I will not be posting this week. The proof for my next book, “Poems, My Faith Journey Through Prayerful Observations” has arrived. That means I need to read it cover to cover and find any corrections, additions, or errors before we submit it for publication and public consumption. It should be available by April 30. Throw in two Zoom meetings, (one of which I have notes to type up), starting a steroid pack and physical therapy – well writing will have to wait this week.
You may have seen the hymn that posted instead of being saved as a draft. Things that make me go “DRATS!” It is a great hymn that I cannot stop singing.
So sing along and praise our risen King and He continues His resurrection life in and through each of us.
I like this sort of scoop, too!
Looks like peanut butter chip, MY UDF FAVORITE!! 🙂
I have various stones and shells near my prayer chair. I often am drawn to them as I enter prayer. One shell is a called a shark eye or moon shell or various other names. Most common seems to be shark eye.
I was looking at the sections delineated on this shell by the ridges and colors. One morning that led me to wonder if all the shells go in the same clockwise direction?
Well there you have it. The shells have a direction. My prayer time can provide a direction that makes time not reverse as much as stop. A prayer can be outside of time as we know it.
I often use the image of the nautilus shell when I am trying to center down into the silence of God’s heart. You might remember the glass artwork I purchased.
For me I focus upon each section of the shell individually. Beginning at the outermost edge, I am aware and surrounded by all the noises, fragrances, sensations of the world around me…. all the distractions provided to me. As I choose to move to the next section, my surroundings grow smaller, fewer things to draw me from God. As each section (where the nautilus used to live) grows smaller, I try to draw closer to the Lord. Reaching for more of the essence that gives me life. Just as a monk throws a hood over his head I want to close out the world and be with my God.
The cowl (sometimes known as a capuche, especially for friars) is the hood worn by the Carmelite monks. The monk wears a monastic cowl that hangs over his upper back and is used to cover his head during the winter months. Although the cowl serves a practical purpose in keeping the monk’s shaven head warm, the cowl is more importantly a sign of mourning. The word “monk” is derived from Greek words meaning “one who mourns in solitude.” So what does a monk mourn? The Carmelite monks mourn for their own sins and the sins of others, begging for God’s mercy and justice. The cowl is a reminder of Christ’s Dolorous Passion on Calvary for sinners, a death that He would have endured had there been but one poor sinner.
The Holy Rule exhorts the Carmelite to “place the helmet of salvation on [his] head,” and this is what the Carmelite does every time he covers his head with the cowl. His head being covered in the brown wool and his face hidden unless you look directly at him, the monastic cowl also serves to hide the monk so that God alone might know his countenance. https://www.carmelitemonks.org/HolyHabit.php
When I emerge from the meditative prayer I bring with me a renewed sense of God’s presence even amidst the myriad distractions of the world.
I want to live from the inside out, always within the center-down silence. Having to struggle to get back is not the direction I choose.
Teach me, Lord, and help me know how to grow from the peaceful sanctuary within.
Show me please where to refresh our love. Give me attitudes that will unravel me from the sin which so easily entangles.
Make me one with You, Lord, so I will know how to be close to all that is around me.
Help me, Father, and be glorified in my life.
Whatever way you choose to pray and draw close to God, I hope it is with a sincere heart giving plenty of time for God to speak and for you to listen for that still, small, holy voice.
Next time you get to visit the beach I hope you find gems to bring home!
I am always amazed at how a quote can become a jumping off place, a diving board if you will, to other thoughts and truths.
Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don’t claim them. Feel the artistry moving through and be silent. Rumi
One centering exercise this morning asked that I become aware of life around me. For that I usually look out the window at my prayer chair and marvel at the unfolding season. Wasn’t it just snowing as in the opening photo? As Rumi implies, I have absolutely no claim upon those wonders, but I am privileged to observe them. There is an artistry in God’s creation and the tough part is for me to be silent.
Hush my soul. Like a child quieted at its mother’s breast, be still.
{You will see below that because I chose a quote box the program made everything below that to appear in italics. I tried and tried to change it. For this post we will just live with it and I will stop using quote boxes. GRR}
I picked up a booklet at church regarding the Way of the Cross, prayers from Jerusalem. I have not entered the practice of praying the stations of the cross. This first prayer made me be still.
Assist us mercifully with your help, O Lord God of our salvation, that we may enter with joy upon the contemplation of those mighty acts whereby you have given us life and immortality; through Jesus Christ out Lord. Amen.
I kept returning to that prayer through Good Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I picked it up again this morning. Eastertide proclaims and rejoices again and again the powerful works of Lord God Almighty through the resurrection of Jesus our Lord.
