Category: Prayer

Posted on in Faith, Prayer, Special Event, Trust, Yield

A Fire, Too busy and Gratitude

Everyday after lunch, we close the front door and take a rest. This one day I looked out the window of the front door only to see flames and smoke. A neighbor’s house was burning. I took my coat and ran to the area.

24-12-13 Devastation© Molly Lin Dutina
Ever stood in a meadow
And looked into a dark woods
With the trunks so close the light barely gets through?

Our front door window looks out onto our neighborhood,
Houses similar, vinyl siding colors differ
We are glad our main windows look into 
an older more interesting neighborhood 
Like most American houses
Our roofing is framed on wooden trusses.

There was a fire yesterday
As I closed the front door and looked out the front door window
I saw flames and smoke
Big nasty flames of red and orange, devouring that roof
as thick smoke billowed into the sky
A still point of unbelief

Thank God no people were at home 
Now the view out our front door is the
Dark black framing charred wood -  
What remains of our neighbor’s roof

As I stood in a neighbor’s 
driveway and watched the burning house
Waiting for one neighbor to return home
Firemen and firewomen calmly doing their work, 
occasionally asking me if I had a key to this house or knew how to get in
Horror finally erupted for me as some of the roof timbers fell
Siding on houses both south and north melting

It had been an unreal scene until then
The dog inside did not survive the smoke inhalation
The fire workers were able to save some of the woman’s possessions, 
especially the things her husband had made for her before he died. 
Cause of the fire is still to be determined. 

We are more grateful than usual having witnessed this destruction
Now the view out our front window is blackened trusses
Like original close grown trees
Occasional sun shows through
No longer a shelter



I have been too busy for my own good. The crochet group party and decorations are finished.

Actually there were 3 battery candles in all four arrangements

Then we volunteered to collect the gifts our church donated to Interparish Ministry for families to choose from for Christmas. I emptied the Rav4 of every single thing to make room for the gifts. We took my car and Bob’s Volkswagen Taos to church. We packed both of them to the rafters. Unbelievable the generosity of the church members. Amazed at how much the cars could hold. And there were more gifts to be cataloged and delivered the next day! That was work that filled us with joy. The next day all were delivered to the distribution site safely in the pouring rain. No matter, knowing the joy they will bring.

There has not been time so far this season to make gingerbread with the grandgirls. We decided to do it on a date after our family celebration this weekend. Ouch! That hurts but is understandable with both young ladies working now. Traditions can bring disappointment as well as joy. Oh yeah, change is inevitable! I almost forgot.

So as the final gifts roll in and we wrap a few in paper, (most will be given in cloth bags I sewed throughout the year), I will be baking cookies to go with our favorite ice cream for dessert after gift sharing. Need to purchase the items for the sandwich making. That became a tradition when the Grandkids were all little and not interested in food when gifts are so much more exciting!

Neighbors on both side will have to have siding replaced. One also has 2 broken windows from the heat of the flames. Uncertain what the neighbor who suffered such destruction will do next. The rumor is she was going to move in with her grandson in 2025. That is occurring now. There has not been a fire in this neighborhood before, so the Homeowners Board will have to determine if there are rules about re-building? They are deciding how to make a monetary collection for her to show our sympathy.

Please remember her in your prayers this season. I am certain the Lord will take care of her in her loss. Yes, she lost all of the gifts she had already purchased. But thank God she has her life and her health. No injuries for the fire personnel either.

Posted on in Collection of Quotes, Faith, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Surrender, Trust

Prayers Among Christians and Buddhists

Have you ever thought of prayer in terms of giving and taking, receiving and offering, letting God use your offering as God sees fit? This blog offers a few how-tos. I hope to draw parallels between the faiths in an understandable and useful way.

