Category: Challenge

Posted on in Book quotes, Challenge, Faith, Journal, Just do it, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth

New Year, New Word?

Wow! Another New Year. How long will it take you to remember it is ’23 now? Have you been thinking about resolutions? We usually form a New Year’s resolution from our flesh and our mind. Statistics show that more often than not the resolution is in the dust before February. So I challenge you to set not a resolution, but one word for the entire year. Have you ever prayed and tried to listen for what the Lord would have you focus upon for the coming year?

I have done this for several years and have found it inspiring, challenging and uplifting. Even when I fail to reach for the goal of the word, if I chose it from the Word of God, He helps me and sustains me in my efforts. I may fail one week and totally grasp it the next. The goal is to consistently reach for it.

So take a few minutes. Sit quietly asking the Holy Spirit what He would have you set as your word of the year. If you do not hear a particular word, keep trying, maybe even for several weeks. Pay attention to Scriptures that come your way. Do you perceive a theme?

I have been reading the book of Mark. In chapter 13 Jesus is speaking about the end of time as we know it. He says only the Father knows when that will occur.

 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

35 “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”

Mark 13: 32-37 NIV

Even the poet Rumi wrote, “Stay awake. Don’t go back to bed.” Watch. Be alert. NASB says, “Be on the alert.” The Message, “Stay at your post. Keep watch.”

What is the Lord saying to you about 2023? Are you awake, alert, listening, watching? Or have you dozed off to sleep content to just be comfortable, like most Americans want to be? Comfort seems to be our biggest idol these days.

Maybe your word will make you uncomfortable. Perhaps moving out of your comfort zone will bring you new life! Try it for 2023.

Posted on in Challenge, Faith, Listen, Music, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth

Morning Song

When I wake up and there is a song rolling through my heart and mind, I need to find it and play it. I have found for you (and me) the lyrics of the verses they sing (not every verse that was written). I played it yet again and worshiped our Lord with The Haven of Rest Quartet. I was preparing to put away my Christmas CDs and get out my Winter music, but had to hear this again and perhaps again!

May you be blessed by joining in worship to Him!

1. Of the Father's love begotten,
Ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the source, the ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see,
Evermore and evermore!

4. O that birth forever blessed,
When the Virgin, full of grace,
By the Holy Ghost conceiving,
Bare the Savior of our race;
And the Babe, the world's Redeemer,
First revealed His sacred face,
Evermore and evermore!

6. O ye heights of heaven adore Him;
Angel hosts, His praises sing;
Powers, dominions, bow before Him,
And extol our God and King!
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Every voice in concert sing,
Evermore and evermore!

9. Christ, to Thee with God the Father,
And, O Holy Ghost, to Thee,
Hymn and chant with high thanksgiving,
And unwearied praises be:
Honor, glory, and dominion,
And eternal victory,
Evermore and evermore!

source: https://www.lyricsondemand.com/christmascarols/o/ofthefatherslovebegottenlyrics.html
Posted on in Aging, Challenge, Faith, Family, Humor, Memories, Music, Special Event, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Thanks

Songs I Need to Sing!

At times music just rolls through my spirit and I need to sing it out! Handel’s Messiah is often sung with the Cincinnati Symphony by our May Festival Chorus. I like when parts of it was also used by surprise choruses in the past at shopping malls.

It still gives me chills!!

Now I find myself needing to sing this EVERY Christmastide.

Is there something you must sing to God? Don’t hold back. If you are surrounded by people and do not want their opinion of your singing then go outside and sing. Or sing in the shower! Or sing in the car. The point is to sing to the LORD be it a new song or old. Sing out your love of His majesty. Your adoration of His glory. Your gratitude from His abundant mercies.

Years ago Bob bought me a copy of Streams in the Desert devotional that has blank lines for journaling. Recently I turned o the page for that day. I had written, “Joy to the World at church: “Lizzie cried, “the Lord is come!! That’s Grammy’s song. The Lord is come! They said it in church, Grammy!” My heart melted all over again. My Lizzie is now 21. I sent her the journal entry via texting. I hope she takes my song to heart and embraces Jesus as her Lord and savior. Then it will not just be my song, but hers too!

