Tag Archive | sarah young

The 4 Best Books I’ve Read Recently

Mar4

3 books and kindle on desktopI’m sitting with three books and my Kindle on my desk right now. Within the past few weeks I’ve finished reading the three books. The fourth book is on my Kindle. All four books are excellent, and I want to tell you about them. Maybe you’ll want to read them, too.

Over the past year or so, I’ve been so busy writing my own two books that I haven’t taken the time to read much. Now that my second book is at the publisher, I’m starting to catch up on all the books I’ve been wanting to read. Am I ever having a wonderful time!

First, A New Devotional

Let me start with the book that I’m still reading – the book on my Kindle, Designed for Devotion: a 365-Day Journey from Genesis to Revelation by Dianne Neal Matthews. This is one of the books I’m using for daily devotional readings this year. (I’ve read Jesus Calling by Sarah Young for the past four years and decided to try something different this year.) I came upon Matthews’ website when I was building my own author website and I was looking for models to figure out how to structure my website. Her website (http://www.diannenealmatthews.com)   was obviously effective – it got me to download a Kindle version of her devotional book. Here’s the short description of her book from the website:

Designed for Devotion Book CoverThis new devotional combines fascinating historical background information about the Bible with practical application that readers can implement in their lives each day. Dianne guides readers on a journey through the Bible from beginning to end, highlighting major events, characters, stories, and teachings. These meditations will bring you deeper into the Scriptures as you deepen your relationship with God.

As someone who grew up going to Sunday School every Sunday from the time I was three, I knew all the popular Bible stories very well. What I’m missing is a broader understanding of how they all fit together, and also a more adult perspective on what God may be trying to tell us through these stories. Several times over the past forty years I’ve started annual reading plans designed to lead me through reading the whole Bible in a year. I never got much beyond Genesis. There was too much detail to give me the broader picture I was looking for. I think this devotional is exactly what I need.

Today I read the story about Joshua sending spies to scout out Jericho to determine how to defeat the city so that the Israelites could enter the Promised Land. Rahab, a prostitute, protected the spies by hiding them in her house. Rahab had heard rumors that the God the Israelites worshiped was the one and only true God, but she didn’t know all the details. In this devotional the author summarizes the Bible story and then suggests implications for our lives today:

Rahab gives us a marvelous picture of trust. So often we get caught up in what we don’t know or can’t understand. Or we focus on the lack of tangible proof that God is working in our life. God wants us to act on the basis of what he’s already revealed to us…

So far, I’ve read the first two months of the devotional, and I’ve covered the first five books of the Bible and now I’m into Joshua, the sixth book. Obviously, a lot has been left out of this “Cliff’s Notes” retelling of the Bible, but I’ve learned a tremendous amount about how God relates to people – from Adam and Eve to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, and many others. It’s a fascinating progression of stories, and now I’m finally able to grasp some of the progression. This devotional book isn’t a replacement for reading the Bible directly, but it certainly is a valuable complement to it.

The Last 3 Books I’ve Read

Now to the three books I’ve finished reading over the last few weeks. Each of the three books digs into a single issue and approaches the issue with a combination of telling personal stories and searching the Bible for understanding and meaning. In my opinion, all three books deserve a 5-star rating. On Amazon.com, their average ratings ranged from 4.4 to 4.8, which means that the majority of reviewers agree with me!

I’ll briefly describe each book below. If you want more information about any of the books, you can look them up online or browse a local bookstore. You can also email me with any questions you may have, or post them on this blog.

