Category: Praise

Posted on in Challenge, Cooking, Faith, Humor, Praise, Thanks

Get a Load of This!

The local Kroger chain had an offer for purchase a certain amount of groceries and get a Turkey for 49 cents a pound. I bought one. Whew are having dinner with 9 people. I had a turkey in the freezer and was not absolutely certain when I thawed it that it would be okay. So I cooked two turkeys! And they both look and taste great. We will certainly have leftovers!! Saved a turkey leg for our grandson who likes to pretend he is eating like a caveman!

Well, I had to be in Kroger again and now that there is room in the freezer I just could not resist that great price. I picked up a turkey using the plastic mesh and put it in the cart. At the checkout I left it in the cart and use the bar scanner to ring it in.

Took it out to the car and once I had a place cleared I again used the mesh to put it in the back of the car. When I got home I lifted it out of the trunk using the mesh, but on the way to the freezer I also supported the weight with my other hand. The thing was not frozen!!

What?!? I know it takes 3 days to thaw a frozen turkey in the refrigerator and even then there might be ice in the center. How long had this thing been thawed? I might never know. Was it safe to refreeze it? I did not want to know. I was worried about if it was even safe to consume. I had also bought it at a Kroger not close to my home. Grrr.

I had been running errands for hours and decided to take at least a short rest before I dealt with this.

I went to my local Kroger to see what could be done. My receipt had a time stamp on it. I figured I was good. There was a long line at the service desk. I had promised myself an afternoon Starbucks coffee. I purchased that first to ease the long wait.

The poor guy at the customer service desk looked as if he had been tortured for hours by angry, unhappy, nasty, customers. I gave him a smile. Told him to take a deep breath and told him my almost unbelievable saga.

He told me to go find a turkey as close to the weight of the original one as possible. When I returned to the line he was having an even worse day and had to call in someone in to deal with one outraged customer. Some shopping service had doubled the items on her shopping list and charged her bank account. She was livid.

I told him I found one within one pound of the unfrozen turkey. I told him I thought I owed him about 49 cents. He took my receipt, scanned the two turkeys and at first was so flustered he thought I owed him $7 and something. Then realized he forget to enter the reduced price and eventually said, “Yes, ma’am. that will be 49 cents please.”

This turkey was frozen solid and now lives in my freezer. I prayed for the poor fellow all the way home. In fact writing this I am moved to pray for all the retail workers who are having to put up with bad attitudes from customers. Kindness and gratitude cost us nothing. We should spend it lavishly! We are mostly an ungrateful bunch with “first world problems.” Stephen summed it up just before he was stoned for speaking truth.

“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53 you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.” Act 7: 51-53 NIV

More than once God calls His people stiff-necked and ungrateful. Lord, please forgive us.

We need to get a load of gratitude. Perhaps this day is a time to begin a new habit that will benefit us always. Research says that listing at least 3 things we are grateful for each day can do us a world of good. So I urge you to begin today! What a great way to finish out the year!!

I think I likely need a small toy dump truck as an object lesson to myself about spreading a dump truck of gratitude every single day!

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Challenge, Faith, Humor, Music, Nature, Praise, Prayer, Surrender, Thanks

Seeing and Being Grateful

This is the time of year when there is much talk about giving thanks. The election made many of us question so many things. Perhaps it is time to get away from politics and back to the basics of faith?

How do we see the world as sacred again? By radical noticing. Looking for awe in all of life. -Lucy Jones

Regardless of whether your candidate won or lost, the world is still sacred. The majority of human beings are still kind. We were in traffic the other day and there were two other drivers actually letting folks turn left in front of them. We were delighted to witness that people can still be kind after all the ugly rhetoric that has been flying.

“Radical noticing.”

The leaves have finally all fallen from our spindly little oak tree out front. There is a nest that remains. Occasionally a bird will perch on the edge of the empty nest awaiting its turn at the feeder. I do not know who lived right in my front yard, right outside my window in our office where I write this blog. I find that amazing! I thought I was observant. Looking for awe in all of life, I missed that one! If I had a drone camera I would send you a picture of that architectural wonder nestled right along the trunk of that oak!

