Answers from the Psalms


You cried to me in trouble, and I saved you; I answered out of the thundercloud and tested your faith when there was no water at Meribah. Psalm 81:7

Counting hope today in expectation of the answers……”In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation!” Psalm 5:3 We can pray in expectation because we know He is faithful. I love the idea of David laying his requests before God in the morning…..He wasn’t afraid to be open and transparent before God….and vulnerable. He knew that God would answer because of all the times He had answered in the past. He also knew that true faith means coming before the Lord with full assurance that God had already worked it out!

David made some big mistakes just like we all have, but he still knew that he was God’s child. He knew that his help truly came from the Lord and no one else. Maybe you had a parent you could never count on. You always had hope that at least one time they would come through for you, but they never did. One time give a word of encouragement. One time, show up for the game. One time, say they loved you, were pulling for you, were on your side. You gave up, on them, on yourself….feeling you must not be worth it.

But take heart, because our Heavenly Father is not like that. He is in the bleachers cheering you on. He always has been. He says, you are mine and you are worthy! We need to look no further than Calvary to remind ourselves that God thinks we are indeed worth it.

“For you have heard my vows, O God; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.” Psalm 61:5 #361

“They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.” Psalm 22:5 #362

“I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.” Psalm 40:1 #363

#364 flowers in summer, #365 laughter when all else fails, #366 answers, expected and unexpected, #367 the gift of health, #368 time off work, #369 air-conditioning when it’s 112 in the shade, #370 parents that were there……

holy experience

My First Thought


Excerpt from A Diary of Private Prayer, by John Baillie

Eternal Father of my soul, let my first thought today be of You, let my first impulse be to worship You, let my first speech be Your name, let my first action be to kneel before You in prayer.

For Your perfect wisdom and perfect goodness,
For the love with which You love mankind
For the love with which You love me
For the great and mysterious opportunity of my life
For the indwelling of Your Spirit in my heart
For the sevenfold gifts of Your Spirit
I praise and worship You, O Lord.

Yet let me not, when this morning prayer is said, think my worship ended and spend the day in forgetfulness of You. Rather from these moments of quietness let light go forth, and joy, and power, that will remain with me through all the hours of the day;

Keeping me chaste in thought
Temperate and truthful in speech
Keeping me faithful and diligent in my work
Keeping me humble in my estimation of myself
Keeping me honorable and generous in my dealings with others
Keeping me loyal to every hallowed memory of the past
Keeping me mindful of my eternal destiny as a child of Yours,
Through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

One Thing…..


This was on the Daily Devotional yesterday and I had to share it. In very few words he puts everything in perspective. Nothing to add here…..
Making the Right Choice
By Max Lucado

“Everyone must die once and be judged.” Hebrews 9:27

Eternity is to be taken seriously. A judgement is coming.

Our task on earth is singular—to choose our eternal home. You can afford many wrong choices in life. You can choose the wrong career and survive, the wrong city and survive, the wrong house and survive. You can even choose the wrong mate and survive. But there is one choice that must be made correctly and that is your eternal destiny.

Bird funerals

Photo from Wikipedia

I found a dead baby bird as I left work last night. I hate finding those. I always want to blame the careless mother. But that’s not quite fair, after all maybe she had nothing to do with it. It was lying in the middle of the sidewalk, right on the path. I didn’t want anyone to step on it so I took a napkin out of my purse and layed it under a tree nearby out of sight. I did it because all life is sacred, even a little baby bird.

My Grandmother once gave my parakeet Peppy a funeral. We left it in her care when we went on vacation and it died. She was very upset, so upset that she saved it for me! She lovingly rolled it up in a papertowel and laid it in a green plastic strawberry basket. Maybe I get my bird obsession from her.

But God cares about them too, after all…..”Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God.” Luke 12:6

All of life is sacred. I was thinking about this on the way to work this morning. Why is it that so many professionals recommend counseling before marriage (a very good idea) but not require it before bringing another eternal soul into this world?

Just wondering.

A solitary place…..


“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Mark 1:35

We know this place….we have seen it in our dreams, in our minds. That solitary place of peace that we long for. We think, if I can just get there…. then I will be okay. It is not as far away as you might think, that place. Sometimes it comes when you least expect it, a sudden feeling that all is right, at least in your world. You want to hold it close because you know it won’t last, but it is enough for now. You look up and say a prayer of thanks because you know where it came from. “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

Some people spend a fortune going to exotic places seeking that place of peace and never find it. Real peace can only be found in Him. What a blessing we don’t have to go that far……We can find it where the Spirit resides. In the quiet soft nest of our very own soul, where He has carved out His home. He knew we would need that. So much so that He wanted us to be able to carry Him wherever we go.

So go find a quiet place today. You will find that Someone’s footsteps have been there before yours, seeking peace. He has left it for you to find.

“And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone…..” Matthew 14:23

Praying the Scripture

Papyrus scroll of Isiah 33,1-24
“But in coming to the Lord by means of “praying the Scripture,” you do not read quickly; you read very slowly. You do not move from one passage to another, not until you have sensed the very heart of what you have read. You may then want to take that portion of Scripture that has touched you and turn it into prayer.” Madame Guyon (1648-1717) From, Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ

I am a fast reader, and in a way that’s good because I know I have to forcibly slow myself down in order to get what God wants me to get from reading His Word. It helps greatly to start with prayer, prayer for God to open my heart and mind to what I may have missed before. Ever missed something totally in a verse that you know you have read many times before? It happened to me this morning.

