Not even certain how I came across this, but it is certainly my heart’s desire. Along with John the Baptist we declare, He must increase, I must decrease! Below the lyrics is the YouTube link.
More of You and less of me
O my Father, I want to be
A spotless vessel so all can see
More of You and less of me
More of You and less of me
O my Father, I want to be
A spotless vessel so all can see
More of You and less of me
What can I offer You
When the very best I do
Is marked by the stain of my sin?
My weakness only proves
That though I might be used
Your grace is the power within me
More of You and less of me
O my Father, I want to be
A spotless vessel so all can see
More of You and less of me
Though in my heart I've planned
To follow Your commands
Sin is still waging its war
But You have done Your part
Redeemed my wayward heart
Now cause it to shine with Your glory
O more of You and less of me
O my Father, I want to be
A spotless vessel so all can see
More of You and less of me
More of You and less of me
Here is a photo tour of parts of my birthday celebration. Bob made my favorite cake, coconut!
Oh yum. We HAD to taste it the night before!
He also took me to Andy’s Mediterranean Grill. It has gotten mixed reviews lately. We had not eaten there for a long time. It was going to be one of those experiments. If it had gone down hill substantially, it would be our last visit. It was as delicious as I remembered. They make chicken shwarma like no one else I know.
For appetizer I chose spanakopeta – filo dough wrapped around spinach and cheese
I have only had spanakopeta oven baked. Theirs was deep fried. Oilier but still delicious.
Bob ordered Hummus for his meal. He did let me share. I also shared with him! And there were still leftovers to take home.
And then for my entree!
I gave Bob the raw onions and olives off the plate. Oh my! So very good and had left overs for a second meal.
We chose to skip dessert as we had coconut cake awaiting us at home! Yes, their prices were quite a bit higher than in times past, but that is true of every restaurant we have been to this year. We will return in 2024.
I had phone calls, snail mail cards, electronic cards, text messages and many folks celebrating with me. A great celebration all around! My sister sent a flower arrangement. She is out of town and we will go to lunch at a later date.
Since Bob and I celebrate birthdays with only 3 weeks between us, our daughter bought us tickets to the theater to see “Girl from the North Country.” Great fun seeing it with Emily and Lizzie!
Thank you O Holy One for another year of living and loving!
Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
This old hymn has blessed me many times through the years. There are times when I cannot remember the name, though I never forget the sentiment in verse one! Written by George Matheson, 1882. I usually envision the underside of the waves that I saw when snorkeling. Here are the lyrics to read as men sing below.
O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
O Light that foll’west all my way,
I yield my flick’ring torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.
O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.
O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.
4 part harmony a cappella The Best!!
Another comfort song when wrestling with my itching flesh. I listened to it repeatedly and envisioned my self in things like, “O cross that lifts up my head.” His love is more mighty than my flesh or any suffering we might know.
In 2013 I was put on a new prescription. While adjusting to the medication I wrote, “And so misery invited agony who brought along distraction.” Part of that phrase has been running through my mind the last couple weeks. Doctors took me off antihistamines in preparation for allergy testing. Itching has practically sent me out of my cotton pickin’ mind. Itch is not really understood well by the medical community. It does seem to run akin to pain. If you have ever suffered intense, prolonged itching you can well relate to what I am writing.
I have this bizarre itching on palms of my hands and soles of my feet. No rash, no other symptoms. If I scratch long enough and hard enough I skin turns bright red and at times seems bruised, but no lasting symptoms. Seems to be much worse when I lie down to sleep. Nothing eases it, I mean no cream, no lotion, no ointment. I even went so far as to apply Lidocaine patches to my palms and sleep with gloves on to keep them in place. Okay, that did give a little relief. Then I found I could not read my tablet in bed unless I cut one fingertip off the gloves so i could turn the pages! Which I did and then shed black fibers all over the bed.
So no antihistamines allowed for 5 days. I have cried out to the LORD so many times during this. Trying to be still and rest the other night a phrase from a song rolled through my mind, “Suffering children are safe in His arms.” Amazon music had no clue. You Tube found it though! I had no heard this regularly for over 20 years when we used to worship at the Milford Vineyard! Such comfort it brought me this particular night. I listened to it over and over again.
