I recently realized that the photo files on my computer contain many photos of folks who are no longer living on this earth. Guess that means I am getting old. In case you have an empty chair at your table this year I want to remind you that others are missing loved ones, too. None of us are getting out of here without experiencing death of ones we love or our own. If you are following Christ there are promises for a better life with Him after we shed this ‘meat bag’ body and live on in the spirit. You are a spirit, inhabiting a body. Either Dallas Willard or C. S. Lewis made that point. Regardless, it is so true.
Aunt Patty MilesSister Mary ElizabethBetty MilesGrandma SallyJoy CavalierMy ParentsSister StephanieMy In-laws, Betty and DragIn all white, my crochet buddy, Karen.Grandma PatMy mother, day of my wedding
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
1 Peter 1:3-5
If you are missing loved ones, I pray that you are able to celebrate their life by adopting their best attributes and making those your own. Try to list wonderful things you remember about each person. Prayerfully thank God the Father for their positive influence upon your life. Ask for guidance from the Lord as to how you can best honor each one with the days you have remaining. May God bless and keep you this holiday season and always.
You know something is up when all the messages around you harmonize!
And suddenly you know: It’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.
Meister Eckhart
How about you? Is there anything new popping up in your life?
Conner Bowie on Unspalsh
Wouldn’t it be great to have some place like this to go for a retreat! Away from ‘the maddening crowds.” Asking for guidance and wisdom and able to hear His will.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Those who instruct writers tell that the best readership is when the writer connects from a personal place. So here is a recent telling of a personal relationship gone bad and how I am coping with that. My time is divided between writing two mornings a week, attending a crochet group one morning per week and participating in a church small group every other week. I have not joined any of church women’s Bible studies as my time is stretched as is.
I have been part of this crochet and knit group for many years. We meet weekly to construct our own projects. Sometimes a bunch of us decide to try the same pattern. Recently our leader was absent and no one knew where she was. Many reiterated, “She always tells one of us if she is not going to attend.” She had not told anyone. I called and there was no answer. Left her a message. Stopped at her house on the way home to drop a donation of hats and mittens someone had made. Lights were out but both cars were there. I assumed she was resting. I did not ring the bell. Placed the donation on top of her car in the open garage. Left a message that we were concerned by her absence. Later in the week I tried to get hold of her. Her phone mailbox was full.
When I attended group the next week she lit into me with fury. “I and my family are really pissed at you!” I was curious and it was humorous to me at first, “Why?!?” In anger she replied, “You called me three times! Even my cousin did not call that many times.” She accused me of butting my nose into other people’s business. I was told to just butt out. Wow. I thought I was showing concern for her well being. She had recently been hospitalized with lung issues. With the children’s virus going around that can affect seniors I was truly concerned. I still had no idea where she had been the previous meeting. I was wounded by her words. There had to be at least 15 other ways she could have handled that besides yelling at me in front of the group that was assembling.
I went out of the room to sign in at the Senior Center desk and realized I could not stay for that meeting. I was angry and distressed. I had brought a cake to share with the group for my birthday, and could not in good conscious act as if all was well. I got my cake, crochet supplies and purse out of the meeting room as she was explaining to the group what happened to her and where she had been the previous week. I did not wait to listen.
I admit, I have had a hard time shaking this one off. I have prayed. I have asked trusted friends to listen to my heart. Tried not to ruminate, just find out what the Lord requires of me in this.
This week the same Scripture came to me through more than one source.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
Psalm 40:2 NIV
Photo by Molly Dutina
Our church has repeatedly been teaching about the fact that we cannot, should not, try to walk alone in our Christian journey. The preacher asks us almost weekly to examine our circle of friends and influence. I have been doing just that and find my circle too limited and me often suffering from loneliness.
So having just passed my 72nd birthday I wondered what I am going to do about this? My Dad died when I was 11 years old. I was left with my mom and sister who were like two peas in a pod. I was the odd girl out. After that I grew up with a steady diet of criticism of them. It all left me with a tendency to not trust women in relationships. Mind you, I have some close female friends, but I also have a long line of women who shamed, falsely accused or betrayed me. Last Sunday a guest speaker came and challenged us to tell our story to a small group of fellow Christians. I am reading his book and asking my church if we are holding groups like he suggests.
Okay, there is no Christian focus at crochet group. There are Christians who attend, many go to the same church I do! I do not want to discuss this with them as I fear getting into gossip about her. That is not my goal. How do I get in relationship with other women who want to share life in a trusting, safe environment? Our speaker, Dr. Alan Ahlgrim, pointed out repeatedly that we cannot be heart healthy alone. (He was not speaking of diet.) He means a place where we do not only share from our heads, but our hearts, too.
