me pay in three or four installments. There IS nothing new under the sun!

What has been is what will be,
    and what has been done is what will be done;
    there is nothing new under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 1:9

When will we reign in this desire for new things, better things, larger things and learn to live within our means? At first I am saddened in the grocery store when I hear a mother tell her child “No, we cannot afford that.” That is usually in regards to cookies or a new cereal. I want to buy the thing for the child, but my next thought is respect for the mother. She is willing to tell the child the truth! That is not often done in this day and age.

I think we are selling our souls in this quest to fulfill our untamed wants and making ourselves think those are needs. What happened to contentment? Can we separate ourselves from the ways of the world?

 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another. 18 ‘If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world—therefore the world hates you.

John 15:17-19 NRSV

We can make our own ornaments out of pressed paper egg cartons. We can string popcorn and cranberries. We can limit our gifts to one another both in quantity and by cost. We could choose to stay within budget. Setting limits on how we celebrate might tell the world more than our words about how much we value Christ and His teachings. What if this holiday you actually told the people you love how you love them and why? Wouldn’t heartfelt truth over a cup of coffee be more memorable than some bauble they likely do not need or want?

14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; 16 to the one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not peddlers of God’s word like so many; but in Christ we speak as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God and standing in his presence.

2 Corinthians 2:14-17 NRSV

Consider the facts below. yikes.

Key 2022 American Christmas Spending Stats

  1. Americans spend approximately $1,000 on Christmas each year.
  2. 65% of US holiday budgets are assigned to gift purchases.
  3. US holiday sales have grown year-over-year for over a decade.
  4. 96% of Americans buy gifts for their families.
  5. Americans spend well over $200 a year on non-gift items.
  6. Canadians spend roughly twice as much as Americans during the holidays.
  7. On average, men spend 10% more than women on holiday purchases.
  8. The highest-spending Americans over the winter holidays are aged 45-54.
  9. The Northeast outspends the South by around $100 per person each year.
  10. Gift cards are the most popular present to receive.
  11. 43% of Americans begin Christmas shopping before the end of October.
  12. More than half (57%) of Americans shop online for holiday purchases.

Average Christmas Spending 2022

Christmas is a major expenditure for many Americans. According to the latest data from the National Retail Federation (NRF), American consumers spend an average of $997.73 on gifts and holiday items each Christmas.

https://explodingtopics.com/blog/christmas-spending-stats

I pray you will mindfully choose how you celebrate this year. May the fragrance of Christ be your best gift to give. Remembering Whose birthday we are celebrating may be the most powerful monitor of our intentions and purchasing.

Posted on in Aging, Beagle, Faith, Humor, Memories, Thanks

Vanishing Tablets

The older I get the more lessons I learn about growing old. Case in point, I recently had to fill my evening pillbox in the bathroom at bedtime. I use 4 pillboxes daily, (breakfast, lunch, dinner and bedtime). Somehow I had run out of evening medication before it was time to fill all the pillboxes at once. I hauled out the medication and prepared to fill the box for a one week supply.

When I got to the Losartan, described as ‘elliptical green tablet’, the open bottle slipped from my hand and spilled all over the bathroom floor. I closed the door to keep Lucky out while I scooped up tablets. I amused myself thinking, “If the Losartan seems hairy in your mouth it is likely due to dog shedding and Molly shedding!” I wanted to be careful to get all of them lest the dog get one and eat it. Her blood pressure has not been an issue so she does not need the medication! I am grateful that the medication regulates my blood pressure so it is not an issue for me either!

As I continued to get ready for bed I realized the lump in the new shag rug was yet another tablet, and another tablet. Pharmaceuticals can camouflage! Who knew? The color of the rug is actually more lovely than this image of the pill. I finally shook the rug in the shower stall in an attempt to retrieve all of them. In case you are too young to know, the insurance company keeps track of how many pills are dispensed by the pharmacy and will not cover the cost of extras if you lose a few to the bathroom floor.

A few days later I had cause to mop the bathroom floor. I took up the rug and began to sweep up any loose hair or dirt. Voila! There were 3 more tablets against the edge of the cabinet that I had missed. Yikes. Glad the dog did not find them or find them tasty. “Hairy blood pressure regulator.” Never saw that from a Doc!

Senior citizen with hands that sometimes do not grasp, spilled pills, likely missed more than a few on the first pass, and second pass! The lessons go on and on for me!

Posted on in Aging, Challenge, Faith, Just do it, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Thanks, Yield

His Power

Have you pondered the Power of our God?

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.

Psalm 68:19-20 NIV

Proclaim the power of God, whose majesty is over Israel, whose power is in the heavens. You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!

Psalm 68:34-35 NIV

All of that in four verses of one Psalm. Have you thanked Him for pouring out this power on your behalf? In your darkest hour do you know His light? He bears our burdens. He keeps us from dying in our heart, our innermost being. He gives power and strength to His people. When we feel most vulnerable and acutely know the very weakness of ourselves, He gives us power and strength. Who couldn’t use more strength?

Repeatedly I come back to

 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

Romans 8:11 NRSV

The same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. I have found that the power that raised Jesus goes dormant when I choose to live by my flesh, pushing the Spirit of Christ aside in preference to my will and my ways. My thinking becomes corrupted with thoughts such as, “Why shouldn’t I be thanked?” or “What am I, chopped okra?”

The only way I know to begin again starts with seeing my sin and confessing it to my Lord.