It was in the portion of Scripture where Mary pours the expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet and then Judas complains that it was a waste of money and they should have sold it and given the money to the poor. Yeah, right. He was skimming from the till, that’s why he was concerned! But as I read the whole Chapter, I thought how the whole scene was so surreal. Here was Jesus at the home of Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead not too long before.

And then I read what I had missed all the other times……”Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well,for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.” John 12:9,10

I don’t know about you but I can’t imagine what Lazarus was thinking. No doubt he was still in a state of incredulity at being alive again after hopping out of a dark tomb bound hand and foot. Now here he was enjoying fellowship and a good dinner with friends only to have his very life threatened. They wanted to kill what Jesus had brought to life!

I thought of how sometimes I want to bring to life what Jesus wants to kill in my life….worry, fear, stress, anxiety or maybe mistakes that I have made I want to remind Him of.

What in your life are you trying to resurrect today that Jesus has already taken to the Cross? He has already forgotten it!….having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:14

The Right Path….

Image from The Passion of the Christ

Grateful today for the Path, and that I never have to walk it alone.
Whatever I do, and however this world may distract me,
My path ends here, and always here at Your precious feet.
The ones that went to the cross for me.
You are mighty to save and you have led me out of darkness into Your marvelous light and I am eternally grateful today….

My path starts and ends here, always here.
In the dust, at the hem of Your Holy garment, at Your feet.
My steps may be halting, hesitant at times, but…”though I stumble, I will not fall, for the LORD upholds me with His hand.” Psalm 37:28

You said……
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21

Yes I am grateful for the path today, Your path that leads to life.

Psalm 16:11
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Counting blessings to one thousand and beyond…..#353 His mercies which are new every morning…#354 The depth of His unsurpassing love for us…..#355 Friends who gather and pray with us….#356 Words that breathe life into our souls…..#357 That He hears my voice….#358 That He is interceding for me…..#359 His Words that come alive….#360 Moments of peace when I least expect it…..

holy experience

A Father’s Love

Photo by Google images
How blessed I am to have felt the touch of a loving father’s hands growing up. They were working hands, strong. Made that way by many hours of county road work, but always soft and gentle with me. I can still remember the way he would tuck covers in around me, or lift me high above his shoulders and then act like he was falling. I was safe in the security of his love and protection and I knew he would always be there just when I needed him.

But others have much different memories of fathers, ones you would just as soon forget. Or maybe you have no memory at all, just a gaping hole where he should have been. Knowing that it was all on you, no father there to set things right or be your safety net.

For all of you I bring you the Father’s love today……for we have a loving father who steps in to be your Dad…..”A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.” Psalm 68:5

Maybe you never felt like you were wanted, but know this today, Your Father in Heaven did want you. He wanted you because you are here, breathing life right now. He is longing to wrap His loving arms around you and fill all those empty places in your soul where a Dad should have been.

He can bind up every wound, heal every hurtful memory. He can be all you never had right now.

I pray that Father’s Day be something different this year, a time for embracing the Father’s love, letting go of what could have been, and letting God fill you with everything He longs to give you.

2 Corinthians 6:18 “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

Believing is not seeing


“I can see, and that is why I can be happy, in what you call the dark, but which to me is golden. I can see a God-made world, not a manmade world.”
Helen Keller

She found the secret of belief. We have a hard time grasping what we can’t see. She couldn’t see at all but felt Him all around her. I guess that’s why I feel His presence easier in the quiet hush of a forest or sitting beside the ocean…..

For we live by believing and not by seeing. 2 Corinthians 5:7 NLT

Lo, I am with you always…


This morning right before I awoke I dreamed I was staring at the sky much like the one above, and as I was gazing at it, a very large hand came reaching down out of the clouds. It was huge, a God-sized hand, the biggest thing I have ever seen in the sky. I gasped and turned around, hoping someone else was seeing it too. But nobody did.

I think sometimes God sends us little messages to let us know that He is with us. He knows we are weak, get tired, lose hope, need our spirits lifted. I know it lifted mine this morning. I don’t think there was any deep message in it, except that God was saying, “I am here.” Maybe this message of hope is for you today.

“The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.” Psalm 34:7 Even Jesus needed angels to comfort Him in the garden before He went to the cross. If He needed their comfort, what makes us think they don’t tend to us as well? I think if we could really see the spiritual activity all around us, it would greatly change how we live from day to day.

Jesus knew of it, and the demons who greeted Him knew of it too, but most of the time we are woefully ignorant. And sometimes, the here and now is painful, blinding us to it even further. All we can see is the hopelessness of our circumstances. Sometimes though He breaks through and reaches us where we are.

I had just lost my husband and I was walking around in a black vacuum. The grand-piano sized grief had settled on my chest and I carried it everywhere. One day I was checking out at the grocery store. As the checker handed me my change and looked at me, I felt some undescribable. It was as if Jody himself was looking out through his eyes saying, “Everything’s gonna be fine.” I have always thought it was an angel. “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:14
All these years later, the memory has not dimmed. I was shaken by the encounter and rocked by emotion. I fled the store. But at the same time it gave me hope. He was right of course, everything was fine eventually. Everything will be fine for you as well. Whatever it is you’re facing, He is with you!

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand. Psalm 37:23,24

Keep looking to the sky!