LOVE MEMORIES, Psalm 33

I am heading north again today – another chance for a week with family – I know that I will look back upon this time, this summer, this year as an opportune one – to see people, to do things, to love being in the moment…

From last time up at the family farmhouse, one new layer of sorting family photos was finding a box of negatives from the 60’s that I came across. I am not sorting them because I am sure the photos exist in the collection that I didn’t get to yet. But we did scan a few just to see what era it was, who the folks are. We did a negative reversal in the photoshop computer program and I see it is 60’s… And what I can see is my grandparents by silhouette, my grandpa’s bend of his back from years of hard work, his height and my grandma’s hair sillouete are clear to me, posing by a Christmas tree with an aunt and uncle. Another snapshot, the same aunt and uncle by a car, distinctive in their heights, in the same driveway that I have seen hundreds of photos with every cousin and everyone – with their cars. In a separate photo is my dad, clearly to me by dad’s haircut and build, I know even by silhouette. I can fill in the rest of the scenery by memory, well not exactly as I wasn’t born yet, but I know the houses, driveways, trees, tables, couches… My aunt behind the camera took hundreds thousands of these photos, I know the same poses in color 60’s and 70’s and 80’s photos later… She was the photo documentation one for sure.

And as for the HEART in taking the photos and in the poses, the filled in memories, that’s all known by LOVE.

I recently watched “Nonna’s” on Netflix, a movie based on a real life restaurant in Staten Island where old world grandmas were featured as cooks, and the actor playing a son grieving his mom’s death had trouble in his grief, naturally, and waited to open a last letter his mom wrote to him. (Spoiler alert) Well the letter was filled with the special family recipe for the Sunday gravy, tomato sauce, and the love flowed in his memories, which he could taste in the sauce that he then made.

Isn’t that the sweetness of life – memories that are treasured… From LOVE, the specialness of what our memories amplify the gain or the pain of loss, it’s LOVE in us that is filling in the faded photos of time, an unfailing knowledge of LOVE.

Psalm 33 sings of God’s faithfulness in His Love, as God Himself IS Love. And God looks at us with the LOVE that HE envisioned before we were even born and before we did anything… And all His work is done in truth. He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. We often talk about righteousness of justice – but LOVE is the ultimate righteousness – that is the ultimate repair – God fixed our broken situation by the LOVE He brought because that is what HE IS = He IS Love and because He IS God then He decides all the fill-in from what we lack.

LOVE MEMORIES for God are PRE-decided – He loved us before anything was even brought into view… He fills us with His Love – we fill in the rest of the living,,,

Thanks Lord… Love YOU!

AMEN

Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.

Psalm 33 NKJV

The Sovereignty of the Lord in Creation and History

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful. Praise the Lord with the harp; Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy.

For the word of the Lord is right, And all His work is done in truth. He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.

The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. From the place of His dwelling He looks On all the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works.

No king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy, To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine.

Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.

Exuberant Faith Waits on the Lord, Psalm 27

Exuberant Faith – Psalm 27

I didn’t say it, GOD DID! Exuberant Faith helps us WAIT ON GOD!

God said it, well at least it is said by God through the Living Word that our Lord IS, said through David’s heart, through David’s trials and troubles ,and then through song through Psalms writings, through renditions, through translations, through versioning, through WITNESS!

The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? …

The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? …

Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!

The version I like to read of the bible is the New King James – it gives me wording and authority of my youth but makes some of the hard words easier to read – not the “old” archaic words but readable for this modern audience. However the word EXUBERANT has shown up in this translation which I did not find in NIV or KJV – but I will take it – EXUBERANT FAITH – that is what we need to pull us through…

Honestly, we are seeing so many people who struggle with health issues, financial issues, finding their place in life issues, family issues, you name it issues, we have to know that they have faith to some degree – we can not judge where and how much their faith comes from – we simply know where our faith comes from – and my faith comes from the Lord.

We have to ask ourselves – do we know that God is a GREAT God? Do we know that God is BIGGER than all or any of our problems? Do we TRUST God enough to show us the way – even if it is only ONE DAY at a time? WILL WE WAIT ON THE LORD? Do we have EXUBERANT FAITH?

David, in Psalm 27, sang to wait on the Lord – David was in a tough spot – people after him – tough already for sure in having to hide out – tough we must think in the amenities that David did not have – tough in the “who do I trust” catagory too. War raging… TOUGH!

Perhaps our tough is David-level of tough – and perhaps it is not – perhaps it is personal war tough – perhaps it is emotional war tough – perhaps it is tiredness tough… We must watch for the Lord – watch while waiting… Ask and look for the Lord’s Face.

Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.” Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the Lord will take care of me.

And we need to believe – we must encourage too – our exuberant faith will fuel faith in others – as other’s exuberant faith fuels it in us. I just recently was helping at a church table at a local event – and my first interaction was with a young boy whom had done a vacation bible school this past summer which was the same theme that my t-shirt Rainforest Falls was. It was a great opening conversation and the faith of this little boy was SO STRONG that I saw it in his face – his firm amens and piercing seriousness of the bible message was so strong that I thought God Himself was looking at me – yeah – we teach so that we can be taught – I saw how God instills this faith into belief… No question that we must BELIEVE – and it makes all the difference in the world!

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.

So we continue on in our daily life – one day at time – one step at a time as needed.

Teach me Your way, O Lord, And lead me in a smooth path… I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.

And God DOES have a good track record – unbeatable really. God DOES and HAS sustained us this far – we must believe this and not lose heart – we must go back to that EXUBERANT FAITH – A FAITH WHICH ALLOWS US TO WAIT UPON THE LORD…

Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!

AMEN AMEN AMEN

THANK YOU LORD FOR STRENGTHENING ME – FOR STRENGTHENING DAVID – FOR STRENGTHENING ALL OF US.

EXUBERANT FAITH HAS A PLACE.

AMEN

…

Psalm 27 NKJV

An Exuberant Declaration of Faith

A Psalm of David.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?

When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident.

One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I 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 inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.

And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

Teach me Your way, O Lord, And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence. I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.

Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!

Oh What Faithful God Has Done

Wow

It is simply PERFECT in the weather here – perfect sunny and low humidity and still early in the morning so it is warm enough and not too hot (which it will be later – but perfect)… SUMMER

It puzzles me and amazes me what God has done with our weather – and how seasons change and why is the earth on a tilt anyway and what in the world is the purpose of such valleys and mountains and wows = like beaches and forests = like meadows and rocks… We have a boulder field not so far from here (actually a few) and I often just want to say “what’s up with that?” – I think that whether one believes in God’s mini-touches (which I do) or one doesn’t believe in God – or somewhere in between – one STILL HAS TO MARVEL AT THE CHANGES AND DIFFERENCES AND ALL THAT JAZZ IN OUR WORLD…

Philosophical Pause.

I ALSO marvel at how God gives us this freedom and this free will and the free thinking and even gives us time to think… All art comes from thinking time = even if done quickly, the brain engages into the motions of producing. Music comes from somewhere within – math and tinkering engineering comes from within – I love how you can simply watch someone thinking… What’s up with that, God? Why can we perceive – why can we complain and exclaim – why are we able to ask “WHY?”

And God gives us this free will and gives even more to help us through all the ups and downs of life… The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them. But what IS the covanent that He makes known??? The covenant now is new – is salvation via Jesus – God makes this known. And the covenant (old) is the law that helps the people ask for forgiveness by sacrifice. So – add old and new togther: Jesus fulfills that law – He is the NEW Covanent Who saves us…

Philosophical scriptural pause…

I am THANKFUL – GRATEFUL – BLESSED – PLEASED – AND WHEW – YES – THE WHEW IS REAL… WHEW is relief from performance anxiety and time crunches each day. WHEW… made it… We made it to TODAY…

And for the rest of our days and our lives, we can just wait on the Lord – and He says “WHEW – MADE IT!” – Jesus said it is finished and therefore we can start each day fresh… All I can say for an overwhelming thanks to God – for this day – for all the philisophical points and whimsy too – anything overwhelming us in a marvelous way – is to say – THANK YOU GOD FOR TODAY…

THANK YOU GOD FOR TODAY…

OH WHAT FAITHFUL GOD HAS DONE – GOD HAS MADE THIS DAY, whew and hooray…

AMEN

—

Excerpt from Psalm 25 of David

Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good.

Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant. For the sake of your name, Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

Who, then, are those who fear the Lord? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.They will spend their days in prosperity, and their descendants will inherit the land. The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.

GOD IS MORE, PSALM 24

LET US EXPLORE

PSALM 24

GOD IS MORE

The earth is the Lord’s

and all its fullness

The world and those who dwell therein.

For He has founded it upon the seas,

And established it upon the waters.

WE CAN NOT IGNORE

THAT GOD RUNS THIS STORE

GOD BRINGS THE GOODS GALORE

GOD IS THE BOSS OWNER AND MORE

GOD IS MORE

Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?

Or who may stand in His holy place?

He who has clean hands and a pure heart,

Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,

Nor sworn deceitfully.

He shall receive blessing from the Lord,

And righteousness from the God of his salvation.

This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him,

Who seek Your face. Selah

WE SHOULD EXPLORE

HOW TO FOCUS ON GOD MORE

BLESSINGS ARE IN STORE

FOR THE ONE WHO TRUSTS GOD MORE

GOD IS MORE

Lift up your heads, O you gates!

And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!

And the King of glory shall come in.

Who is this King of glory?

The Lord strong and mighty,

The Lord mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, O you gates!

Lift up, you everlasting doors!

And the King of glory shall come in.

Who is this King of glory?

