Join Judy for an Easter, Holy Week and Passover Celebration practice of "The Dayenu" an ancient tradition, a jewish prayer that is a remembrance of their deliverance from bondage in Egypt sang on passover meal. Dayenu means "It would have been enough" This is not only the Israelites story it is the human story of us all. Discover how this practice of gratitude can increase your happiness, and rewire your brain to see the hand of God in your story of deliverance.

Welcome friends to the Creative Spiritual

Journey podcast where Gia and I walk

2

with you for just a moment and share

with you the joys we're discovering

3

on the journey and things of our

heart as we follow the savior and

4

hope to shine his light on the path.

5

You know, it is my favorite

time of year Easter.

6

And spring, and I'm so happy to be back

in the northern hemisphere where spring

7

lines up with flowers and green grass and

buds and blossoms and birds returning.

8

So in the spirit of this springtime

celebration and Passover and Holy Week

9

and Easter, I thought it would be fun to

share with you a Daily Practice of Dayenu.

10

What is the nu?

11

So my first.

12

Experience with this

was watching The Chosen.

13

Do you love the Chosen?

14

It's of Christ and his disciples,

and if you aren't familiar with it,

15

you are missing out friend, and I

highly recommend you search it out

16

and watch it from the beginning.

17

There's five seasons and we didn't

get to watch it on our mission, but

18

now we're catching up and so my first.

19

Experience with this Nu prayer was

when the disciples are with Christ on

20

the Passover supper and the say, this

prayer of it would've been enough.

21

So I was so curious about the wording

of it that I called my, Hebrew friend.

22

Everybody needs a Hebrew friend.

23

This is Steve Tut.

24

He's a Jewish convert a great man

who grew up with all the Jewish

25

traditions and he has such a strong

testimony of his Messiah, Jesus Christ.

26

And of course, Steve being the

sweetheart that he is, he emailed

27

me over not only the English version

of the prayer, but also the Hebrew.

28

So unfortunately I won't be able to

read that to you, but it begins with

29

how thankful must we be to God, the all

present for all the good he did for us.

30

Had he brought us out of Egypt and

had not executed judgment against

31

them, it would have been enough.

32

had he divided the sea for us and

not brought us through to dry land,

33

it would've been enough for us.

34

Had he brought us through to dry land

and not drowned our oppressors in

35

it, it would have been enough for us

had he drowned our oppressors in it.

36

And not helped us 40 years in the desert.

37

It would've been enough for us.

38

Had he helped us 40 years in the

desert and not fed us manna, it

39

would've been enough for us had

he fed us manna and not given us.

40

Shabbat.

41

It would've been enough for us

had he given us the Shabbat.

42

and not brought us onto Mount Sinai.

43

It would've been enough for us

had he brought us to Mount Sinai

44

and not given us the Torah.

45

It would've been enough for us

had he given us the Torah and not

46

brought us onto the land of Israel.

47

It would've been enough for us had

he brought us to the land of Israel

48

and not built us the Holy Temple,

it would've been enough for us.

49

How much more so do we have to be

thankful for the manifold and the

50

unbound blessings of the all present?

51

God isn't that beautiful?

52

So I was thinking about my Passover prayer

and The story of my father's deliverance,

53

and at this same time I came across a

book of remembrance handwritten in this

54

beautiful cursive is my grandpa Charlie.

55

This is my mother's

father, um, of his history.

56

He grew up in Birmingham, England.

57

And he was raised in a large family that

was very poor and his father would take

58

him to the bars and have him sing 'cause

Charlie was blessed with a beautiful

59

singing voice and have him sing.

60

And when his father would pass out, then

him and his mother would go through his

61

pockets and his trousers and take what

money they could to feed the family.

62

So he grew up in bondage of alcohol and

poverty and kind of a hopeless situation.

63

When he was a teenager, the

missionaries of the church of Jesus

64

Christ of Latter Day Saints found

him and brought him the gospel and.

65

It brought him so much joy to have

that light come into his life.

66

He married a woman named Laura, and they

had four childrens, two boys and the

67

two girls, and she died shortly after.

68

And so Charlie.

