Have you ever visited a place and later thought, “Wow! I wish I had stayed longer.” We need to linger in those places that touch our souls. I feel this way about the National Cathedral in Washington D.C.
I think I need to begin my prayers addressing my Father as Lord God Ruler of the Universe. How often I seem to forget that fact. The things of this world and the drama of American politics, (where some of the actors think they are the most important beings) distracts and disgusts me.
But my Father, the Lord God Ruler of the Universe is not bothered by those things. Just as the fish and turtles at the nature center are not concerned with my blood glucose, my Father is not distracted by things of the world.
Lord God, Ruler of the Universe, it seems as if You are not in charge, but I know what Your Word says. You win. I believe You are Alpha and Omega, Ruler of the World.
As depicted below from the Walker Hancock High Altar, National Cathedral, Washington D.C.
May Your power be known and recognized in America as the only power going on forever. May every knee bow and every tongue confess that You are Lord.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. Revelation 22: 13-15 NIV
Lord God Ruler of the Universe I worship and adore You.
Season 4 Episode 1 of The Chosen was broadcast last weekend and we were delighted to have it on again. Very interesting that the church we visited used many of the same Scriptures and images that the show did. Made me wonder if they have an “in” with the program or if it was just the Holy Spirit at work, again!
When I attended the Soul Collage retreat in May of this year I found this picture. It moved me deeply. I share it with you not knowing if there is a copyright on it or not. If there is, my apologies to the photographer.
I immediately thought of the prayer quoted in the Eucharist by some churches:
"Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the wine we offer you: fruit of the vine and work of human hands, it will become our spiritual drink."
And like in the Chosen, the website Jewish Voice says:
Blessed are You O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.
To me, it is no small thing the the Lord draws all of these things together for us. It is my plan to write the prayer of blessing/thanksgiving on the photo.
When we had our very first house on 1/2 acre of land, Bob not only planted a large garden but also wanted to grow grapes. And grow them he did! I quickly learned that if I was going to help harvest the grapes I better wear rubber gloves (thicker than cotton garden gloves) in case the wasps and bees were there ahead of me. Now we are fortunate if we can purchase fresh concord grapes in a market.
Blessed are You O Lord our God, King of the Universe. May we always see Your hand at work in our midst.
New Month and at the end we will be halfway through 2024. How did that happen?
The epidural I had did not take away the pain in my back/hip. The pain specialist decided I will benefit from a “Medial Branch Block.” Medicare requires two trial injections first. So I will go in this month and have the first injection. He says we should be able to tell immediately if it is effective. Then I return for a followup visit. They will then schedule the second trial. If that also works, I will get an injection that basically will burn the nerve that goes to that hip. It is not supposed to impair anything else. Relief can last 6-9 months? When the nerve grows back he can administer the burning of the nerve repeatedly without the trial injections. That is good news to me. I was plenty discouraged when the pain was there after the previous injection.
And more good new! Baby Francesca got he new heart and should be headed home soon. Lucky dog has responded well to first injection of arthritis medication. She has now had her second and things are looking good for her!
This month I also get to make another 6 day retreat with a spiritual director. I am so looking forward to that! Last year I learned so much about myself and my direction. This year my quest is similar.
I am seeking what the Lord would want me to do with all this writing. I believe I am to take selections from the blog and rework them, perhaps for a booklet? I will remove YouTube links and multiple photos. Trying to get at the gist of what I am saying … Words fail me to tell you more.
Suffice it to say if you have favorites among what you have read on this blog I would love to hear from you what that selection is. You can refer to the date or title. I am fairly certain I can locate with just that info. It is very hard to re-read what I have written and choose a few favorites for myself. I have 3 local people looking through the printouts and marking them with post-its. Rewriting will take a lot of work, but I don’t mind writing work. Just trying to find where I go, what I do from here.
Thanks for your help!
I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. Psalm 16:7 NIV
Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion.
Be a lamp or a lifeboat or a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd.