The Lord of hosts,

He is the King of glory. Selah

WE SHOULD LOOK UP MORE

WHO IS IT THAT WILL WALK THROUGH THE DOOR

THE LORD FOREVERMORE

MIGHTY IN BATTLE AND GLORY AND MORE

GOD IS MORE

THERE IS NOTHING WE NEED KNOW MORE

THAN THAT WE NEED GOD MORE

WE NEED TO KNOW GOD MORE

WE NEED TO KNOW GOD IS MORE

WE LOOK TO HIM FOREVERMORE

GOD IS MORE.

AMEN

—-

Psalm 24 NKJV

The King of Glory and His Kingdom

A Psalm of David.

The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness,

The world and those who dwell therein.

For He has founded it upon the seas,

And established it upon the waters.

Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?

Or who may stand in His holy place?

He who has clean hands and a pure heart,

Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,

Nor sworn deceitfully.

He shall receive blessing from the Lord,

And righteousness from the God of his salvation.

This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him,

Who seek Your face. Selah

Lift up your heads, O you gates!

And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!

And the King of glory shall come in.

Who is this King of glory?

The Lord strong and mighty,

The Lord mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, O you gates!

Lift up, you everlasting doors!

And the King of glory shall come in.

Who is this King of glory?

The Lord of hosts,

He is the King of glory. Selah

The Calm of the Psalm, Psalm 23

I just didn’t get to my devotion writing until now – and yeah I felt it… I longed to get back to a moment of God and me and Scripture we…

I could say that my mind swirls with things often = and I could say that my time slips away = only to be reminded that my freedom (our freedom) is gifted with the hope that WE CHOOSE to turn to the Lord – be with the Lord – ask the Lord for help – TRUST in the Lord – and LOVE the Lord…

It matters to be looking towards the Lord.

As my slow climb up the Psalm numbers began, I thought the patch of writings of these songs of David’s angst (in the teens and low 20’s) was fitting for those who are in real danger – like physical danger – but his Psalms are more that that – they are to bring us back to remember to not stray… Psalms are songs for returning to the Lord – to figure out that the freedom to live also means that even if we see so much out there in the world – our best and only return is to our only truth that is the Lord.

The Calm of the Psalm has us humming along.

So as numbers and angst by David rose – he came to a pinnacle of realization – and yes, Psalm 23 snuck up on me too.

a mini poem:

Psalm 23 snuck up on me

Because although God lets us have freedom free

He knows that WE need Him = you and me

So let us read Psalm 23 as a plea

To comfort to be held to just know our Holy Thee

God, we look to You fearfully

Jesus, we long for You anticipatorily

Lord, we hope in You joyfully.

You know Psalm 23 pertains to us, intimately…

Psalm 23 KJV
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

AMEN

Dolly, There IS Jesus, This Clear Blue Morning

It was the ripple shockwave you would expect, we heard that Dolly Parton passed away yesterday 8/25 and we were the ones telling others too. I heard the shocking news from a friend, then I mentioned it to three others, one of whom avowed she would fight anyone who would say anything bad about Dolly, that she was amazing… and we agreed that she was with the angels in a better place.

“You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.” Acts 2:28 NIV

Dolly wrote about a Clear Blue Morning, taking a LONGVIEW. (Lyrics and link below). I have written many times on bible teachings to take a LONGVIEW of life – don’t get clogged by day to day craze, but take a longer wider gaze…

In “Jesus Always” by Sarah Young she writes that “there are times you will have to look THROUGH your circumstances” – essentially ‘[to see God’s glorious radiant presence – imagine looking at a beautiful garden through dirty glass and only seeing the dirt on the glass and not taking that LONGVIEW out to the garden beyond. This is us not looking at our forever home and secured sanctification and salvation but instead being too clogged in view by our current circumstances.]”

We must have faith that gets us through.

Dolly Parton carried and shared strong faith that was open. The recent song sung with Zach Williams “There was Jesus” runs through my head, it’s a favorite and I appreciate Dolly being the support she steps out of the mainlight to fill in beautifully. Dolly adds such truth in her voice, vowing THERE WAS JESUS in presence and forgiveness and direction… In one music video version she lifts her hands up in praise… Now surely she rests in praise and in the comfort of the carrying arms of Jesus, what He has done for us before we were born. “I couldn’t see it then but I can see it now – There was Jesus.”

The video by Dolly’s family stated humorously she asked to be buried in cotton, she could be rid of the heavy rhinestones – being honest of the glitz and glamor was also hard work… She loved people and also loved her privacy… Surely all is good now, resting IN Jesus, clear blue morning beautiful beyond belief, and no need to look back or forward, for there IS Jesus holding you, Dolly, as He holds us…

God bless you for your faith and strengthing ours…

There IS Jesus.

Amen

—

Lyrics and link for There Was Jesus with Zach Williams

Also https://youtu.be/37wV6D49iEY?is=OatMBaU6s0AW1wXg

Every time I tried to make it on my own

Every time I tried to stand and start to fall

And all those lonely roads that I have travelled on

There was Jesus

When the life I built came crashing to the ground

When the friends I had were nowhere to be found

I couldn’t see it then but I can see it now

There was Jesus

In the waiting, in the searching

In the healing and the hurting

Like a blessing buried in the broken pieces

Every minute, every moment

Where I’ve been and where I’m going

Even when I didn’t know it or couldn’t see it

There was Jesus

For this man who needs amazing kind of grace (mm)

For forgiveness at a price I couldn’t pay (mm)

I’m not perfect so I thank God every day

There was Jesus (there was Jesus)

In the waiting, in the searching

In the healing and the hurting

Like a blessing buried in the broken pieces

Every minute, every moment

Where I’ve been and where I’m going

Even when I didn’t know it or couldn’t see it

There was Jesus

On the mountain, in the valleys (there was Jesus)

In the shadows of the alleys (there was Jesus)

In the fire, in the flood (there was Jesus)

Always is and always was

No, I never walk alone (never walk alone)

You are always there

In the waiting, in the searching

In the healing and the hurting

Like a blessing buried in the broken pieces

Every minute (Every minute), every moment (every moment)

Where I’ve been and where I’m going

Even when I didn’t know it or couldn’t see it

There was Jesus

—

Her song, Clear Blue Morning, from 1977 (lyrics and link below to a remake she released with others) state the truth of the HOPE we hold in Jesus “‘Cause I can see the light of a clear blue morning, I can see the light of a brand new day… Oh, and everything’s gonna be all right, It’s gonna be okay…”

—

Dolly Parton

Light of a Clear Blue Morning

Featuring Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Queen Latifah & Reba

YouTube

Dolly Parton, 1977

It’s been a long dark night

And I’ve been a waitin’ for the morning

It’s been a long hard fight

But I see a brand new day a dawning

I’ve been looking for the sunshine

You know I ain’t seen it in so long

But everything’s gonna work out just fine

And everything’s gonna be all right

That’s been all wrong

‘Cause I can see the light of a clear blue morning

I can see the light of a brand new day

I can see the light of a clear blue morning

Oh, and everything’s gonna be all right

It’s gonna be okay

It’s been a long long time

Since I’ve known the taste of freedom

And those clinging vines

That had me bound, well I don’t need ’em

Oh, I’ve been like a captured eagle, you know an eagle’s born to fly

Now that I have won my freedom, like an eagle I am eager for the sky

And I can see the light of a clear blue morning

I can see the light of brand new day

I can see the light of a clear blue morning

Oh, and everything’s gonna be all right

It’s gonna be okay

I can see the light of a clear blue morning

I can see the light of brand new day

I can see the light of a clear blue morning

Ooh, everything’s gonna be all right

Everything’s gonna be all right

It’s gonna be okay

And I can see the light of a clear blue morning

I can see the light of a brand new day

I can see the light of a clear blue morning

Ooh and everything’s gonna be all right

Everything’s gonna be all right

It’s gonna be okay

I can see the light of a clear blue morning

I can see the light of brand new day

I can see the light of a clear blue morning

Everything’s gonna be all right

It’s gonna be okay

God Knows How Psalms Prose Goes and Flows

A Poem of Prose Pros

It is before dawn,

But the Psalms sing on.

God chose the Word Prose,

And how David’s melody goes.

David’s heart sings of God’s flows.

Psalms are devoted Praise in the Prose.

God Knows How Psalms Prose Goes and Flows.

AMEN to the Psalms, the Pros of the Prose, and How God Knows…

To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
to the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.
You save the humble
but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.
You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.

(From Psalm 18 NIV of David)

As for God, his way is perfect:
The Lord’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is the Rock except our God?
It is God who arms me with strength
and keeps my way secure.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights.
He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You make your saving help my shield,
and your right hand sustains me;
your help has made me great.
You provide a broad path for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.

(From Psalm 18 NIV of David)

I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.
Show me the wonders of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes.
Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings…

(From Psalm 17 NIV of David)

Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust. O my soul, you have said to the Lord,

“You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You.”

As for the saints who are on the earth, “They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.”

Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god;
Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, Nor take up their names on my lips.

O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance.

I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.
I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope.
For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

(Psalm 16 NKJV – A Michtam of David – The Hope of the Faithful, and the Messiah’s Victory)

“Get Back Out There!”

