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Category: Challenge
Not Phantom but Seriously Weird
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Lectio 365
This app really helped me focus on the Lord during my recovery. Bob and I had first been introduced to the practice of Lectio Divina while at the Episcopal church.
The app Lectio 365 is inspired by the “practice of Lectio Divina. Each morning the devotional follows the simple P. R. A. Y. rhythm:
P:ause to be still.
R:ejoice with a Psalm and R:eflect on Scripture.
A:sk for God’s help
Y:ield to His will in your life.
“On Sundays you’ll take a break from the normal routine to pray a different kind of Sabbath prayer.
“The app celebrates heroes of faith on Feast Days, marks significant moments in the church calendar, and welcomes guest hosts throughout the year.”
They also offer an evening version that differs in text from the morning one. I found myself using that evening version while trying to fall asleep in the recliner. It was quite helpful for turning my eyes to the Lord and finding a place to relax in His arms. It is so easy when in pain to clench against the pain, and finding release from that clenching is such a relief!
Here is one thought I recorded in my very few journaling notes during that time.
The Greek text uses a word which can mean breath, spirit, or wind. So, ‘the wind blows where it wishes’ can also mean, ‘the Spirit breathes where He wishes’. The Spirit, like the wind, is unpredictable. I cannot control Him. Sometimes the Spirit blows like a gentle breeze. Or He may come as a hurricane. I have to accept that I’ll never know what He might do next. Lectio 365
The Spirit breathes where He wishes. Yes, Lord, please breathe on me I pray.
24-1-12 Molly’s Journal
Looking out the window by my prayer chair I was able to watch the toy pinwheels as the Lord of the wind made them dance. He is always with us!
Rest in His love and consider changing up one of your devotional practices for a bit. He is able to meet us wherever we are, but there are times when we fall into a rut spiritually and can use a boost from a change of format. Try some thing new a for the remainder of the Lenten season. You might find new meaning to your relationship with the God of our Fathers.
Whatever is True, Noble, Right …
January 4 I put out a challenge to try to practice and live Philippians 4 (see https://wordpress.com/post/treasures-in-plain-sight.org/15463)
In reviewing the Scripture, Philippians 4:4-9 I realized I was missing a step. I was basically reviewing, reciting the true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, anything of excellence or praiseworthy. I was not actually taking the time to Slow Down and think of one thing for each attribute.
From my past experience with chronic illness and recovery from surgery I know that this relinquishing of independence and self-reliance also requires facing all of life with a slower pace. That is not always a bad thing. I was startled to realize before surgery that I was glossing over the importance of the admonishment of Philippians 4:8 by not actually pausing to think of something that is true, something that is noble, something that is right, etc. We are told to THINK on these things. Reciting the Scripture is checking off a to-do box. Actually thinking about such things takes us to a different place.
I have learned a couple of things this week. If you are going to the internist for a pre-op physical do not take the forms with you to fill out asking a drug company for financial assistance to afford their product. That can send your blood pressure really high! Leave the forms at home for later. My internist said to think happy, pleasant thoughts before that blood pressure cuff is pumped up! They took it again and I brought the top reading down about 25 points.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding,” even applies when you need financial help and your blood pressure is too high. Stop. Pause. Breath. Trust.
Several years ago I asked Bob for some tiny diamond earrings to wear all of the time. He delighted to purchase them for me. Not extremely expensive, but they did not have screw on backs. Sure enough I eventually caught one in my hair or in a winter scarf and flipped it off unnoticed. By the time I discovered it was missing, it was long gone. We took the remaining single tiny diamond and asked a jeweler to put in our engagement ring that Bob had made from a high grade stainless steel pipe. Eventually we bought another pair of earrings. Well, you guessed it, I lost one again. I was so disgusted with myself I just said, “Okay. No more.” I ordered cubic zirconia tiny earrings and paid for them myself. Done.
Wikipedia says: “Because of its low cost, durability, and close visual likeness to diamond, synthetic cubic zirconia has remained the most gemologically and economically important competitor for diamonds since commercial production began in 1976.” Most people cannot tell the difference and the synthetic has taken pressure off the diamond market.
Lost. Fine. Replaced with something else. Not quite! I opened the dryer a few weeks later and lying on the inside edge, near but not in the lint filter, was a tiny diamond earring. WHAT?!?! Surprised and stupefied with joy I went to check my ear lobes in the mirror. Sure enough the Zirconia ones were still there. The single diamond was still in the dish. The lost was found! Assuming the LORD did that, I was dumbfounded. The Holy One did not have to return that to me. Astonished with joy. Brain rattled trying to grip the reality. Even Bob was amazed.