A Year of Biblical Womanhood Book CoverA Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard as when I read this book. But I did more than laugh. I thought about some of the virtues God wants women to possess, based on what the Bible says, what various churches say, and what common sense tells me today. Rachel Held Evans is a young evangelical woman who is a prolific blogger, author, and speaker. For this book, she wanted to dig into the Bible to try to understand how a godly woman should live. After her initial study, she identified twelve topics that she would explore in depth, month by month, as she tried to live out a full year of “Biblical Womanhood.”  She started in October with the theme of gentleness. The primary Biblical reference was I Peter 3:3-4:

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. (NIV)

Each month she prepared a to-do list to help her live as the Bible instructed. For October, the list was:

  • Cultivate a gentle and quiet spirit, even during football games (I Peter 3:3-4)
  • Kick the gossip habit (I Timothy 5:12-13)
  • Take an etiquette lesson (Proverbs 11:22)
  • Practice contemplative prayer (Psalm 131)
  • Make a “swearing jar” for behaviors that mimic the “contentious woman” of Proverbs (Proverbs 21:19; 19:13; 27:15)
  • Do penance on the rooftop for acts of contention (Proverbs 21:9)

The rest of the chapter describes the sometimes hilarious and sometimes insightful predicaments she gets into. The theme for July was Justice. One of the to-do’s for that month was to switch to fair trade coffee and chocolate. She also traveled to Bolivia with World Vision to observe how people in one small village of the world live. Her adventures every month gave me something to seriously think about related to how God wants me to live my life in my world.

PrintTorn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate by Justin Lee. A few years ago I googled “gay Christian” and ended up learning about the Gay Christian Network (http://www.gaychristian.net). They describe themselves as “a nonprofit ministry serving Christians who happen to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, and those who care about them. Besides hosting a website that is supportive of LGBT Christians (and friends) who are trying to reconcile being gay and being Christian, the Gay Christian Network sponsors an annual conference to bring LGBT Christians together for mutual support. Mim and I went to the conference in 2011. We had never been a part of a group of hundreds of LGBT Christians before – worshipping God together, telling our stories, listening to inspiring speakers (including author Philip Yancey), and making new friends. That’s where we met Justin Lee, the founder of this organization and author of Torn.

Torn is Justin’s life story. He grew up in a loving, Southern Baptist family, and was a committed Christian from early childhood. He earned the nickname of “God-boy” because living life the way God intended for him was always in the forefront of his mind. In high school, he reluctantly came to the conclusion that he was gay, through no fault of his own. His personal struggles in dealing with this realization make up the first half of the book. In the rest of the book Justin takes us along on his search to understand what the Bible really says about being gay.

One of the blurbs on the back cover of Torn was written by Rachel Held Evans. This is what she says about his book:

This is the most important book I’ve read in years, and it will be the first I recommend to anyone interested in bridging the divide between the LGBT community and the church. Justin has given us a precious gift with this story. May we receive it with the same courage and faith with which it was delivered.

Andrew You Died Too Soon Book CoverAndrew, You Died Too Soon by Corinne Chilstrom. How would you react if someone who is very close to you committed suicide? How would you grieve? How can you be supportive of others who grieve in this type of situation? Can the Bible give us any comfort? These are some of the questions Corinne Chilstrom deals with in this book. Chilstrom is a Lutheran pastor and a nurse, and her 18-year-old son committed suicide.

Granger Westberg, author of the book Good Grief endorsed Chilstrom’s book with these words:

I was deeply moved as I read this absolutely honest story by a Christian mother who lost her son – by suicide. Grieving parents will find this forthright documentary written by a loving mother in deep grief to be more than just supportive – it glows with spiritual insights. Corinne Chilstrom has opened her heart, mind, and spirit to all people who are struggling with seemingly unendurable grief.

I kept a Kleenex in my hand as I read this book. I had to wipe a lot of tears from my eyes to be able to see the words clearly enough to keep reading. But I learned a little more about God’s promise to never forsake us. I also learned a little about how to be a helpful friend to someone who is grieving the loss of a child or other dear one through the tragedy of suicide. It’s a good book. Another endorsement on the back cover of the book said, “Chilstrom’s book speaks to Christians who want to know what to do in the face of sudden tragedy… This is a book for us as we learn to grieve, for all of us as we learn to live.” (Norma Cook Everist, Wartburg Theological Seminary)

What Should I Read Next?

