psalms

Make Use of the Time Your Given!

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“So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

 WOW – an 80 year old did what is a dream of mine is (well I have many dreams) – she did the Appalachian Trail – walked the whole thing – and honestly I simply need to start walking more and exercising and wow what a difference it makes to stay active! The 80 year old said to make good use of the time you are given! TRUE!

I was at an event recently and a friend of a friend said she best start getting in shape – she had just turned 72 – it is not like I don’t have the tools or the place to get in shape – I just don’t take the time and well, that is where I need to start – taking the time – numbering my days – being aware of being better… It’s not just me, we all have this motivation to muster up! Right?!

Yes – I had a moment of a few years of being in MUCH better shape than I am now and I am not asking for perfection but wow if I could get back to that shape, that motivation, that energy level…  Yes, if I could get back to making the most use of my time in many aspects of life. At least I should try to start walking again… Especially with a few trips that I have coming up – I need to walk into them to walk on them!

And walking was my fix – both physically and mentally a few days ago where I was in such pain of the hips and legs and back and thought – “I really need to walk this out”  – TRUE – and I felt so much better on that walk – and it was also when I saw the “999” sign on that walk – and I also knew God wanted me to start with me and “turn my frown upside down” – and just get back out and live – ONE MOMENT AT A TIME!

May the Lord bless us in each of our walks – and may we continue to walk and make the most of our days. “establish the work of our hands, Lord” – from Psalm 90 (and our feet too!!!)

AMEN

Here us the link to the 80 year old – she also makes advice to not walk alone but sometimes she had to: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/oldest-woman-to-hike-the-entire-appalachian-trail-reflects-on-her-journey​

Psalm 90 NKJV 

The Eternity of God, and Man’s Frailty
A Prayer of Moses the man of God.
Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

You turn man to destruction, And say, “Return, O children of men.” For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night. You carry them away like a flood; They are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows up: In the morning it flourishes and grows up; In the evening it is cut down and withers.

For we have been consumed by Your anger, And by Your wrath we are terrified. You have set our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance. For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; We finish our years like a sigh. The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath. So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Return, O Lord! How long? And have compassion on Your servants. Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, That we may rejoice and be glad all our days! Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, The years in which we have seen evil. Let Your work appear to Your servants, And Your glory to their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.​

Oooohhhh, to be in the Midst

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Just starting the TV series from PBS, online streaming, of Ken Burn’s The American Revolution – which is not just about the war but about the fight for independence and about the creation of a new government. The intro is all I’ve watched so far gave me two goosebumps – the discussion of the Iroquois Indian tribes – which are the area natives of where I grew up in – I’ve walked in those lands – and so their discussion of creating a nation of different tribes and being together in cooperation certainly hit home – we lived in the midst of a legacy but not longevity – the nations are not in charge of their destiny now.

And the second really was a “wait a minute” moment – right in the intro – I recognized the last name and the general face shape of one scholar they have many clips interviewing – she is someone I recognized – and yes, grew up in my hometown and yes, her brother was in my classes – and it took me a good solid 5 minutes of google searching and mental searching – but my mind found his name faster than google… Cool – scholars – both he and his sister – him in medicine and her in history.  Sort of make me appreciate that I too can be a scholar of my own interests – we all can be – we know what we know the best…  I also am appreciative for the areas and people whom I lived in the midst of. Cool… I also appreciate now that when I watch that American Revolution show that I live in the midst of these areas in the northeast – many which I have visited. It is touching history that is old but not too old to grasp.

Nothing greater than an “Oooooh moment” in life to be in the midst of God – yes and Him with us – for the ultimate “in the midst” is us in the Lord and the Lord in us. The psalmist sings truth: “let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them,     that those who love your name may rejoice in you.” (Ps5) and “Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling.” Ps2

We too are in the midst of the Lord always – when we call upon Him we realize we are not far away at all – we are in His midst and He is in ours… 

And Psalm 2 brings warning about kings and their behavior towards the Lord – for them to revere the Lord – and that is us too – we are best to be humbled in the Lord – and listening to His direction. We walk in His Midst always – and never will He leave us.

We ARE in HIS Hands.

Amen

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from Psalm 2 “I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery. Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

“The American Revolution | Streaming | Ken Burns | PBS https://share.google/UgydAh2RXJhErfIca

My Peace will Come to You – Keith Green and Us… Be Matthew 5 Salt and Light

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It is not a Holy Spirit coincidence when the song on my phone/car auto play is both one that I like (and preprogrammed) and one that I probably (actually) needed at that moment. And aren’t we often in those moods of needing something and not just resting in the peace of just knowing the Lord is with us. 

This song “When I Hear the Praises Start” is from Keith Green – tremendous artist – awakening story – energy – advocate for the Lord – public figure – and tragic death by plane crash…  His life was in hyperdrive for the Lord when he was born again into the newness of a new creation. And has great recorded encouragement – from his journey we can relate in our journeys. 

And our journey should also be full of praise – we can’t be salt and light if we wallow in too many of our own tears for regret and for woe – we are called to be the Light of the Lord and the Spark in the Spirit…

This praise song – a song to make sure we are still praising and then going out to do His works – be His hands and feet – is good to hear when we (I) are in a mood of “not doing enough” in life and in faith and in everything – the Lord says JUST BE STILL – and this song reminds us to breathe into some peace – and without looking over our shoulders of what went wrong (or right). I know that the Lord says – “Don’t look in the rear view mirror”…

The Lord knows when to shore up His sheep just like when He needs to shear His sheep of the worldly wool of worry and waste and whatnot… and if we allow ourselves to be led, God will get us there. and if we simply praise first of all the blessings already given to us, can we not see the even bigger blessings? especially that we focused on Him.