Dalai Lama speaks in The Book of Joy about the practice of Tonglen. At the end of the book there are Joy Practices and Tonglen is included. I am not skilled with Word Press lists, but the basic steps are as follows:

  1.  Begin by settling your mind with several long breaths through your nose.
  2. Think of someone who is suffering. You can choose a loved one, a friend, or even a whole group of people, such as refugees.
  3. Reflect on the fact that, just like you, they wish to overcome suffering and to be joyful. Try to feel a sense of concern for the well-being of the person or group you are focusing on. Feel deep within your heart the desire for them to be free of suffering.
  • 4. For my own practice I move here to the teachings of Christianity and plead the Blood of Jesus over myself. I also take on the Whole Armor of God. The Word says the Blood of Jesus has mighty power and along with the Armor of God (Ephesians 6) brings us protection and power. If you place your palms about 5 or 6 inches apart, you can sense the power of life that is within you. This power through Christ is full of Light. He is the Light of the world, and darkness cannot put it out. John 1:5
  • 5.  Taking their suffering. As you inhale, imagine the pain being drawn from the other person (or peoples) and dissolving when it encounters the warmth and bright light of your compassionate heart. Imagine their suffering dissolving into the bright orb of light in front of you that is radiating out from your hands and compassionate heart.
  • 6. Give out your joy. As you exhale, imagine that you are sending the person rays of light filled with your love and compassion, your courage and your confidence, your strength and your joy.
  • 7. Repeat this practice of taking the suffering and transforming it by giving your joy.

The Catholic faith has a practice of “Offering Up Suffering to God. “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.: Galatians 6:2 NRSV I researched this a bit online as I did not totally understand how to explain it. I have heard of the same sort of prayers from others, especially the missionary Amy Carmichael. The article I consulted says it was written ‘by an anonymous priest.” https://laycistercians.com/how-to-offer-up-suffering/

Anonymous priest wrote, “You do this by making a small prayer or intention. You can simply ask God to apply the offering of your pain to help the person you are praying for in whatever way God sees fit. For example:

“Lord, I offer up the pain of this migraine for {this person}, asking You to bring them comfort, healing, or strength in their struggle. May my suffering unite with Your suffering (on the cross) to bring grace into that life.”

The goal is to unite your suffering to the suffering of Jesus on the cross and offer it as a means of healing to another person. You’re placing your pain before God, who knows how to use it for the best.

GOD KNOWS HOW TO USE WHAT YOU OFFER

“As a result you grow in patience, humility and empathy for others by offering up your pain. Offering your suffering can be a form of intercessory prayer, in which you ask God to intervene on behalf of others.”

Does it work? I am no healing expert, but it certainly cannot hurt you or the other person if prayed wisely and consciously. I always insist on being under the covering of Christ for this type of prayer. Jesus warned in Matthew 10, 28 and John 17 that we need His protection against the evil one and his minions.

Wikipedia says: Tong means “giving or sending”, and len means “receiving or taking”

Pema Chodron, a Buddhist priest says of Tonglen, You breathe in with the wish that those human beings could be free of that suffering, and you breathe in with the longing to remove their suffering. And then you send out – just relax …. Send enough space so that peoples’ hearts and minds feel big enough to live with their discomfort, fear, their anger or their despair, whatever the form of suffering takes.

So the in-breath you breath in with the wish to take away the suffering, and breathe out the wish to send comfort and happiness to the same people. The principal aim is to develop one’s own selfless and empathic qualities more than or at least as much as creating a real difference for others.

Taking on suffering does not mean to burden oneself with the misery of the world, but rather to acknowledge its existence and accept it. This makes it possible to increase one’s own peace of mind at the same time as acknowledging suffering and disharmony, so there is less contradiction than there might have been.

So where does that leave the rest of us? Most of us have experienced suffering of some sort during our lifetime. Perhaps the next time you are confronted by your own suffering or that of another you could try this combination of prayer forms?