No Promises But Lots of Guidance
Did you become a Christian thinking that your life would now become easier? Had you heard promises from the Bible and thought pledging allegiance to the Lord would bring all those promises to you immediately? Down the road a few years were you disillusioned and weakened in your faith when the things you hoped for did not come true?
I try to remind myself that we are never promised anything, and that what control we can exert is not over the events that befall us but how we address ourselves to them.
Jeanne Duprau
Welcome to Humanity 101. We are told to give our lives to Jesus and He will exchange them for something greater. The something greater rarely means material things.
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
Isaiah 61:3
How do you control your thoughts, your behaviors, your emotions?
A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.
Proverbs 25:28 RSV
Self-control is mentioned many times in the Bible. It is also a fruit of the Holy Spirit alive and active in our lives. We are taught in the New Testament to walk in the Spirit and put to death the things of the flesh. We are to long for the fruit of the Spirit.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Galatians 5:22-24 RSV
The most difficult thing to control is myself and my response to events in life. The only thing I can possibly hope to control is myself and my reactions. We have mistakenly thought that we need to control others, but not so, my friend, not so!
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
2 Peter 1:5-7 ESV
Yes, God has given us promises, but we need to read those promises carefully and ask for wisdom regarding them lest we misunderstand and go bumbling about accusing God of being untrue or unfaithful to His word.
Self-control is the best answer to most of my troubles. How about yours?
I Am on the Schedule!!
Surgery on my right shoulder is planned for next Thursday, January 11! Partial tear of rotator cuff, remove bone spurs, check biceps attachment. When I woke up at 4AM in pain this morning I was more than ready to take the surgery. Procedure will be arthroscopically, i.e., tiny incisions where tools and camera go in and surgeon makes repairs through them.
Ever since I got the news I have been working like crazy to get ready. Got my hair cut 5 inches so Bob does not have as much to wash or brush. See, I will be a sling for quite a while and not much use as to my typical duties. I am so grateful he is here to help me!
Pre-op physical is next Monday. I have had to change all my prescriptions to a new pharmacy due to insurance changes. Have them all filled and in the building. Boxes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and bedtime are filled for 3 weeks worth! Imagine trying to open a pill bottle with one hand, especially your non-dominant hand.
My neighbor was very generous to loan me her ice machine. Nifty machine that holds iced water which it pumps through tubes into a pad that cools the surgery area.
I had this surgery 20 years ago and for the life of me cannot remember how I got dressed! The surgery will be outpatient at Ortho Cincy surgical center. I will go home with an abduction sling. Have not tried it on yet. They will put it on me after surgery. Bob will be my driver and care giver.
The recliner will be my sleeping location as lying down and getting up out of the bed will be something I have to progress towards. I will not be able to clean up my sleeping area (think sheet and blankets with assorted pillows). The guilt is already building. I am married to “Mr. Tidy” and I try to do my part to keep the common areas of the house tidy. My desk? That is another matter.
How does one prepare to be helpless and passive with a smile? Hard to be jolly about that kind of surrender. Yet I am going to try! “What ever is good, pure, lovely, worthy of praise, etc”
So yes, I would appreciate your prayers. All this weird positioning is never good for the arthritis and fibromyalgia. Imagine me with ice machine on my shoulder and heating pad behind my back! Woohoo, such a sight. No photos will follow…I might try dictating a post when I get off pain meds. Likely too hard to type for a while. I will have so much time to think up ideas for this blog!!
Today we listed all the frozen foods in our deep freeze. Made 2 large chicken pot pies with Pillsbury crusts. We have many frozen soups, meat sealed with gravy or broth, etc. Green chicken chili, black beans,etc, Mom’s vegetable soup recipe. Not to mention frozen pizza for Bob and the foods friends will drop off.
Minimum weeks in a sling, months in physical therapy. I will need gallons of patience and I find that ice cream cannot provide that. Drats! I will have Bob post for me after surgery. I am certain it will go well. Trusting the Father and rejoicing that I will have this repair.
David Adam
In “Cry of the Deer” chapter on the Communion of Saints, he wrote
We all have minds that are hard to control! But ways have been discovered of helping to keep us reasonably on the right track. If the mind records everything we experience, we should be careful what we record on it. We can to some extent choose. There will always be a mixture of good and evil, of life and destruction, but we can influence the mixture by deliberate choice. Quite often, our attitude to what we do will influence our attitude in the future. It is with this insight that the writer to the Philippians says
4 May you always be joyful in your union with the Lord. I say it again: rejoice!
5 Show a gentle attitude toward everyone. The Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. 7 And God’s peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.
8 In conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable. 9 Put into practice what you learned and received from me, both from my words and from my actions. And the God who gives us peace will be with you.
