Category: Spiritual discipline

Posted on in Aging, Challenge, Faith, Obedience, Rest, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Surrender, Yield

Too Many Lists?

My mind is a-whirl with things to cook, gifts to buy, gifts to make in preparation for our celebration of the birthday of our King. I do not think this is His highest and best for me. Emmanuel calls me to walk and talk with the Trinity Majesty even as Christmas approaches! People ask me, “How are you?” I reply, “Too busy for my own good!” Just like some folks say they are too busy to pray, wise men say they are too busy NOT to pray.

Mindfulness is helping me to tame these thoughts. It is not easy to sit and try to just breathe and be here now. Not easy, but so worthwhile. The most important thing for me this year is to remember Whose birthday is it. Lay stuff aside and just rest in our Risen Christ.

If you really have no clue about mindfulness, National Institutes of Health published this short article that is worth your time to read. https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2012/01/mindfulness-matters

In the article below Psychreg points out that mindfulness has many benefits:

  • It gives you control over your emotions
  • Helps you manage fatigue and pain
  • Improves brain function and moods
  • Makes you more compassionate
  • Enhances the quality of sleep
  • Manages anxiety, depression, and stress
  • Improves your overall well-being
  • Strengthens your character
  • Increases your productivity
  • Increase insight
Why Mindfulness Is Important  

Bob and I both had a lousy night last night. So though I practiced mindfulness meditation yesterday and this morning, I need to sign off for a nap. Here is our story: We both had just gotten to sleep when the power went out and then his oxygen machine began beeping when it came back on. That woke me too. About 10 minutes later it went off again and this time did not come back on. We both used the bathroom. The dog was asking, “What is going on?” We got back in bed. Bob was restless with pain and I was not much better off. Finally, I fell asleep and then an hour later my continuous glucose monitor began signaling that my glucose was low. I woke up thinking it was his alarm and he was saying, “That one is yours!” Grrr. With flashlight and iPhone in hand I went to the kitchen. It was raining and windy out. We are not usually effected by weather as our power lines run underground. I ate some things. Drank some milk that was not the freshest tasting. Thought about just sleeping in my recliner. Nope! it is powered by electricity and his chair is not comfortable. About then I decided I better get back in bed before I froze. As I was turning off the flashlight, the power came back on. Ugh! All the timers on coffee pot and Christmas decoration would have to be re-set. I finally read some more on my iPad and went to asleep. I awoke at 4AM drenched in sweat. Threw off some covers and did not awake again until 5:30 or so? Bob was still asleep. I dozed off and the next thing I knew it was time to get up. Ugh. I am tired.

So I hope you can see the benefits of mindfulness, even though it cannot keep you from nights like our lousy one.

Oops! Artist spelled couple wrong. It’s not like I ever post a misspelling! She is showing areas where mindfulness can help us.

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 Book quotes, Challenge, Faith, Family, Illness and Health, Just do it, Memories, Obedience, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Surrender, Trust, Yield

How Do You Hold Things?

Perhaps in the opening photo you noticed the hand on my dashboard? I cannot remember if I posted this story previously or not. If I did you still might want to read this as I finally located the complete story online.

When our kids were young teenagers I bought a dismembered hand at a Halloween store for my own object lesson. The hand I bought then was very flexible. I cut the “blood” off the cuff and placed it on the dashboard to remind me to hold the children loosely. They thought it was hilarious as every time we hit a bump the fingers would vibrate and bounce. No idea where that hand is today, but I needed another one this autumn.

I started by shopping at the original shop where I had bought it. No such thing. The one they asked to be sent from the downtown location was not right and too bloody. Shop keeper assured me they could sell it.

Finally found something similar on Amazon and had it sent to the house. Cut the blood off the cuff. It is not as bouncy but still holds the same message.

Recently I was in anguish seeking wisdom from the Lord. On the way to our trysting location I heard I should try Chuck Swindoll. Originally I had read the object lesson in a book of daily devotions compiled from his teachings. Have absolutely no idea what that book was called. Sure enough the example was available online. I do not think I ever read his entire telling of it.

Here goes: Shortly before her death, Corrie ten Boom attended our church in Southern California. Following the worship service, I met briefly with her, anxious to express my wife’s and my love and respect for her faithful example. She inquired about my family . . . how many children, their ages—that sort of thing. She detected my great love for each one and very tenderly admonished me to be careful not to hold on to them too tightly. Cupping her wrinkled hands in front of me, she passed on a statement of advice I’ll never forget. I can still recall that strong Dutch accent: “Pastor Swindoll, you must learn to hold everything loosely … everything. Even your dear family. Why? Because the Father may wish to take one of them back to Himself, and when He does, it will hurt you if He must pry your fingers loose.” And then, having tightened her hands together while saying all that, she slowly opened them and smiled so kindly as she added, “Remember … hold everything loosely … everything” In the back of my mind I can still hear her words.

