Each Sunday our 9:15 service ends with the charge from the priest,
“Our worship has ended. Now our service begins.”
I just love that call to action for Christ!
When I was participating in the other denominations, I still maintained my attendance at the Convent of the Transfiguration. I made it my business to learn the contemporary version of the Lord’s Prayer from the Book of Common Prayer so I would not be stumbling over the words of the prayer when we said it in unison. Now that we are back to worship at the Episcopal church I find myself having to concentrate on the words of the traditional Lord’s Prayer as they are not using the contemporary version. Always something to learn!!
Here are the two versions for your consumption.
Traditional Version from Book of Common Prayer: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
And the Contemporary Version from Book of Common Prayer:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen.
Forgive us AS. I hope the AS always stands out in your heart when you say this prayer, what ever version you choose.
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matthew 6:14-15 NIV
There is lots of grief among people I know regarding the election results. None of us know what the election of Donald Trump will mean. Bob read something that said, “When a clown enters a palace, he does not become king. When a clown enters a palace, the palace becomes a circus.”
Weird indeed. Fear of what may happen is tinging many parts of the US population.
Those who have been on the margins of society are fearful that the President Elect will unleash another wave of violence towards them in cities across the nation. Even people with valid American citizenship who do not look like the WASP population are fearful. What has this country come to?
I have waited my entire lifetime for the government to take notice of those who are on the margins, the mentally ill, the unhoused, those who look unlike me and all of us in need of help, compassion, mercy. That dream seems to get further and further away as I age. Instead those people seem to be neglected more each year.
On a recent visit to the San Francisco Bay area, Bob said that the homeless population seems to increase every time he visits. The climate there is temperate and the unhoused find it easier to live on the streets there than on the streets of Cincinnati. There is no national plan that I know of being made to approach this problem.
I was crushed in 1984 when the hospital for the mentally ill, Longview State hospital, closed in Cincinnati. Where were these folks to get help? I did not understand the problems with institutionalized asylums. I just could not comprehend turning people out in the streets. People that needed our care and compassion.
Now people are beaten in the street if they look Asian. Those of Mexican or South American descent are being told they will be rounded up and deported unless they can prove American citizenship. I wonder who is going to do suburban lawn care, pick the crops, slaughter the chickens and replace roofing on homes? Much less, clean motel rooms and manicure golf courses?
People in twenty some states are being sent texts telling them they should prepare to be picked up from their homes and be sent to pick cotton. What is this evil force being unleashed among Americans? As if farms even picked cotton by hand anymore! That pretty much ended in the 1970s!
Is this all politically driven or has America always been this mean? Has an undercurrent of hatred tinged every generation? Have I been a fool wearing rose tinted glasses my entire life?
Such violent hatred. Floods of intentionally unkind vitriolic language! How have we come to this blatant disregard for the ones we see as other? Do we not believe we are all made in God’s image and given certain rights? Each of us is human!!
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.Preamble to the Declaration of Independence
I do not have answers as to how we should solve all these problems but I do believe it begins with respecting other persons as part of us, the human race. I recently bought a license plate frame for my car that reads:
We are Humankind. Be both: human and kind.
Oh that we would all take this to heart! We are people. We are human. We each need kindness.
Even the President Elect. God help us, I pray.
Bless this house O Lord we pray; Make it safe by night and day; Bless these walls so firm and stout, Keeping want and trouble out: Bless the roof and chimneys tall, Let thy peace lie over all; Bless this door, that it may prove ever open to joy and love.
Bless these windows shining bright, Letting in God's heav'nly light; Bless the hearth a'blazing there, with smoke ascending like a prayer; Bless the folk who dwell within, keep them pure and free from sin; Bless us all that we may be Fit O Lord to dwell with thee; Bless us all that one day we May dwell O Lord with thee.
I purposefully began this blog with a photo of Mother Eva Mary who helped found the Convent of the Transfiguration where I am an Associate. Since one of their principles is cheerfulness, I believe she would have liked the prayer below.
We found this among my mother’s things after she died. She copied it from Reader’s Digest! Evidently, it was written by a Mother Superior who wished to be anonymous. I shared it in a group recently and had such a positive response I thought the blog readers might enjoy it also!
Lord, Thou knowest better than I myself that I am growing older, and will some day be old.
Keep me from getting talkative, and particularly from the fatal habit of thinking that I must say something on every subject and on every occasion.
Release me from craving to try to straighten our everybody’s affairs.
Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details. Give me wings to get to the point.
I ask for grace enough to listen to the tales of others’ pains. Help me to endure them with patience. But seal my lips on my own aches and pains. They are increasing and my love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by.
Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally it is possible that I may be mistaken.
Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a saint … some of them are so hard to live with… but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil.
Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end.
Oh yes, You know Lord that I want at least a few friends in the end! Keep laughing, especially at yourself.
Breathe out. Usually in my quiet time I begin with breathe out self, and breath in Christ. Quite a lesson for me below!
When we are walking at the Nature Center we always go to the cultivated garden. During the summer it is bursting with blooms. You can see Lucky in the lower left of the photo. This looks like a gnarly bunch of dead leaves, but what a lesson I gained here! I could not find a sign identifying the plant. I have tried to contact the Nature Center to help me with identification of the plant, but so far no response.
As we walked about the wire enclosure I came upon this aspect of one of the leaves.
Plants do not perform breathing in its literal sense. Unlike animals, they do not possess any specialized structures like lungs for breathing. Stomata, the minute opening in leaves, and lenticels found in woody stems helps plants in gas exchange. However, similar to other living organisms, respiration occurs in plants throughout their lives to fulfill their energy requirements.
Respiration in leaves occurs through stomata, the minute pores present in them. Gaseous exchange of respiratory gases takes place through diffusion via stomata and reaches other cells of the leaves. Carbon dioxide produced during respiration also gets diffused through stomata and moves out of the leaves. The opening and closing of stomatal pores during the exchange of gases are regulated by the guard cells.
Never would I have seen this in the summer. Autumn brings all sorts of treasures into my plain sight!
We returned the next day to get more photos.
Stay amazed at the grandeur of life! What are you breathing in, breathing out?
Strive to be aware of the holy in the most mundane of things and you will see it open before you: the everyday is the abode of the eternal. -Steven Charleston
Faith Prayer and Tract League is a religious organization that focuses on the distribution of religious tracts throughout North America, the Far East, and Europe. The organization was founded with the mission of providing people with religious materials that would help them grow in their faith. The group has been successful in distributing over 60 million religious tracts throughout the world. The organization is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
When you go to “The Tract League” it seems as if most of the activity is now centered in India.
Many years ago it was popular in Ohio to print this poem and attached a few woven threads to it.
The poem The Weaver
My life is but a weaving Between my Lord and me, I cannot choose the colors He worketh steadily.
Ofttimes He weaveth sorrow, And I in foolish pride Forget He sees the upper And I, the underside.
Not till the loom is silent And the shuttles cease to fly Shall God unroll the canvas And explain the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful In the Weaver’s skillful hand As the threads of gold and silver In the pattern He has planned. -Grant Colfax Tullar
I think this bears remembering! I often say, “God knows! But He is not telling!” I understand that in the end He will explain everything. Hold to that hope, my friend.
Ouch. This date and June 14th both bring me pangs of anguish. My Dad died on November 14, 1961. My mom died June 14, 1975. If my Dad was alive today he would be 109 years old. I do not wish that on anyone. That said, I have a friend who is in her 90s. Should she die this week I must say I would miss her dearly.
I never knew Paul Arthur Rush as anyone other than Daddy. I had just turned eleven years old when he died in our apartment. I was angry with him that morning when I left for school, (no idea over what now). I do remember that I refused to kiss him good bye. Little did I know he would be dead before I returned to the house from my after school dental appointment. My mother was supposed to pick me up. During my appointment I cried out. The dentist had to stop and let me calm down. I think that was just about the moment my Dad died. What a mess.
When the dental office secretary unexpectedly drove me home (due to the chaos in our house), I entered a place where my life was changed forever. Why am I telling you all of this?
We do not know what the next hour of our life will bring to us or to those whom we love. John Wesley is credited with the quote below, but it is cited from the 1790s to the 1900s in various publications as being written by various people. I think we can all agree it sums up wisdom indeed.
Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.
On the morning of November 14, 1961 I had no idea how much that saying would impact me later in life. Yes, I wish I had kissed my Dad good-bye that morning. He suffered many years from repeated heart attacks and his heart disease is what finally killed him. For many years I was sorry for my inaction when I departed for school. I know I am forgiven.
I am grateful to my Dad in so many ways. They say he had a great sense of humor. I suppose that is where I got mine? I remember setting his hair in pin curls. For years I had totally straight hair. In my older age it is growing in wavy. His was wavy and I always envied that! After he died I would walk in a room and relatives would gasp and say, “Oh! It is Paul Rush.” So I guess I look more like him than I do my mom.
When I was diagnosed with diabetes I asked how that could be? “There is no history of that in my family.” The doctor told me that when my dad died from heart disease he likely was diabetic. There was no standard testing for diabetes at the time. His heart disease was likely due to his diabetes. (Not to mention the smoking, and drinking, etc.)