This Lent and Easter were the most meaningful I have ever experienced. Maybe it is that I am aging or perhaps I keep turning my conscious over to the presence of Christ with us, in every season? I am glad Eastertide lasts for 50 days. I do not want it to end.
The mowers finally shaved our neighborhood. The grass was so high we were beginning to wonder if we should hire goats to chomp it down. As it is there are huge clumps of cut grass in many yards. Wonder! that just a few weeks ago these yards were brown and scraggly and not showing much hope. Now they are lush and thick and thriving, even though marked with tire tracks throughout.
Being still in prayer I realized I was looking at huge trees in the distance (I am not much for numbers, but I want to say 25-30 feet tall?) My feet are touching the earth and their roots are drinking up the moisture from the same earth, feeding and nurturing the new leaves and flower buds. Tiny me who is shrinking a little more each year and towering trees growing taller than I could ever climb. There is artistry moving through the trees and through me. I am stilled to holy silence.
What has been occurring around you? Have you noted the changes and given pause to the wonder?
On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak. 17 The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing 18 as on a day of festival.” Zephaniah 3:16-18 NRSVUE
Look about you. Be renewed in his love. Listen for your God singing over you as on a day of festival! And be silent.
Years ago I read so many books by this wonderful writer! She created novels and poetry and my she was prolific! She died in 2007 and we still miss her influence and insights.
For Lent, 1966 by Madeleine L’Engle
It is my Lent to break my Lent,
To eat when I would fast,
To know when slender strength is spent,
Take shelter from the blast
When I would run with wind and rain,
To sleep when I would watch.
It is my Lent to smile at pain
But not ignore its touch.
It is my Lent to listen well
When I would be alone,
To talk when I would rather dwell
In silence, turn from none
Who call on me, to try to see
That what is truly meant
Is not my choice. If Christ’s I’d be
It’s thus I’ll keep my Lent.
This poem was published in our church bulletin a week or so ago. Some complicated ideas and some simple. How have you been doing keeping Lent? Some write that it is like a few days after January 1 when they abandon their ideas of New Year resolutions. Have you been enabled to keep a holy Lent? Were you able to stop gossiping? Forego dessert? Do anything that drew you closer to God?
Have you given yourself to Christ in such a way that that you abandon your choices and do what the Spirit shows you to do?
I wrote this in 2018. Now we live in a different neighborhood and a mockingbird comes occasionally. I hope it does not take residence here and stays 3 blocks over!
A mockingbird has moved into the neighborhood More specifically our lot When I awoke this morning he was using Everyone else’s songs from our rooftop Mostly a good imitation Yet, when I hear the actual individual birds I realized it was just imitation Not the rich variations that the actual singers give
The woods are full of spring songs Bird after bird seeking a mate Singing and flitting through the branches (Or racing) each other To impress the perfect mate
Mocking bird is like the enemy in my ear Repeating phrases of accusation Condemnation and insult No fresh life-giving inspiration Such as the Holy Spirit brings
I’d like to shoot at this bird to scare it off our property As a child there was one who attacked whenever We tried to hang up the laundry or take it down Now it is just annoying and incessant Yet there are likely lessons to learn here
Listen carefully Do not assume every repeated phrase is from God Just like the Sheriff will never call and ask you for money over the phone God speaks in that still, small voice Not the raucous jack-hammer of a mockingbird Try to be still in the cacophony of that chorus Quiet your soul and rest in the peace of His Presence
“And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying: ‘Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down-he who accuses them day and night before our God.’” Revelation 12:10
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 1 Kings 19: 11 b-12
I can just hear the humor of my husband churning up at that title! I’m thinking atmospheric, not the other kind that you pass. The wind chimes have been playing for what seems like months on end, both in the backyard and the front yard. I love the wind chimes. A nice warm breeze refreshes me. Perhaps this noticing has to do with the images in Scripture?
In Acts 2: 1-4 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. NRSVUE
The King James version describes the phenomenon as “a mighty rushing wind.” the image of the Spirit of God as wind began in Genesis and is carried right through to the time the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit.
November of 2025 I wrote the following poem. Looking back, I realize it flowed out of me like prayer. Here is the wonder of it. At an unexpected Zoom meeting I picked up a piece of paper and began taking notes. When I turned it over yesterday I was reading this poem. I was so uncertain that I wrote it that I actually tried to looked it up online.
oh goodness me
Then I checked my document files. Sure enough, 25-11-26, it was right there. So I hope this encourages you and strengthens you in your faith as to what the Spirit can do within you if you simply yield and work with the Trinity.