“Looking for awe in all of life.”

I asked Alexa to play music by George Winston during dinner the other night. Suddenly the theme from a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving came on. I thought, “Stupid Alexa. I asked for George Winston.” Ha! There is a George Winston collection called Thanksgiving and it not only has that song but also the Great Pumpkin Waltz and others. I had no idea, I just know I like his arrangements and compositions.

Time to take notice of the little things in life that have gone right past me. Eyes off politics and back to the wonders of creation and music and the Word of God.

Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Jesus took the bread in his hands and gave thanks to God. Then he passed the bread to the people, and he did the same with the fish, until everyone had plenty to eat. John 6:11

Be filled with the Spirit; speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father. Ephesians 5:18-20

In every thing give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

My friend Dan posted the photo below. Love it!

Posted on in Challenge, Faith, politics, Praise, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Surrender, Trust

Trouble sleeping?

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.

Posted on in Aging, Book quotes, Challenge, Faith, Journal, Listen, Obedience, Praise, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Thanks, Yield

Book of Joy Second Entry

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

Posted on in Challenge, Faith, Just do it, Music, Praise, Prayer, Worship

Singing is To Pray Twice?

Music is a fundamental part of spiritual life.

From King David, who invited us to come before God with songs of praise, to the harmonious choirs that fill Catholic churches today, singing is a profound way of connecting with the Divine. “When we sing, we experience God’s presence in a new way,” as Pope St. John Paul II beautifully articulated.

While the exact phrasing, “He who sings prays twice,” is not found in Augustine’s texts, the quote is traditionally said to come from his teachings on love and worship. Augustine indeed recognized the profound connection between singing and a heightened form of prayer, noting that “he who sings praise, not only praises, but also loves Him whom he is singing about/to/for.” https://ucatholic.com/blog/saint-augustine-said-if-you-do-this-its-like-praying-twice/

Saint Augustine Said if You Do THIS, Its Like Praying Twice!

“So what,” you may ask, adding, “I am not Catholic!” Okay, but do you sing? I did not ask if you sing well, just do you? The Word says to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Psalm 100:1 KJV

My heart, O God, is steadfast;
    I will sing and make music with all my soul.
2 Awake, harp and lyre!
    I will awaken the dawn.0
3 I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
    I will sing of you among the peoples.
4 For great is your love, higher than the heavens;
    your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
    let your glory be over all the earth. Psalm 108:1-15 NIV

There are times when I am amazed that even if I am in a situation where things are sad and obviously beyond my control, I can lift my voice to the Lord and sing, coming to a place of peace and even joy in the midst of all that.

You might want to try to sing your prayers once and see how it goes.

Posted on in Faith, Praise, Prayer, Trust

Pay Attention

At times in the hall outside of the Transfiguration Oratory there is a plaque that reads this. “Bidden or unbidden God is present”, indicating that God is always with us. It is said to be from 1543.

I have never taken Latin studies and I’m not familiar with Latin sayings, but I really like this one. It is said that Erasmus traces this back through the Romans (Latin: Vocatus atque non vocatus, Deus aderit) to a Spartan saying.  Carl Jung reputedly had this inscribed on his study door.

Adagia (singular adagium) is the title of an annotated collection of Greek and Latin proverbs, compiled during the Renaissance by Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus. Erasmus’ repository of proverbs is “one of the most monumental … ever assembled” (Speroni, 1964, p. 1).

I am glad this has come to us through the ages, for it is certainly true. Bidden or unbidden, God is here. He is never surprised by happenings in our lives. He is never shaken by world events. He is all knowing, all seeing, ever present, all powerful. And He abides with us.

Rest in that truth.

https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/God-Being-With-Us lists 34 Bible verses about God being with us. I hope you know the Presence of God in your daily life.