Good News Bible Philippians 4:4-9
One of the great illnesses of modern society is our efforts to control others. This often develops unconsciously in homes where alcoholism is rampant. I spent several years in Adult Children of Alcoholics doing workbooks and learning about this insidious coping mechanism. It can grow into a monster that can become as destructive as the alcoholism itself. Between ACoA and my study of Christian historical writers I learned that the only one I can hope to control is myself. Even that, is a lifelong arduous task!
When Paul wrote to the Philippians he knew the work of taking charge over our thoughts and what we allow to dwell there. So as David Adam wrote, what is your attitude toward what you do, the attitude that will influence your attitude in the future? Weighty topic but so worth exploring.
25 three times I was whipped by the Romans; and once I was stoned. I have been in three shipwrecks, and once I spent twenty-four hours in the water. 26 In my many travels I have been in danger from floods and from robbers, in danger from my own people and from Gentiles; there have been dangers in the cities, dangers in the wilds, dangers on the high seas, and dangers from false friends. 27 There has been work and toil; often I have gone without sleep; I have been hungry and thirsty; I have often been without enough food, shelter, or clothing. 28 And not to mention other things, every day I am under the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 When someone is weak, then I feel weak too; when someone is led into sin, I am filled with distress.
2 Corinthians 11:25-29 GNT
Most of us are unlikely to experience being stoned, shipwrecked and many of the other things he lists. Many of us work and toil, have had dangers from false friends. Without food, shelter, or clothing not to mention thirsty? not so much for most Americans. But can we with Paul focus our busy, busy minds on those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable? David Adam agrees with Paul that ways have been discovered to help us do that. Have you even tried them? Are you willing to challenge yourself to do these things from the Philippians list and then return quarterly to check up on how you are doing at the new ways of thinking?
There is a book about the challenge of a “Grumble-free year.”
USA Today bestselling author Tricia Goyer and her family of eleven embark on a yearlong quest to eliminate grumbling from their home and discover a healthier, more thankful approach to life together. The Goyer home–with two parents, eight kids, and one eighty-eight-year-old grandmother with dementia–is never without noise, mess, activity, and, often, complaining. And it’s not just the kids grumbling. After adding seven children in less than six years through adoption, the Goyer family decided to move out of survival-mode and into unity- and growth-mode. They decided to tackle the a grumble-free year. With grade-schoolers, teenagers, and a grandmother who believes children should be seen and not heard, plenty of room exists for flunking the challenge. Add to that seven children being homeschooled together in close quarters, and what could possibly go awry? In The Grumble-Free Year , the Goyers invite readers into their journey as they go complaint-free and discover what it looks like to develop hearts of gratitude. They share their plans, successes, failures, and all the lessons they learn along the way, offering real-life action steps based in scripture so that readers get not just a front-row seat to the action but also an opportunity to take the challenge themselves and uncover hearts that are truly thankful.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44442009-the-grumble-free-year
Whew! Makes me tired just reading the review. And I read the book! My life is nowhere as complicated as theirs. Is yours? Might you be able to tackle just 3 months of Paul’s admonition to think on whatever is true, noble, right, lovely, pure, honorable, praiseworthy – those kinds of things. Thought control, because your attitude today will influence your attitude in the future.
Get a 3 x 5 card or 4 x 6 card, even a post-it note. Write out the Philippians verse for your own use. Put it on the bathroom mirror, in your wallet, on your phone screen, in your car, coat pocket IN OTHER WORDS before your eyes, heart and mind. Practice it. Challenge yourself to be more gentle, more peaceful, less worried, more trusting and joyful in your union with Christ. What a grand and glorious 2024 that will make! It is going to take practice but will result in a holy skill. They say it takes at least 21 days to learn a new habit. I plan to review this once a quarter and if I need to get a “do over” or “Mulligan” I will give myself the grace to try again and again. I pray you too will try this! Good luck!!
A New Year
For older folks, if their prescription drug coverage insurance company changed it means calling the new pharmacy to transfer your prescriptions from the other pharmacy to the new one. This morning the new pharmacy said my insurance card numbers did not work. What? the insurance company issued it. They said to just bring it in when refill is ready and they will work with me on it. Not a good beginning!
Are your Christmas decorations put away yet? Not all of mine. So far, we have undecorated the artificial tree. It is prelit but the weather has been so Ohio Gloomy that we have just left it up to brighten the room. Grandgirl will come help me put away nativity set on Wednesday. She is also tall enough that it is easy for her to clean the tops of the kitchen cabinets that do not go all the way to the ceiling. Our lights on the back deck will stay put until Valentine’s day. Another effort to push back the darkness.