69

Found a woman in the church which

was Emily, my grandma, and together

70

they worked hard to save money, sold

everything they had to come to America.

71

They had two more children, my mom

being the youngest of the six, and

72

they came to America with what was

called the Perpetual Immigration Fund.

73

It helped get them to America.

74

The problem was, it was right in the

middle of the Depression and they

75

sailed on a ship to Canada, rode on a

train to Utah and there was no jobs.

76

And so they ended up working on a sugar

beet farm in Idaho to pay back some

77

money that they had borrowed from the

missionaries that were in England.

78

I labored there for 10 years and then

finally were able to move to Salt Lake

79

City and be sealed as a family in the

temple And so I thought it would be

80

fun to write my own Nu our Deliverance

of my father's and remember them.

81

if he had delivered us out from bondage

of alcohol and poverty and had not the

82

truth proclaimed by the missionaries of

the Gospel of Jesus Christ, die knew it

83

would've been enough if he had the truth

proclaimed by the missionaries of the

84

Gospel of Jesus Christ and had not brought

Emily and Charlie together in marriage,

85

dae knew it would've been enough if he

had brought Emily and Charlie together

86

in marriage and not given us aid to

journey to America the promised land.

87

Nu, it would've been enough.

88

If he had given US aid to Journey

to America the Promised Land and

89

not given US a home and work in the

sugar beets, fields of Idaho, Nu, it

90

would've been enough if he had given

us a home and labor in the sugar beets,

91

fields of Idaho and not sealed us as

an eternal family in his holy temple.

92

Nu, it would've been enough if he

had sealed us as an eternal family.

93

In his holy temple and not carried us

into the land of Zion and still reaches

94

out to us nu, it would've been enough.

95

I know he is a god of miracles.

96

I have witnessed his loyal untiring,

inexhaustible, and tender mercies

97

that make us mighty unto deliverance

from any sin, any bondage.

98

Nu Ah, that was fun.

99

I invite you to do the same.

100

Think about either your

ancestors, deliverance or your

101

own, and write a prayer of Nu.

102

I don't know about you, but my only

recollection as a little girl of what

103

Passover even was, or Moses and the

deliverance of the children of Israel was

104

the Charlton Heston, the 10 Commandments.

105

They showed it every year at Easter time,

and we would gather as a family and watch

106

the 10 Commandments, and I loved it.

107

There's something powerful about noticing

that thousands of years later, we're

108

still telling the same story because

liberation, gratitude, and hope are still

109

the heartbeat of the human experience.

110

So I was curious, how many times do

you think the scriptures reference the

111

deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt?

112

And it says over a hundred times

across the Bible in the Book of Mormon

113

and the why it's a primary theme for

divine power and salvation, the Book

114

of Mormon evokes this exodus pattern

frequently, particularly through

115

prophets like Nephi Alma and King

Lim High to validate their journey.

116

And their protection.

117

So I want to share one of them with you.

118

This is found in Alma 36, 28.

119

I will praise him forever for he has

brought our fathers out of Egypt.

120

He has swallowed.

121

Up the Egyptians in the Red Sea and he's

led them by his power into a promised

122

land and he has delivered them out of

bondage and captivity from time to time.

123

And Alma knows that he will

do the same for his people.

124

And I know that he'll do the same for you.

125

I too have read all these

accounts and it just proves to me.

126

That that is how God works in all

circumstances with all people.

127

He delivers us from bondage.

128

When we cry unto him, when we look to

him just start noticing how many times

129

they refer to this story of Moses and the

children of Israel and their deliverance.

130

Why do you think that is?

131

I think it is to inspire faith.

132

Encourage obedience, And to remember what

great things the Lord has done for us.

133

When we remember we have an

open heart, it's when we forget,

134

we get a hard heart, isn't it?

135

Like they say, when you boil

an egg, it becomes hard.

136

When you boil carrots, they become soft.

137

They're both in the same

temperature of water.

138

It's just how they react to it.

139

So sometimes when we are in bondage.

140

We become hardhearted, we forget,

but when we remember, we become

141

softhearted and then we can remember

that the same thing can be done for us.

142

That's what's so intriguing to me

about this story living on and on.

