Category: Faith

Posted on in Faith

Grateful Quote

I do not always write my blog posts in sequential order. While listening to the song by Velma Frye “Ever Flowing” I began to write this entry.

At any moment the fully present mind can shatter time and burst into Now.

BR. DAVID STEINDL-RAST

What constitutes the Now for you? That ever present yet ineffable, indescribable, unspeakable beauty and joy of the Kingdom of God? How often are you able to shatter time and burst into the Now that Brother Steindel-Rast describes? It happens to me rarely, yet each time it does seems so remarkable that I am certain I will never forget it.

Then I have something totally distracting like foot surgery and those times escape me. If only I could remember to turn to music like this when I am distracted by the physical and be drawn into the Now of the Kingdom!

In case you did not listen yesterday, here is a fresh chance to sink into this truth. Perhaps it will enable you to break away from the distracting physical and burst into the Now of current presence before and with the Living God? The lyrics are by Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB.

O, ever-changing God, protect us from congealing,

Ever flowing, ever flowing, ever flowing, ever flowing.

​‘Til we flow into a Sacred Stream,
‘Til we flow into that Eternal Drink which is You.

Then pour us back into the world
​and let the flowing begin again,

And again, and again, and again.

The river of living water is ever flowing from the throne of God. (Revelation 22:1)

If we are to break from the confines of time as Brother Steindl-Rast suggests, we need to understand basic differences between ourselves and God. As a child you might have been soaked in the terms of an analog clock or a digital. God the Father is constrained by neither. Rather than try to put into words the concepts of God and our reliance upon time I decided to let “Got Questions” summarize it for us. “We live in a physical world with its four known space-time dimensions of length, width, height (or depth) and time. However, God dwells in a different realm—the spirit realm—beyond the perception of our physical senses.

In Psalm 90:4, Moses used a simple yet profound analogy in describing the timelessness of God: “For a thousand years in Your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.” The eternity of God is contrasted with the temporality of man. Our lives are but short and frail, but God does not weaken or fail with the passage of time. The Lord does not count time as we do. He is above and outside of the sphere of time. God sees all of eternity’s past and eternity’s future. The time that passes on earth is of no consequence from God’s timeless perspective. A second is no different from an eon; a billion years pass like seconds to the eternal God. https://www.gotquestions.org/God-time.html

For a thousand years in your sight
    are like yesterday when it is past
    or like a watch in the night. Psalm 90:4 NRSVUE

How can you bring your fully present mind to this moment and burst through to shatter time and go into the Present NOW? I would have to say you simply cannot without practice. And if, by chance, you do it once without practice that has to be God breaking through to you! I can only attain a fully present mind with practice. I am SO easily distracted, she wrote as the lawn treatment guy road past the window on his fertilizer dispenser ….

Yes, God, protect me from congealing… like jello that gloms on to the dish and does not want to be washed off. Protect me from ruminating on past hurts and slights. Protect me from the distractions of this life, 1 John 2: 16 for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world.

Protect me from congealing. Help me flow in the things of You and with Your living water. Help me shatter time and burst into Your Now!

Posted on in Aging, Book quotes, Challenge, Faith, Joy, Just do it, Music, Praise, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Surrender, Trust, Worship, Yield

Rumi

Seems like wherever I turn these days folks are seeking direction and fulfillment for their everyday lives. I keep returning again and again to Rumi, the poet, theologian, Islamic scholar, and Sufi Mystic. I am not looking to replace my Christian faith, but this guy understood the depths of mysticism and genuine faith.

Merriam-Webster defines mysticism as a religious practice based on the belief that knowledge of spiritual truth can be gained by praying or thinking deeply. I know Jesus would agreed.

Be like a tree and let the dead leaves drop. There are quite a few dead leaves dropping around here and summer is not even complete. How about the things we fill our lives with that do not fulfill us? Can we drop some of those and be more like the tree described in the Psalms?