Biblical womanhood, the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate, and suicide – three big topics – and three excellent books. Plus a fascinating daily devotional that attempts to organize all the Bible stories I learned as a kid in Sunday School and put them into perspective. Thank God for books!

I haven’t decided which book to pick up next to read. Any suggestions? What’s the best book you’ve read recently? I really want to know – and I suspect that other readers of this blog would like to know some good recommendations, too.

Listening for God in New Ways

Aug6

Mim, June, and Marian enjoying a picnic and Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert at Ravinia in the summer of 1973.

In January of 1973, almost 40 years ago, a friend of mine, June Autry, called me with a job tip. That phone call was a gift from God. The job tip led me to a job that lasted only two years, but the phone call initiated a series of events that changed my life forever.

The day after I received the phone call, I drove to Chicago to interview for the job that June had called me about – editorial researcher for The World Book Encyclopedia. I was offered the job, and I stayed with June and her husband Arden for a couple days to look for an apartment and to plan my move to Chicago. One evening I went with June and Arden to a neighborhood Bible Study. That’s where I met Mim. When she heard that I was planning to move to Chicago, she invited me to stay with her until I found an apartment. Going on 40 years, and I still haven’t found my own apartment!

Why am I thinking back to something that happened so long ago? A couple reasons. First, I’m reading a very interesting book by Ann E. Aswegan, Awakening to the Song of Your Self: Revelations by Day, Dreams by Night. Aswegan is a registered nurse and an expert in dreams. The first 14 chapters of her book are about how your subconscious tries to communicate with your conscious self while you are awake. The last 14 chapters are about how your subconscious tries to communicate with you through dreams. Aswegan’s book is very helpful to me in gaining a better understanding of how God can communicate with us through premonitions and coincidences (“by day”) as well as through dreams (“by night”). Each chapter introduces a concept, provides lots of examples – often stories of her clients’ or her own experiences, and ends with several questions to help apply what you’re learning to your own experiences.

The first chapter, “Embarking on an Inner Journey: Finding the Paths That Lead Within,” included the following questions (among others): Describe the people you value and write a few lines about what each one means to you. What do you associate with each one? What feelings do they generate within you? What do they mirror about you?

That was a fun exercise! I made myself stop writing about the people I value after I’d written short paragraphs about eight of my friends and family. (I could have continued for a long time, but I wanted to get back to reading the book. I’ll continue that writing exercise later.) Number one on my list was Mim. That’s partly why I’m thinking about 39½ years ago when I met her.

The other reason is that Mim turned 65 yesterday. When we first met, she was just beginning her career as a registered nurse, working at Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago. Now we’re starting to talk about retirement – maybe in 5 or 10 years… We’ve lived most of our lives together.

Isn’t it amazing what June’s phone call about a job tip led to?

To quote from my favorite devotional book again, Jesus says:

I speak to you continually: through sights, sounds, thoughts, impressions, scriptures. There is no limit to the variety of ways I can communicate with you. Your part is to be attentive to My messages, in whatever form they come… [Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, published by Thomas Nelson, p. 216]

Whether it’s a phone call from a friend, an amazing coincidence, a dream, an odd feeling, a scripture reading, a favorite song, a goldfinch singing while perched on a purple thistle, a persistent memory – however God wants to communicate with me, I’m doing my best to listen. With Ann Aswegan’s book, along with Sarah Young’s devotional, I think my hearing is getting a little better.

One last note. Speaking of ways God talks to us, Ken Lund will be leading a retreat at Whispering Winds from 9am to 4pm on Saturday, August 18. The title of the retreat is “Formational Scripture Reading: From Information to Transformation.” Here’s a link to more information about the retreat:   http://whisperingwindsretreathaven.com/publicretreats.html. (You’ll need to scroll down the page to get to this retreat.) Please feel free to call me at 608-212-6197 with questions or to register.