I have come to believe that perhaps the Lord released me from the crochet group with this woman’s foot upon my bottom pushing me out the door. He knew I would not leave of my own accord. Her rude manner and unkind ways just put me over the top to see the opportunities to participate in my church’s activities with newly freed up time.
From Joshua Hoehne at Unsplash Images
Please pray that I can find a way to share my heart as well as my mind with others. Pray I will find or help create a group where we can each be genuine without shame or contempt.
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: 10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. 11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? 12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Are you on the Isaiah highway? I do not think this refers to a religious denomination, but more a way of life.
And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. 9 No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, 10 and those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Isaiah 35:8-11 NIV
My ways are not God’s ways. There are ways that seem right to me, but they can end in destruction. I need to ask God if I am being obedient to His will. I need to constantly check my ways, my motives, my decisions. When was the last time you did a self examen? A spiritual check of yourself, and then quiet confession and listening for His still, small voice to guide and direct you, An inner KNOWING.
I would love a print of this photo from the internet!
There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.
Proverbs 14:12 NIV
There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.
Proverbs 16:25 NIV
It has been said when something is repeated in Scripture we are meant to pay attention. Two different Proverbs. Hmm. I will doing self examen this week and asking the Lord for specific guidance in my choices.
A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart.
Proverbs 21:2 NIV
Never too old or too young to examen you heart, soul and mind!
I am not getting any younger! I wrote a post. I dated it wrong and unbeknownst to me it posted immediately. I went out the door to walk Lucky. Saw a photo that spoke to the post. Grabbed my phone snapped a photo and then had to take it again because “Live” was on and the breeze was bouncing the subject. Downloaded the final photo to the computer. Went to upload it to the post.
COULD NOT FIND THE POST ANY PLACE until my friend Dan commented on the post and his comment popped up on my phone! Oh man! what a disappointment.
“And what of our walk with the Lord? Is yours drying up? Has your walk brought challenges that you would rather ignore? Are you bundled in a blanket of self-pity waiting for some other thing to do, rather than obey? There is a saying that if the devil has not bothered you lately, you likely are not obeying the Lord.
“If your walk is drying up perhaps you better get with it and find ways to drench your soul with His Living Water! We cannot control the weather but we can control whether or not we seek Him and His will for us! If the enemy of our souls bothers you, do what the Word says in James 4.
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
James 4:7-10 NIV
Here is the photo I wanted to add. Likely last rose of the season.
Yes, the branch was bending down before the rose opened!
May your soul be drenched with Living Water just like this rose! Stay in His presence.
Well it is saying something that I have outlived both of my parents. My Dad died really young of heart disease. I have outlived my mother by ten years!
This morning I awoke to my typical birthday weather, gloomy, drizzly but also unusually warm. The weather in my heart is good. I am looking for ways this year to please the Lord, my Lord Jesus, risen from the dead.
Instead of my typical morning devotions, I turned today to Thomas R. Kelley’s Testament of Devotion. This chapter is called Holy Obedience. He speaks of George Fox…”the insatiable God-hunger in him drove him from such mediocrity into a passionate quest for the real whole-wheat Bread of Life. The life that intends to be wholly obedient, wholly submissive, wholly listening, is astonishing in its completeness.” He goes on to say “Self is emptied into God, and God in-fills it. In glad, amazed humility we cast on Him our little lives in trusting obedience, in erect, serene, and smiling joy. Nothing else in all of heaven or earth counts so much as His will, His slightest wish, His faintest breathing. And holy obedience sets in, sensitive as a shadow, obedient as a shadow, selfless as a shadow. Not reluctantly but with ardor one longs to follow Him the second half (of the way of obedience).”
Ardor: great warmth of feeling; fervor. intense devotion; zeal. burning heat. Do we follow Him with ardor?
“Self is emptied into God and God fills it.”
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Revelation 3:14-28 NIV
So I come before You, my Lord, on this my birthday. Left to myself I am always poor, naked, blind, pitiful and wretched. I cannot do Your will without Your indwelling Spirit to empower me. This coming year of my life I want to reflect Your life-giving whole wheat Bread of Life. I want my life to delight You. I desire immediate obedience to Your slightest wish, faintest breathing. May my ardor for You be fanned into a flame. Amen.
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God
2 Timothy 1: 6a NIV
My family told the story that at my birth the umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck. I was a ‘blue baby.’ They waited to see if I would “pink up.” When I recovered my father was so delighted he wanted my middle name to be Cherry! My mother made him compromise with Cheryl. Now I just want to follow God in obedience, full of His breath, doing His will.
Kelly wrote “holy obedience sets in, sensitive as a shadow, obedient as a shadow, selfless as a shadow.” What a tremendous image! A shadow, as in formed by the Son of God shining upon us, and we giving an outline that is totally dependent upon His light… He moves, shadow moves.