I loved that God found me stuff to do on Sunday – I really wasn’t feeling like figuring out my own plan – just happy to trail along His lead… Got a lot done that way too – for both me and for God…

I did half a bag (my last bag) of photo sorting – yeah had to put down a towel to dry the table outside – after a drought, we have had much rain… Half the bag in the morning and then the rest in the early evening when it started to rain again – but I got my sorting done… (some snapshots of the sorting below)…

This sorting was being done while I listened to one church service online – love Pastor Joe’s sermons so educational and spiritual – and he spoke of more of the plagues from God to Pharaoh’s people while Moses was asking “Let my people go…” – Moses wanted the people to go out to worship God – well they ended up wandering for a while – and so do we… It took quite the shake up to get Pharaoh to see God as God…

Then church at church (in the building) was blessed and the message about how we forget to pray and praise – (and think of the manna coming from God – did the people grumble well yeah – and do we grumble and forget our blessings each day – well yeah – and do we forget to pray and praise – this is an understandable thing – but in Moses’s time, God instructed the people to tie the commandments as REMINDERS to many things – your hands – your doings – your doors – your gates – SO THAT WE REMEMBER… Inside and Out remember God… REMEMBER THE BLESSING HE HAS BESTOWED ON US!!! AND REMEMBER HE TELLS US HOW TO LIVE…

Then after church the local folks came to the church basement for an organizing event for a local street fair – so I stayed as I will man the church table then… In additon to plans, I heard the personal testimony of a man who said he has died 5 times – living now 2 years after his diagnosis of only 1 year to live (major melanoma cancers etc I don’t know the whole story but he urged us to wear sunscreen)… As for the last time he was medically gone – but came back – he said he sensed walking up an incline in dark towards light but at the top he saw the gate but he was spun around and sent back “Get back out there!” – YES, he interpreted this as he has more to do on this planet – more to live – more to contribute – more to inspire… Get back out there – not your time yet… And he preached the right message for the day – ONLY GOD SAYS WHEN YOUR TIME HERE ON EARTH IS UP – just keep living… each day…

That feels like the truth for a Sunday as well as a Monday and everyday – God has stuff for us to do – people to be with – hope to share… This gentleman was firm and clear in improving life around us – like we should wave at people in our neighborhood as they drive down the street – we should be neighborly – we should remind folks that our kids all live here – slowdown and don’t be looking at your phone while driving – and pay attention… He also is neighborly in having a packet available of take out menus when he goes to a new neighbor – connecting with them… I have a feeling that this street fair (with our church on that street) will be something he wants to make memories last – make connections – make a difference… “Get back out there…”

The day continued and I went to help my friend with her mission project of giving out fresh produce at the local church food pantry – donated from local folks – thousands of pounds gifted for free – and I appreciated this sign at the church garage above the bread – “Give us this day our Daily Bread” – Matthew 6:11 – which is really about Jesus – He is OUR daily Bread – He is what we need… (but yeah bread/manna/Jesus – all in the theme of the day – and remembering that God DID give and gives and will give – and really we should be thankful…

I am thankful – thankful my day continued – I had lunch – went to a friends to help her trim bushes – thankful for the technu and shower to clean any potential poison ivy off – thankful I finished this portion of my “take home” photo project – thankful for gas in the car an a roof overhead – thankful now to get back to job searches – thankful for thankfulness…

So today – let us “Get back out there”… God keeps us on this spinning planet for reasons – let us find out why… AND BE THANKFUL – PRAYERFUL – AND PRAISEFUL!

AMEN

PS – here are more photos: = One of my favorite photo finds this day was a funny pic – a cat on the sewing machine! … And I had a lot of photos of family meals – and oh the cookies – I miss those cookies… I miss the people even more but yeah I can taste the cookies and hear the laughter of my family…

PPS I love the Psalm 19 reminder of the praises given to the Lord – connected to Moses and FULFILLED by JESUS – the perfection for our imperfections…

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.

Psalm 19 NKJV
The Perfect Revelation of the Lord
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
Their line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.

In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun,
Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.
Its rising is from one end of heaven,
And its circuit to the other end;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.

Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.
Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be innocent of great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

—

Deuteronomy 8 NKJV
Remember the Lord Your God – Moses said what God needed the people to hear:

“Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers. And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you.

“Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you.

“Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end— then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’

“And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

Jesus is Our Man in the Middle

A Prayer for Pondering:

Lord God, You hold all things in Your hands,therefore when You stretch Your hands out to grab us, You bring us to Your Heart. Lord Jesus, You, as fully God gave Your earthly life to secure our Heavenly one. Jesus, You as fully man felt our pain to let us know that You understand. God You understood understand overcome overall. In Your Spirit we Praise.

—

The Psalms are “go to” prayers and praises and these (link below 11-16) from David are covering the gamut of emotions and circumstances, are also acknowledging God as God, and His Power prevailing over the wicked and over bad times eventually we shall prevail because of God Who will keep us out of hell. Presence of God or absence, I chose Presence.

Jesus IS our man in the middle WITH us in life – and ABOVE us in being God raising us to Him – and chose to go BELOW us in His humility and servitude. Jesus is BEHIND us in support – AHEAD of us in knowledge – and IN us in Spirit.

Jesus IS our Man in the Middle, Master in the Motivation, Messiah in the Most.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

May we Praise the Lord today, and forevermore…

AMEN

—

Psalm 16 is a blessing to know about the Lord – The Hope of the Faithful, and the Messiah’s Victory – A Michtam of David.

Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust.

O my soul, you have said to the Lord, “You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You.” As for the saints who are on the earth, “They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.”

Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god; Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, Nor take up their names on my lips.

O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance.

I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

—

Psalms 11-16 NKJV – Faith in the Lord’s Righteousness – Bible Gateway link: https://share.google/MSbBPz0XOlxyLCGAw

Ignorance WOULD Have Been Bliss, Psalm 10

Allow me to be philosophical for a moment…

Oh, wouldn’t it have been nice to have no knowledge of the difference between good and evil, if Adam and Eve has not bitten the apple? If the witnessing now of just evil, or hassling, or meddling, or simple crankiness (and being HANGRY combined with tired) in others AND in us (remember that we all go wrong) – if those didn’t exist or we were just ignoring them? Hmmmm…. I ask because we are NOT there, and our ignorance doesn’t stay bliss much anymore…

Ignorance is bliss, but then we infight.

Ignorance is not bliss, that’s the insight.

Informed insight means we need to see into Jesus’s fight.

Jesus allows us back the joy, life’s delight.

It’s something we struggle with, “woulda coulda shoulda” with our actions, some of us overcriticize ourselves, whereas others are ignorant to the affect of their actions. And some are malicious. I could give you 1000 examples. But we ALSO see where the light overcomes the darkness, we see others do the right thing over and over. Let’s not ignore the LIGHT working it’s Way every day.

Ignorance would HAVE been bliss,

But now, GOOD over evil, LIGHT over dark, is our WITNESS.

Hindsight can’t fix wrong into right, so let us TRY to see clearly where to walk in His Sight.

Walk and hold on tight.

God Triumphs over evil, in His Might.

Just wait on Him, He will bring all into account, His timing, and insight.

Have a good morning and hopefully a good night.

Follow and praise the LIGHT.

Let Jesus be our DELIGHT.

AMEN

—-

Psalm 10 NKJV

A Song of Confidence in God’s Triumph over Evil

Why do You stand afar off, O Lord?

Why do You hide in times of trouble?

The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor;

Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.

For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire;

He blesses the greedy and renounces the Lord.

The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God;

God is in none of his thoughts. His ways are always prospering;

Your judgments are far above, out of his sight;

As for all his enemies, he sneers at them.

He has said in his heart, “I shall not be moved; I shall never be in adversity.”

His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression; Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity.

He sits in the lurking places of the villages;

In the secret places he murders the innocent;

His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.

He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den;

He lies in wait to catch the poor;

He catches the poor when he draws him into his net.

So he crouches, he lies low,

That the helpless may fall by his strength.

He has said in his heart,

“God has forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see.”

Arise, O Lord! O God, lift up Your hand!

Do not forget the humble.

Why do the wicked renounce God?

He has said in his heart, “You will not require an account.”

But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief,

To repay it by Your hand.

The helpless commits himself to You;

You are the helper of the fatherless.

Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man;

Seek out his wickedness until You find none.

The Lord is King forever and ever;

The nations have perished out of His land.

Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;

You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear,

To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,

That the man of the earth may oppress no more.

Can You Hear Life? Can You Feel It? Psalm 8

One of the photos I saw while sorting my aunt’s HUGE collection of extras still in the bags, came from my wedding and reception and clearly I can recognize this lady – her name is Ann – and she is holding a dollar and in front of the DJ. Ann is about to get the dollar dance from the groom – and I can see her laughing in the photo – and I can hear her laughing in life – even though I was not seeing her that day (I was dancing myself as the bride), I know her and know her laugh – and the photo was a nice memory for me.

I can hear the whirrrrr of my sewing machine too – from this photo – 1989 or 1990 – my friend at my summer work had just given it to me – I brought it to my aunts’ house to see how it worked and got it oiled and 35 years later I am still using it all the time – still oiling it like my aunt taught me – still appreciating it being a durable machine. I can feel that machine in my hands then and now.

But the machine (like a car turning over) is truly a mechanical sound and activity – not life from the Lord – but still an action roaring into “life”. But we can tell the difference can’t we – we can HEAR life and we can FEEL life. Real life. Like a hug – like a laugh – like the petting of an animal – just hold your hand on the animal and feel a tingling of life in the transfer. Life is not artificial nor accidental. And if you ever hold a baby – either hold a baby’s eyes locked on yours – or hold a baby in your arms, you have to recognize the God-given life within them connecting to you.

When I was at the agricultural fair last weekend, I had a moment of marveling – there were tiny guinea pigs – there were massive cows and towering Belgian draft horses – there were fuzzy alpacas (or llamas not sure) and there were such tiny tiny creatures and massive massive creatures – all filled with life. How diverse and yet sharing similarities in an amazing digestive system – circulatory system – and everything else. My friend went to touch a bunny’s fur and the bunny turned around – the bunny knew someone was there. We are filled with life and it IS amazing. And on Friday night, watching the young kids try to roll a big bale of hay – one gentleman motioned to me to watch on the ground – and this little field mouse would jet out to grab some food someone placed there – or a piece of grass – and jot back in – I remember the cute mouse – he must have been scared – and I remember the man’s giggling glee – it was a connection of life to life to life that only God could put in our hearts.

