Hello to you. How is your day going? I am doing ok so far. Last night we had our first meeting of the Women’s Bible study using the Beauty Beheld devotional. There were nine of us which was a nice amount I think. We read from Genesis the first seven days of creation and how God perceived his creation as good. This correlates to each person on this earth and other creation. Even if we might not perceive something as good of beautiful it is to God depending on what it is. There are some activities that people take part in that are in contradiction to good like child pornography was one example. Even if those who participate in it perceive it to be good it is harmful to the victims of it. We talked about the common phrase beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that can be twisted around sometimes too.
I can tell this will be a pretty challenging read and look at the Bible but I’m curious to continue on. The ladies that were there were all looking for the same things I am and that was namely fellowship with other members of the church. Very nice group of women I’m looking forward to knowing better through the next six weeks.
Hello to you! For the men folk I wish you a Happy Father’s Day! I hope you are able to spend quality time with those you love and care about! What brings you the kind of feelings that fill you up inside? Is there a song that brings forth happy memories and a smile to your face…..gets you to hum a few bars? Today is a day of gratitude for fathers of earth and heaven. Today, as part of the series at our church Can I Ask You A Question, the question was “Who is Jesus to you?”
Study guide from todays service at Grace Middleton Bible Church. In honor of the dads there was a wall of donuts! Hearing messages like we did today is better than any donut…food you can chew and swallow. It is a energy, food for the entire body, mind and soul. Spirit food! Living water.
John 9:39 – 39 Jesus said,[a] “For judgment(AL) I have come into this world,(AM) so that the blind will see(AN)and those who see will become blind.”(AO)
If you have ever watched what happens with a stream you can see tangible living water. So many little pieces of life headed somewhere.
John 4:14 New International Version 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. (A) Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water(B) welling up to eternal life.” (C)
Hello to you. How are you? My thoughts lately have been about our children. I never had any of my own but have always cared about them. I have cared about the experience Mother’s have to go through to ensure the safe arrival of our children.
In particular my thoughts have turned to those crucially important 9 months (or less) of the journey from a cell dividing with all its complexity to gradually a recognizable fetus and then newborn baby. At the beginning this miracle of creation is more shielded by the mothers body but as the baby grows, the “insulation” from the mothers world gets thinner. All those sounds! What is a baby who was created as a result of violence hearing on their journey? What does crying, gunfire, yelling, the sounds of breaking things, bombs….screaming do to that child’s body and soul? They haven’t even taken their first step or uttered their first word…..seen their mothers face. I feel in my heart more attention needs to be taken about that 9 month journey.
Often children not wanted before they are born don’t fair much better once they leave the womb. Many are neglected, abused, negative energies poured over them. All this an incredible obstacle to ask of a mother and especially a child. I think God has been sending us people to help save our future and despite what God may have planned for these people, they never get a chance even from the beginning. People trying to pass legislation on these matters must have empathy for the circumstances of a mother and the child making the journey. What kind of life is there for so many children right now? Some of the most basic things a child leaving the womb needs are defunded or outright denied in this country. What do our children have to look forward to?
Thinking about this brought to mind a science fictions baby’s journey to “get here:”
Last night I went to the Prayer and Praise service at Grace House. We sang so lovely together. We talked about this: Revelation 4:8-11 New International Version
8 Each of the four living creatures(A) had six wings(B) and was covered with eyes all around,(C) even under its wings. Day and night(D) they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’[a](E) who was, and is, and is to come.”(F)
Hello. For the past couple days I have been feeling really grumpy. Sleep has been weird and my body has been hurting. I don’t like being grumpy or being pessimistic about my life so I’ve been trying to find ways to restore “happy Jackie.” One way I found was watching and listening to Walter Geoffrey who is a very vocal French Bulldog. Hearing and watching Walter’s meltdowns has been great therapy! Ohhhh how this boy tells how it is! Sometimes his rants sound like singing to me he just needs some brothers and a drum. What I hear from him is what I’m feeling lately. There aren’t words for it and that’s why Walters behavior resonates with me. There is an energy I’ve been sensing, especially when I go outside, that is just really tense and uncomfortable. I know part of it is myself and the frustration I’m feeling with my body but part of it is just the world I think! All of creation is going through some stuff!