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Book quotes, Faith, Journal, Listen, Nature, Poetry, Praise

Shores of Living Water and Crickets

Shores of Living Water© 2018 Molly Lin Dutina

At the shores of Living Water
Hear crickets there
Flow of Living Water invites me deeper,
Quieter
Center in pure love
You died to give me radiant love
Your Spirit pulls me from the rubble of death
With Your power You breathe life into me
Help me live to You
Invade me at a greater depth
Use me as Your singing bowl
Your love and power going forth
Like sound waves in every direction
Bring the world into vibrating harmony.

You said all weary and
Heavy burdened should come to You
Here we are
Please rest us in Your Presence

Breathing in You
Breathing out me
Your oxygen of Life
My troubles unpacked
Burdens taken from my arms
Cares cast and put down

Embers of my faith
Blown upon
Rekindled
Ignited
A light in the darkness
And darkness cannot put it out

Your call 
eclipses physical pain, even emotional pain
Straightens my spine
In service to You
Anointing by eternal power
Holiness of God in broken vessel
Yet renewed day by day
As Living Water
I yield to Your flow
The “i” seeks lowest ground
You in ascendancy.

I was recently reminded about a story by Elisabeth Elliot regarding a priest with tinnitus and how he used it as a place for unceasing prayer.

On page 91 of A Path Through Suffering she writes, “He has elected to regard this ‘little problem,’ as he calls it, as an opportunity rather than a curse.”

“Waking up in the morning to the sound of a thousand crickets is not pleasant. Thank God, during the day I’m busy and I seldom advert to it, but the din never stops.”

“Instead of offering canned advice to others he simply tells how he crossed over from a frantic search for relief to a relatively calm condition of acceptance. He believes that the greatest honor he can give God is to live gladly because of the knowledge of His love. His happiness he regards as a sign of gratitude to God, so nothing must spoil it; therefore, he thinks of tinnitus as a friend, not an enemy. He pretends that the shrill sound in his head is an echo of the song of the universe, as all the earth blesses the Lord – the birds, the rivers, the howling winds.

“‘I let the buzzing in my ears become my unceasing prayer of praise. ‘Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing for joy.'”

“It isn’t the problems that determine our destiny. It’s how we respond.”

So the poem above by me and the poem below by Anne Porter both ring out with this praise.

Before The Frost
These are the nights
When every cricket sings
When in the dark around us
There is a flowering
Jubilant Continuous
Festival of crickets

They sing together all night long
Drawing a pulsing
Chiming joy
Out of the dryness
Of their tiny bodies

The sky
Is black and clear tonight
The stars in their mountain villages
Glitter in silence

But in the trilling crickets
Among the autumn grasses
The stars
Have found their voices.

Crickets at the shores of Living Water. Crickets among the autumn grasses. Crickets as a song of the universe blessing the Lord, even if it sounds like tinnitus. Unceasing prayer of praise. We have so many opportunities to praise the Lord. Carry on!

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Book quotes, Challenge, Faith, Illness and Health, Listen, Obedience, Praise, Prayer, Surrender, Trust, Yield

Revisiting Radical Acceptance

i foudn the photo above from our collected photos. It reminds me of a winged cloud. Before leaving on retreat I posted on Facebook Psalms 69:20 insults have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I added the sometimes used phrase “But God…” leaving open the door for God to touch and change me, a reversal of usually negative consequences I might dream up. Then I left for retreat hoping to silence the compulsive thoughts and worries, focus on the Living Christ.

In her book, Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach I learned the following

As we lean into our experience of the moment – releasing our stories and gently holding our pain or desire – Radical Acceptance begins to unfold. The two parts of genuine acceptance – seeing clearly and holding our experience with compassion – are as interdependent as the two wings of a great bird. Together. They enable us to fly and be free.

