This seems to be a week of musical postings! I write them out as they come to me. We are traveling one day this week. Then we are packing for a week away. House sitter coming to stay with Lucky dog.
I have been working really hard with a friend on editing the poetry collection and preparing it to self-publish. I was told it would be hard work, but at times I am surprised HOW hard! The satisfaction though is almost unbelievable. Perhaps it will be ready before Easter!! Then I can apply myself more diligently on a booklet about relationship with God or prayer life.
Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Psalm 62:8
My God is One who will listen. I will learn how to express the word list of emotions to my Father.
So I listened to the song below and this prayer formed in my soul.
My heart opens to tell You trusted Father and Brother Pain left toe and right elbow left finger - pinball machine at work Lifted by cello to Your arms and Presence
Rest, holy rest Honey syrup of rest, truth, light poured into dark of pain
Listening and praying, there was ease and some relief. There are times we just need to come to a stop. And rest there. Pausing in the presence of the Holy. See if that might help you, too.
Many of our local parks now have white swans. As I drive past the park I love glancing over to see what the swans are doing. Last year the pair mated and the park built a barrier shield for their nest. They seem to glide effortlessly over the water, but there is activity under the water level, as this video shows! I love seeing their necks extend underwater, too!
Here is some nature data about swans. “While their floating abilities are impressive, swans are also skilled swimmers. Their large, webbed feet act like paddles, propelling them through the water. A typical mute swan’s swimming speed is around 1.6 miles per hour, but they can achieve bursts of speed by oaring with their webbed feet. And when they wish to really pick up pace, they can even use their outstretched wings to take advantage of the wind which allows them to move across the water more efficiently.
“Swans, along with other water birds like ducks and geese (all members of the order Anseriformes), have developed specialized features that enable them to float. These adaptations exploit two key scientific principles: surface tension and buoyancy. From https://enviroliteracy.org/do-swans-float-in-water/
So what looks like magical floating is truly large paddle feet either directing their course or moving them along. Also, an innate ability for bouyancy to match the surface tension. In the video I also noticed the tail wiggle seems to adjust like a rudder?
What about folks that seem to float along in their spiritual life? Surface tension does not seem to faze them. It might look as if they never struggle with God. Some even go so far as to say that person has a direct line to God! I do not think that is true. Looks can be deceiving. God sees them in their ‘prayer closet’ and when they fight off evil. God knows the secret places of their hearts. All of us struggle when it comes to pursuing God. We only see their outward demeanor and we make judgements based upon that. The New Testament writers stress repeatedly that they are no different than we are. (See Ephesians 3:7-8, Galatians 1:15-16, 2 Corinthians 1:15-16, 2 Timothy 1:9)
So what makes them seem so different than we might see ourselves? I believe it is perhaps their the constant pursuit of Jesus, the hunger and thirst for righteousness. Like the swan, floating, paddling, swimming, diving under, those folks put seeking the Kingdom and His righteousness the number #1 priority in their lives.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33 NRSVUE
Where are you this Lent in your pursuit the Holy One? Perhaps like the opening photo, we could use this time to lean into knowing more about the highest and best that we are individually called to!
For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Jeremiah 29:11 NRSVUE
When I was a young spiritual seeker I eventually learned Jesus is the only thing going on forever.
I think this is an ideal Lenten season song. There are times during Lent when I just need to settle down with Christ. This song does that for me. Enjoy!
There were a couple phrases that jumped out at me in our worship for the Second Sunday in Lent. During the Great Thanksgiving our priest read, “You brought forth all creatures of the earth and gave breath to humankind. Wondrous are you, Holy One of Blessing, all you create is a sign of hope for our journey. ” This language of liturgy is lofty, yet simple in truth.
Breath to humankind … we each have this breath. Do we give the Creator credit for gifting us with this life and breath? Do we recognize that every human being has been given this same holy breath? Are willing to give thanks for them, too?
Continuing with the Eucharist: “And so, remembering all that was done for us: the cross, the tomb, the resurrection and ascension, longing for Christ’s coming in glory, and presenting to you these gifts your earth has formed and human hands have made, we acclaim you, O Christ …
Dying, you destroyed our death. Rising you restored our life. Christ Jesus, come in glory!
How many times outside of a church building do we remember all that was done for us by Christ? If you make it your practice to review the things listed in this liturgy regarding all that was done for you, it is difficult not to be grateful and give praise to our Risen Lord. Perhaps copy that one sentence and make it your practice for the remaining days of this Lenten season?