If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9 RSV

I cannot cleanse myself. I can recognize and confess though. Just as an addict cannot stop using until they want to, until they are ready, I cannot even see my sin until I am miserable and recognize how far removed I am from walking in righteousness with my Lord.

He daily bears our burdens and provides us an escape from death. He gives us life and strength and power. He indwells us with the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. He knows we have the ability to shut off that power source by stubbornly returning to our ways of flesh. When the ‘Hound of Heaven’ shows us we are way off, He can also disarm us with His love and lead us to repentance.

I fled Him down the nights and down the days
I fled Him down the arches of the years
I fled Him down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind, and in the midst of tears
I hid from him . . .

The Hound of Heaven by Francis Thompson

We serve an amazing God who never leaves us or forsakes us. Even when we are stinky brats, He stays close by. Come to Him, all who are weary and heavy laden. He will give you rest and life and love unmerited.

The Father will not make us obey. He waits for us to turn to Him and ask forgiveness. We give access to Him by confessing our shortcomings. We then turn towards Him and walk away from the sin habits. I would love to say we never return there. Sadly we are like dogs in Proverbs 26:11:

As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.

Lord, help us to follow You with joyful, peaceful, constant, yielded obedience. Thank you for pardoning us when we step off Your path and choose our own way. Please continue to lead us always in Your paths of righteousness. We will be ever so careful to give You the glory. Amen.

Posted on in Challenge, Humor, politics

A Fresh Take on An Election!

This is copied from The Cincinnati Enquirer regarding a recent Northern Kentucky election. Trying to bring you this humorous news there were many typos created from copy and pasting. I hope I caught all of them!

Mon 11/21/2022 Jolene Almendarez, Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK


How this NKY city forgot all about an election
MENTOR, Ky. – The election in this city earlier this month
featured no negative ads, no spam texts – not even any
candidates on the ballot.
In this city of fewer than 200 residents, every elected official
forgot to submit their names in time to run for office again. So, on
Election Day, voters had to write in candidates.
Mentor City Commissioner Maggie Gosney didn’t even know she
won the election until three days after the polls closed. When an
Enquirer reporter told her she likely did win based on unofficial
election results, she shrugged.
“We just got wrapped up in our lives and it slipped past us,” she
said about missing the deadline to run for office. “And we knew
about it, because the city clerk kept saying we have to get our
names in by a certain date. … We just forgot and we were like, ‘Oh,
yeah, we were supposed to do that, weren’t we?’ ” Run by a mayor
and four-person city commission, this Campbell County enclave is
roughly a mile-long strip on state Route 8 along the Ohio River,
about 30 minutes southeast of Cincinnati.

Red Pin is Mentor, KY


The political scene in Mentor seems even further away from the
name-calling and election complaints of Northern Kentucky
politics this year.
Gosney, 55, a lifelong resident of the city, said residents basically
take turns holding office. She also clarified that write-in
candidates still have to pay a fee to run for office and submit their
intent to run as a write-in candidate.
City Clerk Carol Dunn asked Gosney to run for office a little over
four years ago when another resident gave up the spot. She took
up the offer and it didn’t take much campaigning to win back then
or for her to win this year’s election, which she did with 30 of the
113 votes cast, according to unofficial election results from the
Campbell County Clerk.
She says she posted about her candidacy on Facebook the day
before the election. Write-in candidates were also mentioned in
the city’s one-page newsletter this month, where the election and
candidates were given a two sentence mention. More information
was given about this year’s Christmas parade where the person
with the best float (usually a tractor or a truck) wins a gold painted
ceramic turkey and about $15.
The parade is the biggest event of the year in Mentor.
Last year, float winners won one of three city signs that were
being replaced. The city signs say, “Last one out of town, please
turn off the light.” Gosney and her family won one of the signs
with a “Very Covid Christmas” theme: A tree decorated with toilet
paper, masks, and bandages.
There are only a handful of businesses, including a dog training
facility and a hair salon. And Gosney said that as a city
commissioner, there is never any drama or people lined up to
speak about issues.
City council meets once a month at a nearby house. Meetings
used to be held on some church steps, but they changed the
location after the church became a residence.
At most meetings, she says they take on issues like potholes or
snow removal. The city doesn’t have any zoning laws or other
restrictions that require permits.
Mayor Peggy Fury declined to be interviewed. But she said
in a phone call that she’d likely end up being mayor again, though
unofficial election results show nobody was written in as mayor of
the city.
Campbell County Clerk Jim Luersen said a small town with only
write-in candidates isn’t unusual.
“We have 15 different cities in Campbell County and a couple of
them are very, very small. So, sometimes it’s hard to find anyone
to pay the $50 filing fee to run,” he said. “It’s not like you get paid
for the job or anything.”
In fact, when nobody wants to run the local government in a small
town, it could lead to dis-incorporation.
The Ohio Valley Resource, an online news outlet, reported the
eastern Kentucky town of Blackey has been dis-incorporated twice,
most recently this summer. It has been years since the city had a
government and its infrastructure began crumbling. The Letcher
County government absorbed it in June, the news
organization reported.
But Gosney says she isn’t worried about that happening in Mentor
any time soon.
“I think we’ll always be a little town. I hope so anyway.”


Mentor is a city in Campbell County, Ky. with a population of about
200 people and a total area of 0..81 square miles..

STEPHANIE SCARBROUGH/THE ENQUIRER
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