Ha! Just realized that by then two of my neighbors who are both expecting baby boys will likely have given birth! Oh I do love babies. My husband calls me the baby whisperer.
But my passion might be mitigated by shoulder surgery. Still waiting to hear if that has been scheduled. My surgeon is having surgery for pinched nerve in his neck something like January 18? If he can’t get me in before then, I might have to wait until he recovers. Thanksgiving 2022 I pulled something in my shoulder. Later x-rays and MRI showed partially torn rotator cuff. Had 2 bouts of PT. The steroid injection last spring/summer did not provide lasting pain relief 6 months. I hurt it again last week when I reached across the counter for a piece of waxed paper. Not even lifting! Now reaching for the salt shaker hurts. Let’s just suffice it to say I am eager to have this fixed, but do so want to hold newborn babies.
Another year and always more health challenges for those of us blessed to be growing older. Thank You LORD for giving us life and love for another year. You have brought us safely this far. We trust You to walk with us into the future. We know You are the only thing going on for eternity. So we clasp Your hand in faith and with joy, knowing that we are never alone. You are always with us.
John Main
When I was first exploring contemplative prayer and Christian meditation, I was told to read works by John Main, a Benedictine monk and teacher. He was born in 1920 in London, England and died in 1982 in Montreal, Quebec.
I have found his writings inspirational and challenging. In the introduction to his “Essential Writings” he is quoted as saying that his essential teaching could be written on the back of a postage stamp. The intro goes on to state:
Because his is a spiritual teaching, indeed a mystical one, it cannot be adequately described in the way we would explain a philosophy or theology. It asks to be understood at a personal level, where thought and experience, mind and heart, converge.
John Main Essential Writings, Introduction by Laurence Freeman
Why should we care about all this? Perhaps John stated it best himself!
In contemplative prayer we seek to become the person we are called to be, not by thinking of God but by being with God
John Main
In a selection entitled Word and Silence he writes,
It is better to be silent and real that to talk and be unreal, wrote St. Ignatius of Antioch in the first century, and our contemporary situation must surely bear this out. Authority, conviction, personal verification, which are the indispensable qualities of the Christian witness, are not to be found in books, in discussion, or on cassettes {I would add or on podcasts}, but rather in an encounter with ourselves in the silence of our own spirit.
If modern people have lost their experience of spirit, pneuma, or essence, in which their own irreducible and absolute being consists, it is because they have lost their experience of and capacity for silence. There are few statements about spiritual reality that can claim a universal agreement. But this one has received the same formulation in almost all traditions, namely, that it is only in accepting silence that people can come to know their own spirit, and only in abandonment to an infinite depth of silence that they can be revealed to the source of their spirit in which multiplicity and division disappear. Modern people are often threatened by silence, what T. S. Eliot called ‘the growing terror of nothing to think about,” and everyone has to face this fear when they begin to meditate.
First, we must confront with some shame the chaotic din of a mind ravaged by so much exposure to trivia and distraction.
Word and Silence, John Main
I think it is no wonder that if we attend a candlelight service and sing Silent Night we are in awe and amazement. We need more silence and we need the Light of Christ, especially in this season that can so very chaotic. I pray you will allow yourself a period of silence this December. Time just to be with God, to listen, to learn about your heart and His.
As you give yourself as the gift that Jesus asks for this year, I pray you will spend some time in silence with Him. Be with Him. Listen, learn and experience His Presence. His light will illuminate your darkness and show you a bright path into 2024.
Why Get RSV Immunization?
My adult niece, (under 50 years old) has been sick for 2-1/2 weeks. Truly could not get out of bed. She did not have a cold. She had RSV that went to pneumonia.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes infections of the lungs and respiratory tract. It’s so common that most children have been infected with the virus by age 2. Respiratory syncytial (sin-SISH-ul) virus can also infect adults.
In adults and older, healthy children, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) symptoms are mild and typically mimic the common cold. Self-care measures are usually all that’s needed to relieve any discomfort.
RSV can cause severe infection in some people, including babies 12 months and younger (infants), especially premature infants, older adults, people with heart and lung disease, or anyone with a weak immune system (immunocompromised).
Mayo Clinic
RSV is on the rise in Ohio. Modern medicine has provided us with an immunization against this virus. My husband already had his immunization as his lungs are compromised. I did not get mine at the same time due to my immune system being in an uproar with many contributing factors. I got mine last weekend. This disease is viral, so antibiotics do not help if you get the illness.
Again, another respiratory illness we do not need to mess with. If my niece could be so ill she took to her bed for over a week, I do not want to imagine what would happen to us old folks if we should catch it. Please, get your shot!
Please don’t mess around with this.
Treasures in Plain Sight, A Christian Blog 