Dallin Malmgren's Blog, page 19

HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME MAY 30-JUNE 5, 2022

May 30, 2022
#211 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Wednesday, April 20, 2022 It is a powerful thing when someone else writes what I am thinking: “At issue here is the question: To whom do I belong? To God or to the world? Many of my daily preoccupations suggest that I belong more to the world than to God. A little criticism makes me angry, and a little rejection makes me depressed. A little praise raises my spirits, and a little success excites me. It takes very little to raise me up or thrust me down. Often I am like a small boat on the ocean, completely at the mercy of its waves.” –from The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen
Thanks be to God that I only think that I’m steering the boat!

May 31, 2022
Tuesday is golf day…
#212 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Tuesday, April 26, 2022 I made a wrong choice today. While I was playing golf, Karen had a dental appointment and her car wouldn’t start. I got my car to her, she made it to the appointment, and I kept playing golf. There were extenuating circumstances on both sides, but the better choice would have been to quit golf and deal with the car thing. Ah well. My wife forgave me, and I’m confident God did too. Next time I will choose better.

June 1, 2022
#213 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Tuesday, April 12, 2022 I want my writing project to be a green light on the highway to heaven.

June 2, 2022
#214 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Saturday, April 30, 2022 Jesus laughed at me tonight. I was praying about something I was writing, and I thought: I don’t want people to think I am egotistical, and He laughed. Get it? I just love Him.

June 3, 2022
#215 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Thursday, May 19, 2022 I cannot deny that sorrow permeates this world. Many blame God, inferring that He created this mess. I can only paraphrase the message of my Savior: It doesn’t have to be this way.

June 4, 2022
#216 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Sunday, November 17, 2021 How do I know that God has spoken to me? I invite Him to, and then I pay attention. At the end of the day I reflect. Today God reaffirmed that this writing project is a good thing for me to do.

June 5, 2022
Breaking precedent and posting today today (if you know what I mean)…
#217 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Sunday, June 5, 2022 I got Covid-19 today. This is how God spoke to me: Relax. Have no fear. Cooperate with your caregivers (my wife, my son and his wife, the doctor’s instructions). Be as unintrusive as possible on the lifestyle of those around you (luckily, my son has a separate living quarter on their property–thank You, God!). Use this time (5 day quarantine) to seek Me. Listen to music. Read and write and meditate and pray. Trust Me.

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HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY May 23–29, 2022

May 23, 2022
#204 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Sunday, April 24, 2022 My mother used to use the expression “…looking at the world through rose-colored glasses.” (It was not a compliment.) And my nephew recently asked me, “It seems easy to see God’s love when you are surrounded by your beautiful and loving family, but what about when nothing is going right and it all feels hopeless?” I admit my daily posts seem pretty upbeat. I asked a mentor: Christ suffered, don’t we have to suffer? He said: I don’t know, we have to trust God for that. I thought that was a good answer. As for the ephemeral stuff, like moods and daily crises and stifled ambitions– that is the soil in which God grows our character.

May 24, 2022
This one is a lifetime golf highlight…
#205 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Tuesday, May 24, 2022 (Happy birthday, Bob Dylan) I shot my age in golf today (I play the short tees). That was on my bucket list. It is such a personal accomplishment that my ego wants to dive right in and bask in the personal glory, but I am having none of it. I have had brief moments in my life, in different activities, where I felt like I could do what I wanted to do and I did it. The feeling is magical. We see this all the time with our athletes and musicians and writers and artists and all human creators pursuing their various arts. We get to experience what God did when He went through the steps of creation, always saying “It is good.” I got a little taste of that today, and it was good.

May 25, 2022
#206 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Monday, April 18, 2022 This one is from our pastor’s sermon on Easter Sunday: There was a man who doted on his grandson. One day his daughter called and asked if he could watch the boy while she went to a meeting. When he arrived at her house, he heard a terrible screaming coming from inside. He hurried in and there was the boy crying like a banshee in his playpen. Just as he rushed to him, his daughter came into the room and said, “Don’t you dare take him out of that playpen. He has to learn to listen to his mama. Now let me finish my make-up.” Before she even got back to her mirror, the crying had stopped. Darn that man, she thought to herself, stomping her foot. Why won’t he do what I ask? She went back to the living to reprimand him. There she discovered the two of them–in the playpen!
And that is just how our heavenly Father will meet us right where we are.