As a light snow falls here and the Carolina Wren works on the dried mealworm feeder, I pray you will sing out your joy and gratitude that the Lord has come, May earth receive her King, May every heart prepare Him room….”

O sing to the Lord a new song;
    sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord; bless his name;
    tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous works among all the peoples.
4 For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;
    he is to be revered above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
    but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Honor and majesty are before him;
    strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

Psalm 96:1-6 NRSV
Posted on in Aging, Challenge, Faith, Illness and Health, Listen, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth

How Often Do You Push Yourself?

Trying to race around getting ready for our celebration with the kids and Grandkids, Bob’s medical appointments, etc. I decided to skip my afternoon siesta today. Wow! I really paid for that decision!

While shopping I had a little difficulty once I got out of the car. My body did not want to stand up straight. Aging seems to have caught up with me. There has been a nasty bulging disc for a number of years. No idea if that is the trouble or not.

So I finished at one store. Went to the next one and same scenario. Could not stand up straight without pain. When I got home carried in half the groceries and began to put them away. Still needed to do two more things out of the house.

“Hearken to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am He, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.”

-Isaiah 46:3-4 RSV

Determined to get those final two off my list, I went out again. When I got home an hour or two later I knew that if I sat down I would not be able to get dinner on the table. So I trudged on. When I did sit down for dinner, oh boy! After we ate, I could barely walk for pain and stiffness.

As I write I am sitting with the heating pad. I am praying that rest will cure this. Obviously I cannot push like I used to without consequences. Aging is NOT for sillies. This is hard stuff.

I wanted to be graceful with my turn at aging. However, most of the time I seem to take each stage kicking and screaming. No one wants to accept the fact that their body is crumbling.

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
– 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 RSV

Yes, I was doing more things than I should have chosen for one day. The Lord walks with me and sustains me, forgiving me when I push myself too hard for too long. I am however responsible for hard I push myself. That bad choice has lingered with pain for days and days. Still trying to get it under control.

I heard a podcast recently and the speaker said, “Every person I work with is dying. Only a few are aware of it.” Yes, we are all dying whether we are aware of the fact or not. When my body reacts to my lack of respect for the need to rest, for the limited strength I now possess, I must be aware that we are all dying, even me. Perhaps this will help me go more gracefully into my final years? Time will tell if I take the lesson to heart.

Posted on in Challenge, Collection of Quotes, Faith, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth

Prepare Him Room Using Mark 7

Paul wrote many lists of sins, but here is one from Jesus.

And He said, “What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of man come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things comes from within, and they defile a man.”

Mark 7:21-23 RSV

So what is coming out of us as we prepare for the Christmas celebration? Is our first response to honor the birth of Christ? The second coming of Christ? or the weight of expectations as we gather with family for another Christmas meal? Are we burdened by gift giving? Rampant greed? Unobtainable expectations of others? Ourselves? Coveting, envy, deceit, slander, pride, foolishness?

None of the lists of sin in the New Testament are told to us as the worst then the second worst, etc. We tend to assign those judgements, but they are all called sin. Sin is “falling short of the mark.”

As we once again prepare room for Christ I pray you will consider asking the Lord to help cleanse and purify your heart and mind. Let the Holy Spirit shine the Light within you and show the areas where you fall short. Then do what we are told in 1 John 1:9

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

1 John 1:9

Prepare Him Room – an article by Jon Bloom

Suddenly, we find ourselves standing where Luke had found us. There are the Christmas lists, the half-trimmed tree, the holiday movie paused, and pans in the sink. The familiar stress of the bustling and bursting schedule of Advent activities reawakens.

But seared in our minds is the pathetic picture of the holy, homeless mother and child. Bustling and bursting Bethlehem had no room for the advent of Jesus. And echoing in our ears are our own words, “Surely we can find some room somewhere!”