Happy are those
    who do not follow the advice of the wicked
or take the path that sinners tread
    or sit in the seat of scoffers,
2 but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law they meditate day and night.
3 They are like trees
    planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
    and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper. Psalm 1:1-13 NRSVUE

Whatever lifts the corners of your mouth, trust that.  There is a local billboard that states “If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours.” It is powerful advice. Our worship service has children participate especially in collecting the offering. There is also a special children’s sermon that is delightful. I am always refreshed by the children. And they know how to smile!

Before I had the recent foot surgery if I saw someone in a wheelchair I made an effort to get on their eye level and greet them with a smile. Since I have so recently driven electric wheelchair shopping carts in so many different stores I am even more inclined to do that. It is an entirely different world down there. Most people just hurry past and ignore those who are seated. Try giving those folks a smile of yours! If you have never driven one of those carts, the next time you see them lined up for charging you should try one, just to gain a new perspective! Of course, if there is only one or two please leave it for those of us who cannot walked the area of American mega-stores! There are some people who would see me reaching for an item and ask if they could help me with it. There is still kindness all around us!

Hard, but oh so true. Constantly flowing, never clinging, always embracing the new. Wowsers. Here are just a couple of short songs to keep you in the ways of a river today.

And an even better one is Ever Flowing!

Posted on in Challenge, Faith, Focus, Just do it, Obedience, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Trust, Yield

Present

This morning my meditation sites seemed to all converge. Don’t you just love when that happens? God uses all the sources around us to point to the Divine will for us.

Challenge to me is can I stay right here in the present moments as they unfold this day? Not worry about if I can attend the book discussion group this evening. Having no fret about completing my writing so I can teach a new pattern to someone tomorrow morning. No concern about something I said or did yesterday. Just right here. Right now. This present moment, enjoy this gift.

Then the Scripture meditation on another app:

12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal, but I press on to lay hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have laid hold of it, but one thing I have laid hold of: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us, then, who are mature think this way, and if you think differently about anything, this, too, God will reveal to you. 16 Only let us hold fast to what we have attained. Philippians 3:13-16 NRSVUE

Paul urges us to turn loose of the past, anything we have already laid hold of we should keep, but not dwell there in that past accomplishment. Press on toward “the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” Right here I want to embrace You Lord and Your will for me.

It has been said that if you do not know what God is asking you to do right now then obey the last thing that you heard. In other words, if I do not have new marching orders, do the last thing I heard. How do you accomplish that? Are you obedient to what you have been told or are you always seeking for something else, some new thing you might like better?

Trying to find artwork to illustrate this blog entry I found runners and then more runners (that does not apply to me as I barely walk right now) then even worse, a guy walking a tightrope over the Grand Canyon (I fear heights). For me to ‘press on toward’ means do not stop where you are for more than this moment. On toward the goal.

Along with Paul I do not consider this a done deal. It requires my discipline and obedience daily, at times hourly. “Let those of us, then, who are mature think this way.” Ouch that could hurt on days when I am stuck in some other kind of thinking! The good Lord does not leave us to ourselves. Paul goes on to write “and if you think differently about anything, this, too, God will reveal to you.”

Holy Spirit come please, correct my wrong thinking and help me to follow hard after the thoughts of the Lord God Almighty. Deliver me from brain habits and flesh habits and world habits. Help me recognize and cling to Christ-like habits. Make me wholly Yours. Amen.

Posted on in Book quotes, Faith, Just do it, Obedience, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Surrender, Trust

Sensible Shoes Series

This series of books written by Sharon Garlough Brown features 4 women on their spiritual journey, ending with Book 4, entitled An Extra Mile. I finally started reading book 4 and have been staying awake longer at night due to the story. Brown is a terrific author! Once a librarian told me you know it is a good book when you wonder what the characters are doing when you are not reading.