I Remember Cheating God

Jun25

Two dimes minted in 1951 – when I was three years old.


I’m still thinking about an old memory that came to mind a couple weeks ago during the women’s worship service at the county jail. I was there as a volunteer to play the piano, as usual, and participated in the whole worship experience with the inmates. One of the scriptures that we read was Acts 5:1-11 (NRSV):

But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property; with his wife’s knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. “Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God!” Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard of it. The young men came and wrapped up his body, then carried him out and buried him.

After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you and your husband sold the land for such and such a price.” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.” Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things.

God took cheating seriously back in those days! I know I’ve read this story in Acts before, but this is the first time that it triggered an old memory about when I cheated God. I was three or four years old. It was a Sunday afternoon and I remember my family went to a special church service in some other town – I don’t remember where or why. I just remember that I sat in the pew between my mom and my grandma. My mom gave me a dime to put in the offering. So did my grandma. I put one dime in the offering and one dime in my little pink plastic purse. When we got home and my mother was putting my purse away she found the dime and asked me about it. I confessed. She took the dime back and scolded me. I knew she was really disappointed in me. I had cheated God.

Now, sixty years later, I realize that I got off easy for cheating God. Look at what happened to Ananias and Sapphira!

I shared this memory during the testimony time in the jail worship service. What’s so amazing to me is the clear memory I still have of the incident. Obviously, I learned as a three-year-old that cheating God or being dishonest with God is something I shouldn’t do.

What does that mean for me today? I guess it’s a reminder of how important it is to be honest with God as well as with others. I’m still thinking about what that means… Especially why that memory came back so vividly now…

One of the benefits of aging – having so many more memories to think about. As of yesterday, I have 64 years of memories bouncing around in my head. Thanks be to God!

The Beauty of Nature – Does it Remind You of God?

Jun11

I took this picture this morning after a light rain shower. Every rose bush at Whispering Winds seems to be competing for attention this week – to show off how beautiful God has made each one.

Last week God drew my attention to the beauty in nature – in order to draw my attention back to God. What prompted all this mental and spiritual activity? It was the following passage in the devotional book Jesus Calling:

My world is filled with beautiful things; they are meant to be pointers to Me, reminders of My abiding Presence. The earth still declares My Glory to those who have eyes that see and ears that hear.”
[Jesus Calling, © 2004 by Sarah Young, Thomas Nelson Publishers,  p. 165]

The beautiful things we see in nature “are meant to be pointers to Me…”

Sometimes it works. When I see a goldfinch perched on top of a thistle on the roadside, or when I look at a rose bush completely covered with bright pink roses, sometimes I think, God really does beautiful handiwork. Many song writers have had the same thought. That’s why they have written songs like:

These short Asian Lilies promise many more bright orange blooms to come. Look at all the buds!

  • For the Beauty of the Earth
  • Morning Has Broken
  • All Things Bright and Beautiful
  • This Is My Father’s World
  • How Great Thou Art
  • His Eye Is on the Sparrow
  • In the Garden
  • Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee
  • He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands
  • Majesty, Worship His Majesty

And hundreds more. When we see, think and sing about all the beautiful things God has created, we get a glimpse of God.  “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.” [Psalms 19:1 NRSV]

The best smells of summer come down-wind from a mock orange tree in full bloom.

God has filled the world with beautiful things – from bright goldfinches flitting along the roadside to red-winged blackbirds cawing to each other in the wetlands; from bright orange Asian lilies to the sweet fragrance of mock orange blossoms. Now is just about the easiest time of the year to think about the beauty of God’s creation.