May 26, 2022
#207 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Saturday, April 23, 2022 “I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances.” (Philippians 4:11) What a wonderful approach to life! This is a verse I can apply moment by moment, day by day. Of course, St. Paul was dealing with shipwrecks and prisons and beatings–I am dealing with stalled traffic and household malfunctions and bad bounces of the golf ball. God says don’t worry about it–you work on the contentment and I’ll work on the circumstances.

May 27, 2022
#208 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Tuesday, April 26, 2022 Two cardinals are courting right in front of me–heck, there go two blue jays…and two mourning doves! Boy, I miss the old days when that kind of drive coursed through me. To everything there is a season…

May 28, 2022
#209 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Wednesday, April 27, 2022 Sometimes this writing project feels like messages in bottles, thrown out into the sea, with no earthly idea where they will end up. I want to direct the current–I hope Bethany reads this one, this one is for Nathan, Zachary should hear this–but God is having none of it. My true purpose, if I can live up to it, is to be a transcriber. God will address the envelopes.

May 29, 2022
#210 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Saturday, April 16, 2022 I sometimes fear i don’t have the proper reverence for certain holidays (like Easter). I tend to forget about the horrible darkness that was necessary to bring out the joy of Easter. I’m much better at handling joy than sorrow. But I don’t worry about it much any more–God will teach me what I need to know. I’m trying to learn to listen.

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HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY May 16–22, 2022

May 16, 2022
#197 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Sunday, April 17, 2022 This is the parable of the live oak tree: There was an old man who loved to sit on his porch and pray. An old live oak tree growing right in front of him would declare the glory of God. The old man even had three patches of blue sky that shone through the tree, which he deemed the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. In the winter the old man could not sit on the porch, but he knew it was there. One night there was an ice storm, and the weight of the ice on a huge limb caused it to break off and crash to the ground. The old man surveyed the damage. It won’t be the same, he thought. He returned to the porch in the spring, and the tree was different. The three patches were gone. But he soon realized the storm had merely removed a layer of branches between him and the blue sky. And he prayed just as well.

May 17, 2022
This is sort of a golf one…
#198 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Thursday, April 21, 2022 Things have been going so well for me lately–with my wife, with other relationships, with my writing project, with church ministries, even with golf (hitting the ball pretty well lately)–that I feel the encroaching danger of becoming puffed up. This I know: every good thing comes from above; He must increase and I must decrease; love does not seek its own; He is the potter and I am the clay. Amen

May 18, 2022
#199 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Wednesday, March 30, 2022 Discouragement is part of the journey. Sometimes it just doesn’t feel like I am moving forward at all. “All is vanity and striving after wind…” –especially when I consider my own feeble efforts to grow in the Lord. Still, one Old Testament verse deserves another: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; don’t lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

May 19, 2022
#200 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Friday, April 22, 2022 God put me in a situation where I had a choice to make. Side A: perfectly socially acceptable, no moral qualm, what I wanted to do. Side B: what I knew, deep down, God wanted me to do. I chose B, and Robert Frost’s poem came alive for me–“I chose the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

May 20, 2022
#201 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Saturday, April 9, 2022 This has been on my mind all day–God is involved in all the details of my life. I can’t just put Him on hold. Everywhere I turn He is there. O Lord, open my eyes.

May 21, 2022
#202 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Thursday, April 13, 2022 I cannot live in the here and now (where God lives) without a strong confidence that the future is going to be fine. I mean fine–I don’t mean okay or “I’ll survive.” Jesus’s advice is not middle-of-the-road: “…have no care for the morrow…” — “Let not your heart be troubled…” — “…will not my Father care for you a thousand times more?” That is radical trust. I can still think about the future and be practical; in fact, I am supposed to. But worry is simply a lack of trust. And it prevents me from living out my true purpose: to love God and enjoy Him forever (right now).

May 22, 2022
This from just yesterday…
#203 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Saturday, May 20, 2022 It is such a pleasure for me to see how these young men, who played tennis for me for four years in high school, have turned out 12 years later. They have lives full of purpose and character and love. I know full well that the hand of God has been upon them, and they have responded to His touch. It’s nice to think I might have been a brick in their building–that is the sweetest reward of being a teacher/coach.
(photo assist from Harper and Spice)

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HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY May 9–15, 2022

May 9, 2022
#190 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Tuesday, March 22, 2022 My guest left after a four day visit. It was great seeing an old friend, but I also love being alone. If stillness is optimal as a contact point, it follows that solitude is optimal for communion. Hello, Lord.