Mighty rushing wind* blow over us Blow away every useless branch Carry off the finished leaves and twigs Refresh us with your presence Lower the temperature of our grasping Help us stand naked before your power No shame, just honest awareness
Mighty rushing wind You come with power and your promises Promise that we have more potential than we know Promise that we can be made anew Promise that in our weakness can be great power Tempest from God move us over Help us live more like the unity of the Trinity
Mighty rushing wind Help us yield to your shaping Rejoice in your remaking Agree heartily to the changes you bring We want to take deep inhalations from your source Being indwelt by the very breath from on high We stand still and ask that you permeate our being
Mighty rushing wind We cannot control you This day come to us and we will be changed Your power and promise overflow us Presence and transparency pervade you Shine the light of your word upon us And we shall be known for how we became like you
Mighty rushing wind, We bow the knee of our heart to you Touch us and we shall be made clean Surround us and we shall be shielded From darkness, debris of soul Detritus of overgrowth Unkempt garden of laziness
Mighty rushing wind Scour the ruin around our feet Cleanse us from all unrighteousness Set our feet firmly upon your path Put your shoes of the gospel of peace upon our feet And help us walk with your propulsion
Mighty rushing wind We welcome you Come and have your own way In and through us That praise may continuously ascend To the Holy Trinity you belong within As you declare we are in you and you are in us
*Acts 2:2.4a 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. John 3:8 NIV
Listening to another podcast by John Mark Comer he quoted an author reminding us that the second half of life is about giving our life away. Well, duh! Shouldn’t those who read the New Testament know that? No, we do not always remember that! Especially as noted in the quote below.
In a culture that pushes us to focus not on what we can give, but on what we can take, what we tend to take is everything for granted. Andrea Gibson
That is so true. So sadly true of Americans.
Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back – given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity. Luke 6:38 Message
That is what I trying to do with getting music out of the file folders into the hands of others, printing books and poetry at the lowest cost I can. Giving my life away in texts, emails, personal relationships.
How are you doing this?
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap, for the measure you give will be the measure you get back. Luke 6: 38 NRSVUE
I am not looking for a reward in my giving, though there is a promise stated here. I have simply found that I cannot out give my God.
Poem by me Healed Wounds 1982
I have been told so many things and dealt so many blows But now my heart begins to sing an old song, soft and low.
He’s taught me by His words and ways the first few miles of loving. I’ve many lessons yet to learn but first I must begin.
Our culture and sophisticated ways just keep us from each other. Barriers come into play where open meadows belong.
My soul is crowded about by specters of loneliness. The risk of vulnerability has become more inviting than the haunt of isolation.
It is as though I am breaking out of an ancient inner prison. I must get close to as many as will let me. The risk is not to be counted.
We’ve got to touch, we’re not so unalike. We are all made in His image, but we are not our own.
Like calls unto like deep calls unto deep, and the power of His Spirit is knitting us together.
The pleasures of His bounty are not to be hoarded – but shared. How can we assume to participate in His Spirit behind a crumbling wall of self? Jesus walks through walls.
In some ways I am scared of investing my small bits But I tremble at the thought of just burying them in Jesus’ name.
Father, You have called me to this. as I slowly crept out from that cave. You alone can put me over, to you I belong.
Show me how to be Your child, how to represent You well. I look for help to no other, teach me as You did Your Son.
You alone have made me worthy, You alone will see me through. Help me with Your love and mercy, deep compassion, grace and truth.
Now I stand before You yielded, make me into something new. You have plans, now please reveal them, train me how to touch and move.
Give me holy eyes to see with, holy ears and holy hands. Help me learn to only speak when I have heard what You command.
Others may not understand, few will ever know. I’m willing to live by Your plan. You are my final goal.
My intimacy with You will affect those in this realm. I’m burdened by this bounty I’ve collected from Your stores. Instruct me how to give it away so I can discover more.
Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. Howard Thurman
This one made me think. Twice. Howard Thurman went to his rest in the Lord in 1981. He was “a nationally recognized theologian, distinguished religious leader, and prolific author of over twenty published books. His book Jesus and the Disinherited was considered his most indispensable work.” I read his Disinherited and was moved. He wrote, “It is a man’s reaction to things that determines their ability to exercise power over him.” So reminds me of Viktor Frankl.
There are a few things that make me come alive. Some have been sitting in a file folder for decades. When I was diagnosed with the heart aneurysm I got scared but I also got busy. There was poetry the world had never seen that I wanted to release to others. There was the urge to publish a book with some of these blog posts. The aneurysm is still there, but I have decided to let it be there. Was likely there for decades without my knowledge.
Now that a new year has begun, I am aware I will not live forever, with or without the aneurysm. My husband has a pacemaker and reminds me how many years are left on his battery. He assures me he has no intention to get the battery replaced when it stops working. That sort of knowledge keeps me on my toes. If and when he dies, (he thinks it will be before me), I am certain I will be knocked down for a couple months at least if not longer. Therefore, if I intend to get some of these things done, I better get them accomplished before that battery expires!