I will tell you that losing him set me on a quest to replace him. I found that no one could. However, that was the time when I did turn my heart and soul to the Lord God Almighty. I have found Him to be a most faithful Father Who will never leave me or forsake me.
So never miss a chance to tell someone that you love them. Seek most of all to know the heavenly Father.
My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. 9 Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior. 10 Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me. 11 Teach me your way, Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. 12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations.
13 I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:8-14 NIV
My Uncle made me pose the morning of Daddy’s funeral. I did not want to smile.
Recently the CALM app offered another half price subscription. I decided to take them up on the deal. I had a subscription during Covid and it really helped me. The bedtime stories for adults can be soothing! They offer all sorts of things for adult centering and prayer.
“Calm is a mental health app that helps you manage stress, sleep better, and live a happier life. It offers guided meditations, sleep stories, soundscapes, and more to support your well being. Calm your mind – change your life. Mental health is hard. Getting support doesn’t need to be. Our app puts the tools to feel better in your back pocket, with personalized content to manage stress and anxiety, get better sleep, and feel more present in your life. Relax your mind, and wake up as the person you want to be.”
I find that after this election cycle I need to remain calm in so many areas of my life. I have stopped watching the national news. After the last term of Donald Trump was over, I found I had an almost PTSD type reaction to his voice on the television. I do not want to go back to that cringing response.
The three oldest Dutina siblings asking, “Now what?!?”
There are a few places in Scripture that speak about sleep. I kept sort of remembering a verse and then it would slip my mind. Recently I nailed it down. Psalm 4 is used in Compline. There are only 8 verses in this particular Psalm. I hope you will look it up in your favorite version. The verse to cling to is:
I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety. Psalm 4:8RSV
This Scripture is powerful and even better than the Calm app. I can step out of the room if Bob wants to watch the national news and use the Calm app, or read towards the Zoom study/discussion group. I can mark the printed blog pages to pull out things for a booklet. There are many things I can do besides watch the National news, which usually reports about 95% bad news.
Psalm 127:3c says “The Lord gives to His beloved sleep.” Rest in the mighty Trinity, beloved.
Last week I finished book three of the powerful Sensible Shoes series! I so enjoyed it. In my opinion, Sharon Garlough Brown has written another masterpiece about spiritual journey through the everyday trials of life in the situations of four different women. Each time I read one of the books in the series the Holy Spirit touches something in me that needs attention. Gently, but clearly, showing me a way forward as only the Spirit of God can.
Powerful stuff. I had been studying the prayer by John Wesley known as the Methodist Covenant prayer. And yep, it appeared in this book and was referenced through out. She showed how the character applied it to her own life and struggles, opting to yield to God as each new circumstance arose. I wrote a blog entry about the prayer before I began this book. https://wordpress.com/post/treasures-in-plain-sight.org/17398
It too was featured in this volume. If you have not read this series I highly recommend it. Here is a description of the four main characters:
Hannah, a pastor who doesn’t realize how exhausted she is
Meg, a widow and recent empty-nester who is haunted by her past
Mara, a woman who has experienced a lifetime of rejection and is now trying to navigate a difficult marriage
Charissa, a hard-working graduate student who wants to get things right
Hoopla offers the final three books free in audio book version! I hope you can find some way to experience this fantastic fictional (yet all so true) adventure by Brown. I promise it will not be a waste of your time. If you are looking for a gift for someone who likes to read and grow in Christ, try this set!
As you likely know, I enjoy walking and watching the flora about me as the seasons change. Imagine how startled I was when I came upon this in a neighbor’s yard!
Wood Violet, November 2024
When I moved to the San Francisco bay area in October of 1969 I was amazed at daffodils that bloomed in January and poinsettias that grew up the walls of one house. I walked about shaking my head and declaring, “Wrong! This is just wrong!” I felt that same feeling as I saw this violet not in one yard but in two different yards. The plant life here in Ohio is just confused by these atypical warm temperatures. And the drought! Oh, the drought is awful. The ponds at the Cincinnati Nature Center had the lowest water level I have ever seen in my many years of going there.
Nothing could dampen the enthusiasm of Lucky as she got to make the trek through the Nature Center.
Man and beast in the breeze
We came across the pollinator garden. Last summer I discovered this vine growing there.
And this is how it appears now!
All the lovely flowers gone to seed!
Even the tree along the parking area was lovely!
Oak declaring autumn!
No idea what this plant is but the colors were stunning!
My flower bed at home still has blooming nasturtiums, marigolds, snapdragons, and the red geranium is going strong! So weird. November 5th and the flowers show no signs of slowing down.
Take a walk and find the treasures that are in plain sight where you live!