Oh to “be wholly obedient, wholly submissive, wholly listening.” Sensitive to His every desire. Can I do it? Will I take up the challenge for the entire year or drop it after a month or two? I will take it up and pray to complete it with God’s help! Will you try it also?
My writing this week began with a blank page as it always does, then sorrows and struggles of others, the sound of dry leaves, climate change and some poetry. How to sum that up? I think my newest t-shirt says it best with a quote from Mother Teresa, “Do small things with great love.”
How to shine the Light of the Lord in these situations? For those in sorrow and struggles, cook a meal if you can. Surprise someone with flowers and a slice of cake. Pray for their situations and the strength of their hearts. Remind them as you are enabled that the paths of the Lord “drip with abundance.”
Dry leaves falling upon dry leaves are about to end today as rain is forecast in our area. Then we will have dry leaves falling upon soggy leaves. And oh how we need that rain! Yes, the voice of the Lord is still here like the whisper of leaves upon leaves, that still small voice of love and encouragement, challenge and reproof. (1 Kings 19:12) Are you listening for His voice of instruction to you?
My reminders
I have returned to wearing this homemade bracelet. It reminds me that I am called to Constant, Yielded, Peaceful, Joyful Obedience to the Lord. When I am diligent to this He shines His light through me, usually when I am not even aware it is happening. Why is this important? As His servant and ambassador in this age of darkness, like Paul, I am to reflect His glory. My occupation is to give light to those around me, Light from the Son.
for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak
Ephesians 6:20
When the bracelet annoys me, catches upon something or hinders the use of my wrist my practice is to make that draw my attention back to Christ. Am I listening? Am I doing the last thing He asked of me? Is the Trinity trying to get my attention right now? Am I humble enough to yield and to listen? Will I obey Him?
Some say they do not know what God wants them to do. If you keep praying and asking, the Holy Spirit is quite capable to make the Father’s will clear to you. You must wait and listen. When you receive instruction obey as much of that instruction as you are able. You might mess it up and make a mistake. We all do that. Our God is able to clean up our mistakes and make the most of our efforts.
And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
2 John 1:6 NIV
I pray you will use the empty page, the empty canvas of your life to do works of His desiring. Though you might not be able to see what is being created, He does and He will be careful to keep your heart until the day of His coming. Work diligently, as unto God. He reads your heart and knows your efforts on His behalf.
Ask Him, “what would bring pleasure to You today, Lord?” Then set out to delight your Lord with all of your heart!
The first photo is “Randy Statler sits on a rock to watch people walk to Tower Rock, an attraction normally surrounded by the Mississippi River and only accessible by boat, in Perry County, Missouri, on October 19, 2022. Jeff Roberson/AP Photo”
I love Mary Engelbreit. She captures things succinctly for me.
I do not remember this happening before, but according to weather historians it has occurred once within the last ten years or so. And now, again. Are we awake to what is happening?
I was startled to hear about drought on the Mississippi river. In case you have forgotten, here is the route it takes.
I first heard this on the national news. Here is report from Newsweek.
“The Mississippi River winds 2,350 miles, connecting the center of the continental United States to the Gulf of Mexico. The National Park System calls the Mississippi River “significant to national trade” and is an avenue to funnel 500 million tons of shipped goods into the U.S. economy. Products most often shipped on the Mississippi are grains, petroleum products, iron and steel, grain, rubber, paper, wood, coffee, coal, chemicals and edible oils.
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains a nine-foot shipping channel from Louisiana to Minnesota in order to transport the goods up and down the Mississippi River. In some areas of the drought-ridden channel, the Weather Channel reported the waterway was so narrow, barges were at a standstill and backed up for miles.
And then CNN
“The US Drought Monitor says that more than 55% of the contiguous United States – an area that is home to more than 133 million people – is in drought.
“With the Climate Prediction Center forecasting below-average rainfall through at least October 23.”
So if you thought the drought was limited to California and the western states, think again. The earth as we knew it is in trouble. I doubt my parents would ever have imagined this could happen. I can barely imagine this is happening in my lifetime!
“Oh Lord, forgive us for abusing our planet. Help us know how best to conserve it right now. Show us Your will and Your ways in this thing. Amen”
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The Lord is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds. The Lord upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing. The Lord is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of all who fear him; he also hears their cry, and saves them.
The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and all flesh will bless his holy name for ever and ever.
Psalm 145:13-21 NRSV
I suppose we have counted on the storms from the Atlantic to provide much of our autumn moisture? This year those storms have barely effected our area of the Ohio River valley. So literally, pray for rain. Especially if you like to ship or to purchase “grains, petroleum products, iron and steel, grain, rubber, paper, wood, coffee, coal, chemicals and edible oils.”