Next Sunday afternoon, June 17, everyone is invited to Whispering Winds for a hymn sing. We’ll sing whatever hymns you want to sing – but I’ll “prime the pump” with songs about the beauty of God’s creation – like the songs listed above. We’ll gather together in the living room and sun room about 3:00 and sing for a couple hours, with breaks for homemade cookies and lemonade or iced tea as needed. Even though we’ll start our hymn sing with hymns about the beauty of God’s creation, come prepared to request your favorite hymns whatever they are. We have plenty of songbooks, and if we have the music, we’ll sing whatever songs you request.

My dad is in the center, with my mom next to him, and surrounded by their grandchildren. The picture was taken in 1986 at a family gathering to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

The day of the hymn sing is Father’s Day. My dad would have loved coming to this hymn sing. His favorite part of going to church was singing together with everyone. He usually slept through the rest of the Sunday morning service, but he was always wide awake to sing the hymns. He especially liked “Nearer, My God, to Thee.” I can still hear his voice singing it loud and clear, even if he had just come out of a deep sleep.

If you’re planning to join us Sunday, please call (608-212-6197) or email me (MarianKorth@Gmail.com) so I have an idea how many batches of cookies to bake. But if you decide at the last minute to just show up, that’s fine, too. We’ll be delighted to see you.

 

Cookies and lemonade will provide the nourishment to keep us singing.

 

 

How do you talk with God?

Jun4

My mom and me looking pious for a program in church about 1955.

That’s something I’ve been trying to learn ever since I was a little kid. I remember the first prayer I ever learned: “God bless our food. Amen.” I said that prayer and then my brother and sister said the Norwegian table prayer, and then we could eat. My mother never had the patience to teach me the Norwegian prayer.

In kindergarten, I learned the prayer I still use before meals, “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let this food to us be blessed. Amen.”  When my sister (eleven years older than me) went away to college, my mother dropped the Norwegian prayer, and whoever was at the table recited the “Come, Lord Jesus” prayer. It was easier for everyone. And, I guess that prayer let God know we appreciated God’s providing for our physical needs even if the words were English. The prayer didn’t have to be in Norwegian.

As I grew older, I sometimes thought that we should say a more mature prayer like visiting ministers or missionaries would sometimes say, something like “Our Father, thank you for the food that Thou hast provided, and for the hands that have prepared it…” When I was asked to pray in front of guests, I sometimes tried to say something like that, but was never quite sure I was saying it right. I hated to be asked to do the prayer. It didn’t feel like I was talking with God with that kind of prayer. I was doing a ritual for the approval of the guests around the table.

My bedtime prayer was always more spontaneous. Typically it was something like, “Dear Jesus, thank you for keeping me safe today and for giving me a good day. Take care of mother and daddy, Nancy and Danny, grandma…” and whoever else I was thinking about that evening.

In Sunday School and confirmation classes, I learned that my prayer should include several sections: praising God, thanking God for specific gifts to me and those I love, praying for the needs of others, and lastly, praying for my own needs. My bedtime prayers got longer, more inclusive, and more structured.

But praying before meals and at bedtime didn’t really cover all the times I felt I wanted to talk with God about something. Inevitably, there were moments of crisis when I wanted to pray to God for help or protection – like needing to do well on a particular test in college, or walking alone on a street in Chicago when I sensed someone was following me. That’s when I really wanted God to hear me, and I wanted to have God reassure me that I wasn’t alone.

As my understanding of how to talk with God continued to develop, I discovered that music was an amazing way to communicate some of my thoughts and feelings to God, and to gain new insights into what types of communication were possible with God. One old gospel song that helped me envision what my relationship with God could be like was “In the Garden” by C. Austin Miles.

I come to the garden alone,
while the dew is still on the roses;
and the voice I hear, falling on my ear,
The Son of God discloses.

Refrain:
And He walks with me,
and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own,
And the joy we share
as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

He speaks, and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing;
and the melody that he gave to me
within my heart is ringing.
Refrain.

Over the years, music has become one of the most meaningful ways for me to visit with God. I don’t sing, but I take a hymnal, sit down at the piano and pray the words as I’m playing the music. I can spend hours having a conversation with God through the hymnal.