How much MORE amazing is both the life AND the spirit that God puts in us. How much amazing processing we can have – how much LIFE we get out of LIFE… Can you hear life? Can you feel it? It is deeper than the cool breeze that we can feel – it is more alive than an accidental activation. Life is God-given and intensely interesting and completely more complex than our minds can conceive. God works at God level – don’t ever try to pigeon hole God into what WE think of Him… God is infinitely bigger than that.

SO THANK YOU LORD – FOR TODAY – FOR LIFE – FOR THE SIGHTS SOUNDS FEELS AND LOVES.

Thank you also for the cool of this morning to feel the moments when You are reaching us – awakening us – all while holding us close.

May we always FEEL and HEAR and KNOW God.

Amen

PS – and one photo I entered was of the scene of the cross – because I wanted something of faith displayed – and I put this image (from a Vienna museum of the carving) displaying Jesus turned toward one crucified thief who was engaging with him in asking forgiveness – vs the other thief who was turned away in darkness and disgust. I put it in the “Altered Images” category because truly that is what Jesus does for us – Alters Life – gives LIFE eternal and now…

Psalm 8 – NKJV

The Glory of the Lord in Creation

To the Chief Musician. On the instrument of Gath. A Psalm of David.

O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have set Your glory above the heavens!

Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have ordained strength,
Because of Your enemies,
That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen – Even the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!

———————–

One last grange photo – that mouse we saw

Give Ear Oh Lord, Psalm 5

“Give ear to my words, O Lord…”

Oh I miss my praise band singing days – but I can not go backwards and we simply have to appreciate the times when they were – and look for new times now – in the present… Things have changed for all of us in our lives – and the ONLY constant is GOD – He is Unchanging – Faithful – and Dear. God Listens…

Psalm 5 KJV – the first three lines is the same version as the song I would sing in praise band. “Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.”

King David – before and after he was king – was looking to connect with God – and we must remember and believe that God is ALWAYS connecting with us – we must simply just realize. God does want to hear our voices call to Him – God does want us to draw close. David makes a distinction between the wise adn the foolish as those who call out to God and those who don’t, God does not take any pleasure in His punishment to the wicked – scripture says this over and over – that God is pained by it. God even takes a breather in Heaven when the promised punishments of the Book of Revelation are rolled out – God is slow to anger and so He must suffer pain while waiting for the lost to figure out they WANT to be found.

As for me – I WANT to be found by Him every day and every minute. The mornings are easier to sit here in peace and I am outside right now listening to the summer sounds – it is the cool of the morning – and as Heavenly or Eden-like as I have in these days… God is great to convene with in the morning = “give ears to my words o Lord” – “O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.”

David continues and alternates verses about the wicked and those who trust God and look to Him – and Give God His Due Respect – be in fear as in be in amazement – and worship God – and also make the path in front of us straight so we know which way to go… But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple. Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.

David knows that the wicked rebel and turn away – but for himself – for ourselves who trust God – REJOICE – TRUST – BE PROTECTED… “let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.”

We ask the Lord to GIVE EAR – but honestly God has given us everything we need – especially the knowledge and the desire to know Him MORE…

AMEN AMEN AMEN

—

Psalm 5 – KJV

Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple. Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.

For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue. Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.

But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

Remember, You Will Forget, But God is Still Good!

I have to say – looking at 40 year old photos – that time flies – and we HAVE done a lot and grown a lot in 40 years… (Photography and photo printing and camera design has changed a lot too. I marvel at these adorable 15-photo disc negatives – going to make an art project out of them – I have easily 100 of them from my aunt)

I can’t help but have to marvel at the MEMORIES in this new set of sorting – sorting that I picked for myself – limiting myself to only “half a bag a day” so that I get my other work done (meaning job applications – hey even my daughter said it was good that “I did something physical and creative and different than just screen-time”, LOL – when Mom is mommed).

So wow a great reminiscing opportunity in photo sorting my aunt’s “duplicates” – honestly it is not just sorting but it is also a way to honor my aunt who passed away about 5-6 years ago – and I was not able to go to her funeral because it was during the harsh covid lockdowns up in my hometown – much more strict than our area… I am thankful for the opportunity to process and count my blessings of memories while my hands keep busy sorting sorting sorting… Half the photos I have tossed – so many we don’t need – really – kitten photos and random things and duplicates and triplicates. A fuzzy photo of yet another president inauguration – seen a lot of these photos in these piles by decade but don’t know who this president is – well toss the photos – too much is too much… (and I am pretty sure that she has them in albums too – these are duplicates).

But in these sets are gems – REAL GEMS… I went through about 40 packets today of the 100 plus from the 15-disc sets of photos that my aunt took – so I’m really dug into the1980’s now. There is a photo taken by my aunt, fall 1987, of me in my freshman dorm when I was still 17yrs old, the photo 39 years ago this year. Geez…

And perhaps you remember – there were circus and zoo days when animals were performers – a photo of big bears who were riding bicycles at a game farm. These are real photos – no AI stuff – just stuff stuff – and look how minimal the fencing is…

AND some pictures of things that are a memory – that don’t exist anymore at least not like it was – of downtown sidewalk sales – cool – and of the old buses and buildings and businesses…

SO when year 2001 photos showed up in my 1980’s pile (mis-sorted oops) – photos of my apartment move from home north to home south – I marvel that I barely remember it – and it was “only from 25 years ago” – yet it is also like yesterday – and wow I have moved on and grown… Which means I have moved on and on and on by now… Which means I got through LOTS of tough times since then – and before them…

And so my aunt took photos of moving my apartment where I had been with my husband for 10 years during my doctorate and postdoc schooling – and wow those were tough years of school and dissertation and wow – and yet the memories of the angst slip away – and we have moved on – and well I see photos of 4 Subaru’s ago – and photos of college where I know that my chem classes were TOUGH – and yeah photos of the packing remind me that I took three layers of stuff away and sold in yard sales while 7 months pregnant – and it was a tough pregnancy (with a preemie baby 6 weeks early – now great at 25) = and those years were certainly filled with tough spots…

AND THAT MEANS THAT GOD PULLED ME THROUGH THE TOUGH SPOTS!

Oh I remember that I forgot and forget…

We should REMEMBER that we WILL – you will – I will – FORGET!

AND THAT MEANS THAT GOD PULLS US THROUGH THE TOUGH SPOTS!

Psalm 4 reminds us to be still – we can be angry but we should remain still and not sin – and well yeah – all those times that I was angry and sad and scared – and well somehow I got through it – sinning or not – God’s Grace abounded then and still does. The Lord’s Mercy abounded and we got through – the Lord’s relief came with our prayers – the Lord heard when we called – and the Lord made His presence known when we trusted Him.

Good… and a good memory to never forget is that God is good and always here – always was and will be – Thank you Lord…. I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

AMEN

—

Psalm 4 NKJV – The Safety of the Faithful
To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have relieved me in my distress;
Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.

How long, O you sons of men,
Will you turn my glory to shame?
How long will you love worthlessness
And seek falsehood? Selah
But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly;
The Lord will hear when I call to Him.

Be angry, and do not sin.
Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah
Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,
And put your trust in the Lord.

There are many who say,
“Who will show us any good?”
Lord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us.
You have put gladness in my heart,
More than in the season that their grain and wine increased.
I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;
For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Cling to What (WHO) is GOOD!

I have the new bug catcher installed in my bathroom – it is simply a little blacklight bulb behind a sticky screen – not a zapper but a catcher – works great so far – and you replace the sticky-ness. And the illuminating blacklight bulb? It illuminates the really good truth of this scripture: “Cling to What is Good” -which is nestled in my metal bathroom medicine cabinet with favorited scriptures, inspirations and kids photos plus some trinkets – like my grandmothers small plastic cross from the 30s or so, sitting in a little glass of crystal and garnets from my cousin… precious stones are one thing but precious memories are the best – cling to what is good...

The other scripture inspirations are “let your LIGHT shine before men” – and the descriptions of Prevenient Grace, Justifying Grace and Sanctifying Grace. Just a nice reminder that God has our number and calls us up all the time to SHINE for HIM. Prevenient is God already protected us and called us – Justifying is we realize it and realize we need it – Sanctifying is accepting God’s grace and forgiveness, coming to repentance and moving forward as Sanctified – God “gave-gives-is giving” for us to be with Him Forever. (These definitions are from John Wesley’s traditional teaching – and I like the pamphlet because it reminds me of a favorite pastor who gave it to me years ago.)

Cling to What (WHO) is GOOD! – Yes Sound biblical teaching is so good – and God is the author of the Message – Jesus Himself is the Word.

Psalm 3 is my “go to” psalm today for inspiration – and it is a classic “God will protect” reminder. David was in a tough spot and yeah things had gone bad with his son and well, David needed (and got) protection from the Lord… “But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.”

When we cling to the good that God put in front of us – we get day-sized chunks of living – not too long and not too short – long enough to get something done – short enough that we get to rest and start fresh. David would write (when being pursued) about having a moment to rest: “I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.”

We probably don’t have people out to get us – but we do have things that brush us wrong – get in our way – unthinking strife – and we do have that devil of meddling messing with us – EITHER WAY let us let the LORD handle it – as the letter to the Romans continued: . If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

SO – in our days today – keep going – keep believing – CLING TO WHAT IS GOOD -and let the Lord do the fighting while we do the living… Keep your chin up and your head down to dodge the dangers. Watch your steps and your tongue – and keep SHINING the LIGHT so that people will praise God…

AMEN

—

Romans 12:9-21 NKJV

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

—

Psalm 3 NKJV

The Lord Helps His Troubled People
A Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son.

