Category: Aging

Posted on in Aging, Book quotes, Challenge, Covid 19, Faith, Family, Just do it, medical treatment, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Thanks

Themes Fold In Upon One Another

Have you ever had a recipe that said to fold in ingredients? Here is a bowl before ingredients are folded in.

The week of August 8 our church leadership was hit with another wave of Covid. Many of those afflicted have already had Covid, yet they are ill again. One of the women in our small group in her 80’s has Covid. There is another in her 80s in our group, 2 of us in our 70s and on down the age numbers. Our host decided it was best to cancel our biweekly group. So we will have no meetings for the month of August. (Another meeting was canceled due to attendance number too low.)

Then I wondered if we should meet for the Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 discussion. So far 2 out of 4 have said yes. Phillip Keller wrote

He leads his flock gently, but persistently, up the paths that wind through the dark valleys. It should be noticed that the verse states “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” Somehow, in a serene quiet way I am assured all will turn out well for my best because He is with me in the valley and things are under His control.

pages 100, 102 A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23

Reminded again a contemporary saying, “The best way out is usually THROUGH.”

That brought me back to the challenge by John Eldredge in Resilient. One question he poses on Page 8 is

If another pandemic were to sweep across the globe next week, some brand-new deadly threat, and we found ourselves back to quarantines, living under the vague threat of suffering and death, in a state of constant uncertainty about the future, with no clear view of the finish line – how would your heart respond to that?

Eldredge – Resilient

When it comes to our household the threat isn’t exactly vague. Pneumonia is also circulating around here. You might remember in 2018 my husband contracted influenza with pneumonia and was hospitalized in ICU with a ventilator, septic shock, organ failure, etc. The medical community was not certain he would survive that first week. Today we have been double vaccinated and double boosted against Covid in this household. Still do not want to tackle Covid and pneumonia at this address.

So I found myself wondering “Have I gained the resilience to go through this round?” Oh yeah, I never finished the book! The skills in each chapter have been strengthening. Now throw in the fact that I have been in pain with this plantar fasciitis since mid-June and in this orthotic boot since end of June. Now Doc is prescribing 3-5 sessions of PT to see if there is improvement. If not, then steroid injection. If no relief then surgery. I wanted to run from his office screaming NO SURGERY! But then again, I cannot run right now. Molly, can you be resilient through this too?

On page 125 Eldredge wrote:

The survivor understands that their present situation is something that they are moving through, passing through. They are enduring with resilience, which is why Jesus encourages endurance. This is not my lasting reality; this is simply my present reality. We are tapping into the help of God and the strength that prevails simply to see us through these times.

-John Eldredge

He goes on to say “This frame of mind changes everything,” Yes, John, it surely does. I have had foot pain and been clumping around in this boot for so long that I forgot this is just something I am going through. It just seems as if it will go on forever.

How to get my stability back? Joy & Strength reading for 8/15 quoted Joshua 1:7 “Be thou strong, and very courageous.” Yes, Lord help me with that, too. Strong and very courageous. She quoted Frederik Temple as saying

God does not require from you to be sinless when you come before Him, but He does require you to be unceasing in your perseverance. He does not require that you shall never have fallen; but He does require unwearied efforts. He does not require you to win, but He does require you to fight.

Frederick Temple

To change my frame of mind to going through this, with Jesus, enduring with resilience because Christ Jesus the King strengthens me. I fight back the darkness of discouragement and press on towards the light and the upward call of Christ Jesus. The themes from those three sources touched the struggle within me and folded in together to help change my attitude and determination to fight back the darkness and strain towards His light and upward call.

FOLDED IN UPON ONE ANOTHER

Are you ready to tackle your current personal challenge with these quotes? Do you know in the depths of your being that your Good Shepherd goes with you through this and every challenge? Are you persevering in ways that are strong and courageous? I challenge you to take these quotes and principles of the Kingdom and apply them to your personal challenge. He IS with you and for you. Trust Him to se you through this.

Posted on in Aging, Faith, Humor, Nature

In Due Season

Watching “The Green Planet” again and came across this!

That has to be one of the most amusing ways I have seen to spread seeds! That is the “Harvest Mouse” eating, of course, dandelion seeds. They showed an actual film of the mouse climbing the stem. I was again laughing out loud!

No idea what the mouse weighs, but it tickles my heart. Never even dreamed about anything climbing a dandelion stem.

I understand how unwanted mice are when they invade a house. We stayed at one of my sister’s houses in Colorado that was especially prone to mouse invasion. I would not kill a mouse in the wild, but inside the house where they run all over the food and silverware? That is something else!

The Lord God takes care of all of His creation, except perhaps when they invade a woman’s abode.

The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand;
you satisfy the desire of every living thing.