Last year a friend offered to take one of the praise choruses I heard and wrote down years ago and work with it. She put it on staff paper so people might have it to play and enjoy. Indeed, she did just that! This year I asked if she would be willing to take on the other 4 or 5. She again said yes! This afternoon I am going to her house to work on the timing on one of them. I hope to be able to post them on this blog for you to enjoy at home or in your local church. Truly an amazing and skill musical talent she possesses!
Dana and I are working at preparing my poetry for publication through Amazon Direct Publishing. This will include some of the newer works. I have a new appreciation for what an editor does. I have read every single one of my poems and found many errors that we printed previously. Yikes. There will be a few new photos in the new book, two by my musician friend mentioned above.
Stephen Ministry has been calling to me and I was commissioned last Sunday at church. I will eventually be assigned a care receiver to meet with. That person will need me about an hour a week. I will also be praying for that person and receiving supervision during their care. It is a ministry I feel compelled to give myself to. I, too, benefited from it when I recently felt overwhelmed.
The prayer team at church need leadership. That has been a call upon my life for decades. I did not say no. Please pray for me to hear just what the Lord desires as I try to arrange a meeting with them and provide leadership that will feed and encourage them.
What makes YOU come alive? Would you be willing to take that aliveness and let the world use it? None of us knows when the Lord will call us home. Please do not leave things left undone that you might be able to accomplish now, this month, this year!
I receive daily quotes from several sources. The ones from Every Moment Holy tend to be from one publication for a week or more. Then they will choose a different volume of liturgies to quote from. They books they publish run along a theme for the liturgies in each volume.
Here is their website https://www.everymomentholy.com/ They offer several volumes for sale, free printable liturgies from various topics and other materials on the site.
Let me glimpse in growing things, some hint of your unseen kingdom. Let me shape here a living poetry that whispers words of grace to all who pause to listen. From A Liturgy for Yard Work 1 from Volume 3. I would love to quote more from this, but I have loaned my books to a Pastor at our church!
Last autumn my sister sent me flower arrangements from a company in California that prides itself on sustainable arrangements with little environmental damage from pesticides and fertilizers.
Notice the succulent in the center of each arrangement?
The instructions said after the flowers faded I was to remove the succulent from the water tube it was in and plant it in a pot of soil to get it rooting.
They arrived in early November. This is how they appear in early February! The base of the flower pot is small enough to fit in the large plastic pharmacy pill bottle top for a saucer!
No, they do not look quite as nice as when they first arrived, but they are still alive!! I am tempted to trim off those outer leaves, but I decided not to do that yet. If they shrivel and look unhealthy by late winter/spring I might.
“Let me glimpse in growing things, some hint of your unseen kingdom. Let me shape here a living poetry that whispers words of grace to all who pause to listen. ” Do you glimpse in these growing things some hint of the unseen kingdom? Does the photo come to your eyes as ‘living poetry that whispers of grace to all who pause to listen?’
Apple photos identified the plant as Echeveria. https://worldofsucculents.com/grow-care-echeveria/ has detail on how to grow it. “Thanks to their charming rosettes and gorgeous water-storing leaves, Echeverias are among the most popular succulent plants. Echeverias are one of the easiest succulents to propagate. They are usually propagated by offsets or leaves, but they can also be grown from stem cuttings and seeds. The best time to separate offsets and take cuttings is in the spring.
Guess I do not need to worry about those shriveled leaves, “Echeveria is self-pruning. All you may need to do is pick out the dead leaves or flowers. Removing dead leaves prevents rot or disease from taking over the plant.”Seems the shriveled leaves may have been due to lack of water. (This house is SO DRY this winter I am tempted to purchase a humidifier!)
May your find reflections of glory and glimmers of God’s presence wherever you look today!
A friend sent me this and I thought you would enjoy it! “Douglas Florian is one of my favorite children’s poets. Here is his poem called “Cabin Fever”
I've done the wash. I've swept the floor I've fed the cat And fixed the door.
I've read three books and last week's news, and for the fourth time polished the shoes.
It seems like years
since I've had fun.
I look outside
For signs of sun.
I bite my nails.
I crawl the walls.
For lack of space
I pace the halls.
My mother warned me
of cabin fever.
I was a fool
to not believe her.
Sound familiar? They say we might return to more temperature in the Ohio valley soon. I am liking the stay-at-homeness, but will also relish he release to come and go as we please.
We are having a laminate floor installed in teh sewing/sitting room this week. That ought to tear this up, dirty things up and take time to put together again!
Treasures in Plain Sight, A Christian Blog 