May 10, 2022
This is a cool golf experience…
#191 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Tuesday, April 19, 2022 I partnered with an older man who loves golf but is in failing health. He told me early in the round that he doubted if had too many more rounds of golf in him. Then he made a hole in one on #17. What a gracious and compassionate God we have! I had a beer to celebrate with him and then realized I had completely forgotten a lunch date I had with a former student, a wonderful young man who has become a youth pastor in Kansas. Do I blame my airheadedness or God’s grace?

May 11, 2022
#192 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Wednesday, April 13, 2022 “Do not go gentle into that good night./ Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” –Dylan Thomas I will be attending a funeral tomorrow. It occurs to me there are more funerals than weddings in my future. I find I couldn’t disagree with Mr. Thomas more. I want to go as gently as possible without one ounce of rage. Our fundamental difference is the Light–he sees it as dying and I see it as swallowing up darkness. Or, as another Dylan (this one closer to my heart) put it: “Just remember that death is not the end.”

May 12, 2022
#193 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Thursday, April 7, 2022 Every time I am ruffled, every time I am put off, every time I even have negative thoughts about another human being–I have abandoned the mind of Christ and enclosed myself in my own small world. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)

May 13, 2022
This is a good post for a Friday evening…
#194 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Saturday, April 2, 2022 “…the soul ain’t nothin’ but the car Love drives…” from Laying My Burdens Down by Willie Nelson and family. Isn’t that something? I think of my soul as the inner Dallin, the real me, not necessarily the one the world sees. I just want to hop aboard Willie’s car.

May 14, 2022
#195 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Tuesday, March 29, 2022 Tonight the prayer is so simple and beautiful and precise: Dear Lord Jesus–let Your love fill my heart and flow through me to others.

May 15, 2022
#196 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Monday, April 4, 2022 Karen and I are watching a series called The Chosen, which is the story of Jesus’s ministry as seen through the eyes of Peter and Mary Magdalene and Matthew and others. I have usually shied away from Hollywood’s depiction of Jesus, even highly realistic ones like The Passion of Christ. But this show has done a wondrous job of conveying Jesus’s humanity and His power and His effect on people. I haven’t been as affected by a religious movie since Ben Hur. I highly recommend The Chosen.

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HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY May 2–8, 2022

May 2, 2022
#183 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Monday, March 21, 2022 “Self-destruction is the result of selfishness.” –Stephan Allison, my friend. There are two sides to this coin, the macrocosmic and the microcosmic. Steve was referring to the big picture, i.e., humankind is destroying our planet because of greed , gluttony and the other deadly sins. But consider the microcosmic view: each time I choose self over others, I am denying my true nature and diminishing the person I was meant to be, thus dying a little bit more. Jesus gave us a simple cure–love God and love your neighbor as yourself.

May 3, 2022
Golf Tuesday…
#184 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Friday, March 25, 2022 God gave me golf. I guess that sounds self-indulgent and even egotistical, but there is an inner truth to it for me. First, a confession: after all these years, I am no more than an average golfer–so it wasn’t really a calling. But for some reason I am more easily able to seek/sense/feel God’s presence on a golf course. And I get to share it with other people. I can’t tell you how blessed I am.

May 4, 2022
#185 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Saturday, February 26, 2022 My spiritual father (though he’s several years younger than me) and his lovely wife came to visit today. By the grace of God he explained the gospel to me in a way that clicked more than 45 years ago. I hadn’t seen him in over 35 years. He is full of joy and peace and contentment–a testament to what a life lived following the Lord can be.

May 5, 2022
#186 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Sunday, April 3, 2022 This comic is how I sometimes feel before posting:

May 6, 2022
#187 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Friday, April 1, 2022 “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain;” (I Corinthians 15:10) A lesson God is trying to teach me: self-acceptance. It is possible for me to be up on God but down on myself. That’s really as unacceptable as being down on God. Self-acceptance does not mean shrugging my shoulders and giving in to my baser instincts. It is simply acknowledging my self as a work in progress and continuing to progress.

May 7, 2022
#188 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Friday, April 15, 2022 I’m never alone on my back porch. Sometimes it is me and my wife–or my son and his family–or friends who drop by for a visit. But it is always me and the Lord. I do a good deal of my praying out there. One of my favorite hymns, In The Garden, could easily be translated On My Back Porch for me.