I retained “Hold everything loosely, because the Father may wish to change things and it will hurt you if He must pry your fingers loose. Hold everything loosely … everything.”

I cannot remember how many times I have shared that lesson. Just this morning I learned that my dear friend from childhood had a terrible report from her husband’s MRI. “It showed metastases to the spine, pelvis and lymph nodes. He has been under the care of a team – urology, oncologist and radiation oncologist for prostate cancer. They were pretty certain it had spread to the bones somewhere but not certain where. Until now it had not shown up on any scans.” On her behalf I am holding her husband loosely as I pray for them as a couple walking through this.

Since my husband almost died in 2018 I have rejoiced in every day that I still have with him. I cannot say I have practiced holding him loosely. As the Father has allowed things to change with one family member I have remembered the pain of having my fingers pried loose.

In most circles this is called non-attachment. I find it especially difficult to do in regards to family members and those we love dearly.

So the hand remains on my dashboard. I pray that you, too, will able to open your hands and hold all things loosely. Corrie ten Boom was a woman of intense wisdom learned through unbelievable suffering and cruelty in the concentration camp in Germany. If you have not read her biography, “The Hiding Place” I encourage you to get it and brace yourself for a telling of the comfort and power of God. It is in print, was made into a movie, and also a play.

Perhaps you can adopt this posture as you pray.

Posted on in Book quotes, Challenge, Faith, Family, Just do it, Listen, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Surrender, Yield

Hope

Hope is a thin and slippery thing, sorely tested and hard to come by in this culture. Hope reminds us that there is nothing in life we have not faced that we did not, through God’s gifts and graces—however unrecognized at the time—survive. Hope is the recall of good in the past, on which we base our expectation of good in the future, however bad the present. It digs in the rubble of the heart for memory of God’s promise to bring good out of evil and joy out of sadness and, on the basis of those memories of the past, takes new hope for the future. Even in the face of death. Even in the fear of loss. Even when our own private little worlds go to dust, as sooner or later, they always do.

Advent calls us to hope in the promise that God is calling us to greater things and will be with us as we live them.
                      —Joan Chittister, excerpts from “Unwrap the Gifts of Advent”

Have you embraced hope yet this Advent season? I just loved when we were in Church this past Sunday and the Priest declared, “Happy New Year!” for Advent is the beginning of the New Year for the liturgical church. I was feeling neither happy nor joyful when I walked in. Even after participating in communion I was wavering in my own cares. As the day wore on I finally worked my way out of that situation with good reminders from Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama.

I was reminded in The Book of Joy that most of my suffering that day was due to “too much self-regard.”

“The more time you spend thinking about yourself, the more suffering you will experience.”
― Dalai Lama XIV, The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

Some distasteful events around Thanksgiving that upset me were less unsettling when I embraced much less, much, much less self-regard. The choices of another had more to do with them than with me. An act of kindness that was not needed sent me into a tailspin, but that was due to another not being truthful and clear. When I decided to let my feelings go and choose the path of compassion and peace I was settled rapidly.

None of this is easy, but I am trying to learn. Like I have said, I read this book several years ago and I gleaned a lot of wisdom from it. I know I did not take the lessons and practices to heart and I wish I had. Perhaps I would be on a more even keel now if I had?

Hope reminds us that there is nothing in life we have not faced that we did not, through God’s gifts and graces—however unrecognized at the time—survive. Joan Chittister

Though there are times when life is painful we can embrace the fact that through God’s gifts and graces we can survive this, too.

Victor Frankl wrote in Man’s Search for Meaning, We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.

No matter what family members may send your way the rest of this year, you have the freedom to choose your attitude in any given circumstance. It took me a few days to make my way through this, and I am not proud of the pain the midst of that delay, but I eventually chose grace and compassion for the person. The wise men in The Book of Joy state repeated that the greatest thing to lose on earth is one’s compassion for others; losing one’s heart and losing one’s humanity.

My soul still occasionally spouts off snide remarks about the event, but Brother Lawrence continues to remind me that “Useless thoughts spoil everything, and much mischief begins there.” If I want to live with composure, peace and joy I must “take captive those thoughts to Christ Jesus” (2 Corinthians 10:5) and let God have the final word even in the way I think!