Lord, how they have increased who trouble me!
Many are they who rise up against me.
Many are they who say of me,
“There is no help for him in God.” Selah

But You, O Lord, are a shield for me,
My glory and the One who lifts up my head.
I cried to the Lord with my voice,
And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah

I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.
I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have set themselves against me all around.

Arise, O Lord;
Save me, O my God!
For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone;
You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.
Salvation belongs to the Lord.
Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah

It’s Not False Faith

Last night I had a good slowdown of a night IN – after a night OUT… I took a moment to nap this afternoon – dead tired – it was not a “rough day” but a hot one (outside working a car wash for scouts which was a great fundraiser but hot) and well I needed the cool down in the A/C and the nap and the shower and the whole body reset – physically that is what I needed. Mentally I needed the slowdown and choose TV watching as an inside comfort – watching the recording of the Netflix Major League Baseball “Field of Dreams” pre-game show gave all those goosebumps – those tears from sentimental-ness of baseball families – fathers and sons in the American pastime that we get passionate about – “all the feels” – they had hall of famers – and even the dads of the managers…

Ah – summer feels – I love Summer – all the feels of summer are appreciated now – except when you need to cool down – but the feels of summer are what we wait for all year – yeah the outside feels of summer nights… That feeling of it being the “end of summer” means “I’ve got to get it all in”… Yeah, the rest of summer is a few more times to the beach and maybe some more corn on the cob – mmmmm – the watermelon I had last week, oh it was quinticenssial summer taste…

To be honest with you, it is not quite the end of summer (still have 2 months of warmth), but we worry like it is the end of summer – and we worry about the loss of lots of things at the end of summer – like we won’t ever enjoy summer again – and we will be cold – and well, summer has come back every year that I have been alive… I know that whatever season it is now, life will turn and change… So, hold on…

I wrote a poem of FAITH – about holding onto faith even when times change. I am in a change now and yet I remember the MANY changes that I have had before and I am OK – God got me here – safe thus far. I know we have to remember to find how to be OK – have faith to hold on – to calm down – to settle down – to get back to focus and forward thinking… The best thing about FAITH? It is not FALSE… FAITH IS OUR FIRM FOUNDATION AND REAL.

And as for me – in gathering up my faith – I am reading the Psalms – and I did a whole series of writing on the Psalms before – starting with Psalm 1 is a good place to start – as it talks about putting our Faith in the Lord – and bringing forth fruit in due season… Think of how Jesus gives righteousness – Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets – and wow – Jesus covers us, so we can TRUST JESUS to show us the WAY…

So here is the poem and the psalm… thanks for listening…

—It’s not FALSE FAITH – because FAITH is FROM GOD – to help us believe in God – to rely on God.

Sometimes fear is forefront – it scares us to have unknown – but hold on – wait for God in His Timing.

And FAITH? it is not a false hope – it is a firm foundation – FAITH finds us.

FAITH FINDS US – FAITH FILLS US – FAITH FIRMS THE FOUNDATION ON WHICH WE WALK.

Faith does not mean you don’t drop a tear, but it helps you clear them so that you can still steer.

Faith does not mean you can’t fall into flighty dreams, but Faith helps you pick up the pieces of life when you have had it out in screams.

Faith is the “Forwarding All Issues to Heaven” in action,

Faith is Forward Looking and Firmly Planted.

Faith is pulling on all the good Godly goodness you can muster – and overflow in TRUST.

TRUST is FAITH in ACTION…

It’s NOT False Faith because Faith is God knowing where He is taking you.

AMEN

Psalm 1 NKJV

Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.

The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

James 3:17 Wishing For WISDOM

WISHING FOR WISDOM

James 3:17 reminds: “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”

WISDOM

God’s WISDOM is PURE,

God is not trying to trick us, God just wants us to pay attention to Him.

God’s WISDOM is PEACEABLE,

God settles the dust in our heads to pay attention to Him and see how He is working.

God’s WISDOM is GENTLE,

God hears us, herds us, holds us, helps us.

God’s WISDOM is WILLING TO YIELD,

He will come after us in our lostness, give graceful forgiveness and give us a second, third, five-millionth chance.

God’s WISDOM is FULL OF MERCY,

Praise God for giving us GOOD GIFTS and NOT the punishments we deserve from our drifting.

God’s WISDOM is FULL of GOOD FRUITS.,

“Like a tree firmly planted, I’ll be grounded in your Word” – Let us accept the fruits He bestows and use them for His Good.

God’s WISDOM is WITHOUT PARTIALITY,

No matter who we are, who we think we are or not, God opens His GIFTS to all, offers Salvation to all, LOVES ALL.

God’s WISDOM is WITHOUT HYPOCRISY,

GOD REALLY MEANS EVERYTHING HE SAYS!!!

AMEN!

Appreciate Jesus’s STRENGTHENING

I appreciate summer and yet cooler temps to allow me to keep moving.

I appreciate Jesus strengthening even more these days…

Many of my thoughts in this season of my life are all scattered about – but so are seeds – and seeds are meant to be scattered – there are big ones – like a peach pit – and tiny ones like the tomato seeds which are now big plants giving more seeds – all while giving the big juicy fruit as excess – and nourishing us.

In thinking about Spritual Fruit – there are fruits that are big and juicy like a tomato and fruits that are small and hard but sturdy and last – like an acorn or a poppyseed. And think of how much flavor is in one little poppyseed.

I know we have times in our lives which are lush and which are dry – and we have seasons of life – sometimes multiple seasons all in one day. Life times vary and change what you do in activities, like now cool enough for outside before it cranks up in temperature – then it will be too hot but then again great beach weather – but then cooler in the evening and back to being outside under the stars… Summer is a great season of enoughs – then comes fall and the harvest – but then again Winter is diverse and still productive just for different things – and Spring springs eternal in hope and new life…

We have to live IN our season and not be longing too much for the next season (I am rejecting the thought of pumpkin spice creeping into summer or those Halloween displays already out), we need to appreciate today – and perhaps realize that God is working on us to live life abundantly at the same time as storing up resources for tomorrow… ALWAYS JESUS WANTS US TO RELY MOST CLOSELY ON HIM.

I was reminded of abiding in Jesus from a devotion I read recently – and that is what we need to do – we can not make the seeds – we can not share the seeds = we can not get the most out of the fruits of life without Jesus.

I know we need, I need, Jesus for strengthening – “I can do all things through Christ, Who STRENGTHENS me. Philippians 4:13

AMEN and have a good Friday and good weekend…

—

Philippians 4:1-13 – New King James Version – Paul’s letter to his friends

Be Anxious for Nothing; Think These Thoughts
Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.

Be United, Joyful, and in Prayer
I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Meditate on These Things
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

Philippian Generosity
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Psalms in Might

Psalms at night,

Prayers delight.

Psalms in Might,

David did write.

Grace over a fight.

Mercy blessings so righteously right.

God to be called upon today and tonight,

Until darkness overtaken by Dawn’s LIGHT

If there’s fear tonight,

Pray, praying Psalms in Might.

Amen to our plight,

God will set things right,

Just hold tight…

Amen

The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God.

Power belongs to God.

When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

I will trust in the power of Your Wings.

So I will sing praise to Your name forever, That I may daily perform my vows.

In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God.

Amen

—

Psalm 61-62 NKJV

Assurance of God’s Eternal Protection – To the Chief Musician. On a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David.

Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah

For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name. You will prolong the king’s life, His years as many generations. He shall abide before God forever. Oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him!

So I will sing praise to Your name forever, That I may daily perform my vows.

…

A Calm Resolve to Wait for the Salvation of God – To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.

How long will you attack a man? You shall be slain, all of you, Like a leaning wall and a tottering fence. They only consult to cast him down from his high position; They delight in lies; They bless with their mouth, But they curse inwardly. Selah

My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God.

Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah

Surely men of low degree are a vapor, Men of high degree are a lie; If they are weighed on the scales, They are altogether lighter than vapor. Do not trust in oppression, Nor vainly hope in robbery; If riches increase, Do not set your heart on them.

God has spoken once, Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God. Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy; For You render to each one according to his work.

The Art of Living – Helping While You are Hoping

Had two nice sets of encouragements today – both while sorting old photos – one was a great set from my undergraduate days – when for our spring festivities I was dressed as a clown and my aunt attended with my family and she was the one who took my photo. Yeah I was cute – And, so if I could tell my 19-20 year old self something – it would be to “KEEP SMILING” – keep cheering – keep helping… (and oh yeah – don’t sweat the small stuff – life is too jam packed to be worrying about crumbs when there are whole cake-slices of life to be had….)

The other encouragement was reading a letter written to my aunt in the late 90’s from her Canadian Pen Pal – yes someone she corresponded with for like 50 years I think – and well this letter, mixed in with photos, spoke of encouragement after my grandfather died – at a ripe old age of 90 – it was a major hurt in our family’s life, especially to my aunts who lived with him… It starts with “This letter may not be understood by you at the moment”… “You may have to mourn the loss of your dad for a while, but after a time he’d probably get on with the art of living and helping someone special.”

The letter continues, I paraphrase: “My dad said to me (when I had just come from the kitchen where I had just helped my mom), said: ‘Go and help your mother – go help her again’….” – “So I did and haven’t stopped since. I’m her companion and I do the corny things one takes for granted. When she doesn’t want help, I proceed to do clean up duties. It works perfectly. My mom is 93 and doing fine and I as such. If I’m able to be her companion for the time she has left on this earth. I’m happy.”…

SO YES – great advice in the art of living – be a help – and be helpful to someone while you are hoping for the next new thing – be a companion while you can – and always help someone special (your mother – your father – or whomever is in your life)…

As we know we need each other – and so many have helped us – we can help. AND – we will see that the Lord will send the right people at the right time – sometimes someone is sent to you – and sometimes you are sent to others… That’s the art of living – being helpful – being hopeful – and keeping being OK to live while you are hoping and helping…

AMEN

(And thanks to my own encouragers this week and always – I have had a few and I truly appreciate them!)