143

I think it is the story of us our

humanness 'cause we all have in

144

Egypt, we all need to be delivered.

145

And we all need miracles, and we all

have a promised land out before us.

146

So, as I said.

147

For thousands of years, people have

told the story of the Israelites

148

being delivered from Egypt.

149

As Christians, we see the story as

a foreshadowing of our savior, Jesus

150

Christ, who delivers us out of bondage,

of sin, death, fear, shame, and places

151

sometimes where our hearts get stuck.

152

Maybe it's better said

that our brains get stuck.

153

I get stuck in a loop.

154

Do you at negative thinking, and maybe we

need deliverance from this negative loop.

155

And this brings me to the

science behind the nu.

156

Modern science that is now discovering

what faith communities like the

157

Israelites and the Christians

have practiced for a millennia.

158

That remembering and naming and giving

thanks for moments of delivering

159

actually changes our brain chemistry.

160

It actually rewires us,

161

and this is what science

calls neuroplasticity.

162

It's the brain's ability to rewire

itself based on what we pay attention to.

163

When we focus on gratitude, the

brain strengthens pathways associated

164

with peace, hope, and resilience.

165

Doing A practice of Gratitude daily

actually increases our happiness by 25%.

166

It can help increase the

endorphins in our brain.

167

the feel good centers, the reward

center to where we sleep better and

168

we have a happier outlook on life.

169

Deliverance isn't just a

story of exodus of Egypt.

170

It's an ongoing work

of Christ in our life.

171

I want you to think a moment

of your personal Egypt.

172

Maybe it's anxiety or

exhaustion and overwhelm.

173

Maybe it's the pressure to be perfect.

174

Maybe it's the quiet ache of

feeling alone or feeling not enough.

175

Christ delivers us in ways that are

sometimes bold, but most times subtle.

176

A softened thought, a moment

of clarity, a breath that feels

177

easier today than yesterday.

178

The Nu teaches us to

say if he had only done.

179

That one small thing, it

would have been enough.

180

What's beautiful is that

gratitude doesn't just acknowledge

181

deliverance, it amplifies it.

182

I love the phrase that gratitude, and

appreciation reinforces anticipation.

183

So if we're collecting daily these

thoughts of gratitude and where

184

we're seeing the hand of God and the

miracles, it gives us hope for more

185

to come because we're collecting

evidence where the natural man, our

186

natural brain, is to collect evidence.

187

In the negative of things

that went bad for the day.

188

Because your brain has a negative bias.

189

Did you know that?

190

That we just naturally go around

collecting the bad things that we did

191

for the day and beat ourselves up.

192

We naturally remember what went

wrong more than we remember what went

193

right, and that's just a survival

tool of our ancestors to remember.

194

The poison varies, I don't know, but we

are just wired to collect the negative.

195

I also wanna share with you just a recent

experience that I had in really society.

196

We open up with a counseling session

for five or 10 minutes where we share

197

with each other the things that are

weighing on our hearts and mind.

198

Shared with our sisters a little

video called Finding Strength

199

and Relief in Jesus Christ.

200

This is from, , sister Dana Earl, years

ago she started writing down stories

201

from her life where she had felt the

spirit and the influence of the savior

202

where she had seen deliverance and

started writing down these stories.

203

And gratitude for the day.

204

And then she noticed something.

205

it ended up being what she

called experience that she

206

could carry in her pocket.

207

So every time she came up against

something hard, she knew she had evidence

208

of Heavenly father and the savior.

209

Strengthening her, helping her and

that he, they would do it again.

210

So here's what she said, quote for The

reason that I want to capture these

211

stories and keep them is for myself as

a testimony and what I have experienced

212

and for my children and my posterity,

but also to testify to my heavenly father

213

that I saw him, that I saw and knew.

214

I feel like some of them are like kisses

on the forehead that I felt it and I knew

215

it, and I want to acknowledge that, and

so I continue to write them down so that I

216

can acknowledge that I saw it and felt it.

217

Isn't that beautiful?

218

I began this practice in the year 2007

when President Henry b Irene taught about

219

his experience of writing down and asking

himself at the end of the day, have I

220

seen the hand of God reaching out to touch

us or our children or our family today?