Prayer of give and take. Prayers of substitution. Name it as you wish. We all know someone or many someones who are suffering. I just ask you to try it on behalf of another. Wouldn’t this be an amazing world if we prayed this for one another!? Love this image!

Posted on in Faith, Just do it, Listen, Music, Obedience, Praise, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Thanks, Yield

He is Exalted

Woke up with this song running through my heart. Of course, then I had to find it so I could sing all of it. It is never a waste of time to praise the LORD! I believe she wrote this in 1986, so yes it came from memory bank somewhere! The hymn is now in many hymnals.

Exalted is elevated in rank, character or status, lofty sublime, noble.

He is above us, beyond us, yet within us! Have you yielded to exaltation of the LORD God Almighty?

ACTS 2:33 NIV  Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

ISA 25:1 NIV Lord, you are my God;
    I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
    you have done wonderful things,
    things planned long ago.

PS 57:5, 108:5 NIV Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
    let your glory be over all the earth.

PS 46″10 NIV He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

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, Just do it, politics, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Trust, Worship

Too Polite With God?

Photo above is by Masjid MABA on Unsplash

Somehow we got it in our heads that prayer must be polite. That there are only certain ways we should talk to God. Yet, the Bible is full of people talking to God with lament and anger and frustration and all sorts of things beyond adoration or groveling. (Read Jeremiah 12 for an example.)

Photo by Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash

The most genuine relationships are those where we can express ourselves openly without fear of censure or judgement. I have learned that my God can handle whatever form of communication I want to use with Him. When I was nine months pregnant with our first baby, my mother died suddenly. It took me ten years to adjust to that loss. When I was in the deepest throes of grief I cried out to God, reminded Him that in the Bible it says He would comfort those who mourn. Matthew 5:4 So where was my comfort? And comfort came. I can get angry at God and He can take it. Even then grace and mercy are not withdrawn from me.

Have you been transparent in your prayers. Are your communications with God authentic? Do you dare let yourself talk or shout at Him like you would a friend? The Scripture says to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. (Psalm 96:9) If you feel free to holler at God you are no less beautiful than one kneeling in silence.

There are so many Americans fearful of what the return of Donald Trump to the Oval Office will usher in. From scientists, to law makers, to immigrants, to those on the fringes of society, fear is rampant and on the minds of many every single day. With each appointment of cabinet members and advisors who seem outlandish to moderate Americans the cries of fear increase.

In 1996 I wrote this and even heard a melody to go with it. I have not pursued getting it published or sung in public. I believe it holds true especially today.

Cry Then, Soul© 1996 by Molly Lin Dutina

Somewhere in the knowing there is peace,
Right there in the longing is a pull to draw near,
Almost at the brink a hand reaches out to save,
In response to the cry of our soul.

Cry then, soul, out loud!
Feel all your feelings.
Declare to God every single thing.
He's not repelled, He made you and
He loves you.
So speak with Him
Through song or shouts of pain.

Independence is the bane of our lives,
Drawing near the bless`ed, chosen way;
Narrow though it seems,
Eternal vistas open forth,
As we sacrifice with Holy trust and praise.

Chorus
Give Him all your shattered dreams and longings,
Every vain attempt to take control;
He alone is worthy of the powers we desire,
He alone can save and make us whole.

Cry then, soul, out loud!
Feel all your feelings.
Declare to God every single thing.
He's not repelled, He made you and
He loves you.
So speak with Him 
Through song or shouts of pain.


I would love for you to try being authentic with the Trinity. Your emotions are not too much for the Mighty One to handle. By being transparent you might actually move into a new dimension of prayer that you have not had before.

Cry the soul, out loud!

Say it like you mean it. Don’t begin with grit or faith. Start with disappointment, naming your pain and need to God. He collects our tears, and we begin by doing up the same, dragging up our painful experiences of his perceived absence, silence, or rejection. Tell God your disappointments in prayer, and don’t water it down. Forget your manners. Tell it like it is. -Tyler Staton from Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools

Posted on in Faith, Prayer, Worship, Yield

How Do You Say This One?