RUMI – 13th century poet
My lamp over Grogu’s head – my humor, my lampContemporary Lifeboats
How would you live this out?
Lamp, life boat, or ladder? How do you relate to the idea? Do you shine? Offer assistance? Give a leg up?
Rumi said, “Walk out of your house like a shepherd.” A shepherd is intent on many things. If you are uncertain what those might be, try reading W. Phillip Keller’s A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23.
The only real, practical measure of my appreciation for the goodness and mercy of God to me is the extent to which I am , in turn, prepared to show goodness and mercy to others.
If I am unable to forgive and extend friendship to fallen men and women, then it is quite certain I know little or nothing in a practical sense of Christ’s forgiveness and mercy to me.
It is this lack of love among Christians which today makes the church an insipid, lukewarm institution. People come to find affection and are turned off by our tepidity.
But men and women who know firsthand about the goodness and mercy of God in their own lives will be warm and affectionate with goodness and mercy to others. This is to be a benefit to them, but equally important, it is to be a blessing to God.
Yes, a blessing to God! W. Phillip Keller 1970 A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23, Chapter 11
How could you possibly help someone’s soul heal? I bet there are more ways than you have ever considered. It is well worth your time to consider this and make the best use of what God has given you and what you are asked to do. I dare you to spend time with this idea and write down what comes to you. Then pray about the ideas and begin to act on those in the context of your life. You just might find treasures in plain sight!
I know there are some who claim the only authentic version of the Bible is the King James version. I am not one of them. I have used the King James, but I find that other translations help me relate to God better. I do not speak King James English or think in King James English.
Recently while visiting a liturgical church I was exposed to Psalm 104 from the St. Helena Psalter. I want to share it with you. Hope I am not violating any copyrights. There is nothing in the program that suggests the church had special permission, so here goes.
25 O Holy One, how manifold are your works! in wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 26 Yonder is the great and wide seas with its living this too many to number creatures both small and great. 27 There move the ships, and there is that leviathan. which you have made for the sport of it. 28 All of them look to you to give them their food in due season. 29 You give it to them; they gather it; You open your hand, and they are filled with good things. 30 You hide your face, and they are terrified; You take away their breath, And they die and return to their dust. 31 You send forth your Spirit, and they are created; And so you renew the face of the earth. 32 May the glory of God endure for ever: May the Holy One rejoice in all his works. 33 God looks at the earth and it trembles; God touches the mountains and they some. 34 I will sing to God as long as I live; I will praise my God while I have my being. 35 May these words of mine find favor; I will rejoice in the Holy One. 37 Bless the Holy One, O my soul. Hallelujah!
Perhaps the whale shark is the Leviathan? Saw these on a PBS special recently. Was amazed at their size!
How about my day so far? Uncertain if I like the continuous glucose monitor. Sometimes it is so confusing. Guess I will know more once I meet with the doctor. Morning measurement seems to jump over 2 gingersnaps. Add a bowl of no sugar cereal with milk and the number went through the roof. Took a walk at the nature center and it still did not come down. Grr.
About that walk. It is good for me to go on the trail. See the turtles sunbathing. See the snapping turtle swim and then dive as if it saw a net or some other threat? None of them are concerned about my glucose reading. People feeding the turtles draw fish to the water, also. Always fun to watch.
There used to be an area where I could smell the pine trees, but so many of those trees have died that the fragrance is gone. The children on the trails always amuse me and some of the dogs are cute. I recognize most of the bird songs. The water striders still do not make sense to me, but they are fascinating. Perhaps you are not familiar with the water strider? Explanation follows.0000000
How do they do that?
National Wildlife Federation explains: Water striders are small insects that are adapted for life on top of still water, using surface tension to their advantage so they can “walk on water.”
Water acts different at the surface. Water molecules are attracted to each other and like to stay together, especially on the surface where there is only air above. The attraction between water molecules creates tension and a very delicate membrane. Water striders walk on this membrane.