Can we?

The real Christmas was nothing like the Christmas we’ve come to know, with its traditions, memories, and legends. It was a desperate moment that occurred for a desperate reason.

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/prepare-him-room
Posted on in Book quotes, Challenge, Faith, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Thanks

Old Prayers for Each of Us

I recently bought another book of Puritan prayers from Christian Book Distributors entitled Piercing Heaven. The author says “That prayer is most likely to pierce heaven which first pierces one’s own heart.”

Every good prayer begins with some form of confession. This one is no exception.

It All Belongs to Jesus by Robert Hawker

Precious Jesus! I do remember my faults this day. So grant me from now on to live wholly to You, gracious Lord, to keep you always in view, walking with you, cleaving to you, hanging upon you, Help me always to remember you and your love more than anything else.

You, my dearest Redeemer! I pray for grace to set you always before me, to record in my heart your mercies, and to set you in my heart. To follow you wherever you go, and to watch the steps of Jesus. To pursue you in all your paths, at your table, at your ordinances, in your words, in your house of prayer, in your providence, in your promises.

Everywhere, and in all things where Jesus is, I pray that there may my soul be. Though I have no way to pay you back for this bounty, Lord, still in your grace may I follow you, to bless you, and to live out the truth that all I am and all I have is yours.

Grant me in this sweet sense to know you, precious Jesus, and to enjoy you in everything, for riches and honor come from you.

Yes, Lord, the work is yours, salvation is yours, glory is yours – everything is yours. All the remains for me is to be forever giving you the praise that is due your most holy name, content to be nothing – even less that nothing – that the power of Jesus may rest on me. Because when I am most weak in myself, than am I most strong in you, Lord, and in your power, amen.

I like the reminder that everything belongs to Jesus. It is so easy in this day to think there are things we obtained that belong to us, not to Him. “All I am and all I have is Yours.”

We have left the mostly clear skies of New Mexico and are firmly back home in the December gloom of Ohio. Though there is no mountain out my widow to remind me of God’s glory and majesty, there are reminders all about me of the same. The white eared squirrel just hopped across the yard. The moisture in the air seems chilly but has brought relief to my sinuses! Our small group met recently and we were re-united after a long session of being apart. Sadly, we will not meet again until next year, but prayerfully the bonds of unity will remain.

Yes, everything belongs to Jesus and He is in control. May I yield to His directions and follow closely in His paths. May you too, “be forever giving praise to His most holy Name, content to be nothing- even less than nothing – that the power of Jesus may rest on you. “ He is strong and is able to keep us in all of our ways.

Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you without blemish before the presence of his glory with rejoicing, 25 to the only God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and for ever. Amen.

Jude 24-25 RSV

There are so many passages in the New Testament that contain the phrase He is able – would make a neat study!

Posted on in Challenge, Faith, Just do it, Music, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Thanks

Giving Thanks Habit

This sentiment came from Grateful Living. I get a daily quote from them. This one was sent on Thanksgiving Day.

The day I acquired the habit of consciously pronouncing the words “thank you,” I felt I had gained possession of a magic wand capable of transforming everything.

OMRAAM MIKHAËL AÏVANHOV

I have no idea the nationality of Omraam, but that does not matter. If each of us would learn to consciously pronounce those words the world would be a much better place to live!

A magic wand! Oh how often we wish for one! Disney made it a stronger wish with Bibbidi, Bobbidi Boo!

In case you ever wanted a magic wand, here is a look at mine 🙂

“Habit of consciously pronouncing the words THANK YOU. “Oh Lord, so many things in Your kingdom are simple and we try to make them complicated. Thank You for revealing this truth to us.

At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

Matthew 11:25 NRSV

So here is your magic wand. Instead of lamenting this holiday season, why not make it a magical season with constant Thank Yous to our Father? What do you have to lose? Give a try! Perhaps you will lose the blues!

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 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.