I’ve been trying to do movement to music each day and singing which helps alleviate discomfort. I’m just really out of shape and have gained weight which puts more pressure on the spine and joints. I also listen to the chakra opening meditations and sing tones along with healing focused music like I shared by Mei-lan. I talk to God most of the day and sometimes I bet I sound a bit like Walter to him lol! I’m trying to eat better and drink more water. I’m trying not to be a grump! Sometimes mending pains in the body includes mending the mind and soul too. Intangible pain, the pain we feel emotionally and spiritually, can manifest tangibly in the body. Grief is a big one for that! If you are grieving it’s important to allow yourself to feel it….work through it. I try to remember that everything is a form of energy to include pain.
Now there are yellow flowers mixed in ! Sunrise Cafe menu with messages that are matched by the people working there. Us grumpy people need happy places! The King Walter Geoffrey
How are you doing? I hope something I’ve shared resonates with you… I hope it helps. I think a lot of us are experiencing some kind of pain these days. You are not alone! Like my neighbor and I talked about the other day, the only way we are going to get through these times is together. One of the mottos for Grace Bible Church is “Better Together.” When we are in pain and grumpy the tendency many of us have is to isolate ourselves.
God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world. C.S Lewis
Hello to you. How are you today? I hope you are well. This morning I’m thinking about steps…..steps of faith. This is from church yesterday when Pastor Jason illustrated it so well. Standing in a space and seeing the next step God has called us to take and actually taking it not knowing really what it will all mean to take it….. that’s faith. I’m also thinking about the smiling faces that greeted me when I got to church….hugs and smiles. There were a couple faces missing I had hoped to see and I pray they are alright. The longer you go to church the more connected you become! Like a family….dear friends.
Just one step and gradually many more!
I was looking at more videos from Master Shi and came across one of him doing a 20 minute Quigong practice. The song in the background was so beautiful that I had to find it to share with you. I hope you’ll give it a listen:
I’m trying to commit myself to breath in movement each day even if it’s just for the length of one song.
Make sure you are kind to who is looking back at you today!
Didn’t take many pictures yesterday but that’s ok. Sometimes sitting by the water under clouded skies means you will meet someone walking home after a hard day as an in- home healthcare worker. So tired but still having a kind word and a smile on her face.
My growing eclectic mixture of inside flowers Glimpse of the sun – we got more wonderful rain Tree by our post office Another tree by our post office – it’s like they are dancing Falling rain – there was lightening and a bit of thunder in these clouds – loved it! When I was looking for lightening in the Bible I found this passage I found this painting and it was so perfect in light of so much “weather” stuff going on in the world Some cute for you – I love how his ear is sticking straight up!!
Hello there. How are you today? I was exploring YouTube yesterday and it felt like more learning was the goal. I stumbled on to this video from Master Shi Zheng Yi (https://www.shihengyi.online/) that really resonated with me. He talks about the blockage of energy in our body and how being calm and relaxing is a part of restoring the natural flow of our energy:
What’s interesting about being lead this way is how my day started. I joined some other women from church at Grace House for a brunch and it was so wonderful. We talked, we sang together (the acoustics in the house are awesome) and we talked about a word that is part of so many peoples, of all ages, vocabulary these days: anxiety which is also another name for fear. When we have anxiety, when we are afraid our bodies tense up. A word that has been a part of so many times of trying to get relief from the pain that results from tension is: relax. My angels say this to me so often! We read this passage from the Bible together where Jesus instructs us not to be anxious…..afraid. Fear is oftentimes a sign of the absence of Spirit in a life:
Another neighbors Iris that finally popped open – I had been checking and waiting! Tree on Main Street on the way to Grace HouseUnique Wild flowers at Grace House – behind this window was fellowship with food, music and prayerFlowers we received! Our woman’s ministry team is awesome! Full moon with a rosy glow
Hello to you. How is your day going as you visit here? I hope well. Last night I had another one of those dreams like I recently shared with you. I felt like this energy entered my room and went over me. I could hear and feel it. It was different this time as I spoke to the darkness and was able to say “Jesus!” more than once. Well apparently this crossed over into the waking world and scared Link off of the bed! Not quite sure what’s going on. There are things always going on in the unseen spirit world and sometimes it seems we cross paths with it and we experience things. For me it’s mostly in dreams and I’m grateful for that.