Water striders are about a half-inch long with a thin body and three sets of legs. The water strider’s secret is its legs. The legs have tiny hairs that repel water and capture air. By repelling water, the tiny water striders stand on the water’s surface and the captured airs allows them to float and move easily.
There is a place near a nature center pool where I remember our son at about age 5 throwing little things into the water to try to fool the frogs.
Did I mention there are eyelashes on our deck? With all the younger women wearing false eyelashes these items make me think of them. Do you know what this is actually is?
Remember the blizzard of maple seeds? These are the stems those seeds were affixed to!
We are still pulling maple seedlings out of every flower bed. tough on the back! Wish I could hire a kid to do it. But there are also sweet alyssum seedlings and columbine and pansy/viola seedlings, so maybe not a good idea.
Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. 2 Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. 3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, 4 praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, 5 praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
Have you ever just sat and written a stream of consciousness on paper or on a computer? It can be an amazing experiment showing where you have been and where you are. What follows are a few of my random entries. Maybe it will spark ideas on how you can benefit from it.
Looking back at a torn page from travel: Rhododendron leaves reflect the sun as if festooned with tiny mirrors. A breeze blows through and the mirrors reflect the movement of the wind.
Help me daily to sit in silence and LET GO everything
As I child I “sang, stop, look and listen.” As an adult God asks me to stop, look and listen to Him, to my life around me, to my inner chatter that threatens to block out His voice.To hear as one with opened ears.
The guy next door is riding his mower around after the tremendous rains and soaring temperatures we have had lately. I hear him humming around and around his house. The sound carries into the office in the front of our house where I am writing. He has no idea I am writing about him, (I giggle).
When was the last time I came to a full stop? Likely at the cemetery where the headstone says Daughters. And I listened for the Holy One to speak. I was not disappointed.
I wish all of my word processors would autocorrect when I type teh and make it the.
The sky is full of wing shaped clouds this morning. Are they to remind me of angels’ wings or to take shelter under the wing of the Almighty?
Where is your brain? Can you tap into the chatter and then will you choose what to weed out? Point your focus upon the Christ and see where He leads you!
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Hebrews 12:1-2a NIV
You are in charge of what you allow to remain in your mind.
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV
When our children were little I would bake a special cake for our Easter celebration. I had a cake pan shaped like a lamb.
I used the James Beard recipe for 1-2-3-4 cake which is very rich! The recipe always made too much batter for the lamb cake pan.
Form made two layers similar to this.
When it was baked we stuck it together with rich butter cream frosting and used raw spaghetti to help it stay put. After frosting the outside we put coconut all over the lamb to look like wool.
I did not use a bow, but we did dye coconut green to look like grass.
I cooked the rest of the batter in a one layer pan and froze it for our celebration on Pentecost. Fifty days after demolishing the lamb cake we were each eager to taste the Pentecost cake. I pray my adult children and yours are eager to taste the Holy Spirit sent to us on Pentecost.
Last Sunday was the traditional time in the liturgical calendar to celebrate Pentecost. Forty-nine or fifty days after Easter this celebration commemorates “the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles of Jesus while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1–31). From Wikipedia the worldly font of wisdom!
In Christian tradition, this event represents fulfillment of the promise that Christ will baptize his followers with the Holy Spirit. Out of the four New Testament gospels, the distinction between baptism by water and the baptism by Christ with “Holy Spirit and fire” is only found in Matthew and Luke. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentecost
At Saint Timothy’s we celebrated and asked the Holy Spirit to fill us once more. I believe the promises of Jesus are real and for everyone. So in case you missed it, I pray that you will look to the Father of all good things and ask for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to guide, direct and order your life for the glory of God.
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” John 14:15-21 NIV
This promise by Jesus comes from Father God and is for all who accept Jesus and love Him. Lord may the fullness of Your promise fill all who come to You. We look for You to manifest Yourself in our midst. And as You bring this to pass we will be careful to give You all of the glory. Amen.
Took me years to attend the group called Women Writing for a Change. I was raised in an alcoholic home. The number one form of child discipline was criticism and shame. The idea of sharing my writing with a group of women for critique was beyond intimidating to me.