Psalm 145: 15-16 English Standard Version
Posted on in Aging, Book quotes, Faith, Humor

Frumpy Contentment

I have been leading discussions about Philippians lately. My focus here is the secret of being content in any and every situation. Not just well fed or hungry. (So ignore the fork below.)

I woke in the night with an image of a happy frumpy man in my mind’s eye. He was overweight and wearing soiled overalls. He had on a bucket-style hat with a collection of pins adorning it. He was smiling and obviously happy and content with his life.

In our society so fixated upon how others dress, their weight, what they look like to us, this man was a refreshing revision of contemporary humanity. He obviously did not care about social norms. I had the impression he knew Jesus very well. There was no such image online that I could find. Not even close. I want to be like him, though. He might have been carrying a fishing pole in his left hand?

We need all the humility mentioned above, but we also need 1 Timothy 6:6

Godliness with contentment is GREAT GAIN. Find your comfortable clothes and go out into the world declaring the power of Christ to make each of us content, whatever we go through. Going about His business, doing His job assignment to you with joy. My pastor calls it ‘the family business.”

Posted on in Aging, Faith

Oops. This One Was on Me. All Me.

I admit to this mistake publicly Robert Dutina. I was a mistaken button pusher!

How did you like that accidental Monday post? Occasionally while writing the blog I do not get the scheduled date and time correct. So the post was meant for Wednesday, July 27.

Yes, Jesus is my Captain. Sometimes He lets me drive the ship and then under my control things can get really strange!

You likely need to copy and paste this link into your search line. https://atomic-temporary-149406360.wpcomstaging.com/9458

Posted on in Aging, Book quotes, Challenge, Faith, Humor, Just do it, medical treatment, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Yield

Streams in the Desert

Mrs. Charles E. Cowman compiled quotes from Sunday School lessons, sermons, books and Scriptures that were published under her title “Streams in the Desert” in 1925. A friend gave me a copy that was in the 29th printing in 1950. My friend did not like it due to the older style of speaking. Now it has even been published in contemporary English.

In 2005 Bob bought me a copy that was published as a journal with lines to make notes. I have noted things over the years. IN 2018 I posed the question, “Molly can you read sea charts and navigate by the stars? No.” This morning when I opened it the bookmark fell to June 1st. Ha! I love her quote from Charles Spurgeon, known as a “Prince of Preachers” during the late 1800’s.

Why dost thou worry thyself? What use can thy fretting serve? Thou art onboard a vessel which thou couldst not steer even if the great Captain put thee at the helm, of which thou couldst not so much as reef a sail, yet thou worriest as if thou wert captain and helmsman. Oh, be quiet; God is Master!

C. H Spurgoen

It reads something like: Why do you worry yourself? What use can your fretting serve? You are aboard a vessel which you could not steer even if the great Captain put you at the helm, of which you could not so much as reef a sail {I do not even know what that means!} yet you worry as if you were captain and helmsman. OH BE QUIET; God is Master!

I got the OH BE QUIET part. Aren’t there times when we need to tell ourselves to shut up and sit down? Lately I have been in an orthotic boot trying to recover from Plantar fasciitis. That pesky ligament in the bottom of your foot that can get inflamed. My trusty foot surgeon basically told me to go sit down, do icing, stretches, rest, Tylenol, steroid tablets, wear the boot and rest: i.e., quit walking so much. Once out of school, does anyone heed when they are told to go sit down? Well, if the pain is bad enough this one does.

Molly, OH BE QUIET. You are not a foot surgeon and you do not know what is best for you. Sit down and hush. As the weeks have plodded on with me thumping along in this orthotic boot, strapping and unstrapping the front blade on with the tearing sound of Velcro, I have repeatedly told myself, “Buckle up, Buttercup and Hush! Stop complaining and be grateful you have good medical care. How many women on the run from Ukraine need an orthotic boot and do not have access to one?”

What am I worried about? Bob has had to do the dog walking a minimum of twice a day for the long walks. I do the short ones at 11 AM and 8 or 9 PM if I am able. Bob has been doing the shopping except when I go to a store and get a wheelchair cart. I am really trying to get better and store the boot until next time I need one. We have not walked along the lake road in a long time. No museums. An occasional movie. yep, fairly sedentary here. It is truly a pain for me to drive any place as it is my right foot and I cannot drive in the boot. If I drive for more than about 30 minutes it hurts to drive even with a slipper on.

Oh be quiet, Molly. Go sit down and write your blog.

Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;

    do not fret 

Psalm 37:7 NRSV

Three times this psalm says ‘do not fret.” I always say God knew to write it 3 times because I would not catch it otherwise. Be quiet. Be still. Jesus, my Captain says: “Do not fret, over dog walks or shopping lists, or housework or other errands. Yield to this current situation and heal. Ride the storm of right now and let Father be in charge, because Molly dear, you are not.”