221

he said that as he wrote,

his doubt decreased.

222

His faith increased.

223

his happiness and hope increased

and his ability to see God clearer.

224

I think we could all use that.

225

Now, the Diano is a collective memory.

226

President Irene's Journal

is a personal memory.

227

Both are doing the same thing, though.

228

They're preventing spiritual

amnesia because without remembering.

229

Miracles feel random, life feels

disconnected, and that maybe you're

230

alone in the wilderness because God

feels distant, but with remembering.

231

This is our becoming,

stronger, becoming holier.

232

And So for my Passover Easter spring

celebration, I am inviting you to join

233

me, write each evening in a journal,

234

First you write, what were the wins, the

things that you're proud of today, This

235

could also be where you see the hand of

God, and three things you're grateful for.

236

This can be the miracles that you saw,

the small and simple things, and third.

237

Three hopes and wishes for your tomorrow.

238

This will be what you hope

your promised land brings.

239

Isn't that sweet?

240

Isn't that simple?

241

And I promise you that you will

begin collecting evidence and you

242

will see it change your outlook.

243

I So why write it down?

244

Why can't we just lay in bed and think

about it because it doesn't have the

245

power of the written word And capturing

those moments because as grand as those

246

moments can be, those miracles, if we

don't write 'em down, we tend to forget.

247

I think that is why this story of the

Israelites and the NU is so powerful.

248

It has been spoken and written and

repeated for thousands of years.

249

why bedtime?

250

Because we go to bed with

these thoughts on our mind.

251

It clears our mind and we awake.

252

I believe with a happier spirit, a

happier soul, the dae knew was enough.

253

It was enough.

254

So when we are content with

what is happening in our life

255

and collecting more evidence.

256

Things will continue to grow brighter.

257

I can promise you that.

258

As you're gonna find, studies show

that when people reflect on moments

259

of gratitude, relief, and comfort and

grace, the brain releases a dopamine and

260

serotonin the same chemicals associated

with wellbeing and emotional healing.

261

So gratitude literally strengthens

the pathways that help us

262

recognize Christ's present to see

him in the world all around us.

263

Researchers have found that writing

down three small moments of gratitude

264

a day can reduce stress, improve sleep.

265

Increase emotional resilience and

strengthen the parts of the brain

266

connected to joy and empathy.

267

It is as if your mind is

saying, let me hold onto this.

268

Let me build from this.

269

Gratitude becomes a doorway, and

through that doorway we begin

270

to see the deliverance from

our Egypts in our real life.

271

Every one of us is living

a story of being led out.

272

Not just once.

273

It's not a one and done, but

it's over again and again.

274

Maybe today your deliverance

was a moment of peace.

275

Maybe it was courage.

276

Maybe it was a wisdom to rest.

277

Maybe it was the strength to step out.

278

Maybe it was a simply.

279

To remember that you are loved.

280

These are small daily steps of

NU that God is delivering you.

281

And when you write them down, when

you name them, because it's such

282

power, you're not just remember

them, you're reinforcing them.

283

You're training your

mind to recognize grace.

284

Faith calls it testimony.

285

Science calls it cognitive reframing.

286

Either way, I call it beautiful and

if you try it, try it just for a week.

287

Try it as a Passover celebration and

if you could from now until Easter

288

morning, just begin this practice

and see if your heart feels lighter.

289

And then on that Easter morning,

see what rises up in you?

290

Is it a new dawn, a new

resurrection, a new life?

291

So tonight, this is how it'll look for me.

292

I will open up my journal.

293

I'll write down three of the

wind that I experienced today.

294

Three words of gratitude, noticing

the miracles, and three hopes

295

and wishes for my tomorrow.

296

Because deliverance didn't end in

Egypt and nor did it end in the cross.

297

It continues with you this

very moment in the quiet places

298

where gratitude meets grace.

299

Thank you Fran, for joining me

on the trail and next week on

300

the beginning of Holy week.

301

I will be sharing with you Anu meditation.

302

If you know someone who would

like a Passover practice would you

303

please share this episode with them?

304

Gee, and I would appreciate that.

305

And I will see you on the trail.