A few years ago I came upon the book Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. I’ve mentioned this book several times in this blog. It’s a book of daily devotional writings, with each day’s entry written as though Jesus is talking directly to me. Scripture citations are listed at the bottom of the entry as proof that the Bible really does say those things. This book has been very helpful to me in making my conversations with God true dialogs rather than just me stating my immediate concerns. Here’s today’s entry.

Welcome challenging times as opportunities to trust Me. You have Me beside you and My Spirit within you, so no set of circumstances is too much for you to handle. When the path before you is dotted with difficulties, beware of measuring your strength against those challenges. That calculation is certain to riddle you with anxiety. Without Me, you wouldn’t make it past the first hurdle!

The way to walk through demanding days is to grip My hand tightly and stay in close communication with Me. Let your thoughts and spoken words be richly flavored with trust and thankfulness. Regardless of the day’s problems, I can keep you in perfect Peace as you stay close to Me.

James 1:2; Philippians 4:13; Isaiah 26:3

I know I’m not alone in wanting to know how to have a conversation with God, because the disciples also asked Jesus how to pray. In Matthew 6:5 Jesus told them, “… whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Then Jesus went on to say what we now call “The Lord’s Prayer” or the “Our Father.”

So what prompted me to write about talking with God today? Saturday I participated in a centering prayer workshop at Whispering Winds. Prior to this workshop I had a vague understanding that centering prayer was a Christian form of meditation, somewhat similar to the meditation practices of eastern religions. Saturday’s workshop was led by three leaders who had been trained by Contemplative Outreach, the organization founded by Fr. Thomas Keating in the 1970’s to develop methods of reviving the contemplative dimension of the Gospel. (More about centering prayer and this organization is on their website www.contemplativeoutreach.org.)

In the workshop we learned practices to help us quiet our mind and sit silently with our eyes closed for periods of 20 minutes or longer. At this point, I’ll have to admit that I’m somewhat intrigued by centering prayer, although I’m not about to say it’s the “sliced bread” of prayer. The process of sitting still and emptying our minds of distracting thoughts so that God can fill us is suggested by the Psalm that I have always loved reading, “Be still and know that I am God.” [Psalm 46:10]

One of the key messages from Saturday’s workshop was that as we continue to develop our own personal relationship with God, prayer – or communication with God – takes on many forms, not just one. I can still say “Come, Lord Jesus…” and know that I’m including God in our mealtime. I can pray for my friends and family and others as I understand their needs. I can worship God and ask for help in my life by spending time at the piano with a hymnal. I can read the Bible in a variety of forms to hear God speaking to me. I can go for a walk and hear what God has to say through the songbirds and the rippling brook just down the road from Whispering Winds. And, I can sit silently in a straight-backed chair with my eyes closed for 20 minutes of centering prayer.

God wants to talk to me – and you – just as much as we want to talk with God. We have a lifetime to learn all the ways to do that.

A Year-End Conversation with My Dog, Abbey

Dec30

[Copied from my first blog. Originally posted on December 26, 2011.]

So, Abbey, as you look back over 2011, have there been any significant changes in your life?

     I guess the most significant change in my life is that I’ve changed my attitude toward sneaking out for a walk. I know it makes you and Mim worry whenever I go out by myself, so I decided I don’t need to worry you. I can be just as happy inside with my Grandmas petting me as I can be outside following Gary Gopher’s scent to yet another gopher hole. Occasionally I lapse back into my old attitude and slip out the door, but not very often. How about you? Did you make any changes in your life in 2011?

     Well, yes, I did. I tried to make one significant change on January 1, 2011. I committed to read and write every day in the journaling version of the Jesus Calling devotional book by Sarah Young.

Were you successful? Did you read and write every day? And, did it make any difference in your life?