Posted on in Aging, Book quotes, Challenge, Spiritual growth

Rumination

What do you think of when you hear that word? Perhaps animals chewing their “cud?”

A ruminate animal means it has a four-chambered stomach. Each chamber has a different and specific function that allows the beast to eat a variety of different foods, digesting it at a later time in a safe area of cover.

Even this fawn is a ruminate

How about cud?

1. Zoology: partially digested food regurgitated from the first stomach of cattle and other ruminants to the mouth for a second chewing

2. chew the cud to reflect or think over something

Farlex Free Dictionary

Rumination is also a term used in psychology. I first heard about Dr. Winch on a Podcast called Being Well with Rick Hanson. It just so happened I was in a situation of emotional upset and very much needed to find out how to NOT ruminate about what was written and done during that time.

Author Guy Winch, Ph.D. refers to it as ‘picking at emotional scabs.’ Not a lovely image but apt. In his 2013 book entitled Emotional First Aid he states “What makes rumination a form of psychological injury is that it provides no new understandings that could heal our wounds and instead serves only to pick at our scabs and infect them anew.” Dr. Winch goes on to give treatment guidelines and exercises to help people get free of this tendency.

It is not like ruminating had never happened to me before! Trust me, many times during my life I had fell into that pit and then had to figure out how to get out of it. If you want to hear some his overall teaching you can try the following link.

I was able to get his book through Ohio Libraries. He wrote:

In order to break the self-reinforcing nature of ruminative thoughts and allow our wounds to heal we must interrupt the cycle of rumination once it gets triggered, and we should weaken the urge to ruminate at the source by diminishing the intensity of the feelings that fuel it. We must also make efforts to monitor our relationships and to ease the emotional burden we might be placing on our loved ones.

Guy Winch, PhD Emotional First Aid

His treatment ideas for ruminating are not new to psychology. They include changing perspective, distraction from emotional pain, re-framing anger and managing friendships. I have read about those techniques in other psychology books. However, the idea that someone was able to devote 28 pages to rumination was helpful to me. The book helped me see this was not just my problem, but many others experience it, too. I was able to settle the topic rather quickly (at least this time around) and move on with better mental health.

If you have found yourself ‘stewing over’ a situation or returning to a problem again and again, perhaps you are ruminating. There is a way out of that maze. He also notes that if his suggestions have not helped and the urge to ruminate is still strong …”if your ruminations interfere with your basic ability to function, seek the advice of a mental health professional.”

Rumination is also strongly tied to depression.

Guy Winch, PhD, Emotional First Aid

If you are plagued with ruminations, do not assume that reading this blog or scanning a book on mental health are all you need. Use some common sense and seek a health professional if your situation persists. This was just a report on one of my experiences. I do hope it was helpful.

Posted on in Aging, Cooking, Family, Humor, Just do it, medical treatment

Humor and Aging

Without your glasses are you using the Spray ‘n Wash stain stick or Underarm deodorant?

Which one where

With your glasses off are those eye drops or scalp drops?

Steroid cream says do not use internally. Doctor says apply to your gums. Go figure!

If you are on a low salt diet is it okay to soak your foot in Epsom Salts? How about swimming in a friend’s in ground salt water pool?

Level of pain determines which cream I use on my face! Arthritis and TMJ are NO FUN!!

And then I have plenty of tears from my eye!

How come we find time to do so many things, including visiting others, and rarely find time to do things for us (like shooting photos downtown or cutting quilt squares)?

Since I never learned how to cook for two I have plenty of food to share with others!

My, oh my, this life brings humor if we are willing to look for it! I do not envy my kids or caregivers as I age. How come I think many of those comfort options will be dropped then as non-essential? A counselor who did her internship at a nursing home said she wants to hire someone when she grows old to pluck the hairs that grow in unusual places. How about my left elbow? Can I count on you to do that for me?!?

  • Fear of Change

    Fear of Change

    A quote from the series “The Hammond Family Farm,” “He knew that teenagers thought everything that happened today meant that was how things would be forever. Boone knew far better than that.” That is so like our thinking. Even in my 70s I often think like a teenager, grasping things as if they will be…

  • Hummers Know?

    Hummers Know?

    The hummingbird is flitting from one jewelweed flower to the next, and there are hundreds of flowers out there. I read they know every flower they visit. How do they remember all of those flowers? So tiny, pausing only a short moment to drink from each, how do they keep track? Flash of green darting…

  • Incredible Indeed!

    Incredible Indeed!