And so this song lyrics are below and this song includes Keith Green singing: “…why are you striving? You can’t add one thing to what’s been done for you. I did it all while I was dying. Rest in your faith, My peace will come to you.”  – and “you are My child and you know Me – to Me you’re only Holy” – and he sings “only what you do for me.” – meaning the Lord wants us out there being the Light and Salt.

Jesus taught: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

True – let us BE STILL – and let Peace come to us…  best yet – keep walking towards the Peace in Jesus.

Amen

This is the live version

and here is the album version

When I Hear the Praises Start – Lyrics
[Verse 1]
My son, My son, why are you striving?
You can’t add one thing to what’s been done for you
I did it all while I was dying
Rest in your faith, My peace will come to you

[Chorus]
For when I hear the praises start
Oh, I wanna rain upon you
Blessings that will fill your heart
I see no stain upon you
Because you are My child and you know Me
To Me you’re only holy
Nothing that you’ve done remains
Only what you do for Me

[Verse 2]
My child, My child, why are you weeping?
You will not have to wait forever
That day and that hour is in My keeping
The day I’ll bring you into Heaven

[Chorus]
For when I hear the praises start
Oh, I wanna rain upon you
Blessings that will fill your heart
I see no stain upon you
Because you are My child and you know Me
To Me you’re only holy
Nothing that you’ve done remains
Only what you do for Me
Just what you do for Me

———–

Matthew 5:13-17 NKJV

Believers Are Salt and Light
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Christ Fulfills the Law
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”

Hectic Life, because I’m not here just for the cleaning, I’m here for God’s Loving!!!

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I think this has been one of my most HECTIC weeks recently, but in a good way… and that’s not necessarily bad, because much of this week was so much fun, and now I can sit back, relax and reminisce and look at the pictures!!! WHEW… 

Last Saturday at an outdoor fest, then ice cream with a friend, then I caught that cat, delivered the cat Sunday to the vet/farm lady, drove back to give our church sermon. Then Sunday night a progressive rock artist concert –  ate fancy concert food too and then a BUSY work week also blessed, plus bouncing between meetings and dinners, bible studies and buying ordering a new fridge, and dinners out with work folks, time outside, even got a new hat for girl scout trip this upcoming summer, got the car washed, opened a wellness room at work, plus booked a trip for 2028 with scouts to Europe… Then last night (Friday) with a friend another concert – tribute band…

And yeah – today? AH…..  resting at home – anticipating the rain with joy actually that we are – well me – are stuck at home to just be….  and that is not true because 1) it’s ONLY rain – and 2) not even raining yet and 3) not stuck and 4) I am making plans to see another friend later whom I haven’t seen since summer, and 5) I can’t clean and stay at home ALL DAY (well I could but I am not!) I will be off to this and that – here and there will be good – but honestly – being here and here and here and HERE is best – it is time to rest – and to decompress – and to count my blessings that God chose to bless.  

Hectic Life, because I’m not here just for the cleaning…

I appreciated the Jesus Calling devotion this morning – stating (writing as God would say in 1st person – well God not person – well person AND God in Jesus – that “Though I have brought many pleasures into your life, not one of them is essential” – !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

Exactly. So all my hectic is not for nothing but it is nothing in comparison to God, Who is MORE than something, He is ALL in ALL.

Yes, not anything here on earth is essential – and essentially God is only essential – and His love is essential and He is LOVE – so essentially, we wouldn’t have (nor need) anything without God so let us give God His due and our attention – and especially our love… “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17  

SO – every good thing is from God and the basic needs we have are not so basic but MAGNIFICENT and mighty – because we need and have God’s LOVE and we get life from Him…  GOOD…

So even if I have a HECTIC life – that is GOOD – because I am not just here on earth for the cleaning – nor the adventures – nor the artifacts – nor the food – nor the music – nor the possessions – nor the boring – nor the hectic – I am HERE, GOD SAYS, to LOVE GOD and know HE LOVES US…  and that, my friends, is a GREAT gift from above – to know God – to know Him more – to know HIS LOVE – to know that He knows us in LOVE – sees us in LOVE – sees us and cares for us as children – and LOVES us as FATHER GOD – LOVES us as JESUS SAVIOR – moves us and LOVES us as a HOLY SPIRIT sponge ready to take up His Living Water and spread sprinkle and express all around…

WHEW…  OK – well – now I am clamoring thankfulness – all without leaving my monent… thankfulness and LOVE – knowing overwhelmingly LOVE is from GOD…

And now I am going to keep goofing off (and cleaning) and decompressing today in the rain – for a while – I have some guilty TV watching to catch up on – and oh yeah eating – got myself leftovers, yay…

And as we take refuge in realization that God is LOVE, here is the Psalm 62:5-8 entry from the Jesus Calling book – perfect thought for right now: “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; He is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour our your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.”  

TRUTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is not our hectic lives that hurt us except if we don’t take enough time to praise…

AMEN…………..

“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; He is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour our your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.”  

Shredding Vegas – Perfecting Vegas

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I had to wait – I really did – and it was frustrating but then again a teachable moment to myself that not everything should I expect to do or have done instantly…. yes, FINALLY the opportunity came to shred documents way back to 1967 – yes I said 1967 – finally came after I and others sorted, plus moved them around – plastic storage bins in a garage – in many trusted family and friends hands – safe but still a burden of excess – cancelled checks and tax returns – credit card info and offers – such sensitive stuff like ssn’s and whatnot. Shred shred shred so that we don’t dread dread dread…   

This was stuff that DIDN’T need to go to Vegas when my friend moved – she is now SLAYING Vegas (which is actually the name of a new book! available on Amazon!) – so for my friend there was no need to do SHREDDING in Vegas – she now is over there helping her family and grandkids and “PERFECTING Vegas”…  Leave the shredding behind… Shredding Vegas before it gets there – that IS perfecting Vegas – not just the paper but the past – shred the past and leave it behind and walk forward into your new life – live in the present – in the moment – and with and for the new people God gives you.