3 minutes 44 seconds of comfort
There is none like You,
No one else can touch my heart like You do,
I can search for all eternity Lord
And find, there is none like You.
There is none like You.
No one else can touch my heart like You do,
I can search for all eternity Lord
And find, there is none like You.
Your mercy flows like a river wide,
And healing comes from Your hand.
Suffering children are safe in Your arms,
There is none like You.
There is none like You, ( There is none like You, Lord)
There is none like You.
I can search for all eternity Lord,
There is none like You.
I can search for all eternity Lord,
There is none,( there is none,)
There is none Lord,
There is none like You.
By the time you read this I will have been to the allergist for a treatment plan. I did want to share how the Lord comforted me in the night. I know He can do the same for you if you cry out and listen for the still, small voice.
Haven Ministries publishes a monthly booklet of devotions entitled “Anchor Devotional.” The month of September, 2023 featured the writings of John Newton, compiled by writer Miller Ferrie, “to celebrate the 250th anniversary of when the hymn “Amazing Grace” was first sung.”
The entry for September 16 reads:
The grace of Jesus Christ humbles us. Hymn-writer John Newton knew this well and wrote the following:
Self-righteousness has had a considerable hand in dictating many of my desires for an increase of comfort and spiritual strength. I have wanted some stock of my own, I have been wearied of being so perpetually beholden to {God}, needing to come to Him always … as a poor miserable sinner, I should have liked to have done something for myself in ordinary circumstances, and to have depended upon Him chiefly on extraordinary occasion.
I have found indeed, that I could do nothing without His assistance, nor anything even with it. I am now learning to glory only in my infirmities, … to be content to be nothing that He may be All in All. But I find this a hard lesson, …Humbled I ought to be, to find I am totally depraved – but not discouraged, since Jesus is appointed to me by God to be wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption; and since I find that … He keeps alive the principle of grace which He has implanted in my heart.
John Newton
What a challenge I have had. In so many ways I feel like Newton. August I was exhausted by life and likely too many activities. September I had a decayed tooth cut out by oral surgeon, with anesthesia, antibiotic, gauze, ice packs and pain pills afterwards. My face was bruised and I was in a lot of pain. I kept hearing the Cory Asbury song lyric “You take good care of me.” And it is true.
A few days later I slammed the car door on two fingers of my left hand. So grateful they were not broken. As the saying goes, I “Could not win for losing!” Scalp psoriasis exploded and I began itching, not just on the scalp. Within a few days I was itching all over and hives developed on one side of my neck. Read about something called opioid itch. Wondered if it was the pain pills? Heard the song below. I love Einaudi’s compositions.
Entitled Monday. Sounds to me like the LORD giving living water into my writing.
Out of my mind with itching I began Benadryl on my own along with my usual dose of Allegra. Kept hearing Brandon Lake lyric, “Praise, give Him praise, give Him praise in the highest; I’ll praise You anywhere.” Rough going, and truly a sacrifice of praise.(Hebrews 13:15) For several days a line I wrote in April, 2013 had been on my mind, “And so misery invited agony who brought along distraction and insomnia.” With all those medications I did not have insomnia though I did wake myself several times while scratching in my sleep. Eventually insatiable itching centered on palms of hands and soles of feet with NO rash, NO blisters, NO nothing, just usual skin. Wondered if I would actually scratch my skin open? Even at times itching the skin web between pointer and middle finger. What is this??
I saw the internist. He put me on steroid tablets with Allegra and Benadryl to continue. My appointment with Dermatologist October 5 was much awaited. I just wanted some answers to why is this happening? Assuming we can get it under control, how can I avoid this in the future? Itching stopped for two days and then returned.
October 5 I wrote:
Here am I naked before You
Clearly bothered by itching and pain
Ankles, shoulders and head all ache
Steroids have surely about gone
Driven to distraction I try to contain my hands
nerve endings igniting continuously
I bring my broken self to You
Naked before Your eyes You see
within, about, and through me
Lord be my comfort I pray
Show me how to cope with this
Lead me in paths where I can write
bring You glory and honor and praise
Here am I naked before You.
Dermatologist too was stumped, concerned but uncertain what caused all of this. Did full body check up while asking questions and pondering my dilemma. She took a biopsy of my right upper arm which mimicked something on my chest.
