Category: listen

Devotional

by worrylessjourney, posted in belief, faith, listen

April 8 2025

Psalm 86 Verse 17

17 Give me a sign of your goodness,
    that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,Come down God and giveme a sign!
    for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Come down God and give me a sign! Write on the wall, perform a miracle, do something! Show how people who don’t believe in you what you can do. Show me too so that I don’t have to depend on faith to get through.

How much we want this to happen. We need to depend on something provable….something we can touch. But, you know what? The really important things are not tangible. We can’t take love in our hands and touch it. We can’t prove it…and yet, we know it is there.

God is not visible…but his acts are. His presence can be felt if not touched. Let go of your desire for handwriting on the wall and open your eyes to the truth. God is with us. God’s love surrounds us and all will be well.

Prayer: Loving Father, you know us so well. You know how much we long to see you and touch you. Speak to our hearts and let us know that you are with us.. AMEN

Devotional

by worrylessjourney, posted in hear, listen, silence

March 26 2025

Psalm 46 Verse 10a
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;

It is not easy for most of us to be still. Our society doesn’t help much. We an be reached wherever we are… in our cars…on the bech…in a boat….[laces where we went to get away. We are not “away” any more. How can there be room to listen? We hardly listen to each other much less to God. We pray but we don’t hear answers. We are told no prayer goes unanswered so it seems the problem is ours. We don’t hear the answer because we are answering our cell phones.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, craw near to us and still our hearts to hear your voice. We need your help to shut off all the “time saving” devices that are killing our peace. Speak to us in the silence. AMEN

Homework: Shut off your cell phone for one hour today.

Devotional

by worrylessjourney, posted in listen, time, wait

March 8 2025

Psalm 5 Verse 3

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; early in the morning I make my appeal and watch for you.

I with it were so. I wish we all took time out every day to pray morning and evening. We have good intentions. We make plans to get ourselves into a routine. It lasts for a few days and then something interferes. It is so hard to be consistent. When we do pray it is often to ask for something….healing for someone…help for family…whatever. This is not bad but not enough. The Psalm clearly says “I make my appeal and watch for you.” The Psalmist sits and waits for an answer. How often do we wait for an answer? We pray and then we move on. When will we learn to wait?

Prayer: Patient Lord, thank you for waiting for us. Help us to turn to you in our joys and our sorrows. Most of all help us to wait and listen for your answer. AMEN

Scary thoughts

by worrylessjourney, posted in consequences, darkness, listen

I ordered new music song books to play on the piano. This morning I was playing “The Sound of Silence” and reading the words. It was eerie. It was as if those words were written for today’s world. I am including the words here for you and also the song. Frightening how much it fits.

This explanation comes from Google:

What is the meaning behind Sound of Silence by disturbed?The song makes an allusion to the extreme capitalism and consumerism that is suffocating society – “the people bowed and prayed to the neon god they made” (neon represents the signs of commercial stores), and further expresses a discontent for humans who do not care to pay attention to anything and anyone‘

The Sound of Silence

Hello darkness, my old friend
I’ve come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
‘Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

“Fools, ” said I, “You do not know
Silence, like a cancer, grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you”
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells, of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, “The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls”
And whispered in the sounds of silence

The one from my era was done by Simon and Garfunkel but I think that this one by Pentatonix hits the mark.

Music feeds the soul

by worrylessjourney, posted in appreciate, blessings, enjoy, joy, listen, music, wholeness

love-sleep-good-music

Today I had fun making some playlists for my Amazon Alexa. Now I have some of my favorite music ready to go. Music has always transformed me. Just sitting and listening I can feel my body relaxing. Music feeds my soul.

As a youngster (too young for clubs) my father would nevertheless take me with him to hear great musicians. He loved New Orleans Jazz. He knew most of the people and they knew he wouldn’t order me drinks.

I also played piano and took lessons until college. My teacher was friend with some of the great pianist of the time and I got to meet Rubenstein…a big thrill for me.

music-quotes-music-gives-a-soul-to-the-universe-wings-to-the-mind-flight-to-the-imagination-and-life-to-everything-plato-wisdom-quotes

I have always loved all kinds of music. I was exposed to everything. There is hardly anything that I don’t like. I can get tired of some things. Being the age I am I also can’t get playing music so loud that you damage your hearing. I like loud but there is a limit.

