ARLENE

Please pray for my friend, Arlene.

My Refuge and My Fortress (Psalm 91)

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the Lord,
“My refuge and my fortress,my God, in whom I trust.”

For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side,ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.

You will only look with your eyes
and see the recompense of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place
—the Most High, who is my refuge —
no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

“Because he holds fast to me in love,
I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

Image taken from here.

FOUR LITTLE WORDS

I was feeling especially stressed and down-hearted this morning. I stopped by my 7-11 this morning and the afternoon cashier was working. When he finished ringing up my order he said to me, for the first time..."Have a blessed day."

Have a blessed day.

It is amazing what those four little words can do, how they can affect a person.

Have a blessed day, my friends!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

" Lord, spare us the insidious ego deception that we love God when really we love being told that we love God. Forbid that our being thanked is the bottom of our joy, rather than Christ being praised." -- John Piper

Image taken from here.

THE PIT

Last night, while having dinner with some friends, I told this story about an associate pastor who was teaching a class on the "One Anothers" from scripture. I was really excited to take this class because the subject matter looked good and the associate pastor was new to our church so this gave me an opportunity to get to know him better. The class was excellent, he was a very good teacher, and I was really applying the materials....until....the one day he told us what he thought to be a very funny thing.

He told us with a great big smile (perhaps there was also a wink...kind of like you give to someone who knows the inside joke, but I really don't remember if there was an actual wink) "You know that time before services, when all the people are gathered in the vestibule and you get asked about fifty questions from fifty different people??? I call that THE PIT! yuk, yuk!!!!" Um, no one really laughed, you know, seeing we were all "pit" people in the class. And I was very careful after that to never, never, NEVER do anything but say hello and smile when I saw him before services.

So, this morning during my devotional time, when I read this line from Psalm 88, I had to laugh:

I am counted among those who go down to the pit...(Psalm 88:4a)

I guess that makes me a member of the pit crew and I know there is some invisible fire involved somewhere...somehow..... (wink, wink!!)

Image take from here.

ARLENE

And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. Revelations 21:6

Please remember to pray for my friend, Arlene.

Image taken from here.

REMEMBERING

This past Saturday, my daughter and I looked through her box of memorabilia. There were pictures, artwork, ribbons, awards, medals, schoolwork, etc. One story she had written in the 2nd grade had us laughing so loud that it brought people from another part of the house to find out what in the world was going on. We noticed things that we hadn't noticed when the items were being packed away like, in her early artwork there was a unique trend to use repetitive color patterns. I had not caught that until I looked at lots of pictures side by side. Other things we had completely forgotten until triggered by entries made in her books. A number of things we knew were also reinforced or confirmed. For example, it has become legend that my daughter would not go to sleep before 11 p.m. even as an infant. There it was...entry after entry..."Baby's bedtime: 11 p.m." "3 year old's bedtime: 11 p.m." "2nd grader's bedtime: 'well, she goes to bed at 8:30 but doesn't fall asleep until after 11!' " Or, the fact that I love my girl and she loves me. There were tons of notes from me to her and from her to me...simple notes..."I love you, Rachel" or "I love you, mommy".

I have a memory book that is sort of like my own book of psalms. It holds things God is speaking to my heart and things from my heart to His. It helps me remember things about our relationship that I would have forgotten unless triggered by some entry. Just this morning, I went to add something to my book and my eye caught a title "God's Answer Continued" from an April entry. I went back to read what my questions had been. They were full of anguish and sorrow. But four months later, as I reread my entry and His answers, I realized that He had answered every one of my questions. Not all right away. Some answers I didn't have clarity on until this morning really, once I connected the dots that He had been laying down for me.

I love revisiting the past with God. It fills me in the present. It gives me hope for the future.

image taken from here.

PRAYING FOR THE ENEMY

Yesterday, I had someone declare themselves to be my enemy. This is a rare position for me to be in. My first reaction was emotional. I felt wronged, and except for a few who I know would stand by me, very much alone. During the night I tossed and turned, until I remembered God's Word.....

Love Your Enemies (Luke 6)
27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

So, I began to pray for my enemy. Not for how my enemy had wronged me. But for my enemy's life. For my enemy's family. For the difficulties that my enemy is facing. I prayed long and I prayed hard.

I prayed as lovingly as I could for my enemy, not because I am good. I am not. I am less than good. I prayed because God is good. God is holy. God is righteous. And I love Him.

Today, I still struggle with unrest. Today, I am reminded that my response will teach those around me what I believe and not what I may preach. Today, I still feel that "aloneness" in the pit of my stomach. Today, I still have much to learn and change, much that still needs the redemptive power of a Mighty God.

But today, I continue to submit to One who is safe. One who sees the outcome, no matter how difficult that may be for me, who I know to be trustworthy. Today, I continue to pray for my enemy, as lovingly as I know how.



“When it comes time to die, make sure that all you have to do is die.” -- Jim Elliot (Martyr...it would be worth your time to Google him if you don't know anything about his life.)

Image taken from here.

OBEDIENCE

I asked, well probably more like ordered, my daughter to water my flowers this morning. See what God blessed her with for her obedience? The cutest little baby cottontail hopped right out from underneath some of the flowers she was watering! It made her day!

And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams." I Samuel 15:22

ARLENE

8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!
(Psalm 84)

Please remember to pray for Arlene and family.

REMEMBERING 9/11

I didn't think I would still be so affected. It has been a number of years. But on my drive into work this morning, against the gray sky, I saw planes landing and planes taking off. Planes in the distance and low flying planes right overhead. And on the radio I heard the names of victims being read off...slowly and clearly...one by one. I sobbed.

My thoughts went back to the last verse of the Psalm I read this morning...."that they may know that you alone,whose name is the Lord,are the Most High over all the earth." (Psalm 83:18)

Whatever grief, whatever fear, whatever loss of innocence, however we, as a nation, as a people, as individuals, have been marked and changed....may it be that we know....THAT WE KNOW...that YOU ALONE, whose name is LORD, are the MOST HIGH over ALL the earth! Grant us this truth, through Your grace and Your Holy Spirit! Amen.

WHERE'S WALDO?

Whew! We are in the 2nd week of the largest team project my company has ever been involved in. Things are a bit slower for me this week so I decided to look through my emails...the ones that I have been skimming and neglecting to answer for the past several months. How could I have missed this one, sent to me by my sweet friend, Becky. Becky took this on a recent vacation. Can you figure out why she sent this to me????

Love you, Becky! I FINALLY got it!

MY KID

I must say, my daughter is one of my favorite people on earth. I love her creativity. I love when she laughs. I love how she sticks one foot out from under the covers when she sleeps. I love her sense of compassion. I love when she sits at the piano and plays for hours. I love her heart for God. I love our walks together. I love our late night talks. I love that she marches to the beat of a different drummer. I even love it when she rolls her eyes at me cuz I am being...well... a mom.

I am thankful. I am blessed.

YOU ARE KEEPING ME COMPANY

It is almost 9 p.m. I am still at work. Waiting until I can go home. Going home time is usually 5:30 or 6 p.m. In between working on problems, I have been reading your blogs. Some funny stuff. Some serious stuff. Some friends I know very well, others I have never met. But you all have shared something of yourself...a daughter's first day of school, an upcoming fundraising walk, an anniversary, plans to start a water aerobics class, insights on life and culture, prayer requests, spiritual stuff, hopes, dreams, new babies, trivial stuff, important stuff. I have enjoyed this time with you as I wait to get back to my daughter and "real life".

THANK YOU FOR KEEPING ME COMPANY!!!