May 8, 2022
Happy Mother’s Day! I am privileged to be well-acquainted with some of the finest mothers on the planet…
#189 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Sunday, February 13, 2022 God likes to speak to me through my three granddaughters. We had them spend the night while their parents celebrated Valentine’s Day. Mostly they favor their Granma and tolerate me, but I get my moments. After dinner I told them I was going to watch their movie with them (Tall Girl 2) so I could figure out what young people thought about these days. As we watched, first the middle one and then the youngest wanted to sit on my lap (that never happens). After we got them to bed, Karen thanked me for being so helpful. A wonderful warm feeling ensued.

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HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY April 25–May 1, 2022

April 25, 2022
Haha, it turns out they didn’t need me–it’s nice to know I would have done it though…
#176 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Wednesday, October 27, 2021 God answers prayer. I’ve been praying that God would expand my heart. I want to be a more loving person…not that I am unloving, but just that I can be kind of closed. So last night Karen asked me if I could watch a grandnephew while she and her sister went to a funeral. My first reaction was horror. I barely know the boy, he can be difficult, I’ve never been alone with him, and childsitting is pretty low on my list of skills. How dare they ask? But then I prayed–and, of course, this is nothing but an opportunity. Holy obedience does not mean to go grudgingly along with. It means enthusiastically follow where God leads. Bring it on, Lord.

April 26, 2022
If it’s Tuesday, it must be golf…
#177 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Saturday, February 12, 2022 The presence of God is way more than a feeling. The presence of God is a fact, one by which I can navigate every turn, every bump, every decision on my journey. However, when I do get a glimpse of that feeling, it is as joyous, as uplifting, as awe-inspiring as my life gets. Maybe that is why I am so drawn to my back porch and the golf course.

April 27, 2022
#178 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Wednesday, March 23, 2022 “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things you please.” (Galatians 5:17) It’s all a matter of who is sitting on my throne. It’s not an easy thing to give up a throne. And the choice is continual. God, give me the grace.

April 28, 2022
#179 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Tuesday, September 28, 2021 I was listening to an old music CD I made entitled “My Own Selections” and it made me realize God has been speaking to me through music for most of my life. The message is freedom and love and joy. “That’s the power of the gospel,” as Ben Harper says.

April 29, 2022
Woops. Well, this one is certainly appropriate…
#180 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Saturday, December 18, 2021 I was in repose all day. As far as I know, God was too.

April 30, 2022
#181 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Sunday, March 20, 2022 I won my son’s fantasy football league this year. Though I know gambling can become a dangerous vice, I feel like I am just purchasing entertainment. I feel the same way about our small golf wagers. Of course, it is always fun to win. But the insidiousness of money is how it makes us unconsciously care about it. As far as I can observe, money is many people’s highest value. That is sad because it is a false idol, like all those Israelites kneeling before a golden calf. “For the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil.” (I Timothy 6:10)

May 1, 2022
#182 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Wednesday, April 6, 2022 Every once in a while God will remind me why He had me begin this writing project in the first place. This from the brilliant Catholic writer Henri Nouwen: “I tried constantly to point beyond the mortal quality of our existence to a presence larger, deeper, wider, and more beautiful than we can imagine, and to speak about that presence as a presence that can already now be seen, heard, and touched by those who are willing to believe.”

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HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY APRIL 18–24, 2022

April 18, 2022
#169 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Monday, March 14, 2022 I have become a pet person. In my younger days, I used to think that people who lavished love on their pets were just afraid to open their hearts to other people. Now I understand that you don’t dole love out like cherries for dessert to your six children. Love flows. And the more you let it flow, the more you have. Pets trigger love, they don’t limit it.

April 19, 2022
I love playing golf with God…
#170 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Thursday, March 24, 2022 One of the joys of playing golf in a senior men’s group is that I get to play with a number of different men. If God is present (He is), that means He has brought each one of these individuals into my life with the purpose of teaching me how to love. Changes the whole game, doesn’t it?

April 20, 2022
#171 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Tuesday, March 8, 2022 I’ve never really\ understood this verse: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:26) But I think I get it–the hate is hyperbolic. God’s love cannot be contained. We learn love through our families–parents unconditionally toward their children, and children as a natural response. But if we stop at familial love (or worse, self-love), we have fallen out of the stream of God’s love, which always flows outward, no matter the object. God’s love is not discriminate. Like the old hymn says, they will know we are christians by our love.