Remembering all that was done for us: the cross, the tomb, the resurrection and ascension, longing for Christ’s coming in glory, and presenting to you these gifts your earth has formed and human hands have made, we acclaim you, O Christ!
This might just change your Lenten appreciation. Holding what has been done for us before our hearts and minds can be life giving and bring mighty levels of joy. And how about that Acclaim of faith? “Dying, you destroyed our death. Rising, you restored our life. Christ Jesus, come in glory!”
I think this rendition of the Risen Christ might be the most delightful I have ever seen? Have you ever pictured the event in your spirit? Do you ever just sit with your image and give thanks?
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2 KJV
Looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2 NRSVUE
May this Lent find you giving more attention to Jesus and His mighty work than to your own affairs. Even things done in the Name of Christ can detract from our focus on our Savior. Give Him your all and you will not be disappointed in the return on your investment. His finished work is not to be underestimated!
Before dawn today there was a four bird chorus raising praise to the Lord for His goodness and holiness. The northern Cardinal, Carolina wren, American robin and tufted Titmouse were raising a continuous singing of triumph and might. I know, because I asked the Merlin Bird app from Cornell University to identify them for me.
How have you lifted your voice today? What time did you begin? Did you lie in bed bemoaning the day or the rough night of pain?
Perhaps we would benefit more by taking a fresh look at the goodness of God to bring us through the night and unrolling before us another day of living and loving?
Amy Carmichael wrote in Edges of His Ways:
Psalm 19:10, R.V. margin: The droppings of the honeycomb. This morning I found this marginal reading which was just the word I wanted at the moment. There are times when we cannot read much or even think much. But if we are quiet we shall hear little sweet words dropping into our hearts, “sweeter also than honey and the droppings of the honeycomb.” I need not write them; they will be different perhaps to each one of us, but they will be comforting and strengthening too; and we shall go on our way for another day, fed and refreshed.
If we are willing to get still at the center point of our souls I believe we will hear “little sweet words dropping into our hearts.” Perhaps not every single time we get still, but the incidences will increase as we employ the practice.
“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalms 46:10
T. S. Elliott said:
“At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless; Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is, But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity, Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards, Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point, There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.”
I pray you will get still enough to hear those little sweet words dropping into your heart.
Stillness is like coming to a center point and waiting. Not waiting on the starting block of a foot race.
Above is that point in the race where runners are poised for action. In contrast, the stillness we need more of in our lives is the stillness where we learn to wait in peace and collectedness. Listening for that still, small voice of God. The place where the promises below are fulfilled.
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Psalm 32:8 NIV
And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21 NRSVUE
It takes practice to listen in this way. And practice leads to better listening during the hubbub of life. Can we agree unreservedly with Isaiah 50?
The Lord God has given me a trained tongue, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens, wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught. 5 The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I did not turn backward. Isaiah 50:4-5 NRSVUE
I, for one, have a long way to go in yielding my ears to hear God and yielding my tongue to speak words of comfort and encouragement in due season! Listening, practicing stillness, will most assuredly get me to that goal more thoroughly than any other method I have ever found.
Holy and Mighty One help me to give myself over to this stillness and listening to Your voice, I pray.
Are you feeding upon the Word of God? Are you seeking and drinking in Living Water? Are you thriving in the dark mess the world has become?
Part 3 addresses the How to live imbibition. It takes about 7 minutes to read. Hope you enjoy it.
PART 3 You might say, “Well, Molly, that is all very nice. What am I to do to foster the growth of the Kingdom within me? You have no idea of the pressures upon me, I need a better job (or employment period). The strain of what bad thing will happen next is about to break me. I can’t get any rest. I am not a bean in a ship’s hold.”
First, in my experience, you must make reading the Word of God a major priority in your life. Not a “religious” priority, but mandatory for health, oxygen, well-being. This is the only way we are going to make it through the coming darkness with dignity and grace.
NASB Hebrews 4:12-13 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. The Word of God has power. Power we might never understand fully this side of heaven.
As you yield yourself to the Lord God and yield to the power of His Word upon you, things will begin to change, inside you and about you. Not necessarily big dramatic changes, (though those might occur also), but remember the man scattered seed. He went to bed and he got up and the seed grew HE KNEW NOT HOW. Yield yourself to scattering seed upon your own soul. Make it a habit to allow the Kingdom of God room to have a place within you. And you begin with the seeds. You do not have to understand how it works. Just begin to do it. Ask for the Living Water to nourish the seeds you sow in your soul and mind.