The Race, Our Pace, Our Place, His Grace

2 poems

The Race of Faith is not to get to God faster like at the finish line, because He is already with us. The Race is our race “running a good race” of life and not letting life’s bumps stop us from believing God is with us. Our Race and our pace will continue as our place is here in the now. And everything, before, after, and now, is benefiting from God’s Grace.

The Race, our pace, our place, His Grace.

AMEN

—

When life is lush,

We have no rush,

When life is dry,

We want to cry.

Seek God’s Face.

Let us find our pace, our place.

And let us finish this Race in His Grace.

AMEN

Personalize the Psalms, Pray Personal Protection

I was at an ice-cream social and the woman next to me was a chaplain and retreat speaker and with so many years of experience in life, it was amazing to be with her and another woman immediately across from me – who was a long time sharer of the gospel… and the woman to my right said that she memorized Psalm 91 as it pertains to herself – in person – as in “I” rest in the shadow of the Almighty… Cool! She knows that helps her push forward… the other woman at our ice cream table was saying how important it was to watch out for meddling by the devil, read her favorite Psalm. Asked me to pick one, I love Psalm 139, but felt a pull to read Psalm 60, don’t know why, but I reread it now, it’s about the Lord restoring us. “Through God we [I] will do valiantly, For it is He who shall tread down our [MY] enemies.” … Oh, restore me again!

Later in the weekend, scrolling through Facebook, my friend from school who always posts funny comics posted a pretend scenario for “Nancy” an old comics character whose life wasn’t perfect, and Nancy was saying, lying in bed, “Actually yeah, maybe today Satan”. and yeah, I laughed at Nancy’s expression saying “maybe today” verses “No, NOT today”. The comic spoof is honestly what we deal with each day – realizing an admission for trouble or acknowledgement that the devil of doubt DOES meddle in mess. We talk the good talk of not letting it bother us but we do get bothered – and so yeah, probably we can imagine we live in that wishy washy space too often… We don’t say STRONG enough “Not Today Satan, NOT today!!!”…

WE NEED JESUS TO DEFFEAT THE DEVIL OF DISTRUST DABBLING DOUBT DOOM… WE HAVE JESUS AS ALMIGHTY KING.

Jesus would say: “Satan get behind me”, acknowledging Satan exists, meddles like with Peter and with us, but Jesus Knows Satan MUST be beat, MUST back down like evil spirits Jesus ordered out. Jesus wins, and HAS been crushed by Jesus’s Standing Strong. It is no contest but it is a battle, so each of us conflicts in this earthly space with the pestilence on the prowl. THANK GOD FOR JESUS TO HOLD ONTO.

So here is psalm 60 and psalm 91 written in “I will dwell in the Lord”.. which we choose. And may “NOT today Satan” always be from us saying YES to JESUS.

I SHALL NOT be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

Amen

—-

Psalm 60 NKJV – PERSONALIZED
Urgent Prayer for the Restored Favor of God
To the Chief Musician. Set to “Lily of the Testimony.” A Michtam of David. For teaching. When he fought against Mesopotamia and Syria of Zobah, and Joab returned and killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

O God, You have cast [me] off; You have broken [me] down; You have been displeased; Oh, restore me again! You have made the earth tremble; You have broken it; Heal its breaches, for it is shaking. You have shown me hard things; You have made me drink the wine of confusion. You have given a banner to those who fear You, That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah. That ME, Your beloved, may be delivered, Save ME with Your right hand, and hear me.

God has spoken in His holiness: “I will rejoice; I will divide Shechem And measure out the Valley of Succoth. Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim also is the helmet for My head; Judah is My lawgiver. Moab is My washpot; Over Edom I will cast My shoe; Philistia, shout in triumph because of Me.”

Who will bring me to the strong city? Who will lead me to Edom? Is it not You, O God, who cast us off? And You, O God, who did not go out with our armies? Give us [ME] help from trouble, For the help of man is useless. Through God we [I] will do valiantly, For it is He who shall tread down our [MY] enemies.

—-

Psalm 91 written personalized – NKJV verses 1-6, 15-16 Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God

I dwell in the secret place of the Most High and Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” Surely He shall deliver ME from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover ME with His feathers, and under His wings I shall take refuge; His truth shall be MY shield and buckler. I shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

…

I shall call upon THE LORD, and HE will answer ME;

HE will be with ME in trouble; HE will deliver ME and honor him.

With long life, GOD will satisfy ME, And show ME HIS salvation.”

…

AMEN AMEN

Sermon – Service as Worship

Sermon 09AUG – Service as Worship (to go along with a mission project after church)

Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

—-

A Gift is a Gift – WE ARE IN OUR PENTECOST SERIES AND TALKING ABOUT OUR SEASON OF Going out and sharing the Love…

There is at least one more story from my travels – this one is remembering a sweet gesture from 2 young boys sitting in the airplane seats ahead of me. We were in a jovial section of the back of the plane – behind me were many girl scouts – and in front of me were a hodge podge of folks who had signed up with National Geographic trip – to the Galapagos Islands – everyone enjoyed the Galapagos Islands – and we all had so much to talk about even among strangers.

I appreciated the woman next to me – she was chatty – turns out she and I have the same profession – I was able to talk shop for a bit – and just in the seats immediately in front of us were young boys (maybe 8 to 10 yrs) who had been friends on the trip – and they overheard me asking the lady next to me where she was from – and they chimed in before she could answer and said Germany. Well, this woman was so shocked because it was only in one conversation, that she said, at a dinner, where she mentioned her roots – but she lived in California for a long while now… These boys picked up on the info – internalized it – shared it – a gift of recall. And a gift of ATTENTIVENESS.

Later in the flight – more conversations between seats and I handed up two little plastic flamingos – gifts I brought WITH me – gave many out to whomever I thought – no need to give me something back – just for fun. But when I handed the two statues up – the little boys liked them and then they decided to gift me each a purple skittle from their candy – so sweet – the action and the candy. One boy was thinking for sure – what can I give FROM what I have – and not having much – he realized and directed the other little boy to give me each a little purple skittle candy. Sweet…

I didn’t expect any return gift from my gift – I just enjoyed seeing the oohs and aahs from people receiving the flamingo statue. I think that the sweetness of the candy came from a “oh we should give a return gift” – which is not always necessary – or it came from an ATTENTIVENESS of “what do we have that we can give”– and it was good to see sharing kids with good upbringing… Sweet…

How about giving from what we get from the Lord? Well, we could never repay the fill of gifts that He gives us – we could never pay anything worthy of what He gives us – His Grace – His Mercy – His Life – His Everything for our Anything. And SO, we don’t pay it backwards – we pay it forwards – in service with a good attitude and sharing Him with others – and sharing PRAISE about Him as our cause.

God’s Gift of gifting is to us, well, A GIFT TO WORSHIP HIM – with all our hearts and minds and soul! And Jesus specifically said (in Matthew 5:16) to let our light SHINE before men – and in so they will PRAISE the Lord… WOW!

A light that shines might be being friendly in a crowded space – smiling at unknown strangers – remembering that the people we interact with are made in God’s image too… It is being attentive to what we have and how we can share it.

*** The scripture read this morning from Paul to the Romans: in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

One of the great 20^th century examples of service as worship is the story of Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic nun, founder of missionaries – born in Northern Macedonia – she studied and served in Ireland where she learned English and then she served in India – from the late 1940’s on – starting the Missionaries of Charities. Joseph Langford, founder of the congregation of priests, the Missionaries of Charity Fathers, later wrote, “Though no one knew it at the time, Sister Teresa had just become Mother Teresa.”

Sister Teresa experienced what she later described as “the call within the call” – “to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them. It was an order. [she means from Jesus]. She had to keep FAITH that it was the thing to do.

Mother Teresa emphasized service as a manifestation of love.

Her notable quote states, “Love cannot remain by itself – it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action, and that action is service.” This highlights her belief that true love is expressed through acts of kindness and service to others.

Writers [Sara and Justin Kraft] would say about Mother Teresa: “One cannot be fully alive without relationships with others. We are made for love, to be unified in giving and receiving with others and ultimately with God. If we close ourselves off to service, we will never create the space within ourselves to be filled with the love of God. He can transform the most difficult tasks into meaningful experiences, but we have to be aware of His presence.” – I am going to repeat that – God can transform the most difficult tasks into meaningful experiences – but we have to be aware of His presence – and His Presence creates that space within us to LOVE to serve – and to worship.

These Mother Teresa impactful quotes exemplify the meaning of charity and love and service for others as worship:

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them,”
“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”
“Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do… but how much love we put in that action.”
“I see God in every human being. When I wash the leper’s wounds I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. Is it not a beautiful experience?”

It is Love that we share… From Love – from Jesus Himself through His Holy Spirit.

We have a story in scripture – from our great role model of Jesus – urging us to give GENUINELY – we give whatever we have in FAITH, in TRUST, in Service of Giving.

This reminds me about the story Jesus told of the woman with 2 mites – Luke 21:1-4 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”

This is not a “give until it hurts” sermon, but to remember that the gift of TRUST and SERVICE is from the space we create WITH GOD – the widow’s gift came from a worshipful place – it was not flashy nor knowing that someone else was watching. And so we don’t need to just give from a place of that sense of duty – it is BETTER that we can give in JOY FROM JOY – from a space inside us appreciating everything we have and what we can share – because we’ve been given that gift… And because we TRUST GOD IS taking care of us, we can be in the mix to help others realize His Gifts.