And the shredding paper boxes? It took a while but then in a whoosh of a moment it was done – those five last boxes to the local state representative’s sponsored free shredding event. Had done one giant shred run earlier in the summer but then had to pause because of a cancelled shred event by rain – and wait until the fall events started.  I thought to pay for it but that seemed nonsensical and pricey when a free shred event was surely around the corner – and it was – I just had to WAIT!

And it came. And now it is done… and we all survived waiting! Yes we will and can survive waiting…

Isn’t that us in life too – we have to wait – we have to wait – we have to wait upon the Lord…

Psalm 138 states a truth from David: “The Lord will Perfect That Which Concerns Me.” – and David writes that our salvation comes from the Lord’s Right Hand. TRUE!

I had written a devotion at the beginning of the summer which really speaks to me now as the things that were taking place were resolving every so slowly in my mind but ever so efficiently and totally in the Lord’s Hands – resolved to an even better outcome… Yeah, The Lord’s Ways are above our ways… and David’s Psalm 138 (and I) are not just talking about shredding or packing or moving stuff – we are talking about LIFE STUFF – that the Lord is perfecting – and HAS perfected because with accepting His cloak of forgiveness we are seen purified in God’s Grace and Mercy. And others too are cloaked in forgiveness by the Lord…  We have to forgive as we are forgiven. Yes, with His RIGHT HAND – JESUS – we are saved.

Below is the devotion that oh is so very true now (and always was) for our material things and mental things – yes I had a whole big list of “that concerns me”  from this summer and I had to wait it out and I watched the Lord resolve it EVEN BETTER than I could have imagined – even better and that takes time – that is not a “snap your fingers” kind of God but a “walk with me and FEAR NOT” TRUTH of God.

(And without giving details, the FEAR NOT command (perfectly timed as placed on my ears from a summer sermon) by the Lord has really really come true for me this summer – oh the relief and oh the comfort and oh the joy for watching the Lord complete the situation and get it moving again – wow!)

And perfecting “that which concerns me” is oh so comforting for my/our forevers too.

From Summer July to September (even from 1967 and before and beyond) and forever – The Lord will Perfect that which concerns me! Shredding and Perfecting – and LOVING the whole way.

Amen

Previous devotion at the beginning of the summer:

.

THE Lord will perfect that which concerns me.

The LORD will perfect that which concerns me.

The Lord WILL perfect that which concerns me.

The Lord will PERFECT that which concerns me.

The Lord will perfect THAT which concerns me.

The Lord will perfect that WHICH concerns me.

The Lord will perfect that which CONCERNS me.

The Lord will perfect that which concerns ME.

We (I) have a lot that concerns us – but the Lord – He is MORE than all that – MORE than a lot – MORE than us and MORE than our concerns. We can take strengthening in His regard for us – Our hope is in that He knows us and pays attention to us and lifts us up.

If there is anything we are not good at, we can rely upon Him to find our answers, our helpers, our path. His Mercy is the amazing gift of giving grace to the imperfections, and He answers our concerns just as He catches all our tears.

If there are items we are concerned about, and people and things, He gives us unworldly advice not to ignore things around us but to look at them like He does, with grace and mercy and forgiveness.

If there is anything we don’t know, we can ask. If there is anything we need, we can ask. And when (not if) we fall short, He provides the ability for us to recover.

Lord, You give us of Your Glory – let us know that You will perfect THAT which concerns me – by either perfecting me, or perfecting THAT, or perfecting the concern and bringing that concern into place where it belongs in the universe.

Without You, Lord, we would be nothing. So, WITH YOU LORD? We have everything we need.

AMEN

Psalm 138 NKJV
The Lord’s Goodness to the Faithful – A Psalm of David.

I will praise You with my whole heart;
Before the gods I will sing praises to You.
I will worship toward Your holy temple,
And praise Your name
For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.
In the day when I cried out, You answered me,
And made me bold with strength in my soul.

All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord,
When they hear the words of Your mouth.
Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
For great is the glory of the Lord.
Though the Lord is on high,
Yet He regards the lowly;
But the proud He knows from afar.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand
Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
The Lord will perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

The Lord Will Perfect That Which Concerns Me, Psalm 138

A Poem to Process and Praise, Psalm 30

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A poem to process and praise….

If I didn’t write,  it would be a fight – between my will and God’s mighty might. 

I could say in fact, this is mental processing with tact, not necessarily any Holy Spiritual act.

Yet to EXPRESS keeps me mentally better – I surely confess – praise (and questioning) pulls me away from the worldly mess, oh so much we have to process.

And so I WILL PRAISE!!!!  And as for the Lord’s Will, I have previously, I DO now, and in future I will have to: AMAZE.

If seeing darkness, LOOK for the LIGHT. More powerful than evil is God’s Fight making things Right!

It might be not now, but instead of saying Holy Cow (!), say WOW, Lord God, no one is Holier than Thou! 

Yes, forever the bumps and terrible circumstances, all tears will be wiped away. Please remember that for now, LIVE with a future vision throughout today.

So be patient in the mix – of strife and pain so ugly you could spit. Be awaiting not an earthly but a HEAVENLY FIX.

And choose to see the LONG VIEW!!! God did, God has, and God WILL get us through!!!

Amen for me and for you!!!

BE AWARE, GOD WILL ANSWER OUR PRAYER.

Amen!

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Psalm 30 NKJV

The Blessedness of Answered Prayer. A Psalm. A Song at the dedication of the house of David.