She put me on Zyrtec in evening and Allegra in morning. New Clobetasol shampoo. Wondered if there might be liver or kidney problems. Even mentioned possibility of lymphoma. Ordered a slew of tests (at least eleven) from both blood and urine.
Eventually itching has tapered off. Certainly not gone, but live-able. The test results have been rolling in through My Chart. They are all normal. Occasional palm itch. Maybe once a day bout of sole itch.
I cannot say with Newton and Paul ‘I glory in my infirmities’. Guess that sounds like a hypochondriac to my ears. (Guess I need to study the commentators to gain a better understanding of the concept.) This is a very long post, but was uncertain how to shorten it. I have been enabled to write and post the blog. I went on a weekend retreat at the Convent where I have been an associate for many years. Life continues, but my body, which loves to play ‘Stump the Doctor” continues to baffle me and the professionals. John Newton was right, the grace of Christ does humble me. John 5:30a is such a powerful truth. “I can do nothing on my own.” By His grace I live and write.
During the retreat I was blessed with this portion of Celtic Compline
So difficult to remember to praise when your physical being hijacks the intentions of your heart! I want to praise and today it is difficult. Then I remembered I could put on this song while I did at home PT. And in a few minutes I remembered I<Him. He >me.
As he was now drawing near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
Luke 19: 37-40
We usually think garments on the road. Jesus on a donkey. The crowd cheering. I first heard this song years ago. It is a commentary on Luke 19. Listen to this song and imagine yourself in the crowd singing this one!
The lyrics below go with the YouTube recording.
Now Jesus was going up
On his way to Jerusalem
To be lifted up on a tree
That he might draw all men to Him
The multitudes began to praise Him
While other were trying to stop them
And Jesus said, "If these hold their peace
The stones will surely cry out"
And here is one less stone
One more voice
To praise the mighty name
The name of our Lord
Here is one less stone
One more to praise Him
Blessed is the King who comes
In the name of our Lord
Now David was a man of praises
Praising God in the sanctuary
He praised Him on the trumpet and the harp
And he praised Him in the dance
I don't wanna offend nobody
But I'm gonna worship Jesus
'Cause He said if I hold my peace
The stones will surely cry out
See all the stones in the distance? How many Christians do you know who are praising right now?
I want to be the ONE LESS STONE and one more voice to praise the LORD!
On my way to prayer time one morning I heard this song in my heart.
The song makes it sound easy. Check your shame at the door. Lay your burdens down. The true story is we must be willing to let go of those things.
In 1678 John Bunyan published “The Pilgrim’s Progress.” The main character, Christian, carried a burden in the story. This is an allegory of Christian life, “a symbolic vision of the good man’s pilgrimage through life.” There are characters and monsters, difficulties and challenges. Christian carries a heavy burden on his back. All these things occur on his way to the Celestial City.
Christian RAN, but not without great difficulty, because of the heavy load on his back. He ran on thus until he came to a place where there was a hill, and upon that hill stood a Cross; and a little below, at the bottom was a sepulcher.
Modern English edition of Pilgrim’s Progress
Sepulcher means a burial vault, tomb or grave.
“So I saw in my dream that just as Christian came up to the Cross, his burden fell off his shoulders and back, and began to tumble, until it came to the mouth of the sepulcher, where it fell in, and I saw it no more!”
Modern English edition of Pilgrim’s Progress
My question is why do we have to be urged to lay our burdens down? It seems too often we enjoy punishing ourselves for faults and failures. As if we could be the ultimate judge of our own character! Perhaps our burdens “for” others is truly just our desire to control and direct their paths as if we think ourselves omniscient?
Bunyan encourages us to give our burdens over to the cross and the empty tomb. Let your burden roll away and be seen no more. Let the Christ of the Cross take care of you and your burdens. He is more than able.
If we released all that burden-carrying energy into simple love and adoration of Christ our relationship with God would truly change.
Until we reach the Celestial City we are kept by our Father. The indwelling Spirit can check our behavior with a conviction that is beyond any church doctrine or moral code. The Holy One can lead and guide us, protect and correct us if we are willing to come under the authority given from heaven.
Perhaps this is a challenge that can lead you into a new phase of your spiritual life? Here is the song Christian sang at the end of this chapter.
"Thus far did I come laden with my sin;
Nor could anything ease the grief that I was in.
Until I came here, What a place is this!