After church these sweet girls passed out flowers to us Lots of lovely clouds yesterday Pretty yellow for me!
Yesterday was a really good day. I got myself to church and got to meet two new people! What is so beautiful was these were people I had noticed the Sunday before – one of them in a wheelchair. They were a daughter and her mom who had been going to the other campus for the church in Nampa but decided to start going to Middleton. Our church is smaller ( right now) and the traffic isn’t so bad (yet). It’s funny how God works and to actually experience his love, or hesed, first hand. So many things flit across my mind and heart that lead to moments like I’m describing to you. We are God’s feet. We are instruments God uses to demonstrate hesed. This word was spoken for the second time since I’ve been going back to church. I had never heard the word hesed before:
Yesterday spending time with my family to honor my Aunt I saw hesed in various forms:
My beautiful Auntie and cousin having a moment of hesed. Their love goes beyond words. My cousins husband and Smokey finally get along! They used to hate each other! They just had to learn to communicate.
Some other images from the day:
My Aunt loved her balloonMy Auntie is recovering from knee surgery. It was so good to see her and the family! Wonderful smells here in a bush in my Aunt and Uncles front yard My cousins husbands Mothers Day card art work – loved it!! This is from the story The Help: https://youtu.be/3H50llsHm3k – video clip from The Help Link helps me feel like a Mom sometimes
Messages:
Thinking about the Holy Spirit This passage makes me think of how I went from just noticing a woman in a wheelchair to actually meeting her and getting to shake her hand! God works in mysterious and wonderful ways! I didn’t realize this commonly used phrase had an origin other than the Bible:
God Moves in a Mysterious Way” is a Christian hymn, written in 1773 by William Cowper from England.
Hello to you. How are you doing in your where and when? I’m getting a really late start. It took a lot of coaxing to get up today. Last night was another battle of trying to sleep. The lower part of my body has been experiencing a lot of pain and trying to sleep through that pain can be difficult.
What came to me is thinking about old dogs like my Sam and older people in my life both living and passed on. They didn’t complain about their aches and pains. The message of “it’s not what you can’t do but what you can do” came to my mind. I realized I could do some cleaning up this morning – it hurt but I did it!
When Sam and I used to go for walks without Kyle in Delaware he did something with me that he didn’t do when the three of us would walk. He occasionally would just stop, sit down and look at me with those eyes…”can we stop for a minute? I need a rest…” he seemed to say. Getting older in all our forms kind of forces us to slow down even though inside we want to go like we are still 20 year olds! Today I will remind myself that it’s ok when I am hurting. I will focus on the things I am capable of still doing even though I’m feeling this way – not focus on all the things I can’t do.
Matthew 26:41New International Version
41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.(A) The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Todays message from A Woman’s Spirit is about approaching life with gentleness:
Our own gentleness is a powerful force in our lives. It is like the gentle flower that grows through granite. – Patricia Hoolihan
We are attracted to women and men who have cultivated a gentle spirit. Their softness nurtured all of us who come into their space. We are soothed and made whole by their caring spirit. Let’s allow our caring spirit to develop too.
The aggression we may have grown accustomed to in our families and neighborhoods need not claim us for all time. We have the power within us to chart a new course. We have examples of gentleness all around us; they are our guides and are here by divine appointment.
Whatever task we are destined to perform in this clean and sober life can best be accomplished if directed by a heart that cares. Being gentle promises each of us the same comfort it offers others. Each gentle act heals our heart and lovingly nurtured the future.
Being gentle today is much easier than being mean-spirited. My gentle side will nurture my inner child and remove my fears.