SEEING CLEARLY

HOLDING OUR EXPERIENCE WITH COMPASSION

How did I forget this lesson? I had worked hard 5 years ago studying the book, writing out the phrases that helped me the most, trying to keep the concepts before me. So I once again needed to revisit the wisdom on how to cope with this upset. I wrote pages about how I was feeling. I moved towards holding my experience with compassion but not allowing myself to enter the slimy bog of self-pity. That was work indeed!

I learned the person had checked themselves out of the hospital. Within a few hours I received an apology text. The next day I received another apology text. I sat with my feelings, trying to see them clearly, realizing a text or two would not heal the deep wounds. I held that personal experience with compassion and began to let it go. The wounding no longer held the immensity of a riptide or a massive storm surge, yet neither was it gone. There will come a time the pattern of wounding needs be addressed with the person.

Tara teaches that acceptance and compassion are like 2 wings of a great bird. After typing out notes from her book I told the Lord I need a bird to sit before me to remind me throughout the rest of the retreat to hold those two things for myself. Earlier I had visited the Convent bookstore and as I reached for a book on a shelf I broke an item. I immediately bought the item and said I would repair it for myself. An hour later I wondered where I could get glue, in silence, at the convent?!

Since it was Friday afternoon and silence had not yet begun, I was typing my notes at a Starbucks. After finishing my coffee I remembered that two blocks away was a Walmart. So I went there in search of superglue. When I got back to my room I smacked my head as I remembered the glue was to repair the tiny china bird I had broken. With a few attempts I was finally able to get its tail glued back on in the right position. Yes, stress was certainly playing a number on my brain since I did not remember I already HAD a bird!

So this Buddhist psychologist has helped me more than once to embrace the truth of Christ and move from what felt like devastating emotions to a place of equilibrium and calm. A calm that can only come in my experience from the Living God Who promises to never leave me or forsake me. A Risen Lord who promises to stay with me to the very end of the age. (Deuteronomy 31:6, Matthew 28:20)

From Gratitude daily quotes I read this:

If we begin to get in touch with whatever we feel with some kind of kindness, our protective shells will melt, and we’ll find that more areas of our lives are workable.

PEMA CHÖDRÖN

Some people do not think as Christians that we can glean wisdom from other faiths, but I disagree. The woman above is yet another Buddhist and she has helped me in a few areas that seemed blocked with emotions and unmovable. Yet here, she echoed what I had been working on. Kindness towards what I have been feeling and getting to a place where that area is more workable.

I thank my God for all the ways He reaches and touches me bringing me closer to Him and the offer of wholeness and holiness. Praise His Name forevermore.

Posted on in Challenge, Faith, Just do it, Listen, Memories, Music, Obedience, Praise, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Surrender, Trust, Yield

Have You Danced With God?

When I was first diagnosed with fibromyalgia I came across this poem:

There is no box made by God nor us but that the sides can be flattened out and the top blown off to make a dance floor on which to celebrate life. Kenneth Caraway

The poem encouraged me that even though I could barely walk at times, I could still dance with my beloved Lord and celebrate life with Him.

At what point did you give yourself to intimacy and trust with the Lord? I clearly remember (and am regularly reminded) that my moment in adult life was at a church conference. I have no idea now who the speakers were or who did the music. I do recall it was a Vineyard conference held in a hotel. There I had an intense and intimate moment with the Lord Jesus that changed me forever.

I was leaned against a door frame during a break between sessions when I remember clearly hearing the Lord say to me, “Come!” in the same commanding voice that Yul Brenner used in the King and I. No, I was not thinking about that movie or the song, but that is what I heard. I do not mean to imply that by God is as moody as the King in the movie. Just think of this as an invitation to intimacy with the Risen Christ.

Then it seemed as if I was in the arms of Jesus and dancing around the room. Unseen by others, to music unheard by others, yet just as real as the ballroom we were meeting in. Isn’t that just like our relationship with the Living God? Unseen by others and unheard by others yet real and vibrant and alive in every aspect of the word?