This must be the beginning of my bliss!
"For here, the burden fell from off my back,
And here, the chains that bound it to me, did crack!
Blessed cross! Blessed sepulcher! Blessed rather be,
The Man who there, was put to shame for me!"
Recently we were watching a PBS series entitled Southern Storytellers. Online synopsis reads, “Southern creators of literature, music and film explore deep ties with the South: Billy Bob Thornton reflects on a life of writing songs and screenplays; Adia Victoria celebrates music and marriage near Nashville; David Joy laments the loss of the Appalachian culture he loves; Jericho Brown reveals the South to be essential to his creativity; and Mary Steenburgen remembers her Arkansas childhood.”
We thoroughly enjoyed each person’s story. I especially liked Mary Steenburgen’s song that she wrote for her husband, Ted Danson. I share it here with you and ask that you remember Bob Dutina, my husband of 52 years and 9 months, so far! He is a fabulous husband indeed!
I have sensed from my youth that trying to put spiritual things into temporal words always diminishes them. Our language does not describe the eternal very well. I will continue to try to describe my retreat time in hopes that it might bless your journey and deepen your relationship with the Holy.
On Monday I was trying to stay in the center down silence. This song kept surfacing in my heart and mind. This music was originally written as lullabies. There was such a response from parents when they found themselves humming a tune then remembering the Scripture that went along with it! The Word goes forth!!
Based on Psalm 139:14
The song repeated in my head. I told the Lord I was having trouble getting my mind to enter and stay in the silence. I heard:
“You often merit from a song –
in your heart, from your heart,
Flutter open and rest in that.”
23-6-5 9:25 AM
Talk about no guilt! I was amazed over this and every other answer I heard during my time with the Lord. That lead me to wonder when I learned to sing? Do you know when you learned?
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Psalm 139: 14 NIV
I also sensed the following verse.
Jesus said to them, `Come away with me. Let us go alone to a quiet place and rest for a while.’
Mark 6:31a NIV
Different translations call it a lonely, desolate, desert place. I responded, “Lord, this is not a desolate place and I truly must be careful not to eat too much, but You bless me by allowing me to come here for 6 days to rest a while.” As far as eating, there was a wonderful cafeteria where I had many choices as to what I might eat at every meal. I truly did need to pay attention to my carbs and calories. So delighted to enjoy egg salad and did not have to make it myself! Once I found there was a soft serve ice cream machine I was about over the moon.
There were CDs available for us to listen to at any time. I played this one as I was practicing pastels and then trying to finish an embroidery project that had been set aside way too many times over the last 5 months. One CD was “Sounds of the Eternal” by J. Philip Newell, (his photo is above). The words to this prayer stopped me immediately. I needed to listen again and copy out the words. I sat with this and still sit with it even now. The words from this prayer are below. The underlined portion is what grabbed me.
“That truth has been enshrined into my heart and
into the heart of every human being
there to be read and reverenced
Thanks be to You, O God.
“That there are ways of
Seeing and sensitivities of knowing
Hidden deep in the palace of the soul
Waiting to be discovered
Ready to be set free
Thanks be to You.
"Open my senses to Wisdom’s inner promptings
that I may give voice to what I hear in my soul
And be changed for the healing of the world.
That I may listen for truth in every living soul
And be changed for the well being of the world."
Where he wrote 'hidden deep in the palace of the soul' by brain wants to pray, 'hidden deep in the palace of the heart.'
I took these words to my new spiritual director, Sister Maureen. She said, "That sounds just like what you experience." I was flabbergasted."Ways of seeing and sensitivities of knowing."
I tried to sketch that with pastels with a drawing of a brain for knowing and eye for seeing. When I was almost finished I noticed I had misspelled sensitivities! What a goof. Found the illustration below online. I was trying to draw a brain with blue arcs like your wireless phone gives to show how much signal you have.
One description of John Philip Newell says,'... a Church of Scotland minister whose Ph.D. is from the University of Edinburgh, is internationally acclaimed for his work in the field of Celtic spirituality and his commitment to interfaith relationships and peacemaking." Celtic spirituality has always had a deep root within me.
So as you walk with God today I pray you will ask for the ways of seeing and sensitivities of knowing that will bless you and the world around you.
Treasures in Plain Sight, A Christian Blog 