Drought has caused low flows in the Mississippi River, slowing vital barge traffic to a crawl. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/MCT)
I first read this quote by Rainer Marie Rilke in the book by Ben Palpant entitled “Letters from the Mountain.”
“Most experiences are unsayable.” There are mysterious existences whose life endures beside our own small, transitory life.
Rilke and Ben Palpant
There is a sound of leaves falling upon leaves that is so indescribable. I cannot imagine being able to mimic that sound. More than just a rustling, shifting, crunching. Nary a squirrel can approach our deck undetected right now! Our once green grass is now a carpet of yellow, orange, brown and red.
I used the blower to clear off the deck. 24 hours later it looked like this!
Can you see the carpet of leaves on the lawn?
How could I possibly capture the sound of dry leaves upon dry leaves with only words? How would you say it?
Below is a mighty sweet gum tree growing in the woods of Eastfork State Park.
And then there was this artsy photo of sun through a sweet gum leaf which the mighty beagle messed up by walking in front of the camera.
Silly Lucky, no artistic sense!
You crown the year with Your goodness, And Your paths drip with abundance. They drop on the pastures of the wilderness, And the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; The valleys also are covered with grain; They shout for joy, they also sing.
We sometimes listen to TED talks. We recently heard “Why Having Fun is The Secret to A Healthier Life,” (link is below). I found the transcript and included a few thoughts from Catherine Price for your consideration. It also touches upon our Small Group study delving into a better definition of joy.
That first photo shows Lucky having fun with Lizzie’s cat while she stayed at their house during our absence.
“The color of fun is sunshine, (said her daughter.) It involves “playfulness, connection and joy.” By playfulness I just mean having a lighthearted attitude of doing things for the sake of doing them and not caring too much about the outcome. Letting go of perfectionism. When we have fun, our guard is down, and we’re not taking ourselves too seriously.
“Connection refers to the feeling of having a special, shared experience. And then flow is the state where we are so engaged and focused on whatever we’re doing that we can even lose track of time.
“The most effective thing you can do to have more fun is to focus on its ingredients, by which I mean, do everything you can to fill your life with more moments of playfulness, connection and flow. So here are some ideas for how to do so. To start with, reduce distractions in order to increase flow. Anything that distracts you is going to kick you out of flow and prevent you from having fun
“And you say “Hello.” And if that goes well, you can introduce yourself. And if that goes well, maybe you can ask them a question, something that’s thought-provoking, but not overly personal or threatening, like “What’s something that fascinates you?” Or “What’s one thing that delighted you today?” And you might be amazed by how good just one little moment of connection can make you feel.
“And if you do find someone to connect with, maybe ask them to join you in trying my third suggestion, which is to increase playfulness by finding opportunities to rebel. Now I am not talking about James Dean-level of rebellion. I’m talking about playful deviance. I’m talking about finding ways to break the rules of responsible adulthood, and giving yourself permission to get a kick out of your own life.
“Make fun a priority. If you know there’s an activity that really does often generate playful connected flow for you, carve out time for it in your schedule. Treat fun as if it is important. Because it is. I’ve been doing this myself for a couple of years now, and it’s amazing to see how many areas of my life fun has touched. I’m more creative and more productive, I’m more resilient. I laugh more. Making sure that I’m having enough fun has made me a better partner, a better parent and a better friend. And it has convinced me of something that I very much hope I can convince you of as well, which is that my daughter was right. Fun is sunshine. It’s a distillation of life’s energy. And the more often we experience it, the more we will feel like we’re actually alive.
Sunshine capture in blossoms!
Yes, a major source of fun for me!
Bob recently had his first cataract surgery. The night before we were in bed saying good night. We both had been a little tense about this as neither of us had experienced it before. Trying to lighten things up a bit I said on the next day I would be asking him “Can you see me now?” Drawing upon his bad joke about Helen Keller I placed his hand on one of my body parts. I was laughing so hard I almost could not say the joke line. “Here, find out if you can see me from memory!” Old folks gotta make fun! “Here, try again, do you see me now?” We were gasping for breath as we laughed and laughed. Sometimes fun is just spontaneous. If it is not spontaneous for you today, follow Catherine’s advice and make some fun.
Great Nephew Levie
We gifted Levie a Teddy Bear when we met him for the first time. I made the Teddy a scarf. Levie fell in love with that Teddy. He had never named one of his stuffed animals before, but decided this one’s name was “Two.” (Levie is also two years old.) He was swinging Two around by the scarf. Occasionally kissing that Teddy. The next day he took Two Bear to Nursery School to teach him how to go down the slide. That is fun!!
Where can you find godly joy, pleasure and delight today? Can you create it in your midst?
You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