To answer your last question first, I’d say yes. The common theme of the daily devotions in Jesus Calling is to be constantly aware that God loves me and is right beside me every day. To be reminded of Jesus being right there to help me with whatever comes my way every single day was very helpful in increasing my awareness of God’s presence with me. It’s definitely an attitude changer. In answer to your other question, did I read and write every single day? Not quite. A few days I couldn’t get to it early in the morning, and sometimes I got to it later in the day, sometimes I didn’t. I also got tired of writing my thoughts in response to the reading for the day. I probably won’t do a journaling devotional again. But I’ll definitely commit to reading from another daily devotional book next year.

I sometimes wish I could read, especially when I see you and Mim get so excited about something you’re reading. But I guess God has given us different gifts. You don’t get to sit next to your favorite people and feel them petting you in silence for hours at a time.

I sometimes wish I could just sit still for a long time like you, but there seem to always be things I need to do. One of the new things I started doing in 2011 is playing the piano for the women’s worship service in the County Jail. In February I started playing the piano in jail twice a month. Last week when I was there, we had to wait about 15 minutes after the service was over before a guard came to escort the women back to their cell block. While we were waiting one of the women asked me if I knew the song, “Dona Nobis Pacem.” I said that I’d heard it, but I didn’t have the music for it. I suggested that we go to the piano together and I’d try to pick it out with her singing it. After we did that song, other women joined us and a spontaneous Christmas Carol Sing-along broke out. It was so much fun!

That sounds like fun. I wish I could have gone with you. I bet some of those women would have liked to pet me. We work together pretty well. Why don’t you ask the chaplain if I can come along next time?

     I don’t think that would be approved, Abbey. They’re pretty strict in the jail. I have a hard enough time getting a songbook past the guards. I’m sure I couldn’t bring a dog along. But you’re right, we do work together well. This blog is a perfect example of that. I started writing this blog in April. That’s one of the best new things I did in 2011. I have fun writing almost every Monday morning to share some reflections with all the friends of Whispering Winds Retreat Haven. But occasionally, I have a hard time figuring out what to write about. And without fail, whenever that happens, you jump right in and help me write it. Thanks, Abbey, I really appreciate your help.

     You’re welcome. I like to write, too. That’s one of my favorite new things of 2011. Do you think we should start any new things in 2012?

     I have a suggestion for you, Abbey. How would you like to commit to not stealing any more food off the kitchen counter? That kringle you stole from the counter yesterday was not good for you, and Mim and I and the Grandmas really wanted to eat it ourselves. We would have given you a taste. Why did you take the whole thing?

     Oh, was that kringle ever good! I couldn’t really help myself. Once I took the first bite, I knew I had to eat it all. I’m not sure I’m really sorry that I did it. I am sorry that there wasn’t any more for you, but I’m really glad I got to eat it, too. I’m not sure about making any New Year’s resolutions about something like that.

     Well, you have a few days before New Year’s Day. Just think about it… And, thanks again for your help in writing this blog.

You’re welcome. My pleasure. I’m glad we had this little talk. It’s good to think back over last year to think about the changes we’ve made in our lives. Maybe we should have another talk about things we might want do do next year. I’ll start thinking about that.

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1. Diane Iverson | December 26, 2011 at 03:59 PM EST [ delete ]

What a great blog reminding us how special our nonhuman friends are to us! Abbey sounds alot like a dog we once had – his name was Toma and we got him as a puppy and he lived to be 18 1/2 years old. Toma got into everything, especially food, and after Toma was gone, I vowed that all dogs we adopted would have to be adult dogs and not puppies, who are much more mischiveous. Happy New Year to you both and Mim too. See you at church, Diane

2. Beth Mickelson | December 27, 2011 at 02:47 PM EST [ delete ]

Marian,

This is such a wonderful \”end of the year\” blog. Your blogs have meant so much and I continue to get such pleasure in reading them. Thank you so much for this gift. You have a God given talent in your desire and ability to write so very well. I will continue to look forward to you stories and thoughts in 2012.