Second, you must ask Jesus to give you the things He promises in New Testament Scripture. We live under the New Covenant, the new plan He brought and established by His birth, life among us, death, resurrection, and ascension. There are specific promises and blessings He promises to give us if we seek Him. He will give those to you and He tells us to ASK and keep on asking. You will grow in the things of the Kingdom. Do not ask me to explain to you how you will grow. I do not understand the how, but I do understand the promise and the results. He will give you living water to nourish the seed. You must be willing to consume, absorb, soak up that water.
More from The Living Earth book:“The power of imbibition is a common one in nature, and so is the reproduction of living cells. Combine them, as in a growing plant, and there is a force which can move mountains or easily grow through a blacktop road. A classic experiment in botany was once made with a growing squash plant to test the expansive power of cells. The squash, while still on the vine, was tightly boxed in and weights were added to the framework to keep it enclosed. At first, the young squash moved sixty pounds of weights; a month later two and one half tons were not enough to contain its power of growth.“
Now that sounds like our life, huh? See how much pressure you can put on (and did you notice the humor of what plant they tested, the SQUASH!) and the thing just keeps on growing and busting out! Sounds like a little group in Jerusalem that the religious leaders could not make shut up after their Lord was crucified, died and rose again. Jesus said He will be with us always, even to the end of the age. He told us He and the Father would come to us and live within us. He promised to send His Holy Spirit to guide us and be in us. How can we go wrong with all of them helping us?
Paul says in Colossians 1: 25-27 NIV I have become its (the Church’s) servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness–the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
This mystery, oh this mystery that we so often belittle by wanting every detail explained. Could you just go with the mystery this once and see where it takes you? Could you risk it all and gain the Kingdom? Would you try once again to soak up, absorb, and consume the living water, and grow into His image in the Kingdom, the image He had in mind when He blew life into your being and wonder into your soul?
Perhaps Paul understood this better than any of us. NIV 1 Corinthians 3: 6-9 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
In the dispute that Paul was addressing, the watering and planting were attributed to different persons. I believe that it would delight the Father’s heart if each person who reads this would determine in their heart to plant the seed of His Word in his or her own soul, soak and water that seed with living water until the Kingdom sprouts up with a force that can move mountains or burst through inches of blacktop. For we are, indeed, His Temple and His Spirit wants to live in us. “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” 1 Corinthians 3:16 If we believe Acts 17:28a “For in Him we live and move and have our being” then His Word must be life and breath to us. We can share this life giving discipline with others. The more we grow, the more others will be drawn to His light and Life.
Yes, the darkness is getting darker and moving in upon the areas we thought would always surely remain bright. However, we have a great High Priest who knows all that we go through. (HEB 4:14-16) He is just waiting for us to run to His throne room to find mercy and grace in time of need. He wants to abide with us, in the quiet times as well as the turbulent hours. Yield to His ways and find His quiet strength. As you run to Him and yield to Him, even in the midst of great darkness, you will find Isaiah 61:11 becoming a reality in your daily life.
For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
Constant fellowship with the Spirit, growing trust in the Son, and adoration of the Father will result in righteousness and praise springing forth from your lips and overflowing from your life. Perhaps the river of living water in the depth of our being is a foretaste of the river of the water of life in Revelation 22:1 that issues from the Throne of God and of the Lamb! Even so, rule and reign in us, Christ Jesus, our King of kings and Lord of lords.
So I left off in Part 1 asking you to get into your Bible, feed on the Word of God. Part 2 is below. It takes about 6 minutes to read. I hope you find it interesting!
PART 2: Ponder that enduring and abiding Word, living and imperishable seed. Perhaps instead of being the farmer that scatters the seed, are we the ground where it grows? Now that seed was planted in each of us and Scripture says we do not know how it grows into a Kingdom. That does not mean we are ignorant as to how to foster that growth and nurture its presence within us. “Oh, but I am so fearful.” The Word does not say to only grow when you have no fear, or when you are not too busy, or when it feels right to you. Your excuses are nothing new under the sun. Trust me. God has heard them all through every generation of human beings. He will make a way for you to grow in His kingdom.
