A Cautionary Reminder Perhaps?

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He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

Psalm 46:10 

Yesterday --

filled with fretting over things not done,

filled with impatience over the status of my housekeeping,

filled with STUFF! 

TODAY --

 a new day filled with hopes of catching up,

a new day hopefully free of fretting and impatience,

a new day bothered by less stuff!

AND THEN --

I get out of bed like always,

stumble into the bathroom and back out to get dressed,

and walk right into the base of our exercise bike!

O-U-C-H -- broken pinky toe!!!

Hidden message?????

Not hidden -- a definite message --

to be still, more still than usual,

to take time to listen to Me, I am your God,

and I want you to be still and know Me

today and every day.

How about you?

Can you take some time today to

be still and know Him?

Know Him every day the way we should?

Linking up today with:

and with Joan at Reflections of His Grace

 

    

Thoughts on Independence vs. Dependence

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Today our country celebrates what is probably the most important day in American history -- our independence.

Where I live in the Pacific NW, we celebrate what we hope is the beginning of summer.  Hard to believe considering where the rest of the country has been recently in the weather news.

As I reflected on our hopes in the NW for warmer, drier, sunnier days, I found myself thinking of the hope our forefathers held in their hearts when they left England for what would become America.

They were seeking freedom from tyranny, to worship as they wished, to be at liberty to govern themselves, and so much more.

BUT even in gaining independence, those hopes depended on their faith in God, a leaning on His everlasting arms.


In Isaiah 26:2-4, as found in the Amplified Bible, we read:

Open the gates, that the [uncompromisingly] righteous nation
which keeps her faith and her troth [with God] may enter in.
You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose

mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You,
because he commits himself to You, leans on You,
and hopes confidently in You.

So trust in the Lord (commit yourself to Him, lean on Him,
hope confidently in Him) forever; for the Lord God is an
everlasting Rock [the Rock of Ages].

Lately, and perhaps because of family circumstances, I've been considering just how much I fix my eyes on Him, allowing myself to lean into Him and hope in Him.  Is it enough?

Or do I allow myself to get caught up in the worldly comforts of our free nation, and lose that focus?  Do I battle for independence from Him in favor of what the world around me can offer? 

God's been nudging me to come closer, to lean more steadfastly, to be constant in my hope and trust, because this is the greatest of freedoms.  A pure and simple gift of grace offered through sacrifice, the sacrifice of His Son.

Today, although thankful for the freedoms of our homeland, I choose dependence on Him first.  Then I can truly enjoy the independence found in our history and our lives today.

What about you?  Where do your priorities and freedoms take you?  Closer or farther away?

Linking up today with:

I Can Do It!

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I can do it!  Oh, I remember the first time I heard my son say these words.

You know the age, right?  Around two or three years of age, a child begins to explore his or her independence.

I can do it!

Confession:  I've said those words too.  I can do it!

And I want to do it, do it all.  I want control over my life.  But I can't!  There I've said it.

I can't do it all.  I can't control my life in every detail. 

UNLESS . . .

I look to Christ for strength. 

 I live in His Word, reading daily.

I commit to remembering that in Him I can do so much more.

Because He, and He alone, can provide what I need to 

do what my life requires, my life as He sees it.

My life is not wholly my own, but

a shared existence with and through Him.

Then, partnering with Christ, I can do all things -- 

all things that He has planned for me.

Like a seed planted in the ground can't grow unless it is watered and fed and watched over, I need to be nourished by Christ's love and strength.

What about you?  Can you do all things?  Wouldn't it be easier

with Christ providing for you the strength and the guidance

you really need?  

Think about it, won't you?


Linking up today with:

Light, Gladness and Thanks

"Light is sown like seed for the righteous and gladness for the
upright in heart. Be glad in the LORD, you righteous ones,
and give thanks to His holy name."
Psalms 97:11-12

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Sitting in our backyard today the light came through the trees much like this photo shows.

As I looked up through the towering trees, I was at once caught up by the goodness of that light and how it spread across not only our yard but our neighbors' yards, and in fact all over our small neighborhood.