I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me. O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.

Now in my prosperity I said, “I shall never be moved.” Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled.

I cried out to You, O Lord; And to the Lord I made supplication: “What profit is there in my blood, When I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth? Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me; Lord, be my helper!”

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Starting and ending with the Scriptures, “Helen Keller’s Busy Day – 1954”

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I was so surprised – I had no idea there was newsreal film footage of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan as well as Polly Thomson, Helen’s assistant after Anne’s death. They had a lot of correspondence and travelled. Famous and sought-after… But yes it was an AMAZING story – one we should remember as both what can be achieved with love and to remember we count our blessings for.

There is a YouTube channel of these videos, including one that is the only known (or last known) of Anne speaking in the 1930s about helping and teaching Helen, blind and deaf since an illness at age 19 months. I remember the stark scenes from “The Miracle Worker” movie – of teaching this wayward child. You would never know that from the newsreels of elderly Helen – all smiles – working so hard – doing so much. It took teaching – it took intervention – it took perseverance – and mostly it took LOVE.

The great nugget of information that the one video stated, was that Helen (as we see in the 1954 news film) started and ended the day with scripture. One of her quotes was essentially: I am not blind as much as the world is blind. And as the video quoted Psalm 19 – isn’t that the truth? We must not be blind to the HOPE of the Lord. “With the Bible.” – in the transcript: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmaments show us his handy work. Day unto day affirm his speech, and night unto night show his knowledge. There is no speech, no language where their voice is not heard.”

The movies on that YouTube channel spoke of people Helen was indebted to, Louis Braille, Alexander Graham Bell, and countless others who brought innovations and schools. Imagine everyone who works hard and serves. It is us knowing – without the seeing – the work of their hands and feet and everything else to serve the Lord by loving His people.  And God accomplishes SO MUCH in LOVE. This knowledge is also from HIM – not from us.

Encouragement – to keep going – keep trying – and to praise the Lord for the accomplishments that He allows us to see and feel.

Amen

Psalm 19 NIV

For the director of music. A psalm of David.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
    It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
    like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens
    and makes its circuit to the other;
    nothing is deprived of its warmth.

The law of the Lord is perfect,
    refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
    making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
    giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
    giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure,
    enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
    and all of them are righteous.

They are more precious than gold,
    than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
    than honey from the honeycomb.
By them your servant is warned;
    in keeping them there is great reward.
But who can discern their own errors?
    Forgive my hidden faults.
Keep your servant also from willful sins;
    may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
    innocent of great transgression.

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
    be pleasing in your sight,
    Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

PARTAKE, Number Our Days and Stretch the Hours. Psalm 90

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Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

If we had summer all the time, we would NOT appreciate it.

I am sitting outside, just ate a strawberry from my garden, awaiting the peas. This is an early summer morning, no mosquitoes yet, cat is content in her tent, birds are chirping, God is good.

Just ate a strawberry from the container garden but some in the garden are left, the birds left me some. God takes care of those birds, and surely us. Yes, looking forward to the peas soon and I am reminiscing to remember how quickly things go from flower to fruit. How quickly spring sprung when it did. How quickly it will soon get hot and then how quickly it might fade in the fall. But right now, this is a moment to enjoy. 

Last night too, went to our local baseball game, free tickets (with food) for a work perk, not mine but my daughter’s! Cool…  I was thankfully there as invited yet third wheel for the “youngsters”, but nice chit chat about architecture stuff, tiles ceilings etc, over summer picnic fare of hamburgers and hotdogs and watermelon, included.  Interestingly, her firm was the one that originally worked on that ball park… It is so interesting to partake of something that you are not involved with, but yet you can reap then benefits… I sat later right behind home plate for the last inning, cool…

Isn’t that us and time and summer and God’s blessings. We are partakers watching from behind third base or right nearly in the dugout. We witness the world and yet the Lord wants us to be a part of it. He gets us up each morning to “Play Life!” Even if it is no game…

I watched the little kids at the ballpark and remembered 20 years ago, when my little ones wouldn’t sit still… how far we’ve come in just twenty years. I can’t even remember to appreciate what the fullness of time will be like for us…

If there are nine innings in baseball, some boring some exciting, then life moves the same. This inning is summer, soak it in…

Lord, teach us to number our days and stretch the hours too.

May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us – yes, establish the work of our hands.

Amen

Psalm 90 NIV

A prayer of Moses the man of God.

Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting YOU ARE GOD.

You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.” A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death – they are like the new grass of the morning: In the morning it springs up new, but by evening it is dry and withered.

We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan. Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. If only we knew the power of your anger! Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due. Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Relent, Lord! How long will it be? Have compassion on your servants. Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble. May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children.

May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us – yes, establish the work of our hands.

Choose JOY – Experiencing the Rescue and the Lift, Psalms 56 and 57 and more…

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I am under vows to you, my God; I will present my thank offerings to you. For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life. Psalm 56:12-13

My Playlist of God songs including “Rescue” – and “This is how I fight my battles”, this was my ‘go-to’ yesterday morning. I woke in (TMI) hot flashes and anxiety, for no good reason, maybe a few frivolous reasons, but not ‘good’ ones. I went from powerless (but got myself going – I mean on a Friday it is easier to say ‘Hey this is Friday’) to feeling more and more empowered throughout the day, with the Lord’s raising. Yes, I was raising from bed, slowly a gaining of better and better momentum, the trickling in of small special moments of appreciation and happiness that streamed into my morning. Appreciative messages, people offering answers to work prayers, good stuff for a Friday. Then when my old boss texted to see if I wanted to go to lunch to a brand new place, a Jewish delicatessen, with 2 OG original gang coworkers, I leapt at the opportunity.