This quote is from a book at the Cincinnati Nature Center Library Living Earth. At the time I copied the information I failed to write down the author, etc. The librarian at the Lloyd Library in Cincinnati was able to track it down for me. The book was written in 1959 by Peter Farb. I took the quote from the chapter entitled The World of the Root: “A blacktop road is often punctured by seedlings which have forced their way through three inches of asphalt. The force that allows them to grow through asphalt is what scientists call imbibition. Take a substance that can absorb water, confine it in a narrow space, water it, and it will swell with power enough to split rocks. Even a ship’s cargo of beans, if water reaches it, can expand and burst the hold.” Imbibition: to consume, absorb, soak up [as in] water, heat and light. Imbibition for the Christian would involve the Word of God, the imperishable seed by which we have been born anew into eternal life, living and growing within us through consuming, absorbing and soaking up …..what?
Plant growing out of concrete
No plant can grow without water. This very specific need for every seed has been known since men became gardener/gatherers. Seeds need soil and water. Today we are discovering that they can even do without soil if grown hydroponically. However, that water is essential. So where are we to get water? Jesus knew we would ask that and He provided answers. In John 4 He is speaking with the woman at the well. The NIV in verses 13-14 read
“Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'”
Here is a comparison chart of several translations. Anyway you read it we will get very wet!
spring of water welling up (NIV)
well of water springing up (NASB)
fountain of water springing up (NKJV)
spring of water gushing up (NRSV)
And in case we missed the point, He made it again at the Temple ceremony recorded in John 7: 38 NKJV as “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
Okay, so where did Jesus get the idea for this seed and farmer parable in the first place? Did someone just add this when stories were written down? We don’t hear this taught very much! I was pleasantly surprised to have the following verse from Isaiah pointed out to me during morning reading one day.
Isaiah 61: 11 NIV For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
This comes after Jesus reads a portion of Isaiah in the Temple and then teaches them saying the Spirit of the Lord is upon Me to perform all kinds of deliverances and wonderful things. Today this is fulfilled in your hearing. Remember that Jesus read many of the same Old Testament books that you have access to today.
I do not believe He was certain in His manhood HOW the Kingdom of God would be accomplished in every minute detail. He was fully man and fully God. As fully man how could He comprehend all of that? I do not know, but I am willing to let that be folded up in mystery for now. I do know Jesus taught this parable and it has meaning for us today. He has made a way for us to be reborn through the imperishable seed of the Word, born into the Kingdom. Although it is getting dark and scary out in the world, He continues to provide a way for our growth. One of those ways is through a river of living water running through our spirit by His indwelling and abiding with us
The same Isaiah passage in NRSV reads “For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.”
Now that will really be something! As the darkness gets darker and the garden of God continues to grow, His crop will be righteousness and praise springing up before all the nations. Righteousness and praise. We should know by now that we have no righteousness of our own. If you think you might have a smidgen of righteousness, show it to our Father. He will inform you if it passes the Blood test of Jesus. The Word teaches us that all Praise belongs to God. Therefore, as this crop of righteousness and praise arises from God’s garden, the crop that will be harvested before the nations, it will surely be all about Jesus. (I have had a repeated experience while typing this of having to correct a typo – darknmess. Well, it surely is a dark mess is it not?)
In ACTS 19:20 the NRSV reads: “So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.”
Are you ready to take this challenge for growth and life and imbibition regardless of the rocks piled upon your box? Are you asking Father God for more of that Living Water? I will post Part 3 next week. It has a full explanation of Imbibition.
Many world religions teach us the importance of learning how to live with uncertainty. Most of us are not very good at it! I read this quote recently from Gratitude. It hit me right where I have been living.
Peace is an invitation in daily life to breathe deep, right here, in the uncertainty. Morgan Harper Nichols
Learning to live with the knowledge that I have a large aortic aneurysm has been difficult and very unsettling. Knowing my God calls me to a life of peace has me wondering how to tap this particular dance. (My sister took tap lessons, not me. I remember her reciting shuffle-ball-step.)
My Internist convinced me that I cannot continue to live in this high state of stress. Doing so for 2 months has caused a massive, ugly fibromyalgia flare. Fibro is a nasty condition addressed in other blog pages. Suffice it to say my body became a train wreck.
I began returning to some of the best teachers I know regarding good mental health. Rick Hanson.net has many resources from this renowned Psychologist. One of his books came to me by way of my sister. I passed it along to my granddaughter. Now I am buying another one for myself!
Resting in Calm Strength: When you recognize that you are basically all right in the present moment, you can release unnecessary anxiety. This isn’t about denying real threats or challenges but rather about not letting anxiety run the show when you are, in fact, safe.
I have prayed and asked the Lord for help with all of this. Deliverance came with realization that this aneurysm may have been present for decades! Now that we are aware of of it, doctors can monitor and treat it. Yes, I very likely will need open heart surgery at some time in the future, but I am in fact all right now.