In part 2 of this book, Page 166, a couple of the women are experiencing an experiential prayer journey to the cross on Holy Saturday. The fourth prayer station is described as follows:

Three dead trees were secured in five-gallon buckets with duct tape and rocks. Draped through the bare branches of the trees was a long black cloth, at the top of which was painted the silhouette of a weeping woman. Blue beads and crystals representing tears hung from the branches, and at the base of one of the trees was a puddle fashioned from turquoise tulle.

“Jesus Speaks to Weeping Women”, the sign read. Beside it was the Scripture text from Luke 23:27-31

A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. 28 Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 Then

“‘They will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”
    and to the hills, “Cover us!”’

31 For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

I have read the Bible through several times and studied particular books many times. I did not recall this passage at all. See why I like her writing? The image of the dead trees, the way the woman’s tears were depicted; certainly her church must have had this display once?

Two characters stop at this prayer station. The author writes out their experiences. These two paragraphs drew me enough to turn down the page in my book (rather than look for a pen or pencil as I read into the night). Page 170

But I can’t fake joy, Lord. What I have right now to offer you is sorrow. Gratitude, too, but also sorrow. I miss ___ _____.I miss my work. I miss my space. I grieve what was. I grieve what will never be. I grieve.

But I’m not the only one who grieves. I sit and stare at these dead trees watered by tears and find myself strangely comforted at the thought of being part of a community of the brokenhearted and the disappointed who keep watch for redemption. For resurrection. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Let that be true, Lord! Not just for me. For all of us.

This has been a difficult summer in our household. Recovery from the foot surgery. Storms. Multiple deaths in our neighborhood. Storms. Bob got really sick and is on multiple inhalers and treatments for his lungs. Another death looming. Garden going to seed despite the efforts of friends and both myself and Bob .

It has been refreshing to read Amy Carmichael writing to those who are ill and struggling, see https://treasuresinplainsight.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=23617&action=edit Sharon Garlough Brown writing about those who are grieving and ways to take our eyes off our own discomfort and place our eyes upon Jesus once again.

Again Sharon Garlough Brown writes on Page 174

I know you invite me to trust you as Redeemer, Lord. Not to expect you to be the God who fixes broken things or prevent brokenness from happening but to trust you to be the One who redeems broken things, makes your presence known in the midst of all that is broken, and keeps us company as we grieve. You do make all things well. Like Julian of Norwich’s prayer. All shall be well. And all shall be well. And all manner of things shall be well. Someday. No matter what.

God is with us in anything and everything that happens to us in this life. Somehow everything that happens to us in this life can form and shape and prepare us for life beyond this world as well.

If you have never read this series of books I cannot urge you enough to look into them! Book 1 is entitled Sensible Shoes and introduces you to the four main characters. Those characters are developed through the all four books and certainly worth the read.

Author Sharon Garlough Brown

Posted on in Faith, Joy, Listen, Music, Obedience, Praise, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Yield

There Was Jesus

Last spring our contemporary worship band made a point of learning this song. We sang it this week as our offertory hymn, noting the death of Dolly Parton. The song was written by Zach Williams. In an interview he stated that he just kept hearing Dolly Parton singing it with him. He eventually contacted her. After hearing the song, reading the lyrics she said yes she would be glad to record it with him.

According to Williams, Parton was looking for more faith-based projects when his team reached out regarding the song. 

“We all knew it was a big ask and we were shooting for the moon to try to get her on the song,” Williams explained. “We originally heard that 90% of the stuff that comes her way, she turns down just because she has so many people asking to do songs with her.”

Williams recounted Parton telling him, the day she received the song, that she didn’t even make it through the first chorus, before she knew it was a special song and a “God-send.” 

“She said ‘I wake up and I pray every day that God just gives me the opportunity that I need for that day…I felt like that was the one that He wanted me to do,’,” Williams noted Parton said, when in the process of creating the track. –from https://americansongwriter.com/there-was-jesus-dolly-parton-zach-williams-song-interview/

Posted on in Aging, Book quotes, Faith, Focus, Humor, Joy, Look, Yield

I Like This One!

