Category: Challenge

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

Empty Handed

We arrive on this planet empty handed and we will all soon leave empty handed. So then, how and in what spirit do we want to spend the time in between?

Nimo Patel

In my mother’s day the saying was “You can’t take it with you.” So Patel asks, how and in what spirit do we want to spend the time in between?

Some of us are certain, oh so very certain, we have the right answers about everything. Sadly years of life prove us wrong. Or is it really sad? I, for one, often have to be set straight by God regarding my opinions and what I thought I ‘KNEW’ beyond a shadow of a doubt. As I wrote previously, ‘I used to have all the answers. Now I am not even certain what the questions are!”

I implore you to examine yourself and your attitudes.

 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.

Ephesians 5:8-13

“Find out what pleases the Lord,” that is how I want to live the remainder of my days. We can ask Him what pleases Him. We can ask for the strength and wisdom to follow His guidance. We can bring pleasure to the Lord. “Everything that is illuminated becomes a light,” a light that someone else might follow to know Him in whom we have our being. Oh that my life would be exactly that!

No, I cannot take things with me when I graduate into His eternal presence, but I can leave marked paths that others might follow to draw near to Him. The Word says,

Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you men of double mind.

James 4:8 RSV

It is a promise. You will not be disappointed.

Posted on in Challenge, Faith, Journal, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Yield

The Club©Molly Lin Dutina

I experienced and wrote this in 1994.

If you had walked in, you would have thought I was standing at the kitchen sink, seemingly doing the dishes, but actually I was having a conversation of self-castigation. Crying and praying, internally I was crouched on the floor in the corner where the cabinets met. My tears mixed with the dishwater as I poured out my agenda to the Lord.

Becoming tired and spent I knew the Lord was standing near me and listening. As my sobs turned to sniffling He had only two words for me, “Stand up.” I whimpered another prayer. Patiently waiting for my obedience again He said, “Stand up.” I whined again to the mercy-filled Lamb of God. He refused to dialogue with me until I heeded His first instruction. Again He said, “Stand up.”

I cowered and said, “But, Lord, I am unworthy.”

“Stand up.”

I spoke another prayer, “Lord, I am weak and tired.”

“Stand up.”

I offered excuse after excuse about why I could not obey. Finally I asked, “Why must I stand up when I am so weak and upset?” And then I realized, I could either obey or He would withdraw His presence from my awareness.

Standing there, I was angry and unforgiving of myself.  I had been beating myself over the back with a club that I had designed. It fit perfectly into my hand. It wasn’t an ordinary club like in the comic strip “B.C.” My club had spikes on it, too.

So there I was, praying, crying out to God, and telling Him how sorry I was about the sin I had committed. I prepared to use the club upon myself one more time when He broke into my noisy, tearful, self-punishment saying,

“IF I, GOD ALMIGHTY, HAVE FORGIVEN YOU,

WHO ARE YOU NOT TO FORGIVE YOURSELF?”

With a long, empty pause He let His truth sink into my being. His words about a past situation, the cause of my turmoil, were radically different than my reaction. As His light dawned upon my dark interpretation of what was needful, He disarmed me with His love and forgiveness. I laid down my club at the foot of His cross. I prayed He would cover it with His blood and enable me to receive and believe His love for me, praying that I might eventually feel His forgiveness.

Moving forward, I learned to accept His forgiveness and learned how to forgive myself. We are flawed. We are all broken in some way. We have all sinned. In order for our intimacy with Him to flourish, we must adopt His attitudes and point of view in each area of our lives. This is not an easy or instantaneous task. Gradually the Lord will lead us in His will and His ways. He is able to complete the good work He has begun in us. We must let Him.

His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.

2 Peter 1:3

being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:6

for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Philippians 2:13

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:57

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

2 Corinthians 9:15
  • What self-destructive weapons are you clinging to?
  • What would happen if you laid them down at Jesus’ feet?
  • Could you dare to let Him take over now as King and Judge of your Universe

If God Almighty has forgiven you, who are you not to forgive yourself?

Posted on in Aging, Challenge, Faith, Journal, Just do it, Writing Life

Well, drats.

It all belongs to You, God. As Eldredge has taught me ‘I give everything and everyone to You. I give everything and everyone to You.’