April 21, 2022
#172 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Friday, December 10, 2021 It was a near perfect day, though nothing extraordinary or even unusual happened. Golf with the guys, a gift in the mail, a trip to the grocery store, a walk with the dog, a cocktail with my wife, chicken off the grill…“O taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.” (Psalm 34:8)

April 22, 2022
#173 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TONIGHT
Monday, March 21, 2022 We had a genuine tornado warning last evening, with roiling sky and shifty winds and sheet lightning and blaring sirens. I was filled with a combination of fascination and dread. I said my prayer out loud: Que sera, sera, my Lord and my God. Awe sprinkled with fear equals reverence.

April 23, 2022
#174 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Friday, February 18, 2022 Tonight I feel old, but not in a bad way. I was texting earlier with a friend whose son is really getting into golf. We were discussing sports and kids and parents. It took me back to that stage in my life–a joyous but also intense time. I believe God watched over us and we came through without too many bruises. I only have one real regret: though I knew God was with us, I was too wrapped up in family ambitions to enjoy His presence. The love I have for my children comes from Him–I should have invited Him in. But I am older now, and I know better.

April 24,2022
#175 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Saturday, March 19, 2022 My friend and I went to the Festival of Colors, a Hindu celebration, today. People were breaking open packets of colored powder and flinging them in the air while dancing to the beat of dohl drummers. It made me realize that God appreciates joy wherever He can find it. And I discovered that I love samosas!

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HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY April 11–17, 2022

April 11, 2022
#162 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Friday, March 11, 2022 I’ve been thinking about abiding…“I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit.” (John 5:15) When I retired, my number one goal/wish/prayer was that He would teach me to abide in Him. Here is what I’ve learned so far: Abiding means simply being aware of His presence. I have to invite Him in my life. How aware I am of His being here is entirely up to me, and I am a poor example. But I’ve also learned that awareness of His presence is the source of peace and joy and love. Lord, teach me to abide.

April 12, 2022
Remember, Tuesdays are golf days (unless I forget)…
#163 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Tuesday, March 15, 2022 I feel in my bones that God appreciates old men getting together after golf, telling tales of their youth and enjoying one another’s company.

April 13, 2022
#164 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Thursday, January 27, 2022 This from my quiet time: “We know that there is a pilgrimage to make. It is the journey away from self and into the mystery of God. It is an amazing grace that each of us can and does know this, or at least suspects it. To know it is really to know everything because then we have only to begin and to continue. To be on the pilgrimage is everything.” –from Word Made Flesh by John Main

April 14, 2022
#165 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Tuesday, October 12, 2022 The voice of God came from my spiritual director today. I was lamenting how God has been addressing my dark side lately, vis a vis an argument with Karen, a crash and burn on the golf course, and my impatience with a lengthy Zoom meeting. He suggested that perhaps God wanted me to be more sensitive toward the people I am around. I hear You, God–give me the grace to be transformed.

April 15, 2022
#166 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Friday, March 18, 2022 My best friend from high school, whom I haven’t seen in 50 plus years, came for a visit today. We sat on my back porch and drank our old fashioneds and grilled a dinner. It is impossible to reminisce about old times, stir up memories that have settled for years, be reminded of stuff I had completely forgotten, without realizing the hand of God has been upon me my entire life.

April 16, 2022
I wrote this before I saw the comic, but it sure did fit…
#167 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Thursday, March 3, 2022 A stunning realization–I wouldn’t trade places with any other person on the planet. This is not a brag on how great my life is–I have a very ordinary life. The realization was: I think that I am in the place God wants me to be. There is a tremendous serenity…an overflowing gratefulness…that comes with that realization. A second realization: Most of the above is probably true for anyone who is reading this.

April 17, 2022
This one is appropriate for Easter, given what He did…
#168 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Wednesday, March 16, 2022 This I believe: I cannot overestimate God–His power, His involvement, His ability and willingness to change my life; His compassion for my weakness, His artistry, the sureness of His promises, His awareness of every aspect of my life, and, of course, His love. I would not want to live without the knowledge of His presence. Increase my faith, Lord.

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HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY April 4–10, 2022

April 4, 2022
#155 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Wednesday, March 2, 2022 “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things unseen.” (Hebrews 11:2) What an audacious channel of communication! If I master that assurance and that conviction, I become the most contented, purposeful and confident person on the planet–all to the glory of God. St. Paul seems to have come pretty close to mastering it. I’m sure many other saints down through the centuries did too. O Lord, increase my faith.