To be astonished is one of the surest ways of not growing old too quickly. SIDONIE-GABRIELLE COLETTE

Around our neighborhood we are each looking for this elixir, ways of not growing old too quickly. Oh Lord, help us find soul-filling healthy astonishment this week! There has been a lot of death around here for the past year. One gal wondered if we should walk around burning sage and praying?

When was the last time you were astonished?

Bob and I decided not to go to the beach in September. It is just too soon after my foot surgery. Instead we will likely go to the Amish country in northern Ohio and visit our favorite cheese shop, Pearl Valley. Yes, I ran out of the very large order we placed some months ago. Besides, for reasons unbeknownst to us they do not ship sliced cheese? Good excuse for a short get away.

I heard the monarchs are making a comeback. That made my heart skip a beat!

The Butterfly Connection reports “According to a recent report from the World Wildlife Fund, the eastern monarch butterfly population has increased by 64% during the 2025–2026 winter season.

“That’s not just a small bump—it’s a meaningful surge that has scientists, conservationists, and butterfly lovers celebrating.” https://thebutterflyconnection.com/a-hopeful-turn-monarch-butterflies-are-making-a-comeback/

Remember the severe thunderstorms and tornadoes that caused many to lose power in many parts of the country including ours? Now that Bob is serving on the HOA board again, he made a call to the folks in charge of our retention pond and the fountain that keeps the water moving. The timer was out of whack. She said that fountains all over town are messed up due to the power outages. That never crossed my mind before! I imagine they are running from subdivision to subdivision resetting timers!

Not our actual pond, but you get the idea!

I saw Ed walking down the sidewalk. He is a neighbor who is suddenly father of two lovely children. When we first moved in he and his wife were trying to train their large black Doodle dog, Maverick, to walk calmly on a leash. They were having a time of it, but finally prevailed.

Maverick is VERY well behaved now. Then they had their first child and Maverick had to learn how to walk alongside the baby stroller with Keegan. Then they were gifted with sweet Ember girl. Maverick then had to navigate alongside a stroller for two!

Ed just walked past pushing the newest stroller which allows Keegan to stand on the back while Ember rides in the seat. He was moving at a fast clip. And there was Maverick sedately keeping pace with the family parade. Those sorts of this bring me awe. This young family has blessed us many times over. When I had to miss Ember’s first birthday party because of the foot surgery they came to see us afterwards. Ember used to cry when she saw me, but even with my foot elevated and iced she just smiled and cooed. Keegan was well behaved as he marveled at being inside our home.

I am in awe at how blessed our lives are. I do not fully understand it. I do adhere to the tile plaque in our hallway declaring people are more important than things.

What brings you awe? Try to come up with one thing, then go for two!

You have stirred in us the desire to praise you, for you have made us for yourself and our heart is restless until it comes to rest in you.
Grant me, O Lord, to know and understand whether first to pray to you or to praise you; whether first to know you or call upon you. Augustine’s Confessions https://augustinesconfessions.com/chapter1.html

Which do you do first first? Pray or praise God? Call upon God or know God?

Posted on in Faith

Another Morning Song

Crown Him with Many Crowns with the traditional melody was my anthem for many years. Evidently two men are credited with writing this hymn. Some hymnals use a few verses from both writers! Altogether it is believed there are 12 verses between the two writers. Hear teh traditional melody below.

Now I most often have the Fernando Ortega melody running through my heart. It took me quite a while to get accustomed to his melody.

Have you thought lately of crowning Christ as the Lord of Life over your existence? Do not let His praise fail in your existence! Give him any crowns you have earned, all the crowns he has bestowed upon you as a child of God.

Posted on in Faith

Invisible God

Seems like this is music week, doesn’t it?