    Bob saw this on Facebook. I was so amazed I had to share it with all of you! I hope it has not been photo shopped! Who can tell these days? Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Psalm 150:6 NIV

Posted on in Aging, Cooking, Faith, Family, Humor, Thanks

Our Favorite Company!

This post has been republished due to a technical issue preventing some followers from seeing the initial publication…. So I guess the pressure to write this week has been taken off!

Dan and Betty Cooksey have been visiting with us for a couple days. What a delight to see our oldest friends from New Mexico. We are always at ease with them. We share approximate ages, they are married about 3 years longer than us, but best of all we share a deep and abiding faith in Christ.

It has been a whirlwind here. If I have missed a posting or two that is because I have been too busy for my own good! Or perhaps this is all FOR my good? I am lumping along in my orthotic boot with plantar fasciitis, writing a group lesson plan for Saturday (trust stands guard), group lesson plan for Thursday (Philippians Chapter 2), the blog (you are reading), company and preparing for the backyard landscapers to arrive any minute here to create a new garden strip across the back of the yard. All that amidst high humidity and nasty high temperatures, etc.

photo by r m dutina

We did get to visit our son’s food stand created with his friend Ryan, at Findlay Market. He has been making sour dough biscuits and serving them with either fresh eggs, cheese and optional sausage or berries and whipped cream. I opted for the eggs and told Bob I did not think I could possibly get it in my mouth.

photo by r m dutina

Well look at that BIG mouth!

photos by r m dutina

As you can see for a photo I can eat that with determination! Could not finish it until the next morning for breakfast. It was SO delicious! From scratch sour dough biscuit, 3 eggs fresh from a market vendor, cheese from a market vendor, prepared by Ryan and Jeff with care and attention. I will probably opt for berries and whipped cream next time!

Shel Silverstein summed it up perfectly in his verse about Scale:

Posted on in Aging, Book quotes, Faith, Journal, Just do it, Nature, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Yield

Ephesians and Brother Lawrence

Remember the study from the beginning of the year?

This image from the internet of roots and giant growth caught my attention and has me enthralled.

 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3: 14-21 NIV

You might remember I began the year with pondering the conversion of Brother Lawrence, how he saw a tree dead in winter and marveled that soon enough God would make it alive. That lead me on to Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3 that we might be rooted and established in love.

Fresh new growth on a pine tree

How is that going for you? Are you becoming more aware of the love of Christ afforded to you? Made available to you, extended, given, supplied to you? Have you opened that gift and made it your own? Are you building upon that concept in your personal life?

Have your roots gone deep? Are you clinging to His truths?

Have you seen Him do immeasurably MORE than all you can ask or imagine according to His power at work within you? Have you looked back over the past 6 months and seen His hand at work, even when you were not aware of it?

Have you said thank-you to our Lord?

Paul was willing to kneel before the Father and ask that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen us with power through His Spirit in our inner being. And that is what I pray for each of you reading this.

Father, please strengthen us with power through Your Spirit in our inner being. Paul also knew that “though our outer person is wasting away, our inner person is being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16 Strengthen and renew our inner being daily I pray.

I pray you will lean in to His arms and be made evermore like Him. Grow your roots strong and your trunk sturdy. Grasp an understanding of His love for you. Trust Him with all your heart.

Posted on in Aging, Amazing Creations, Faith, Journal, Nature, Poetry, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth

Real or Fantasy?

“I’ve lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.”

― Mark Twain

I love that quote. It reminds me of the vivid imagination I have that can turn to darkness in the blink of an eye if I am not vigilant to control it by the power of the Spirit. This report from the Huff Post (formerly The Huffington Post) upholds Twain’s wisdom.

“Five hundred years ago, Michel de Montaigne said: “My life has been filled with terrible misfortune; most of which never happened.” Now there’s a study that proves it. This study looked into how many of our imagined calamities never materialize. In this study, subjects were asked to write down their worries over an extended period of time and then identify which of their imagined misfortunes did not actually happen. Lo and behold, it turns out that 85 percent of what subjects worried about never happened, and with the 15 percent that did happen, 79 percent of subjects discovered either they could handle the difficulty better than expected, or the difficulty taught them a lesson worth learning. This means that 97 percent of what you worry over is not much more than a fearful mind punishing you with exaggerations and misperceptions.”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/85-of-what-we-worry-about_b_8028368

Here is a short poem about the same topic.

Fears Lodge in Our Familiar Places ©2014 Molly Lin Dutina

The black mark on the tree 
is curved, and stark.
It cuts a gash through
solid wood of a twenty-two inch trunk.

Closer inspection reveals it is
but the shadow of a spindly
dead trunk made stark
by bright sun.

The fears we anticipate seem
larger than the reality of life.
How many really come to fruition?

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.“

John 14:27