I have often wondered about the damage to the hearing of some young people. I am sure they don’t realize that those little hairs in the ears can fail if pushed too far. It really is too bad but maybe good for the hearing-aid people. It is also interesting to me with all the ability of electronics today that someone doesn’t make a hearing aid that really works for a reasonable price.

Rely on God

by worrylessjourney, posted in acceptance, anxiety, belief, calm, comfort, coping, God, grace, listen, perspective, safety

Image result for rely on God

There is so much fear out there…..with good reason. For those of us in places not usually touched by war, bombings and attacks fear may not be an everyday thing. We are not used to it. But we are now. We are concerned about our safety and the safety of our loved ones. But God tells us to rely on Him.

Proverbs 3:24-26 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

24 If you sit down,[a] you will not be afraid;
    when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
25 Do not be afraid of sudden panic,
    or of the storm that strikes the wicked;
26 for the Lord will be your confidence
    and will keep your foot from being caught.

How to answer?

by worrylessjourney, posted in advice, answers, choices, compassion, help, kindness, listen, understanding, words

When someone reads my blog and I get an email I check to see if it is someone I have in reader. If not I read some of the suggested blogs. It may be someone I want to follow myself.

not all wounds

Recently I read a blog that surprised me with the underlying anger I sensed in the topics presented. I don’t want to offer any further information but it really made me think. The person was not angry at me or what I wrote but the depth of anger and what I translated as hurt was intense.

At the time I didn’t comment on any of the blogs but have thought about it ever since. I wonder if I should have tried to respond in some way but I just couldn’t decide how to comment.

 

kindness help

It is interesting when reading blogs that touch you in some way that the angst involved seems to require something more that one can say in a comment. I just can’t forget it. I suppose if it shows up again I might find some way to respond. I hope I can say something that helps and doesn’t cause more pain.

Give of yourself

by worrylessjourney, posted in advice, compassion, connections, giving, help, kindness, listen, little things, prayer, understanding

This has been a beautiful day. The temperature is in the 80’s. A miracle for Savannah at this time of year. We were able to spend some time sitting on the porch in the rockers. Just like two old folks. Well, I guess to many people we are.

They would be wrong. I am busy most days of the week with volunteering, meeting friends, helping those in need and just cleaning house and yard. Neither one of us sits on our hands. If we did we would probably be stuck. It’s only keeping going that keeps us going.

strong people

Unless illness interferes, it is important to continue living an active life. Helping others is the best way to forget about your own issues and give back what you have learned. However, when I used to visit the sick and shut-ins I always reminded them that although limited in motion they could help by praying for others. There is always something we can do.

helping

The most satisfaction I have had in life is when I have been able to impact someone else’s life in a positive way. The joy and satisfaction I have gained is enormous. Always lend a hand, an ear, a hug, and a prayer where you can.

To “see” more

by worrylessjourney, posted in answers, appreciate, belief, centering, connections, contemplation, listen, listening, meditation, perspective, powerful, understanding, wholeness

f anmysticd why I struggle to spend more time in silence

I have always been a fan of the mystics. They have such a deep connection with the “unknowable.” This piece by Richard Rohr has helped me to see that my thinking is totally non-linear and more in sync with the mystics. I have never seen things as totally right or wrong, left or right. I have always had an issue with totally scientific thinking. I don’t think it is wrong I just think that there is more. There is the intangible piece that I see (much more dimly than the true mystics). I think most of us have had a moment when the “unknowable” has broken through and we see “beyond.” It is what I seek to see more of and why I struggle to spend more time in silence and meditation and listening. In order to “see” more I am the one who must reach out.

and meditation and listening. In order to “see” more I am the one who must reach out.

julian norwich“When I use the word “mystical” I am referring to experiential knowing instead of just intellectual, textbook, or dogmatic knowing. A mystic sees things in their wholeness, connection, and union, not only their particularity. Mystics get a whole gestalt in one picture, beyond the sequential and separated way of seeing that most of us encounter in everyday life. In this, mystics tend to be closer to poets and artists than to linear thinkers. Obviously, there is a place for both, but since the European Enlightenment of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, there has been less and less appreciation of such seeing in wholes. The mystic was indeed considered an “eccentric” (off center), but maybe mystics are the most centered of all, which leads them to emphasizing love as the center, the goal, and the motivating energy of everything.

The word mystic is not a title of superiority. It’s rather that mystics see things differently. Mystics are nondual seers. They don’t think one side is totally right and the other side is totally wrong. They can see that each side has a part of the truth. When people on either side of any contentious issue cannot love one another, it means they don’t have the big message yet.”                Richard Rohr