Hello to you. How are you? My thoughts this morning are all over the place to be honest! There is just so much going on in this world. The news isn’t good but I am trying to remain conscious that good things are happening. There are so many good people. For all of the awful we are being bombarded with at every turn, there is good. I remind myself that even though I am powerless to stop and change so much of what is going on, God is not. There will be justice….there is justice we can’t see with our eyes but know with our spirits. My request is God’s justice for atrocities such as this:
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Todays message from A Woman’s Spirit is a great reminder about the power of time….it passes. Whatever the trial or tribulation we are experiencing we can trust it won’t last. We wish we could hold on to the good stuff that happens as much as we want to let go and forget the bad stuff….the length either stays is where we are empowered outside the rules of time:
Everything passes, as I flow with this river of highs and lows, I become calm. I trust my experience and the life force guiding me. – Ruthie Albert
Everything passes. There is perhaps no greater comfort when we’re caught in the throes of trauma than the knowledge that this too shall pass. We lived many years without this knowledge as we struggled to change the i changeable. Unfortunately, the only thing that changed was our level of frustration: it got higher. Now we know that we can patiently wait for a situation to pass. Nothing lasts forever.
The good times pass too, of course. We hope to hold on to them, but the same principle applies. The minutes tick by, carrying is to new experiences. What we need to learn will become known to us through both the good times and the struggles. They all will pass, having prepared us for the high and lows that wait to serve us.
I am at peace with the knowledge that everything passes. My needs will be met today.
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Here are pictures from yesterday’s adventures:
Morning light trying to happen- “dwell in me Lord, be strong when I am weak…” Setting up for Good Friday service at Millcreek Elementary SchoolI took this going in to help set up. In the evening one of our parishioners children handed me a flower just like this from the same tree. Children and trees…….Lots of extra chairs in anticipation of Easter. The Good Friday service really meant a lot to me. There was a good turn out.Something that reminds us of the pain Jesus enduredMemories new and old in a moment When I saw this moment I wanted to capture it for their Mom. I also thought of my Grandpa and what it must have been like for my Mom and her family to help Grandpa prepare for such occasions. These moments are so fleeting, thank goodness for cameras! Gorgeous flower on our walk that I hadn’t seen beforeSweet beautiful boy we encountered on the walk. He wanted to come to me so bad but Link wasn’t having it! I hope he is home safe and loved. My little bear Link getting my attention! Found out yesterday that my brother Jerry is a Grandpa again! This is one of the red tulips I shared the other day. More of them have appeared and I was able to get a closer look! I love the fringes on the edges! Vanity….you would laugh at how many tries it took me to get this! Sometimes it’s nice to see a face that goes with words. I hope the best for you – no matter what things seem like now it’s all going to keep moving on. Stay focused on the helpers….do what you can to be a helper. Remember that no act of kindness is too small for God.
Hello to you. Hope you are well today. Yesterday was a mostly ok good day. My Aunt and I joined some really special women for breakfast at Grace House. It’s the first time I’ve been in there since we did cleaning and setting up inside of it. It felt so good to meet in a place that felt like a home. Going places with my Aunt is like that. She brings home to a house. It was a blessing to share a moment with her and these women who love God. Emily gave a devotional and I think this is the passage she referenced. She was thinking of her Dad and saying this brought tears to her eyes and to ours:
2 Timothy 1:7New King James Version
7 For (A)God has not given us a spirit of fear, (B)but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
On the walk last night I had one of those experiences that you pray you do it right. I had stopped to admire my favorite Willow tree like I usually do. I looked up into her flowing mane of green and then looked down…..I was dismayed at what I saw laying there. It was a dead baby squirrel. I stood there for a moment in sadness and wondering what I should do. Do I leave the body there? Then I saw a little girl in the window watching me. I took one of the bags I use to pick up after Link, and it took forever to get it open, and picked up the little body and put it in the bag. The little one hadn’t been dead long. Then Link and I walked home. I dug a hole in the yard and buried the little one. It made me think of Emily who lost her Dad. It made me wonder if that little squirrels Mom would miss her baby. It made me think of my own life….how one day my body will be a shell….return to the earth. I kept talking to God about it, thinking about that little girl watching what I was doing. My head is usually in the clouds but sometimes you have to look down. Be reminded of some of the hardest lessons God teaches- those about life and death. I hope I got it right.
Morning with my Aunt:
Me seeing my Aunt Big tree outside Grace HouseMy Aunt at Grace House – the mat is a perfect message about the feeling of the place
Pictures from walks yesterday:
Two crows can you see them? A tiny reminder underneath the rocks of how precious and fragile this life is. We all belong to God all creatures great and small.
To be 