There is a movie clip and the lyrics for “Shall We Dance” from Rodgers and Hammerstein. (Evidently this clip has 7 different versions. I imagine you would find once is enough, though it is interesting to see how the different directors and actors play it out!)

Anna:
We’ve just been introduced,
I do not know you well;
But when the music started,
Something drew me to your side.

So many men and girls
Are in each other’s arms—
It made me think we might be
Similarly occupied.

Shall we dance?
On a bright cloud of music
Shall we fly?

Shall we dance?
Shall we then say good night
And mean goodbye?

Or perchance
When the last little star
Has left the sky,

Shall we still be together
With our arms around each other
And shall you be my new romance?

On the clear understanding
That this kind of thing can happen,
Shall we dance?
Shall we dance?
Shall we dance?

Shall we dance?

Have you put God in a box? Are you willing to blow off the top, flatten the sides and make a dance floor to meet your God upon? Will you give yourself to this sort of intimacy? How do you respond when the Lord says, “Come!” to you? I pray you will arise and do whatever He asks!

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Book quotes, Challenge, Faith, Nature, Obedience, Praise, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Surrender, Worship, Yield

Wonder or Rejoice

There is a perspective lesson about the rose and the thorn. “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”

There is a classroom exercise that encourages individuals to analyze their experiences by focusing on the positive aspects (rose), the negative aspects (thorn), and the potential for growth (bud).

There is likely a situation (or more than one ) where you can apply this perspective in your life. It can easily become a habit to focus on the negative, on the things that are happening that are not what we want or wish for. What if we apply the cross and bring into the foreground the positive aspects of what we are dealing with. A focus on gratitude helps in this respect. Negativity and complaining is easy because it has a focus upon our lack of strength and power. If we apply the resurrected power of Christ, the simple negative dash – become a cross + the symbol for light over darkness, life over death + Christ in us, the hope of glory+ Not I, but Christ in me+

I can wonder why my back hurts so badly in the evening, or I can rejoice that my back does not hurt as badly in the morning!

Just this morning I came across a church sign that said something to the effect”Life not a bed of roses? Remember Who bore the crown of thorns!”

When I was first diagnosed with fibromyalgia I came across a book by Amy Carmichael entitled Rose from Brier. It was truly helpful to me. That is where I was first introduced to the idea of the rose, the thorn, etc. This summary by Jasmin Howell is lovely. Here is the link to her blog https://setapart.org/rose-brier/ “After she sustained a serious injury in the later part of her life, Amy Carmichael, a missionary to India, wrote a short volume of letters, which were published as a book called Rose From Brier. These letters—full of poetry, scripture, personal reflection, and encouraging wisdom — were her way of processing her debilitating injury, an injury that stayed with her until she passed away. The letters were written as an encouragement from one who was ill to others facing similar trials, or as Amy herself put it, “From thy brier shall blow a rose for others.”

Rose from Brier

So what has inspired you? How can you take this lesson from the rose and apply it to your life? Are there things that just seem like thorn bushes and more thorn bushes? Scripture points out that a fire from thorns burns quickly and is insubstantial for cooking with a steady heat.

I have not admired the Knock Out brand of roses. Yes, they bloom almost continuously but the ones I grew had no lovely fragrance and wicked huge thorns. We tore them out and never bought those again!

I moved this rose twice from house to house. Originally, I bought it in a cellophane wrapped bundle on the cheap one spring. This year it did not flourish. It was such a fragrant rose that I used to dry the petals to make beads with. Gave those saved petals away when we downsized. Yes, it had thorns, but nothing brutal.

The memory of that rose holds me near to the memory that Christ is with me and died for me. Christ lives in me and wants to be a pleasing fragrance to others. Yes, my life and that rose both carry thorns, but the rose is borne upon a thorn bush. Jesus, my rose, is the One who rules and reigns.

The aforementioned book is still available from Amazon for about $8.

What has inspired you? Discard the thorns and cling to that.