It was surely the Lord Who lifted me up, like the Josh Groban’s version of the song sings, “You Lift Me Up!” to walk on stormy seas. And His people carried me forward. That’s a Lord of Love. 

I specifically wrote a devotion about Psalm 56 that down-feeling morning, because I knew ‘if God is for you, who can be against you‘, even in one’s own doldrums or health whatever, hormonal swings and such, good reasons or ‘no good reasons’. And I even told my coworkers and the owner of that new Jewish delicatessen about Psalm 56 helping me as a pick-me-up scripture, and we both said thank God for everything. 

In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise – in God I trust and am not afraid. Ps56:10

I certainly reached for God today – HE WAS THERE.

The Lord comforts and lifts, helps and holds. He does not disappoint!

And writing this, I enjoyed decompression in a moment, outside in the car, door open, with a simple rain sprinkle and cool breeze in the evening after going for ice cream with a friend. No I did not need the ice cream but I certainly just tasted for the sweetness of the day… And the friend and the ice cream were great joy. I can say the Lord delivered ‘my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.’… YES…

(And a bonus, I got to hold a pudgy cutest soft squishy baby at the ice cream place, Now that IS JOY!!!!! JOY!!! The ice cream, so good, was still so temporary but the JOY is forever!!!)

Amen Lord – Thanks… my tears of gratitude collection is filling up.

Thank God For You are For US.

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This Psalm 57 verses 9 t0 11 is like the Nine One One call request of rescue to the Lord – and then the THANK YOU!!!!

I will PRAISE you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth. Psalm 57:9-11

God is FOR us, Psalm 56

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God is FOR us

God IS for us

God is for US

GOD is for us

We should repeat this phraseology – God is for ME – and God is for US – with the emphasis of GOD. 

God is FOR us – God IS for us – God is for US – GOD is for us… 

With God, how can we not be alright – even better than alright – even if it takes endless rough spots to get through. And some people’s rough spots are tougher than others and some people are more strong – but the weakness that leads to depending upon God is the best weakness of all. For GOD IS OUR STRENGTH – and GOD is for us.

David – the king and the shepherd – he went through tough times and whether we relate and whether people have actually tormented us – the prayer can be the same – “Be merciful to me, O God…” David realized that with God and in God that he would be OK – even unto torment and death. I pray we are not there but for those times that we fear – we ALSO can cry out to the Lord – for the times we wonder – for the times we hurt… God collects our tears – God plans our steps – God doesn’t change and always carries us.

For You have delivered my soul from death.
Have You not kept my feet from falling,
That I may walk before God
In the light of the living?

If we are still here today, God has a purpose for us. We can keep going – God is FOR us.  Survive, Thrive, Be Alive.

Amen

Psalm 56 NKJV – Prayer for Relief from Tormentors
To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Silent Dove in Distant Lands.” A Michtam of David when the Philistines captured him in Gath.


Be merciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up;
Fighting all day he oppresses me.
My enemies would hound me all day,
For there are many who fight against me, O Most High.

Whenever I am afraid,
I will trust in You.
In God (I will praise His word),
In God I have put my trust;
I will not fear.
What can flesh do to me?

All day they twist my words;
All their thoughts are against me for evil.
They gather together,
They hide, they mark my steps,
When they lie in wait for my life.
Shall they escape by iniquity?
In anger cast down the peoples, O God!

You number my wanderings;
Put my tears into Your bottle;
Are they not in Your book?
When I cry out to You,
Then my enemies will turn back;
This I know, because God is for me.
In God (I will praise His word),
In the Lord (I will praise His word),
In God I have put my trust;
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God;
I will render praises to You,
For You have delivered my soul from death.
Have You not kept my feet from falling,
That I may walk before God
In the light of the living?

Human Traces are Temporary, God is FOREVER, Psalm 119

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Long ago I learned from your statutes that you established them to last forever.

The papers in my friend’s basement of old records (like most people I know, we accumulate piles and piles) were up to 20 years of receipts and important statements from the mail – important once but not anymore – but this little paper, color blue, stood out – it rose to the top of my eye – it was a scripture – carefully written and preserved: “But You are near, Lord, and all your commands are true.” Psalm 119:151, so true and so preserved – even if the paper is tattered and then I got rain on it – and then noticed the fading number caused me to research the whole psalm – helping me find the true statement that in Psalm 151 – the Lord makes His Commands LAST – as HIS Word LASTS!!!!

Stuff – we move that around – but paper – a blessing and a curse – Shredding is a blessing for personal information – stuff you don’t want lying around the trash will accumulate until you find a shredding option. And you have to sort it out – like the most important stuff once is the most important to destroy later. HOWEVER, the Lord’s Word never returns void to Him – so what He has moving around is for a purpose – and then He can let it go too – because He and His Word is eternal.

Right now, personally I am making MORE paper, I am copying 2 months of electronic writings from my blog page back into a Word document format for making a PDF and then printing via an office superstore. (No I don’t print them at home or work, but I take the leap of financial faith that paying 10 dollars for a month of writing, printed in duplicate, in really good quality and by a convenient way – that it works for me) So, YES, printing is important for me – especially because I believe paper will last and be passed on…  My blog will last for a while but you never know… So, I am thinking that at my funeral someday, maybe it is best to display my writings over any other of my knick-knacks or junk…  Yeah – my writing is my NOT SECRET writing – my writing is from my reading – my expression of my personal study – but also that I try to take too much personal out of it and talk about Holy Spirit driven-ness. And will these paper copies last? NO !! Yes I sense that my paper will last a little time – but again – I write from the Written Word – it lasts in being passed on.