Each Sunday our 9:15 service ends with the charge from the priest,

“Our worship has ended. Now our service begins.”

I just love that call to action for Christ!

When I was participating in the other denominations, I still maintained my attendance at the Convent of the Transfiguration. I made it my business to learn the contemporary version of the Lord’s Prayer from the Book of Common Prayer so I would not be stumbling over the words of the prayer when we said it in unison. Now that we are back to worship at the Episcopal church I find myself having to concentrate on the words of the traditional Lord’s Prayer as they are not using the contemporary version. Always something to learn!!

Here are the two versions for your consumption.

Traditional Version from Book of Common Prayer:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

And the Contemporary Version from Book of Common Prayer:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be Your name, 
your kingdom come, 
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
forgive us our sins, 
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.

Forgive us AS. I hope the AS always stands out in your heart when you say this prayer, what ever version you choose.

14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matthew 6:14-15 NIV

Posted on in Aging, Faith, Family, Humor, Just do it, Memories, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth

A few friends at the end

I purposefully began this blog with a photo of Mother Eva Mary who helped found the Convent of the Transfiguration where I am an Associate. Since one of their principles is cheerfulness, I believe she would have liked the prayer below.

We found this among my mother’s things after she died. She copied it from Reader’s Digest! Evidently, it was written by a Mother Superior who wished to be anonymous. I shared it in a group recently and had such a positive response I thought the blog readers might enjoy it also!

Lord, Thou knowest better than I myself that I am growing older, and will some day be old.

Keep me from getting talkative, and particularly from the fatal habit of thinking that I must say something on every subject and on every occasion.

Release me from craving to try to straighten our everybody’s affairs.

Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details. Give me wings to get to the point.

I ask for grace enough to listen to the tales of others’ pains. Help me to endure them with patience. But seal my lips on my own aches and pains. They are increasing and my love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by.

Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally it is possible that I may be mistaken.

Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a saint … some of them are so hard to live with… but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil.

Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end.

Oh yes, You know Lord that I want at least a few friends in the end! Keep laughing, especially at yourself.

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Faith, Nature, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth

Nature Center Lessons

Breathe out. Usually in my quiet time I begin with breathe out self, and breath in Christ. Quite a lesson for me below!

When we are walking at the Nature Center we always go to the cultivated garden. During the summer it is bursting with blooms. You can see Lucky in the lower left of the photo. This looks like a gnarly bunch of dead leaves, but what a lesson I gained here! I could not find a sign identifying the plant. I have tried to contact the Nature Center to help me with identification of the plant, but so far no response.

As we walked about the wire enclosure I came upon this aspect of one of the leaves.

And upon closer inspection,

If I am seeing correctly, those are pores on the underside of the leaf. Is this where the leaves breathe? See the information below from https://www.sciencefacts.net/respiration-in-plants.html

Plants do not perform breathing in its literal sense. Unlike animals, they do not possess any specialized structures like lungs for breathing. Stomata, the minute opening in leaves, and lenticels found in woody stems helps plants in gas exchange. However, similar to other living organisms, respiration occurs in plants throughout their lives to fulfill their energy requirements.

Respiration in leaves occurs through stomata, the minute pores present in them. Gaseous exchange of respiratory gases takes place through diffusion via stomata and reaches other cells of the leaves. Carbon dioxide produced during respiration also gets diffused through stomata and moves out of the leaves.  The opening and closing of stomatal pores during the exchange of gases are regulated by the guard cells.

Never would I have seen this in the summer. Autumn brings all sorts of treasures into my plain sight!

We returned the next day to get more photos.

Stay amazed at the grandeur of life! What are you breathing in, breathing out?

Strive to be aware of the holy in the most mundane of things and you will see it open before you: the everyday is the abode of the eternal. -Steven Charleston

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