We show and SHINE – by our service FROM US – it can be anything, time or talents, truly God in the Holy Spirit – in a Pentecost way to BE worship – to come from within – to let us praise. SO let us NOT be short on praise – let us NOT being dilly-dallying before we praise – even in tough times the Lord asks for us to praise. The book of James reminds us about Perseverance – and that leads to praise – we may not know the circumstances of life that puts thorns in our sides – like Paul – but we are to remember to praise… Give our hearts to God – and strength and soul and mind – and praise…

Jesus gave us the example of the ultimate gift – We love because he first loved us. He laid down His life for us – His friends the disciples and for us before we were even born. We praise God because we know God and we want God to be known through us – John would write: If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. (1st John 4:12-14)

Our service to others is FROM that core that God put in us – service to God – and becomes our worship to thank Him that we can give what we can.

Don’t conform to the patterns of today – think of YOUR skills – YOUR gifts – YOUR inklings – This is something that you and the Lord can work out together – sometimes it is right in front of you… Our scripture: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

A pattern game is a favorite of mine growing up – Perfection – it would pop if you didn’t get all the pieces in – well God is the one creating the game we call life in HIS PERFECTION – we could know that we have a space all prepared for us – and will be in it – and yet we can be out in life – on the board – and help others find their place in HIS PUZZLE of Life…

Whether it is giving time – giving encouragement, hope, or even little purple skittles candies – smiles, or giving service in presence like Mother Teresa – let us remember to make it worshipful as what God wants – our praise and our service is a worship to the Lord who holds the whole world in His Hand.

Amen

———-

And let us pray: Lord – thank You for this time to reflect and learn – to ponder – Jesus Himself said: “I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit… “ what fruit today would you have us give back to the world in service and worship. Lord, I can’t wait to see what kind of fruit salad mix from all of us – that You, Lord, are gifting the world with – Let us always be creating a place for You within us – and see a peace in us in order to serve others as you do… AMEN

Picture This Love

Photos Photos Photos…. So this task, I have chosen for myself, was to bring home and do in “my leisure time” is sort sort sort… It is a natural part to help with cleaning up that farmhouse, and after scanning letters from family history projects, I’m now on the photos task (that I assigned to myself) and have been sorting and even sending some out to family members – especially thinking of the children who are now 25 years older – and their families – for them to have photos that remind them where they came from and of the love.

You could think it is a little overwhelming, but it is not hard – it is developing a system like I have – and just digging in – right now I am in the 1990’s and sorting into spring valentines, easter, fall and winter holiday scenes, and then group photos – my aunt is most interested in group photos… It’s such a blessing of memories – and even to look at them now it is a surprise to see things that I don’t necessarily remember but there is a photo of me in it. In sorting big bags (still in the envelops) we think these are duplicates – but we want to sort before we toss. [and there are mixtures of papers here too like tax returns and the such – and just now I found the eulogy given at my great uncle’s funeral – sometimes it is too much to keep but that I will send along to his daughter…] And so with all this sorting I end up taking like 25% of photos to save – and that is still PLENTY… My aunt always had 2 cameras. Usually a one-ten-millimeter – and a small point and shoot for thirty-five millimeter – and that is the width of the negatives – which we would not use for recreating photos – it is easier to take a photo with one’s phone nowadays of those photos and text them to a cousin – but might as well send some – because these days we hardly ever print….

And then there are those disposable cameras – we have many from my aunt that are not developed yet from 25 years ago – like 10 or more rolls plus 10 cameras… Not sure if we will develop them – it is pricey now – and honestly our memories are good too – so nothing in these photos are of trips we have forgotten – just tucked away – like me holding 5 kittens – it is a memory but not an monumental one like a wedding – and even those we keep only some photos… Some photos are also from not our house(s) – but maybe – that is why it is good to ask the makers of the memories before they pass away… And if the photo is not pertaining – like every state fair butter sculture photo from like 20 years – well those are probably OK to toss…

With sorting photos then sending out to family – for them to have photos that remind them of the love, actually it is not costing me anything to send the photos because, well, my aunt had stockpiles of loose stamps too – not the fancy collections but half a strip here – a few there – and so it is easy to give things away from her giving pile. I thought I had a heavy bag of coins recently but it was a bag of rocks, oh well. And besides the stamps, today I came across a christmas card with $30 – wow – well I will bring that back to my aunt…
——————-

The photos are a good reminder of giving of our time into memories – yes keeping family memories alive – and counting blessings of fun times. Remembering this is like a fraction of the time my grandparents and my aunts gave of their time to watch us as rambunctious kids, me, my sibling and my 4 cousins, childhood time when my mom and dad were working, our time spent on the farm. Yes, we went fishing and they put on the worms, we did baking and cooking but they organized it all, we played outside and they watched us like a hawk. We took trips to fun places. They packed the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the cooler. They stocked up the freezer with those ice cream bars “cheerios” and ice cream sandwiches and those orange creamsicles, which I think are disgusting, but my cousins liked. And my Grandma remembered that I hate spaghettios, so I always got raviolis… It is the little things, and I’m so grateful they remembered… even if we were little – the demands were big…

Picture this love now – on a grander scale than grandparents – picture that God knows EACH of us – and knows every thought and every hair on our heads – I don’t even think that we can wrap our heads around God in this greatness – but we can take photo memories of times we know He was helping us – I can see and can picture the LOVE shared – for each of us was born and taken care of by human care (it takes a village) – and we are STILL here… If we are breathing then we should be believing that God Loves us… He does…

I praise the Lord in my past and for my past – I praise the Lord for the present of the present – and I praise the Lord of the future which is already in play – He will gives us ALL THE TIME – Picture His Love – Picture THIS Love…

Amen

Grandpa’s and God’s Work Endures

I started on my new project of photo sorting. But first had some paperwork to sort through from the farmhouse, my grandfather and family kept every record for every house he built including tax statements, receipts for every piece of lumber or supplies, and all the workers payments… Rolls bundled of canceled checks to blueprints, we are keeping some, but a lot has to go to shred… you can’t keep everything…

The work however still stands. He worked hard. And what my grandpa built endures, the houses, the repairs, the odd jobs, plus the family, the values, the work ethic AND the love. Sorting documents, we reminisced that he bought lumber from like every building place, share the work, and he was a really good employer. There are papers for good insurance plans and proper lawyers records. And I know, if it needed one nail, my grandpa put three, to keep it sturdy. What grandpa built lasts… He passed away in the late 90’s at a generous old age of 90.

I also found some newspapers in the farmhouse, and this day while my YouTube feed was playing Prince’s “1999” for music to sort by (trust me there’s a lot to sort), I noticed there was a newspaper in the boxes ALSO from 1999. And we “could party like it’s 1999”, thinking nothing of the future, but GRATEFULLY both my grandpa AND THE LORD worked to have built lasting life beyond that. The love, the life, the values, the plans.

I found a nice drawing of one of the houses as a model. Once my aunt fell off a ladder, she was fine but my grandfather decided never to build two story houses again and then they were all one story ranchers.

Isn’t that also like the Lord, God knew we were fallible, and He built into His plan a Savior in His Son Jesus. A rescue and a steady life plan for us to follow the narrow path, without foot slipping, plus the safety net of Jesus. Now that’s good insurance.

We have a bit of a floor plan descibed of Heaven when we read the scriptures, God doesn’t have to “sell it” to us, but he certainly makes it appealing! I’m looking forward to seeing Him, God, Jesus, and prayerfully my grandpa and great greats too!! It will be in the Heaven God built! Secure and secured!!!

Amen

( And thank you Lord, for this time that I can reminisce while working STILL HARD in the earthly family values…)

Here is Here!

Here is NOT nowhere,

Here is Here!

Sometimes we think are going nowhere,

But it’s always somewhere,

And being HERE,

With God’s presence DEAR,

Is better than ANY FEAR.

Here is NOT nowhere,

HERE IS HERE!

Here is present in this time, place, season, THIS YEAR.

Here, life in the present gear,

We are here,

And we leave the past back there,

And wait on the future somewhere.

Here is NOT nowhere,

HERE IS HERE!

SO TAKE THE BACK ROADS, with no fear,

Enjoy the ice-cream, mmmm in cheer,

Feel the summer simmer near,

Splash under the waterfall in joy with water clear,

Play board games with family dear,

And remember God is here, near,

In the HERE!!!

Amen

Chocolate BLOOM is NOT Impending Doom

Chocolate BLOOM, it took a good night sleep for that term to surface from my deep pockets of knowledge, same reason that I’m better at Scrabble (the word tile game) in the morning than tired nighttime. We are our best when our brain is the best. Chocolate bloom is not the best situation for chocolate, it’s the dried out version where the natural oils separate and although it is edible, it’s less palatable to the taste buds or visuals for a chocolate connoisseur consumer. It gets tossed… Expensive chocolate is no exception, the higher the percentage of cocoa, the less melting but when left in a hot car, it will be damaged, be friable and off-color from cocoa butter separation, still usable for something, but damaged.

Granted that this is not the end of the world. Chocolate bloom is not impending doom.

What about us? Us when we are tired, cranky, off-balance, when we get older and our mental health and/or physical health is friable or easily crumbled? Not a fun or palatable place to be in or witness.

Now, I’m not intending over-simplifying our hard life realities to my musings in these musings, as such sadness exists in brokenness of human fragility, including failing relationships brought on by problems we can’t deal with. “Getting older —- !”, I’ve heard many say. But I simply want to re-encourage resilience. Is our death or a loved one’s death impending doom? Not if we take Jesus’s offer of forgiveness for our repentance. We can walk healed and whole again.

Mr Roger’s (portrayed in the movie with Tom Hanks) advice was: Death is a human thing, therefore mentionable – and if mentionable then manageable. Granted life and relationships was not an easy path for him either.