I always come to this moment – wondering WHY I write. I don’t worry about it because it is God’s blessing for me to process. And based upon the people’s feedback, I am appreciative of their support – encouragement to my encouragement. But is is a natural question of pursuing God’s Will – why do I write and in what format? It interests me as a study of me – but especially as a study of God and His push. And of course we all do need a gentle push from God – or a pull – or at least that hug of love from His Word.

I am also wondering, always, what do I do with them from here? I know that I am to stay in the blog format – this is key – I write in emails so that they are instantly backed up. And have an email following as well as people who just accept my writings knowing I never ask them to read them – but to know that I HAVE to write. But now in addition, do I take these into a book? Re-write any? Who knows! The blogs are uploaded for security and convenience.

Us being grounded in the Word means to me that I remember that we are finite and He is infinite!!! My writings are for now – hoping to encourage others NOW – and maybe the next few years they will be applicable and explainable and accessible. I will let them go! But His Word? His Word is for FOREVER. And this means He will also be with us FOREVER. “But You are near, Lord, and all your commands are true.” Psalm 119:151

Precious and True. The Lord IS near and the Word LIVES. Truly Lives

Amen

Psalm 119:145-152 Qoph
I call with all my heart; answer me, Lord,
    and I will obey your decrees.
I call out to you; save me
    and I will keep your statutes.
I rise before dawn and cry for help;
    I have put my hope in your word.
My eyes stay open through the watches of the night,
    that I may meditate on your promises.
Hear my voice in accordance with your love;
    preserve my life, Lord, according to your laws.
Those who devise wicked schemes are near,
    but they are far from your law.
Yet you are near, Lord,
    and all your commands are true.
Long ago I learned from your statutes
    that you established them to last forever.

Lion around in Wait – for God is Great, Psalm 104

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Oh MY – LIONS and LIONS and Scriptures to Bear!

It is not like the fear of Dorothy going to Oz – “Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!” – but an awe exclamation of the number of inclusions of LIONS in the bible – which is enough to bring us each day to the middle of March when I plan to switch over to include daily scriptures about LAMBS…  What a great theme of Lions to Lambs – weather wise and in life. The Lord uses both magnificently in scripture and we are in awe, like David writing his psalms songs of praise: How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures” AND “I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord.”

And the Lord uses the wind – David would also sing in Psalm 104: “He makes winds his messengers“.  And weather-wise the early March wind has been HOWLING all afternoon night and then again this morning – WOW! I ain’t Lying about the LION of March’s weather roaring in. I shuddered at the sounds but we were safe and sound in the shuttered house, falling asleep counting blessings. I even remembered and praised that the big tree that used to scare us in the wind was taken down a couple years ago. I awoke to sunshine and hope in a new day (and TGIF!!!!)

And wow to know the LIONS of scripture! Of course there are many, and so I did look them up on a bible study tool engine online – which allows the finding all scriptures for a particular word. I LOVE PSALM 104!!!  Psalm 104 brings the best of praise for the Lord’s ability to create and take care of His creations – growing and feeding – protecting and directing – including us –  including the LIONS: “The Lions Roar for their prey and seek their food from God.“

There is SO much strength to be had in the bible verses to keep us going (and out of the Lion’s mouth).  How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.

Scriptures are waiting for us to pick them up! Scriptures are worth knowing! YES – Let us be hungry like Lions and seek our good food for thought from the Lord! Let us be Lion around in Wait – for God is Great!

Amen

(and please be pleased with a Psalm 104 read.)

Psalm 104 – Praise the Lord, my soul.
Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. 

The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants.

He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight; they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them. You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth.

He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains. They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds of the sky nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work. He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate – bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts. The trees of the Lord are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the junipers. The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.

He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down. You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl. The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God. The sun rises, and they steal away; they return and lie down in their dens. Then people go out to their work, to their labor until evening.

How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number -living things both large and small. There the ships go to and fro, and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.

All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.

May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works – he who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord. But may sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more.

Praise the Lord, my soul. 

Praise the Lord.

Apply PRAISE Apply LOVE, David’s Psalms

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It’s a short month, February, and March comes quickly with warming weather. Oh I am going to get some outside things done if just for an hour today,  and I should walk too… It is still winter and a cold snap we complain about, and yet it WAS nice to snuggle in, be indulgent (even too restful for myself) in indoors activities this short long winter… I’ve had not marathon TV days, but snippets of time in the evenings,  good stuff and junk too… BLESSED online offerings too. I am in the middle of watching the Sight and Sound production of David, a tremendous overview of the shepherd boy turned king and hand-chosen ancestry to Jesus’s birth… David was a man after God’s Heart. 

The music in this show came with pre-written lyrics – a musical after God’s heart – as David writer and singer of over 70 Psalms. The placement of certain Psalms in the scenes of his life connect the context to content. The lyrics set to melody in various arrangements from traditional to contemporary, are then placed at the appropriate time frame for David’s life: joyous in joy moments or expressing sadness and fear yet trusting God. Psalms of true lament, as David like us was flawed, and wrote and sang Psalms in reminders of God’s faithfulness by singing PRAISE. 

A praise for the Lord God Almighty is purposeful and pertinent because the Lord Himself instills in us this ability to PRAISE. God fills us with love too as GOD IS LOVE and this means the opportunity is always appropriate to try to apply LOVE in tough situations with tough people. Tough love too. For extraordinary extravagant LOVE is God’s existence. Psalm 103 reminds: “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

A friend once said: “God has no choice but to love”… and for this we PRAISE! Psalm 56 states “I am under vows to you, my God; I will present my thank offerings to you.”

May we apply PRAISE and apply LOVE, today and always. 

Amen

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Psalm 103 Of David.

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

He made known his ways to Moses his deeds to the people of Israel: The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children – with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.

Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

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Psalm 56 – For the director of music. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” Of David. A miktam. When the Philistines had seized him in Gath.

Be merciful to me, my God, for my enemies are in hot pursuit; all day long they press their attack. My adversaries pursue me all day long; in their pride many are attacking me.

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?

All day long they twist my words; all their schemes are for my ruin. They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps, hoping to take my life. Because of their wickedness do not let them escape; in your anger, God, bring the nations down.

Record my misery; list my tears on your scroll – are they not in your record? Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help. By this I will know that God is for me.

In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise – in God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me?

I am under vows to you, my God; I will present my thank offerings to you. For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children – with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.

Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

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Psalm 56

For the director of music. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” Of David. A miktam. When the Philistines had seized him in Gath.

Be merciful to me, my God, for my enemies are in hot pursuit; all day long they press their attack. My adversaries pursue me all day long; in their pride many are attacking me.

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?

All day long they twist my words; all their schemes are for my ruin. They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps, hoping to take my life. Because of their wickedness do not let them escape; in your anger, God, bring the nations down.

Record my misery; list my tears on your scroll – are they not in your record? Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help. By this I will know that God is for me.

In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise – in God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me?

I am under vows to you, my God; I will present my thank offerings to you. For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.

No Rabbit Holes in Jesus-Following Faith, Psalm 27

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I would have lost heart, unless I had believed.

You ever been down rabbit holes? Earthly holes no, but worldly ones yes! Me too! Those goose-chase activities to find answers, but the goose or rabbit unobtainable and you get lost in focusing on a distraction. Plus you might be wasting time (like clicking on endless web browser links) or you might be enriched in knowledge, like reading an encyclopedia of tidbits while chasing down something else. Rabbit holes could be fun with “other stuff” you dig up – or a rainy day project. Rabbit holes can be distracting from other obvious things to look at and do.

I DON’T think there are rabbit holes of faith-leading. I instead believe there are faith-leading openings that might appear like a rabbit hole of intricately faceted issues or distraction,  but are instead Light-leadings of Spirit and flattening plains of stepping stones. Follow in Faith because the Lord is purposeful. Sometimes we have a foot stuck in worldliness and either we pop it out quickly, or it settles in like slow quicksand, or we apply Living Water by inquiries to Jesus of why? how? when? which brings us to WHO, oh YOU JESUS. 

Once we release our angst to Jesus, the Living Water makes our stuck soil into not just the mud release but includes a wash off in one sigh of faith realized. Freed. The Lord levels the steps we take when we walk with Him rather than anticipate the problem hike.

Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me in a smooth path…

It’s not the steps of life, but the fear of taking them which hinders us.

The Lord is the strength of my life.

Let the Lord LEAD… intricate knowledge… simple signs… sheep gated gallops .. Wholeness views over hole-ness of distraction. In-His-Temple-protection and safely being placed upon a rock high enough to see all that the Lord has accomplished for us and brought us through – all while listening for His Shepherd voice and focusing all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord…

When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”

BELIEVE. 

Amen

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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.

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.

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!

Joy To The World, WOW

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I had the privilege of joining the girl scouts for some Christmas caroling and cookies and cocoa… Yes Rudolph is a favorite, and so cute was the suggestion to sing rocking around the christmas tree. My friends are amazing with all that they do as moms and teachers and ALSO leaders to scouts, like hundreds of scouts over the years… 

I was very pleased to sing: “Joy to the World”!!! AND… Well I didn’t know this (and thank God for Wikipedia), but Joy to the World is NOT a Christmas song, but a highly published poem, mentioning in its lyrics NOT the first coming of Christ, but the SECOND! Oh!!!

OH!!!! Not even ho ho ho,  not Christmas. But oh oh oh!!!

So please do give it a listen. And feel the JOY in ANTICIPATION that will be coming, anytime now, when Jesus returns! What a WONDERFUL and FOREVER Christ GIFT that will be!!! That’s truly Joy to the World, to have Jesus start our forever. 

He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity. OH OH OH, That’s the full circle with Jesus, the Word from the beginning, then upon Christmas, He Came, and Easter, He Rose, and His Second Coming, He “Proves” the Nations – judging them, seeing them bow down, AND He gives believers forgiveness and that is the equity given to all.

Now that’s a Wonder of HIS LOVE!!!

AMEN

AMEN 

AMEN 

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This is from wikipedia:

Lyrics of

“Joy to the World” has four verses, although the third verse is occasionally omitted. [FYI – That third verse connects to the curse of Adam having to toil the ground, Genesis 3]

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare him room,

And heaven and nature sing, 

And heaven and nature sing,

And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns;

Let men their songs employ;

While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found,

Far as the curse is found,

Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders, wonders, of His love.

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This is what Wikipedia says:

“Joy to the World” was written by English minister and hymnist Isaac Watts, based on a Christian interpretation of Psalm 98 and Genesis 3. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts’ collection The Psalms of David: Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian State and Worship. The paraphrase is Watts’ Christological interpretation. Consequently, he does not emphasize with equal weight the various themes of Psalm 98. In first and second stanzas, Watts writes of heaven and earth rejoicing at the coming of the King. Watts did not write this hymn as a Christmas carol, as the lyrics do not reflect the Virgin birth of Jesus, but rather Christ’s Second Coming. Stanza three, an interlude that alludes to Genesis 3:17–19 rather than to the psalm text, speaks of Christ’s blessings extending victoriously over the realm of sin. The cheerful repetition of the phrase “far as the curse is found” has caused this stanza to be omitted from some hymnals. But the line makes joyful sense when understood from the New Testament eyes through which Watts interprets the psalm. Stanza four celebrates Christ’s rule over the nations.” The nations are called to celebrate because God’s faithfulness to the house of Israel has brought salvation to the world.