This is not to say I will remain calm and full of equanimity when the time comes to book that surgery. It just says I can cope in the here and now – this moment – without dwelling in that high anxiety constantly. Perhaps with practice I will be able to face the surgery with peace and calm? The hard work of re-framing all of this plus the three blood pressure medications they have me on seem to finally be bringing my blood pressure down. Now, to maintain those lower numbers!
It has been difficult, but not impossible to let go of those aneurysm thoughts. With practice and diligence I have been able to lay most of them aside. I realized browsing though Hansen’s webpages that I had used the old, ugly habit of rumination with the aneurysm. Rumination is based on negative, obsessive thoughts and it drags me down to the lowest places. Here is a blog entry I wrote about it in 2022. https://treasures-in-plain-sight.org/2022/07/21/rumination/
So I have signed up for his 5 week course entitled Breaking Out of Rumination. Dr. Hanson says that rumination “is very normal, and problematic in the extreme.” I am looking forward to getting a handle on how to stop myself from this habit. I likely learned it from my family of origin – that inability to let something go – just hashing and re-hashing it over and over again. Plus, more good news, when I actually went to sign up the course was half-off!
My writing may drop to 4 blogs a week as I put more work into preparing the poetry for publication. I am also pulling blog entries to try to organize into booklets for publication. Yes! I found an editor and now need to apply myself to the new work of compiling, editing for my part, sending them to her for edits, revising, preparing for publication, open an Amazon self-publishing account, etc.etc.
That certainly gives me other things to think about. My Internist encouraged me to put my focus there!
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, {staid on Thee} because they trust in you. Isaiah 26:3 NIV
This is truly not prayer for a burglar’s success from the movie Topkapi of 1964! There is an image though that came to me during meditative prayer. The image involves the robber dropping down from the glass ceiling and carrying a knife in his teeth. His goal is to steal a dagger encrusted with jewels and replace it with a fake dagger. In 1991 I attended at retreat at the Convent of the Transfiguration. What follows is my journal entry.
Sister Margaret taught, “There aren’t any conditions of prayer. There are some things we can do to become more receptive to God. We can wait and desire God in hopeful expectation.” She taught about God’s Presence as a jewel, prayer as a treasured jewel.
Then we had a time of meditation and prayer – meditative prayer. Winfield Blevins says, “In personal prayer we speak to God, but in meditative prayer we allow God to speak to us through His word and His Spirit.” (I would add that God speaks to us, too, through images we can relate to.)
So during that retreat of November,1991 I envisioned and wrote:
“I see the treasure, as jewels in a case, the multi-faceted beauty of God’s love and wisdom.
As in Topkapi, the lid is lifted and I enter the treasures of His Glory as a frog enters a pond.
I go to what others believe is the bottom and as I still my soul, the treasure box opens and I drop as a rough stone through the beauteous treasure of His wisdom and glory, into the depth of His love.
I may stop for a while but it is as if I am merely perched on a ledge for I have yet to comprehend the depth or length or height of His love.
I wait on that ledge, rooted and grounded in love absorbing massive quantities of nourishment silently.”
I rejoice over Your promise like one who finds vast treasure.Psalm 119:162 HCSB
-you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.Ephesians 3:17b-19 NRSV
So many years have passed since I wrote that. I have learned so much about my God and prayer, yet I still have so very much to learn! And oh the glory of His treasures! I cannot emphasize that too much! Dropping down into silence and prayer is NEVER a waste of our time.
“The sword used by Roman soldiers was a short sword known as a gladius; and in the hands of a skilled man, it was a fearsome weapon. In fact, it became known as the sword that conquered the world. It was sharpened on both sides, making it lethal against an unarmored foe. The point was also sharpened, enabling it to pierce armor.
“Usually around 20 to 30 inches long, the gladius was not the medieval-style long sword usually associated with the armor of God.
“This Roman sword was light (around 2 pounds), short and designed to be wielded easily with one hand while the other hand grasped the shield. Its size meant it could be drawn in close quarters, and its sharpened edges made it a threat to any enemy who got too close.”
Perhaps that vision of the bejeweled dagger in Topkapi was not too far off! I saw the movie and decades later one scene came in my meditative prayer time. I have never forgotten that experience. Now I am writing this out for you. Below is a clip of the movie scene.
May you discover the treasures of prayer as you drop into the deeper layers of knowing our God.
Treasures in Plain Sight, A Christian Blog 