God Speaking in the Psalms 9

TUESDAY

Psalm 31

In You, O lord, do OI put my trust and seek refuge;

Be my Rock of refuge, a strong Fortress

Yes, You are my Rock and my Fortress

for You are my Strength and my Stronghold.

I trust in, rely on, and confidently lean on the Lord.

I trusted in, relied on and was confident in You

…for those who trust and take refuge in You

LAST VERSE: Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for and hope for and expect the Lord!  ( and why wouldn’t you after all the previous reminders of his great refuge!)

Psalm 32:1, 5, 6b, 7

Blessed is he who has forgiveness of his transgression continually exercised upon him,…

I will confess my transgressions to the Lord (continually unfolding the past till all is told) – then You instantly forgave me the guilt and iniquity of my sin.

(as a result of) surely when the great waters (of trial) overflow, they shall not reach (the spirit in) him.

You surround me with songs and shouts of deliverance. 

oh – I just love that… the power of confession…  the completeness of forgiveness… the joy of deliverance…

Psalm 33:11-12

“The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the thoughts of His heart through all generations…”

Father God…. how you have spoken to me of Your sovereignty, Your might and power, Your tenderness… all in one Psalm.  And to think You have been like this since the beginning of time…

God Speaking in the Psalms 8

MONDAY

Psalm 27:14

“Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring.

Psalm 28:2b

…”I lift up my hands towards Your innermost sanctuary (the Holy of Holies)

Psalm 29:…

“The voice of the Lord… “

and one sweet day I will hear Your voice… the King of Kings saying my name, the very name He gives me. “everyone in His temple saying “GLORY!” ”

Psalm 30:12

“and everything glorious within me may sing praise to You and not be silent”

Craziness

so we bought a van with a reconstructed title… exciting…

our roof, half-reshingled, leaked with the monstrous rain last night…

which we found because we were tearing apart walls and ceilings of tiles in the main bathroom – the one with the previously non-leaking working shower!  We thought it might be bad relations with the tenants to continue leading on their bed!!

Keenan prayed for us to “have wisdom and God, please give us $4,000 bucks”

Apparently we didn’t explain the point of the parable too well!!

Life runs along at a shocking pace, and we are, honestly, enjoying it even!  We always said we wouldn’t buy a fixer upper because we didn’t have the drive and work ethic to do it… WELL, 😀 we ended up with one after all, and we are actually doing really well together!!

God speaking in the Psalms 7

SUNDAY

Psalm 22:28

“For the Kingship and the Kingdom are the Lord’s, and He is the ruler of all the nations

Psalm 23: 3

“He leads me in the paths of righteousness (- not because I’ve earned it, but) for His name’s sake”

“You anoint my head with oil”

from the Amplified Bible notes… “it was customary in hot climates to anoint the body with oil to protect it from excessive perspiration. When mixed with perfume, the oil imparted a delightfully refreshing and invigorating sensation. As the body, therefore, anointed with oil was refreshed, invigorated, and better fitted for action, (athletes), so the Lord would anoint His “sheep” with the Holy Spirit, Whom oil symbolizes, to fit them to engage more freely in His service and run in the way He directs – in heavenly fellowship with Him. ” I thought that was very cool!

Psalm 24:6

“This is the generation of those who seek Him…”

Psalm 25:21

“Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for and expect You.”

Psalm 26:11

“I will walk in integrity”

OH, I pray this is true… and that I would recognize the Spirit’s voice convicting me otherwise if not, and have the courage to admit and ask forgiveness if reconciliation is needed or offense was given.

Keenan’s parenting wisdom

So Keenan comes running out to us at the dining table… holding in his hand the parenting book “Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes… in you and your kids!”

“Mom, listen! Its says here (reading from the back of the book) But the key is not in controlling children, but in insullating (instilling) honor into family life.  So mom, its says here that you should not control…”

So that is what he got from the back of the book… I sure was excited to read that!  5 minutes later he went off pouting about something, and Bryan says, “Keenan, was that honoring to mom?”

OH YEAH!! That part of the sentence!!! 🙂

update on smoking conversations

Keenan is asking me if I take drugs ??? Then wanted to know why Carrs grocery store was selling drugs 🙂

Then a conversation about medicine drugs vs “bad” drugs, and why you take them etc.

THEN “mom, you know, you have to not take anything with drugs.  Alcohol, and drugs and “si GAR atease ” – yes – that is how he says cigarettes.  I am not sure where he even READ that word, but read he did, and it is stuck in his mind with that pronunciation.