8-11 Lectio after quoting John 14:8-14 NIVUK wrote, “But what does God really look like?!” It’s a question that I have often pondered … and it is echoed here in Philips’s request: “Show us the Father”. Jesus’ response is startling: I already have!

Jesus is “the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:5). He is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (Hebrews 1:3).

In Jesus, the invisible God is at last made visible. And not just visible: touchable, tangible: a person.

This song by Andrew Peterson then rang through my heart.

from Resurrection Letters Volume 2

In Jesus, the invisible God is at last made visible. And not just visible: touchable, tangible: a person.

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Challenge, Faith, Focus, Joy, Look, Nature, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Surrender, Thanks

Let’s Regroup on the Topic of Awe

Do you recall my reference to the TIME magazine article on Brief Health, 5 ways to experience a little bit of awe every day? https://treasuresinplainsight.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=23481&action=edit I also wrote a couple times about Glimmers. I think I mentioned it 6 times? Here is the first Glimmer post https://treasuresinplainsight.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=21104&action=edit

Have you been seeking those experiences? The 5 ways in short are 1. what makes you say “whoa”? 2. Think small. 3. It can happen on a screen, (nature, short lab videos, etc.) 4. Awe is a reset button and 5. Pay attention to goodness.

Our deathly ill neighbors have large flower boxes on either side of the front walk. Last spring, a healthy friend of theirs planted annual seeds in the boxes for them. Ginny has since passed away. I went clumping over in my orthotic boot one day and could not get through to the front door as the sidewalk was overgrown with flowers blooming and falling all over the place. Zinnias that were over 3 feet tall, sunflowers falling down, and under it all a riot of marigolds. I am still trying to offer meals to Chuck. Last Sunday I asked Bob to go with me bearing clippers and a bucket so we could cut back the jungle to get to the porch. We disturbed a parade of butterflies and bees. As I cut one stem I noticed a lovely bug. At first I called it a leaf hopper. (See opening photo) On closer inspection it was more likely one of the zillion kinds of grasshoppers. And as I marveled at its intricate body I realized I was holding my breath for a moment in awe. There it is!

From the bedroom window this morning I could tell the weather has finally changed with lower humidity, MUCH LOWER, and cooler temperatures. Then my eye was captured by the sunlight through the elephant ears. No rabbits lately, but this was indeed a delight. Breathe in the awe with me.

We attended church this morning with me in sandals, left one had top one strap entirely unfastened, no boot! Though the day held delightful weather our outdoor service was changed to indoor due to other issues. After being spread out in chairs under the towering oak trees in the parking lot there was an enhanced sense of intimacy once indoors. I was amazed how many people greeted me with well wishes for thorough healing. The arms of Christ were certainly all about me. The doctor had said he still wanted me to wear the boot in public. I admit I was a bit nervous with all those other feet around me, especially the children. I look forward to serving at the altar again as soon as I can climb the stairs.

What a glorious day of awe and wonder. Instead of rainstorms right now there are small, pure white, puffy clouds floating slowly past in an incredibly blue sky. Life is truly a wonder. The TIME article suggests taking a 15-minute “awe walk.” Just look at the world with fresh eyes, pay attention to the details around you, and engage your senses.” Slow down for the details and let awe capture you!

Consider the work of God;
    who can make straight what he has made crooked?

In the day of prosperity, be joyful, and in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that mortals may not find out anything that comes after them. Ecclesiastes 7:13-15 NRSVUE

Posted on in Faith

Freely

This was a worship song I learned to sing many, many years ago. I think we actually only used the chorus? Last week it popped up in heart.

Then I learned a friend whose husband suffered from hemophilia for years had passed. Frankly, most of us were amazed he had lived this long! Perhaps she was the one who first taught me the chorus? Frankly I do not remember.

Since I heard the sad news of her loss I have been sending her my love freely. We have lost touch over the years, but I know the Lord holds her and the family in His nail scared hands.

Freely Give