The revelation of God is whole and pulls our lives together. The signposts of God are clear and point out the right road. The life-maps of God are right, showing the way to joy. The directions of God are plain and easy on the eyes. God’s reputation is twenty-four-carat gold, with a lifetime guarantee. The decisions of God are accurate down to the nth degree. Psalm 19:7-9 The Message
Here is a practical application that I completed from the Book of Joy last weekend. What a change it made for me!
I wrote in my journal that I sensed that weekend was the best of times and the worst of times. Within a few hours I would have birthday prayer at my church. This return to St. Timothy’s has felt SO MUCH like coming home. The joy of having that prayer over me was not something I can yet describe. I suppose it has to do with choosing this denomination when I was 15 and arranging at the time for my baptism and confirmation.
The altar at St. Timothy’s
I was also invited to attend a baby shower for one my best friend’s son and daughter-in-law the same day. Their first child was born during Covid and there was no shower for that child. I was looking forward to seeing Kathy in the element of family and friends whom I had heard so much about. The worst part is that Kathy spends part of each year in Florida instead of across the street from me in Ohio. Her departure flight was the morning after the baby shower. We have grown incredibly close over the couple of years we have known each other. It has to be the Lord who orchestrated this! Both of us love and serve the Trinity. I do that through the Protestant church and she through the Catholic. We are the same age, husbands are the same age. We were married the same year. We both have a daughter and a son. She suffers from a chronic illness that is worse than mine. Boy oh boy can we relate to one another!
So when she leaves Ohio each year it is very hard on both of us. She assured me that this time she would only be gone for 7 weeks, then here for 2 weeks at Christmas, and then would return for a little bit when this baby is born.
I realized I needed to sit with the cascade of feelings that would all occur within about 24 hours and process them. The Dalai Lamai says see sadness and rejoice at the high pleasure of the treasure of her friendship. During my quiet time, I was like a mouse in a maze running all over the place. Not finding a place to process the feelings, much less experience them!
Yes, I need to return to that practice of silence and processing. Perhaps this assignment is too difficult for me? Finished reading Barefoot where the Wesleyan prayer was repeatedly used. Painfully, the women recited, I am glad to give You everything. I am content to have nothing and You – have everything as you see fit Lord, and they also ask God to help them with all of that. I have not arrived. I need Your help as much as they did.
There have been days with showers of leaves falling and delighting us with their journey. This morning as a single leaf fell it seemed more poignant than showers of hundreds at a time.
Perhaps that is the lesson in my blessings and sadness. There are blessings of having all these leaves during the summer, the blessing of watching their colors change. And the drama of watching them fall to the ground. There is the sadness of one leaf letting go of its anchor to the branch and drifting to the earth. They are all one. Will I let my sadness blend with my joys and not unmoor me from my faith, my hope, my love? Not let me plunge into grief?
I need a paper copy of the Book of Joy. I need to study that book, apply the wisdom, take my time with what the Archbishop and the Dalai Lama teach. It is as if my first reading was just a primer and now it’s time to embrace the lessons and not blow past them. Now is the time to truly go deep in my own life with what they hold forth. I’m fairly certain that Monday zoom book group sharing over this book will be a means to convict me. It is up to me to embrace the work for myself.
The next morning I journaled, Dalai Lama And Desmond Tutu say my sadness over her departure reflects the depth of my love. And I do love her, Lord. Such a gift to me from You. I never would have dreamed such a friend! You knew what both of us needed.
The earth has changed its appearance drastically. Leaves are scattered every place outside. Garden ridge is covered, Nasturtiums poke through. More sky, fewer and fewer leaves. More limbs attest to rest coming with the seasonal change.
Back to Barefoot book. Wesley: I am no longer mine own, but Yours. Put me to what You will, rank me with whom You will. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed for You or laid aside for You, Exalted for You, or brought low for You. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, You are mine and I am Yours. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, Let it be ratified in heaven. Amen. Back to Barefoot book. Wesley: I am no longer mine own, but Yours.
So Monday morning was completed with peace. Kathy’s family loaded their luggage in our car. We hugged and said our good-byes. I did not cry this time, knowing she remains in my heart as one of my greatest gifts from God. Bob drove them to the airport.
I think studying the wisdom from Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his good friend the Dali Lamai will help me gain a more stable emotional and spiritual life. Equilibrium, peace, stability. Help me, Father to apply wisdom to my heart.
I do love you, my sister, Kathy Peterson. God knew what we both needed and gave us to each other. Praise His holy name!!
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Matthew 6:7-8
My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, 2 turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding— 3 indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, 4 and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. 6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 2:1-6
Treasures in Plain Sight, A Christian Blog 