Since last summer I have been trying to print out a copy of this blog. At first I paid for an upgrade to get the bulk of it. Then I was just printing from the screen. When I returned to organizing the notebooks there were about six months missing. So I went to print those records. Then ran out of blue ink. Thought oh well, I will just print in black and white until an order of ink can arrive. Then the printer was starting to print in orange/pink stripes instead of black and white. Thought it was a fluke. Nope it was going nuts over there on the printer stand. Why not just black and white when I chose that? Plenty of black ink in there in two separate ‘tanks.’

A long way of saying this project has become a PROJECT. It still seems right to have a hard copy just in case the sun sends some rays that kill the internet or meteor showers destroy cloud storage! I have begun printing two sided and not fretting if I miss one or two dates. The print copies do not show links to YouTube, just big blocks where the link would have been. Guess this might be the reason professional writers and executives have secretaries? Or pay WordPress extra for fancier programs?

Not me. Just the 37 year old woman in her home office trying to reflect her life especially with the Lord of lords. I should have thought to being printing this when I first began writing the blog! Oh. That’s right I am 73 now, not 37. Drats. Just that much closer to home with the Holy One.

I give everything and everyone to You, Lord.

Posted on in Aging, Book quotes, Challenge, Faith, Illness and Health, Just do it, Listen, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Thanks, Worship, Writing Life, Yield

So Very True

Here is a wonderful thought to ponder.

No amount of regret changes the past. No amount of anxiety changes the future. Any amount of gratitude changes the present.

Ann Voskamp

Many times I begin my prayer thanking the Father for another day of living and loving. Reflecting upon my recent birthday I thank the Holy One for another year of living and loving.

Best birthday card ever!
From my sister
My sister, Paula
Me

“At our age there are not lots of new friendships, but the ones we experience we hold dear.” Our neighbor, Kathy, has only been known to us a couple of years. Through her first year of struggling to get her brain around what it takes to live with a chronic illness and that illness being also a rare one, we became close. It is difficult to communicate with people who have never suffered from chronic illness. As Kathy says, “They just don’t get it.” Her diagnosis, antisynthetase syndrome, is rare and causes much misery. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisynthetase_syndrome Fewer than 50,000 people in the US are thought to have this. Together we have re-affirmed Ann Voskamp’s wisdom that ‘any amount of gratitude changes the present.‘ This year when she returned to Florida, as snowbirds have a tendency to do, it was harder than ever to let her go. We have been married the same length of time, we are the same age, we each have a son and a daughter. Both of us have 3 grandchildren! Her wisdom and friendship bless me deeply. We share our faith freely. When I developed scalp psoriasis I told her I was getting tired of being like her! We don’t speak about dandruff, we refer to blizzards of skin cells falling from our heads after we scratch. We both need to vacuum our beds, our chairs and our cars. It is almost impossible to NOT scratch this sort of itching.

As I unwrap this gift of a new year of life I will try to remain present to all that is given. Life is truly a gift.

With another year of aging, I cling more and more to this verse in Corinthians

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

2 Corinthians 4:16 NIV

Less energy, true that. Less flexibility, true that. Undiagnosed hand and foot itching, yep. More renewal, thank the LORD for that! The Scriptures declare He will never leave me or forsake me. And it is true. There are times when I move away from God, but He is ever near and holds me in His nail-scarred hands.

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
    and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
    I will not forget you!
16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls are ever before me.“

Isaiah 49:15-16 NIV

I truly live a varied and pleasing life, rich in adventure and blessings. There is no way I can account for it. One friend tells me I see things others do not when I take a walk. I am blessed to be married to the best man in the world. This year I have continued to work on finding some of the best recipes to cook. (I already miss fresh Ohio tomatoes!) My desk remains stacked about 6 inches deep. If I ever get ‘caught up’ I suppose it will be time to die? Let’s not even discuss how deep the sewing table is with projects.

I have out lived both of my parents. Bob calls it the ‘miracle of modern chemistry.” This year I promise to continue to write this blog as long as I am enabled to come up with new thoughts and inspirations.

May you cling to the One who has you engraved on the palms of His hands. May you rest in the knowledge that the same Holy One is able to renew you day by day. Peace and all blessings to each of you, my dear readers.

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Beagle, Challenge, Faith, Just do it, Nature, Thanks

Beauty by Sister Joan

Joan Chittister is a well known Benedictine nun and author of a tremendous amount of books. Over many years she has inspired me to grow deeper with Christ. I get a weekly newsletter from her ministry. Here is a quote from a recent newsletter and a link should you want to read the entire article for yourself. Much of what they put in the newsletter is taken from her books.

