Tag: bloganuary

Prune out the thorns

by Innermost Being, posted in Pursuing God, Spiritual Growth

Where can you reduce clutter in your life?

I associate the word clutter with disorder. I’m a fairly organized person. Clutter is a distraction to me. When things begin to look cluttered in my home, I tidy things up.

Our pastor for family ministries preached on Sunday because the senior pastor had just returned from a mission trip. Skyler had asked the senior pastor if he could use the sermon to introduce us to the practice of Lectio Divina.

Skyler began by explaining how valuable this practice is for hearing what God wants you to hear. Use silence to reflect on God’s word and to open yourself up to his voice.

The scripture for our sermon was the Parable of the Sower found in Matthew 13. I’ve read this parable many times, and it has been the subject of many sermons. Skyler read the parable to us a few times with increasing amounts of silence between the readings.

The first time, we just listened. After another reading, we were to pray and ask God if there was a word or phrase He wanted us to hear. The word that stuck out to me was thorns.

Thorns choke the word, making it unfruitful. I read the word but allow distractions to keep me from really hearing it.

Sometimes, we have to hear a message a few times before it finally sinks in. I’m hearing God tell me to tidy up my spiritual life. Prune out the thorns. Be still. Be silent. Hear my voice.

Lectio
Meditatio
Oratio
Contemplation

Read
Reflect
Respond
Rest

How can I choose just one?

by Innermost Being, posted in Nature, Word Prompts

What is your favorite animal?

I love, love, love animals. I don’t have a single favorite, so I’ll share a few photos of animals I love.

We live close to a state park where you can see bison, antelope, bighorn sheep, elk, and deer. Bison graze close to the road on the Wildlife Loop so you can view them close up. I especially love to visit the park in the spring to see bison calves, which are called “red dogs” because their hair is red. But don’t try to pet these furry cows!

Bison
Bighorn sheep

There are a lot of deer in South Dakota. We live on the outskirts of town and deer frequently visit our yard or the pasture behind it. To see them up close, I look out a basement window.

White tail deer

The pasture behind our house is leased a few months a year for cattle. I don’t know why I like cows so much, but I do.

I’ve become a big fan of birds. In the winter, I most frequently see Eurasian collared doves, house sparrows, chickadees, dark-eyed juncos, and bluejays. Recently, we’ve been excited to see grouse.

Sharp-tailed grouse

I have always been drawn to cats. Cats have been part of our family since my husband and I married thirty-seven years ago.

My girls

❤️ ❤️😍💖

“what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:
all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.‭‭”

Psalms‬ ‭8:4-8

Communication evolution

by Innermost Being, posted in Introversion, Word Prompts

In what ways do you communicate online?

At 60 years of age, I’ve witnessed an evolution in the ways people communicate. We used to write letters by hand or with a typewriter and send them by snail mail. We called people with our rotary phones using landlines. If they didn’t answer the phone, we had to call them back. Then we got push-button phones, fancy-schmancy cordless phones, and telephone answering machines. If we needed to send business documents quickly, we used facsimile (fax) machines.

In my career, the evolution of communication in the workplace has included the modernization of phones and voicemail systems, as well as the use of email to send messages and documents. For a while, we used Skype for instant messaging and meetings. Now, my company uses Microsoft Teams for meetings and calls.

Today, I use Facebook to communicate with family and friends. I signed up on Facebook when my nephew Chris was serving in the Peace Corps in Uganda. Facebook was the best way to learn about his experiences in Africa. Nowadays, Chris rarely posts anything on Facebook, but my online community has expanded.

I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. I love being able to communicate so easily regardless of distance. My childhood penpal found me on Facebook, and I’ve gotten back in touch with other friends and family. But Facebook can be so addictive! It can make you worry that you’ll miss out on something important if you don’t check it frequently. It quickly spreads lies and disinformation and divides friends and family. One year, I gave up Facebook for Lent. Now, I have a time limit for it on my smartphone.

I signed up for Instagram when I took Facebook off my phone. I love sharing pictures of nature – scenery from my hikes, wildflowers, deer, etc. But Instagram is kind of creepy because strangers (usually men) send follow requests and unwanted messages if you accept. I immediately shut off that line of communication.

I am on LinkedIn, but I rarely use it. I look forward to updating my profile to say that I’m retired!

As an introvert, it’s easier for me to communicate by writing than talking. Twelve years ago, I started blogging with Google Blogger, then switched to WordPress.

The interesting thing is that I’ve evolved with the changes in technology. No, I don’t text a lot like young people do. I’m “typing” this post on my phone with one finger. But communicating online, especially blogging, has turned me into a talker in meetings. You might not even know that I’m an introvert.

Road trip!

by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

Think back on your most memorable road trip.

When I was a kid, the only road trips we ever took were from Eastern Kansas, where we lived, to visit my mom’s family in Indiana. These trips were long car rides with five or six kids crammed into the car. The most memorable sight on our usual route to Indiana was the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri; I also liked driving across the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.

On my most memorable family road trip, we combined a visit to mom’s family with a return trip through Oklahoma to see my adult brother, who was stationed at Fort Sill at the time. I was in college and home for the summer. To get to Oklahoma, we drove through Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas.

It wouldn’t have taken long to drive through Kentucky or Tennessee. I remember driving through the Ozarks in Arkansas, or at least an area with hills and a lot of trees. There was a nuclear power plant. That was memorable because I had never seen one before.

The most memorable sight in Arkansas was a real, live roadrunner! It wasn’t just a cartoon character!

Oklahoma was also memorable to me because the dirt was red, unlike the soil in Kansas. Just today, I learned that in 1987, a few years after our visit, the state of Oklahoma designated port silt loam as the official state soil.

This trip down memory lane brings back memories of things I saw for the first time. It also brings back memories of mom, a single mother driving hundreds of miles to see her family. I miss you, Mom.

A healthy snack

by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

What snack would you eat right now?

It’s just after 4:30 am where I live. I have already broken my overnight fast, so I’m not hungry right now. When I do get hungry again, I will eat a healthy snack.

My cholesterol has been borderline high for the last several months. I read that plant-based proteins reduce LDL and overall cholesterol. I bought a bag of pistachios to see if eating them makes a difference.

It’s a tasty experiment!