April 5, 2022
I’m breaking precedent and staying current today…
#156 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Tuesday, April 5, 2022 “Teach us to number our days so that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12) Today is my birthday–I am 73 years old. God has shown me that the key to aging is having a willingness to be changed.

April 6, 2022
Woops…
#157 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Friday, March 4, 2022 Full-heartedness–the word comes up again. I had cataract surgery on the first eye today. Everything went as smoothly as imaginable. Right now I am blurry, but I look forward to better vision. What I really want is a clearer view of God’s hand at work in my life–the glimpses I get are amazing.

April 7, 2022
#158 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Wednesday, March 9, 2022 How much does God guide my conversations? He’s there guiding my prayers, and my thoughts about my writing project I believe, but how about when I start talking? I think that I take over the situation and rely on the Holy Spirit to provide back-up if I get into trouble…which is not a bad arrangement. But I have had the experience of inviting God into a conversation (especially an unpleasant one) with remarkable results. I really hope to learn how to include Him in more of them.

April 8, 2022
#159 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Thursday, November 11, 2021 Dear Lord–it was a good day, a productive day, and I felt Your presence. And yet, when I lay in bed, I could not think of a single thing You had said to me. And so I ask You to unclog my ears.

April 9, 2022
#160 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Sunday, March 13, 2022 “One thing I have asked of the Lord, that I shall seek; that i may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to meditate in His temple.” (Psalm 27:4) What a wonderful way to start the day!

April 10, 2022
#161 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Thursday, March 17, 2022 Does this ever happen to you? Today I just had all the small details fall into place–I was running late and my friend’s flight got delayed; I had to cancel a meeting and the other guy couldn’t make it anyway; I had exactly the right amount of something for a recipe; Spice finally pooped right before we got back to the house. Could have been just a lucky day, or…

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HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY MARCH 28-APRIL 3, 2022

March 28, 2022
#148 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Tuesday, February 22 We don’t acquire a virtue, we just practice it. Like patience. God showed me today that I might think I’ve become more patient but my grasp is flimsy. The traffic situation: making a left across two lanes coming the other way, a lady in front of me–she has a good opening but she won’t take it–“What are you doing?” I think. I realize how impatient I am being (that was God)–I repent…a heavy traffic day, we sit there a while longer–she has a very good opening–she starts to go, then slows and seems to swerve–“WHAT ARE YOU DOING???” I think–she is making a u‑turn, perfectly legal, requiring extra time to turn. I repent in dust and ashes…teach me patience, Lord.

March 29, 2022
#149 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Wednesday, February 2, 2022 My daughter told me she and her husband think I am going through my monk phase. She said I seem content but I just don’t engage with them like I used to. My first defensive reaction was to think that I engage with the people in front of me but they are two thousand miles away. Then I realized God was speaking to me through her. People. He wants me to reach out, to initiate, to embrace…not just react. How better to tell me than through her? Then my daughter told me that the cat got out and they couldn’t find her, so she and her daughter prayed. I can’t remember the last time my daughter mentioned praying–it warmed my heart.

March 30, 2022
#150 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Friday, February 25, 2022 Is faith in God a way to avoid personal responsibility? That’s what a friend implied when he read my post about God taking care of the Big Picture while I concentrate on the Here and Now. I can see his point, but the biggest impact I can have on the Big Picture is by responding to God in the Here and Now. “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…” That’s the kingdom I want to serve.

March 31, 2022
#151 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Saturday, March 5, 2022 This I believe: the biggest retardant to my spiritual growth is my ego. My ego is constantly trying to jump in there and take the credit where God is doing the work. “Every good thing comes from above…” — that includes every good thing I do. “He must increase and I must decrease” — that is the recipe for personal fulfillment.

April 1, 2022
#152 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Sunday, February 27, 2022 God is showing me that more of the journey is internal than I ever realized. Think about it–all of the qualities of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control) come from the inside. You can’t go out and pick them off a tree. We have fruit within us. Our job is to cultivate it. God’s job is to teach us how. What a wonderful journey!

April 2, 2022
#153 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Monday, March 7, 2022 “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3) Watching these six, who barely know each other, play merrily all afternoon warmed my heart. God’s, too.

April 3, 2022
#154 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
Monday, February 28, 2022 “And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make.” The Beatles got it wrong. The love I have received is far greater than the love I’ve given out. But it is an excellent starting point. As I enter every situation, every interaction, trying to create love, it just comes rolling back to me in waves. “God is love and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” (I John 4:7) Pretty inclusive, isn’t it?

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