Because of beauty

Confucius may have said it best: “Everything has beauty,” he taught, “but not everyone sees it.” Seeing it, the spiritual person knows, is the task of a lifetime. It is also the reward of a lifetime well-lived, lived in balance, lived from the inside out as well as from the outside in.

CONTINUE READING AT https://mailchi.mp/benetvision.org/doubt-is-the-mother-of-conviction-751773?e=b2069f7462

Open your eyes to the beauty around you today. This morning was my turn to walk the dog. It was the coldest morning this season. Just meant time to get out my winter coat, and gloves, etc. Had to stop to capture this leaf for you.

After the many days of glorious yellow, red and gold leaves raining down upon us this frosted outline was too lovely to not admire!

Watch for treasures in plain sight. They truly are all around you!

Posted on in Aging, Challenge, Faith, Poetry, Thanks

Delight Must Be Permitted

We must risk delight. We can do without pleasure, but not delight. Not enjoyment. We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of the world.

Jack Gilbert , a Brief for the Defense

When I read the above I wanted to know more about where it came from. I found it online at https://poetrysociety.org/poems/a-brief-for-the-defense 

Sorrow everywhere. Slaughter everywhere. If babies
are not starving someplace, they are starving
somewhere else. With flies in their nostrils.
But we enjoy our lives because that's what God wants.
Otherwise the mornings before summer dawn would not
be made so fine. The Bengal tiger would not
be fashioned so miraculously well. The poor women
at the fountain are laughing together between
the suffering they have known and the awfulness
in their future, smiling and laughing while somebody
in the village is very sick. There is laughter
every day in the terrible streets of Calcutta,
and the women laugh in the cages of Bombay.
If we deny our happiness, resist our satisfaction,
we lessen the importance of their deprivation.
We must risk delight. We can do without pleasure,
but not delight. Not enjoyment. We must have
the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless
furnace of this world. To make injustice the only
measure of our attention is to praise the Devil.
If the locomotive of the Lord runs us down,
we should give thanks that the end had magnitude.
We must admit there will be music despite everything.
We stand at the prow again of a small ship
anchored late at night in the tiny port
looking over to the sleeping island: the waterfront
is three shuttered cafés and one naked light burning.
To hear the faint sound of oars in the silence as a rowboat
comes slowly out and then goes back is truly worth
all the years of sorrow that are to come.



From Collected Poems by Jack Gilbert. Copyright © 2012 by Jack Gilbert.

“Ruthless furnace of the world” certainly describes the daily worldwide news. May you risk delight today and give the LORD all the glory.

I have now turned 73 years old, or as one friend quipped, “37, until I can no longer reverse the numbers!” Anyway you look at it, aging has been galloping down the road towards me. The trouble with seeing all those specialists and the dentist a week or two before a birthday is they all bring it to your attention! “Oh, I see you are about to have another birthday!” My Dentist says I need all these filings because of “TMB”, Too-many-birthdays, i.e., my gums have receded and there is now new enamel to decay!

Ha! But we must risk delight! We must continue to seek treasures in plain sight! If our eyes fail then we must seek humor in every place that we go. If we cannot go then we must remember humor from past experiences. Hold to that “stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of the world” and the ruthless march of decay our body experiences.

So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.

2 Corinthians 4:16 NRSV
Posted on in Challenge, Faith, Just do it, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth

Even Amidst War

We are hearing interviews between Palestinians and Israelis who had already decided to live together in peace. They are speaking to the world in various interviews. I am not on either side, just praying for all those distressed by this war.

This thought from Bishop Curry of Cincinnati brought all this to my mind.

To love, my brothers and sisters, does not mean we have to agree. But maybe agreeing to love is the greatest agreement. And the only one that ultimately matters, because it makes a future possible.

BISHOP MICHAEL B. CURRY

Please pray for the people in this war torn area. Usually we have no idea how fortunate we are. May the Father comfort those who are caught between the military forces. Father speak to those who have been conscripted into service in this war. We pray for peace.

online photo just after war began

I will not try to quote Scripture on this topic. Seems humans perpetuate hatred against human beings. May God have mercy on all of us.