We are broken world creatures, where all of creation groans for Jesus’s restoration. There are unmanageable unimaginable unmentionable circumstances for us, but Jesus has seen it all, and sees it now. So we must tread lightly and be genuine and generous in grace to our family members, our friends, ourselves.

We all have something to deal with. We all have the opportunity for optimism and simply dealing (or not dealing) with what life hands us.

May we remember our chocolate bloom is not impending doom, and for the harder harshest of reality? Depend upon Jesus one day at a time, one step, one moment…

Amen

(And don’t worry about me, I’m simply being an observer of life of all around us…)

Psalm 121 NKJV

God the Help of Those Who Seek Him – A Song of Ascents.

I will lift up my eyes to the hills—

From whence comes my help?

My help comes from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night.

The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.

Be Hungry for God

I am up home – so nice for that summer feel – and to see family.

Yes, driving up the back roads – love the little hamlets and town. And in one bend, there is a picturesque church – often selling pumpkins in season – or where you donate your bottles and cans for the redemption (ha ha redemption – nickels, not church-speak). Well, I love this church’s sayings – I think it’s a great service of churches to have little quips, scriptures, etc on their signs. Thousands each day are strengthened or chastened or perhaps the saying makes then chuckle in lightening their day.

This one yesterday driving up home “hit the spot” for me:

“Be hungry for God, otherwise you’re just full of yourself.”

Oh yeah… I laughed at the witty words, and my admittance of my path, and the truth of God’s Word and Way above my way, our way…

I smiled in just HOPING I have been listening to His callings and His pausings… and I smile in joy and peace and blessings to be HERE, up home this week, seeing my family and friends, enjoying a CNY summer feel, including the cool 68 degree rainy mist, while driving, a respite from the heat.

Got to the local state park. SO NICE and picturesque plus they have a bath house and swimming. I didn’t go to the 68 degree water this day – but when it will be hot, maybe will take a dip then! Anyways, I was sitting (I know unusual but not for this past 6 months) – sitting and watching the swimmers and divers – and hearing the sounds of the crashing waterfalls into this swimming hole at the bottom of a great gorge and waterfall trail. One doesn’t have to walk the trail (2 miles) but just drive in – to the top or to the bottom – convenient… And as I was walking back to the car, I thought to myself: THIS was/IS STOPPING TO SMELL THE ROSES – oh how blessed. I appreciate the time – and that the Lord has afforded me this time.

And so for our direction and our placement – for our observations of our blessings – for simply looking to His Plan above ours – we want to HUNGER for God – BE HUNGRY – Be still and know He is God – and therefore take it all in – and know His Plan calls us places – and therefore take up your travelling or sit down and just be… Listen for His call, follow in His Path, be patient with His Way – and help along the way too. His Righteousness over ours – His plan over ours – Praising Him for known and unknown…

(realize via Psalm 107 how much God has done in the past – and how much He is doing and how much He will do – for us – for everything – for Love…)

“Be hungry for GOD – otherwise we are just full of ourselves…”

Yeah…

Amen

—

Psalm 107 NKJV

From BOOK FIVE Psalms 107–150 Thanksgiving to the Lord for His Great Works of Deliverance

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy, And gathered out of the lands, From the east and from the west, From the north and from the south.

They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; They found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, Their soul fainted in them. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He delivered them out of their distresses. And He led them forth by the right way, That they might go to a city for a dwelling place. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness.

Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, Bound in affliction and irons— Because they rebelled against the words of God, And despised the counsel of the Most High, Therefore He brought down their heart with labor; They fell down, and there was none to help. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, And broke their chains in pieces. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He has broken the gates of bronze, And cut the bars of iron in two.

Fools, because of their transgression, And because of their iniquities, were afflicted. Their soul abhorred all manner of food, And they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, And declare His works with rejoicing.

Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters, They see the works of the Lord, And His wonders in the deep. For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens, They go down again to the depths; Their soul melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits’ end. Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, So that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, And praise Him in the company of the elders.

He turns rivers into a wilderness, And the watersprings into dry ground; A fruitful land into barrenness, For the wickedness of those who dwell in it. He turns a wilderness into pools of water, And dry land into watersprings. There He makes the hungry dwell, That they may establish a city for a dwelling place, And sow fields and plant vineyards, That they may yield a fruitful harvest. He also blesses them, and they multiply greatly; And He does not let their cattle decrease.

When they are diminished and brought low Through oppression, affliction, and sorrow, He pours contempt on princes, And causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way; Yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction, And makes their families like a flock. The righteous see it and rejoice, And all iniquity stops its mouth. Whoever is wise will observe these things, And they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.

Yup, God AGAIN

Isn’t always the case,

When we realize God wants us in the RACE.

Don’t even try to keep up with His PACE,

But know that for you and me, He has a PLACE.

Monday might bring dread,

Oh anxiousness for what lies ahead.

But remember Jesus Himself had no place to rest His head.

So keep pushing, keep moving, keep hoping instead.

Thank you Lord for the pep talk.

Thank you Lord for Your walk.

Now every time I feel like I should squawk.

Let me praise You, for Your eye on us is sharper than any hawk.

Amen

…….

Grand Gratefulness for Grandparents

I was re-reminded just now to write this blog on gratefulness for grandparents when I was in the grocery store – and overheard this father say to the little girl: “who taught you how to skip?” – “GRANDMA!” – “Ah, grandma has taught you everything…”

THANK GOD for Grandmas, for Grandpas, for Aunts and Uncles, for those who just teach children – all our children…

And last night (after the beach and then ice cream) we went to the American Tapestry concert – and along all the classic songs, I had a great vantage for people watching… I watched in a sweet private JOY of a view from my middle seat at a concert to the side – to see the sight glimpsed as a grandson had his grandpa’s directing baton, after Grandpa finished guest conducting one strong song in the concert (I am assuming a Grandpa from the interaction I saw from a distance with a younger woman and little girl just in the doorway outside this big auditorium, also glimpsed from my middle seat, looking out). This grandpa beamed in his performances, and the grandson, maybe 8 or 10) was content the WHOLE TIME with that baton in hand – swinging it… And the grandfather later was the piano player for the most amazing energetic rendition of Rhapsody in Blue – so excitedly playing that the grandpa nearly fell off the chair near the end…

These gifts of concerts and the whole feel of Ocean Grove NJ Camp Meeting and beach – well are such a gift of “old time sake” – and a gift of being transported to both a tucked away gem but also the benefit of world-class entertainment – really amazing stuff. And the openess of the side doors allows for many on-lookers to peak in – without committing to the event – and even all the way accross the street one can hear the music in the bathroom – it carries.

And the most amazing thing carries – which is not a thing – but is love spread from grandparents – from other family members down the line – forward into their families – like the little boy getting to just be himself in mimicing the conductor and getting an appreciation of music.

So – let us all be like those grandparents in life – and appreciate teaching – let us love which God has given us in excess to share – let us just be thankful, watchful, musical, and skipping in joy…

AMEN

Jesus Loves ALL

Had a fabulous feast and fun last night with friends. When one can’t travel to the country that they live in, one has to appreciate that they share the beautiful aspects of their culture and their lives with you here… We had fabulous food, and karaoke dancing and they loved that I joined in, and yet the sweetest sweetest sharing was simply LOVE… and sweetest care with loving their littlest sweet child, just two years old… Oh such a cutie… You know grownups who play at a two year old teaching level, including grandma, are just as cute, I heard a quote in the Mister Roger’s movie that with a child, you get to relive but redo your childhood in a better way, you get to learn too.

And so I went to the Hallmark store for a teddy bear as a present, and looked for cuteness at a reasonable price (and I did find a good deal for a blanket with a hood with animal ears and a sweet puppy). But as I went into the aisle of “stuffies”, I thought “What can I bring?”. Right in front of me was the dish of many plush Jesus dolls, whom I’ve given before to friends, ah… yes although I didn’t pick this “plush” pretend Jesus doll this day with walking into a new situation, JESUS is EXACTLY Who What one needs to bring, Jesus, in LOVE to ALL, everyday…

Jesus in all His Love IN us.

Jesus for all His Love FOR us.

Jesus in Truth to TEACH us.

Jesus in body OF us.

Jesus in SPIRIT AMONG us.

YES LOVE…

Jesus lives for and Jesus loves for everyone. Jesus wants everyone to know Him.

I loved this family opening up their home to me, sharing love and fun. I LOVE that Jesus opens up LOVE for us to share with others. I pray one day I can share not just the Jesus doll with them, but more ALL of Jesus with them and all. Live in love most of all.

And may we feast forever with Jesus in Heaven loving His Love.

Amen

Debbie Upper

A Child of God Awakening to His Love

Month: August 2026

LOVE MEMORIES, Psalm 33

Exuberant Faith Waits on the Lord, Psalm 27

Oh What Faithful God Has Done

GOD IS MORE, PSALM 24

The Calm of the Psalm, Psalm 23

Dolly, There IS Jesus, This Clear Blue Morning

God Knows How Psalms Prose Goes and Flows

“Get Back Out There!”

Jesus is Our Man in the Middle

Ignorance WOULD Have Been Bliss, Psalm 10

Can You Hear Life? Can You Feel It? Psalm 8

Give Ear Oh Lord, Psalm 5

Remember, You Will Forget, But God is Still Good!

Cling to What (WHO) is GOOD!

It’s Not False Faith

James 3:17 Wishing For WISDOM

Appreciate Jesus’s STRENGTHENING

Psalms in Might

The Art of Living – Helping While You are Hoping

The Race, Our Pace, Our Place, His Grace

Personalize the Psalms, Pray Personal Protection

Sermon – Service as Worship

Picture This Love

Grandpa’s and God’s Work Endures

Here is Here!

Chocolate BLOOM is NOT Impending Doom

Be Hungry for God

Yup, God AGAIN

Jesus Loves ALL

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