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Psalm 98

Sing to the Lord a new song,

for he has done marvelous things;

his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,

burst into jubilant song with music;

make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn – shout for joy before the Lord, the King.

Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.

Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy;

let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.

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Genesis 3:17-18 KJV

And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

Morning has Broken, but God Hasn’t

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“…praise every morning, God’s recreation of the new day!…”

Some major storms last night, but I was not and am not usually afraid. Not going to endanger myself, but I’ll certainly look interestingly outside the windows at the lightning when I’m not charting the thunderstorms on the radar. 

We do need the rain, and it IS summer. 

If summer is July and August, for the main event, like it is us having a weekend Saturday and Sunday, in terms of weather. Then surely June to summer would be like the Friday night warm up. Praise for the new season of summer. It will get too cold too fast. Praise for summer and wet gardens to walk though. Love the lyrics of Morning Has Broken – God walking in the gardens.

We can take the weather and weather it. Really rarely does lightning actually strike us people – but I’ve seen a tree get hit only feet away from me, and wow the heat was intense !!! So I respect lightning.  That day, we didn’t know the storm would open up so quickly. We didn’t have alarms or radar. We were in a pavilion at a BBQ. Now we have lots of warnings, especially glued to our phones. Then we watched the skies. Run to the car or not? I opted for the car. Probably not the right choice but I survived. No, I’m not extra fearful now, it was just something that one deals with and moves on.

Respect over fear. Smart over stupid. Living over cowering. Just accept summer is summer. Live it!

Maybe like thunderstorm radars, we ALREADY know each day will bring us CHALLENGES. But do we move out into the day anyway? Yes. and we should. This is why we have roofing and good tires and common sense. 

If common sense is useful, then our sense of place is just as important – and our witness of knowledge of God as calming AND our witness of God as POWERFUL – these thoughts keep us moving in our day.

If we remember that God can overcome all that is dark by being LIGHT, and He can overcome hate by being LOVE, surely we can look past the night to see the dawn, and we can calm our fears to accept His peace.

It can be dark, but morning comes. The life we live can be broken, yet the heat can be broken and the morning will be broken in our favor, because our God will never be broken unable to help. Yes – broken in body as Jesus was – but God whole never broken in purpose or plan. And God has walked all these gardens before.

Amen

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Morning has Broken, hymn

Author: Eleanor Farjeon (1931)

1 Morning has broken

like the first morning,

blackbird has spoken

like the first bird.

Praise for the singing!

Praise for the morning!

Praise for them, springing

fresh from the Word!

2 Sweet the rain’s new fall

sunlit from heaven,

like the first dewfall

on the first grass.

Praise for the sweetness

of the wet garden,

sprung in completeness

where God’s feet pass.

3 Mine is the sunlight!

Mine is the morning

born of the one light

Eden saw play!

Praise with elation,

praise every morning,

God’s recreation

of the new day!

Morning has Broken, Cat Stevens

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=qARB7XPfYjo&si=RLYyLQn8gFIcjYgU

Freedom, Death, Life – A Beach Day Foray

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Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22 KJV

I know not to be playing on the rocks, but I was free to sit on them, these massive piles in the ocean. I needed to warm up, in the sunshine. Yes! YES, I SAID WARM UP! Warm up as the beach ocean breeze brought 65 degrees water temp into the heatwave, and so it was NOT nearly 100 degrees like at home, 1 hour away, but perfect 75 to 80, except in the shade, chilly! The clerk at the store said enjoy yourself – we all need some time to ourselves – AMEN – and for me this was my reading day.

What a treat! BEAT THE HEAT! The pier brought cold air up channeling it like a cave wind – and people under it were wearing sweatshirts while reading – yes sweatshirts – I brought my books too – but I moved out a bit – to under my umbrella. I think this is my new favorite beach – instant shade with the pier – free parking – and signs of God everywhere.

The rock outcropping next to us did not move, but the people could and the waves did. The lifeguard came to warn a small boy to get away from the rocks. It is the crash that is dangerous – and this is in life too – the flip flop washyness – best we stand firm in our faith and trust in the Lord. Here is another translation of psalmist David’s scripture: Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. Psalm 55:22 NIV

Not shaken – Not moved – and we are cared for – that is what my scripture card said – and what a perfect day to bring my summer reading books – about the Rapture: the Great disappearance – interesting and so is the second coming of Jesus after the millennium. The Rapture – the time when the dead in Christ will rise to the Lord first and us (if we are still alive) will rise next. And it is said people will wonder where we went. SO, if we leave these books and our bibles around – perhaps people will realize what happened – and trust in the Lord Jesus too – ready for their opportunity to meet him and accept forgiveness.

Cared for! and yet we are people in this world not without debate, and thus the second book suggested to me I will read too – when AT THE BEACH for this summer. Yes imagine that – there are differing of opinions of God’s end times for the earth. All I can tell you right now is just be ready for any scenario – and know that we GO with Jesus and therefore we will OK in the forever-run.

The saying is: those who are born once, die twice. and those who are born twice – die once. yes – so with a born again spirit in Jesus, we won’t die the second death – and thus we WILL be OK in the forever – and so therefore don’t fear the first death – or the rocks to be bashed against – or fear much of anything. 

So feel the righteousness of Jesus as the wind inside the empty sails – the anchor holding up the umbrella – that pure gift of perfect to cover our imperfect – better than sunscreen – and so at the beach DO wear sunscreen and a hat and stay in the shade if you can – but accept the foray into the world – the tough world – knowing Jesus is with us. And let us pick up our freedom live in His Grace. 

Amen

His blessings are all around us! 

Amen

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The Heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. Psalm 19:1-2