Just as the Psalmist says in these verses, the "light is sown like seed" -- the light's beams are thrown down from above to the earth below.  As I garden and plant seeds, often they are tossed down into the row with the hope that the seed will flourish.

God's light is sent down with the hope that it will plant a seed in a heart and flourish there too.  How can we not be glad in our hearts and give thanks to Him for all His goodness to us?

Continuing to count with the group over at A Holy Experience:

505.  Ordinary time at home.

506.  Successful shoulder surgery for our son.

507.  Our daughter-in-law's care for our son.

508.  Healing for a friend.

509.  Continued adjustments happening for family with nursing home situation.

510.  A warm sunny day to work outside.

511.  Study by Marlene Bagnull for Christian writers, Writing His Answer.
512.  A breakthrough in writing my memoir.
513.  Seeing God at work in our youth program.
514.  Our youth pastor's leadership.
515.  New children's ministries director.

Won't you join us in counting the gifts God has bestowed during the last week?

Linking up with the community at A Holy Experience 

and with Laura at 

and with L.L. Barkat at

For the Beauty of the Earth

For The Beauty of The Earth
by Folliott S. Pierpoint, 1864

For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies;
For the love which from our birth,
Over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

***

For the Beauty of the Earth is a hymn which resonates throughout my life, since childhood in fact.  I always thought of this, the first verse, as the most beautiful.  

But I also reasoned that this was a large and grand hymn offering to God something in return for all He had given us.  A child-like observation, yes, but one that I think continues to be true, at least for me.

Another caregiver trip to Washington state brought us along Interstate 84E on Saturday afternoon.  I am continually amazed when we drive through the Columbia River Gorge at the immensity of God's world and the artistry with which He created and brought our world into being.

The height of the walls and the layers of earth upon rock
upon silt and so on, on each side of the Gorge

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 View of the Gorge from Crown Point during
a luscious spring show -- the blue sky and greens below

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 To see the first sign of nearing home,
Mt. Hood, still cloaked in white

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 And to even realize blue skies are turning to gray skies
and rain as we near Portland -- the usual

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And continuing to give God my gratitude for the goodness of His gifts to me and mine:

496.  The beauty of the world around me as told in the verses to this hymn.

497.  The opportunity to live in an area so full of God's artistry.

498.  Gifts of watching friends help our brother who see him just as he always been despite the ravages of his disease.

499.  A committed sister-in-law who is taking extraordinary care of our brother.

500.  An unexpected visit with family from Boston over the weekend.

501.  Concerned children who think their parents are doing too much.

502.  The departure of a bug or virus that hit 24-36 hours ago and appears to be long gone.

Linking up with the community at A Holy Experience 

and with Laura at 

and with L.L. Barkat at

Heart Full of Thanks -- Counting 1000 Gifts

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Last week reminded me of the old TV show called "The Week That Was."  Because that's just what kept going through our minds every step of the way. Comfort was found in the words of Proverbs 3:5-6 (MSG):

 Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

   don't try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;

   he's the one who will keep you on track.

Once again, I'm in stopping in to share the gifts I've received with Ann Voskamp and others over at A Holy Experience.

474.  Once again for safe and quick travel to and from Yakima, WA.

475.  A community of friends who helped our family until we arrived.

476.  God's watchfulness over our own safety as we cared for Jim, lifting him and transferring him.

477.  For an up-to-date hospital and staff who cared for Jim until placement was made in a nursing facility.

478.  God's hand on all of us as we shook our fists, cried out our hearts, and moved in disbelief that Jim could no longer be at home.

479.  Acceptance that our decisions were the best fit for both Jim and Helen.

480.  A safe and loving nursing facility, with guidelines based in Scripture.

481.  Staff at that facility showing compassion and care to their patients.

482.  For a nephew who could help Helen work out a financial plan for them going forward.

483.  For friends who gathered round us all.

484.  For the prayers of family and friends.

485.  For the love of my circle of blogging friends from coast to coast who lifted hands and hearts in prayer and petition on our family's behalf.

 

And also stopping by Laura's for

And joining with L.L. Barkat for