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Book quotes, Challenge, Faith, Just do it, Nature, Obedience, Spiritual discipline, Thanks

The Filament

In From Jerusalem William Blake wrote:

To the Christians

I GIVE you the end of a golden string; 
  Only wind it into a ball, 
It will lead you in at Heaven’s gate, 
  Built in Jerusalem’s wall.… 

George MacDonald repeated the theme in The Princess and The Goblin

“How lovely that bit of gossamer is!” thought the princess, looking at a long undulating line that shone at some distance from her up the hill. It was not the time for gossamers, though, and Irene soon discovered that it was her own thread, she saw shining on before her in the light of the morning. It was leading her she knew not whither, but she had never in her life been out before sunrise, and everything was so fresh and cool and lively and full of something coming, that she felt too happy to be afraid of anything.

The princess goes on to follow her gossamer thread. If you have never read this story, it is well worth your time and imagination!!

From a recent sermon by Nadia Bolz-Weber

Because God is like a shimmering, divine filament woven into our lives that provides spiritual tensile strength, and beauty in each moment, even when we forget to trust him, even when we forget to pray or be grateful.

There is more to life than what we fear, that we are more than just what the story of the moment says we are.

The world tries to tell us this and the news tries to tell us that, but we are not a people of the 24 hour news cycle – we are a people of a sacred story.

Three sources and all for each of us who believe in the Trinity! “The end of a golden string that leads us in at Heaven’s gate.” Your own gossamer thread. Our God, like a divine filament, providing tensile strength. Gossamer generally refers to spider silk and scientists now understand why that silk is five times stronger than steel!

The next time you brush aside a spiderweb, you might want to meditate on its delicate strength—if human-size, it would be tough enough to snag a jetliner. Now, scientists know just how these silken strands get their power: through thousands of even smaller strands that stick together to form this critter’s clingy trap.

https://www.science.org/content/article/spider-silk-five-times-stronger-steel-now-scientists-know-why

Every little thing that has bound us to God over the years is woven by the LORD and keeps us closer. We must remember that ‘life is more than what we fear.’ More than the world and the news tell us. “We are a people of a sacred story.” We are bound to the Storyteller and being written into the text. Rest and be glad! Do not forget to trust God. Do not forget to pray and be grateful. Follow the gossamer Father has given and be lead to deeper fellowship with the Trinity and the gate of Heaven. Follow on!

Posted on in Challenge, Faith, Just do it, Listen, Memories, Obedience, Rest, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Surrender, Trust, Worship

Quietness

One thing that is difficult for me to do is to maintain quietness in my heart and mind. My “life verse” Isaiah 30:15 helps me with this, WHEN I remember it!

This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:

“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
    in quietness and trust is your strength,
    but you would have none of it.” Isaiah 30:15

In the Book of Common Prayer I am often frustrated because the scriptures used are not given a cross reference. I delighted when I came across this prayer in the Book of Common Prayer on Page 832. For this prayer, I already knew the Scripture!

Prayers for Family and Personal Life 59. For Quiet Confidence

O God of peace, who hast taught us that in returning and
rest we shall be saved, in quietness and confidence shall be
our strength: By the might of thy Spirit lift us, we pray thee,
to thy presence, where we may be still and know that thou
art God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

When Bob and Jeff were both confirmed in the Episcopal Church we stayed in that community for many years. When the choir director set up every song during worship in Latin, I was furious, declaring “If we are going to sing in Latin I think we ought to sing in tongues with or without interpretation!” Irish German temper showing there! We then migrated from the Episcopal church to the Vineyard.

When we worshiped at the Vineyard at the time they were on the cutting edge of contemporary worship music. Many scriptures were incorporated into lyrics. One of the best ways to learn scripture is to sing it! And we sang, learned and the Word of God went into our hearts. This is one of those songs from long ago. The lyrics for the song are below. Hear it as the Trinity singing to you.

Song for the Bride, written by Brian Doerksen

I have longed to hold you in my arms
And take all of your fear away
I will take your filthy rags
And make them clean

If you receive my love
If you will receive my love
Return to me
And hear my spirit say

In repentance and rest
Is your salvation
In quietness and trust
Is your strength

Return to me
Return to me
And hear my spirit say

Return to me
Says the Lord
Let me love you once again

In repentance and rest
Is your salvation
In quietness and trust
Is your strength

I hope you will sit with the song, listen to it more than once and open your heart and mind to God’s love for you, His Bride. Can you envision yourself as the Bride of Christ? He longs for our fellowship with Him. If you wonder about the image of a Bride consider reviewing these verses.

The Trinity desires intimacy with us just as a bride and groom are intimate with each other. Jesus literally wants to ‘walk with us and talk with us’ as we journey through this life. Preparations are being made to take us to His side in the next.

I pray you will find rest in with the Groom now, in this time and place. I pray you will carry a reminder that you can enter that rest at any time. Choose to stay there. Do not fulfill that last part of Isaiah 30:15 NRSVA “but you refused.”

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. Hebrews 4:9-11

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 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.