This is part of my speed writing exercise from that meeting. “She walked into the meeting space blinded at first by the brilliant morning sun. As her eyes settled in, the sudden realization broke over her that this is not much different than crochet group. A bunch of women with a common interest. Huh. Wonder why she never considered that before? Fear can do nasty things to women of sound mind. So here she is today, willing to expose herself to this practice of sharing her writing and “listening to others’ writing with attention and deep listening.” God, help me give them the same consideration I desire.
When it was my turn to share, I felt like a child as I gulped and read my poem aloud. Did not tell them I wrote this after our daughter’s wedding as we sat at the beach. At the time, I was absolutely exhausted and glad for a time to be refreshed.
And I yield to You To lie in Your arms Imbibing Holy Breath Entire being – renewed.
Your sparkling glow Moves rapidly across the expanse of water To here and now You surround me Uphold me Indwell me Live through me.
How could I ever hesitate Preferring dim to illumined? You enlighten me Flaws, shortcomings, Weaknesses, strengths and all. Fact: You love me. Fact: You desire me You declare I am Yours.
Like sudden deep piles of shells Buried, unseen yesterday Revealed today by the powerful tide Your Kingdom unfolds before me and Yes, Lord, I yield Knowing You go with me And will arrive ahead of me You have my life in Your scarred hands.
Abiding under Your wing Your Light fills the throne room And I must close my eyes To bear Your brightness O, All-Powerful Lord, I refuse to doubt Your methods Your holy mercy endures As You bathe me In Your everlasting Love.
Come my King O Light Eternal Bring forth the treasure You have hidden within me As I embrace Your will Illumine me.
The practice was for those of us who were listening to write down phrases that struck us as the others read. When all the readings were finished, we participated in ‘popcorn’ response, each of us just saying out loud what hit us. I was touched by the words that came from what I had written. I shared lines from others, too.
I am not certain this practice group is what I need. I am not going to sign up for the 10 week group that begins in a day or two. I believe God will show me where to share my writing and what the plan is for the future. If that plan becomes Women Writing for a Change I will post it here.
Yesterday I went to the garage to put used sharps in the red container. As I stepped close to the container on top of the freezer I saw a snake. A very large snake (maybe 4-5 feet long) draped along the base of Bob’s antique lab chair on wheels. Fear can do nasty things to women of sound mind. I made it into the house to call Bob. He came running and grabbed the old wooden cane from Scotland. He too was surprised at the size. Told me to move the car. While I went to get the keys he decided to roll the lab chair, complete with snake, out of the garage and into the grass. He clubbed it on the ground with the cane. Asked me to get a five gallon bucket because it was still alive… Using the cane he put it in the bucket and continued to club it. That racket of cane clubbing within plastic bucket brought out the neighbor. He too recently had a snake in his garage, though not this large. We told him his snake has been feeding and growing! He teased us that it looked meaty. We could have it for supper. I told him naw, he could have it all.
Bob took a photo. Yuck.
Finally determined this was a gray rat snake. Oh gross. I do not want to post a photo of what the snake looked like. Feel free to look it up yourself! It is dead. I amazingly did not have nightmares about it. What is it about snakes? I have this primeval fear that makes me freeze when I see a snake. I become almost incoherent. Is it linked to Scripture when Eve was deceived by the serpent?
So the Lord God said to the serpent:
“Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. Genesis 3:14 NIV
I often wonder what I will do in these situations if Bob should die before I do. Dealing with snakes might be the worst one I can imagine. If – the snake had gone behind the freezer (which is where it was headed). If – I had not seen it when I did. Oh I could go on and on with scary scenarios of IF. Bob’s favorite: IF we had opened the door to the garage and it had entered the house. EWW!
For today, I am glad the snake is gone and my husband of 53+ years is still with me. Forgive me, Father, for my inordinate fear. Lead and guide me in how You wish to use the writing and I pray it is all to Your glory.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4
Treasures in Plain Sight, A Christian Blog 