After preaching at me for a while and asking a million questions (this is all in the car) Thaddeus announces (in the same voice he uses to tell of his aspirations to be a fireman)

“When I jo (grow) up I gonna pwactice smoking!  But no now, tuz I’m too widdle (little)”

(what a relief! )

I don’t think I have to worry though.  Keenan freaked out enough for both of us, and has appointed himself as the smoker police!

God Speaking in the Psalms 6

SATURDAY

Shall I move on or camp out here in this Psalm today? It speaks right into my circumstances this week. I don’t think I’ll get through the Psalms in 40 days…

Psalm 18: 18 – 20, 25, 29b, 33a, 44b

“They confronted and came upon me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my stay and support… He was delivering me because He was pleased with me and delighted in me. The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness (my conscious integrity and sincerity with Him);

“With the kind and merciful You will show Yourself kind and merciful” … once again, God speaking to me of forgiveness, judging others… do I want mercy and kindness extended to me?

“…by my God I can leap over a wall.” … this task seems impossible. I don’t understand how it could be repaired. But God, YOU are the God of the impossible. That is only one of the many reasons I serve You and love You.

“He makes my feet like hinds’ feet (able to stand firmly or make progress on the dangerous heights of testing and trouble) …

“… foreigners submitted themselves cringingly and yielded feigned obedience to me” this makes me laugh Lord… the last thing I thought I would be dealing with is culture clashes… and to have what I thought was all my imagination be reality… and YET its not the end of the story… because of all the above… “by my God I can leap over a wall”

Psalm 19: 11a-12

“Moreover, by them (His law, precepts, etc) is Your servant warned (reminded, illuminated, and instructed)… Who can discern his lapses and errors? Clear me from hidden (and unconscious) faults.”

That is what it comes down to, sometimes. I don’t mean to offend and cause people to not like me or respect me… I don’t mean to create disunity… and yet somehow, though my heart is exact opposite, I have… So Father God, Redeemer, I ask that you make it right… heal our hearts and relationships. Keep my pride from defending self… you alone are my defense.

Psalm 20: 9

“O LORD GIVE VICTORY”

Don’t let Satan have his way in destruction and tearing apart… You are the builder, the binder, the cohesive unit…

Psalm 21:2

“You have given him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah (pause and think of that)!

YES!!

God Speaking in the Psalms 5

FRIDAY

Psalm 15: 1-2

“… Who shall dwell (permanently) on Your holy hill? He who… speaks and thinks the truth in his heart,”

Ah, my heart is pricked… the lies and accusations I speak in my heart… Lord purify not only my words but my thoughts and the intent of my heart.

Psalm 16: 8

“I have set the Lord continually before me;”

To keep my eyes on You… not on those around me.

To look to You for direction and conviction… not to those around me.

To look for Your favor… not to those around me.

To gain confidence from You and in You… not from and in those around me.

Psalm 17:8, 15

“Keep and guard me as the pupil (apple) of Your eye. hide me in the shadow of Your wings. ”

Though I can’t run and hide physically, I CAN run and hide spiritually… run and hide in You where You lavish me with love, comfort me, nurture me as I nurture little Shand.

“… I will continue beholding Your face in righteousness ( right standing with You; I shall be fully satisfied, when I awake (to find myself) beholding Your form (and having sweet communion with You)

That is a great place to stop and go to bed… I will read that again, and again… more importantly, I want to live that again. and again. morning after morning.

Psalm 18

How to convince your child its ok for other adults to smoke…

ok… I don’t know how… here is my conversation with Keenan this morning…

K: Mom, the roofer guy is smoking a smoker and he just has to stop!

Me: He is an adult and can make his own choices

K: I think we just need to take the smoker from him and crush it

M: No, Keenan, you need to respect adults, and you don’t tell him what to do.

K: But mom, if he smokes and the smoker and it gets into his lungs he could die!

M: Keenan we all make choices, and a choice our family has made is to not smoke. That is HIS choice.

K: Well, mom, its just a BAD choice. When he goes back home we’ll just have to send a letter to his wife.

OY! what do you do with that?!?!?!

God Speaking in the Psalms 4

THURSDAY

Psalm 10:17

“You will prepare and strengthen and direct their (the humble and oppressed) hearts…”

Is that a promise for me? Let it be… this is surely what I need. Desperately.

Psalm 11:7

“… the upright shall behold His face…”

Psalm 12: 6a, 7a

“The words and promises of the Lord are pure words… You will keep them and preserve them, O Lord;”

Thank you, thank you, thank you…

Psalm 13: 3,6
“How long? Lighten the eyes of my faith to behold Your face in the pitch like darkness…

Psalm 14: 2 The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any who understood, dealt wisely, and sought after God, inquiring for and of Him and requiring Him (of vital necessity)

Oh, how I need You…