Posted on in Book quotes, Challenge, Faith, Just do it, Listen, Prayer, Special Event, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Thanks, Worship, Yield

Retreat Looking at Life of Saint Clare

I attended an Associates retreat at the Convent of the Transfiguration in Glendale, Ohio. The theme was the Life and Inspiration of St. Clare. There is not much known about her. She was friends with St. Francis of Assisi. Like him, she removed herself from her aristocratic family and embraced a life of poverty and dedication to Jesus, praying in a cloistered monastery for 42 years until the end of her life. We are encouraged to follow her courage in finding our own place to follow Christ.

Here is a short prayer (called a collect) regarding Saint Clare.

O God, whose blessed Son became poor that we, through his poverty, might be rich: Deliver us from an immediate love of this world, that we, inspired by the devotion of your servant Clare, may serve you with singleness of heart and attain to the riches of the age to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Recently I learned that there is a Poor Clare convent in Cincinnati! I was thrilled to learn that the “female branch of the Franciscans” exists here. For a time I was a Third Order Franciscan through the Episcopal church. Below is a short video about the Poor Clare’s life together.

There are 20,000 Poor Clare’s worldwide in 70 countries. Francis wrote their initial rule of life. Clare added the commitment to poverty. The Poor Clare’s are a Catholic order.

The life of poverty centers around the beatitude in Matthew 5:3 when Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.” And also

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Matthew 19:21 NIV

Clare’s goal was to imitate Christ though total obedience to God. Francis said “You only know as much as you do.” Poverty was her way to unity with the Lord. The sisters made altar linens as a way to support themselves, as well as asking for alms.

Clare encourages us to transform our entire being into the image of God by contemplation. She urges us to go towards the margins, the edges of society and find the risen Lord there.

May her challenge lead you to a closer walk with the Risen Lord.

Posted on in Challenge, Faith, Prayer, Worship, Yield

Ever Heard This One?

Awoke from a nap with this in my brain. Worked to find it to share. Recorded 1963. Sadness here in 2023 over Israel, Palestine, Hamas. Please pray for the victims of yet another war.

People being taken prisoner. Even children. So many dead. Reserves being called up. Our ship moving to the area. Retired Israeli military officers grabbing their guns to protect their family. The unimaginable occurring. Possibly more militants from another nation moving into the war. And we hear nothing about the welfare of the Palestinian people. Hamas rages on. Death toll near 1,400.

Please pray for the victims. The leaders of the world are trying to decide their next move. Please pray for wisdom.

 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

Matthew 24:6-8 NIV

It is possible we are about to see another world war in our lifetime. God forbid.

Not to mention earthquake in Afghanistan. Estimated 2,400 dead.

Lord, have mercy upon us all.

Posted on in Aging, Challenge, Faith, Family, Humor, Illness and Health, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Thanks

A Most Enjoyable Day

We stopped at Marcella’s donuts at 7:05 AM on the way to Mason, Ohio to watch our Grandson play soccer. This is his first year to play a neighborhood sport. So far it has been a rather dismal event to watch. When we went to pick him up our son was still at home. We don’t usually get up so early for soccer (35 minutes from our house), but our son had an out-of-town event and asked us if we were willing to attend an early game this once.

Much to our surprise they not only won, but our grandson actually kicked the ball 3 times! There was so much dew on the early morning field that most parents agreed when I said, “They did not tell us to wear our boots!” When the ball was kicked at certain angles you could see a stream of water flowing over and around it. We were delighted to witness the team’s first win and Rowan’s increased participation. In fact, he was on the field the entire game!

# 9 our Grandson
Such a wet morning!

Then we drove back to Batavia, Ohio where our youngest Grandgirl had a volley ball game with University of Cincinnati Clermont. Recently she was diagnosed with stress fractures in both calves and has been on crutches. She will miss playing the rest of the year. 😦 She is, however, required to attend all practices and games. When we arrived she was seated at the scoring table.

Our Ellie is #20 at the net, almost in center

Our daughter and son-in-law were also there. We knew our daughter had a funeral to attend. Much to our delight when it was time for her depart our eldest Grandgirl came to get her.

Wait a minute, except for Jeff’s wife, we were able to greet and hug the entire family as an unplanned event in a single day!!

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, savor you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.

MARY JEAN IRION

This is a wonderful day. I’ve never seen this one before.

Maya Angelou