H1N1: or, as Inspector Clouseau would say, "Swine Flu!"

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Heck, no, I don't have it! Not yet, not ever, hopefully. But every time I think of the name of the virus that's coming to take us away, I can hear Inspector Clouseau of the Pink Panther movies' voice in my mind, ringing out clear as a bell, "Swine Flu!!!". And it makes me smile.

So for all of us who are dreading the possibility of the flu arriving at OUR house, let me give you a recipe that will see our great Ship of State through the coming storm. I got a sinus infection a couple of weeks ago and got that ooooh-la-la husky, deep voice that my dear husband loves so well, he calls me from the upstairs phone just to hear me talk. And I knew what to do. I took my ailing self to the local grocery store, and bought a cart full of fresh veggies and made the following recipe, given to me by my dear friend Chloe. Hence the name:

Chloe's Virus Killing Soup


Do not be intimidated by the amount of garlic you see. Go for it, if you're brave (I was, and it was fabulous) or adjust it to your family's taste. Leave out whatever you see that you detest, add in whatever veggies you love, and enjoy. We ate half of the batch, and froze the other half, so there it sits in my freezer, just daring the old Swine Flu to try to sicken one of us. One caveat: this WILL require about an hour's worth of chopping and prep work, but you'll be so glad you did. It will be time well invested.

One chicken
Appx 15-30 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 Tbs salt
3-4 Thyme sprigs
Cayenne pepper (to taste. I use about a tsp)
Fresh Rosemary sprigs
Fresh ground pepper

Place chicken and other ingredients n a soup pot (I use my pressure cooker) and cover with water or chicken broth (I really like those boxes of organic chicken broth). Cook on stove top until chicken starts to fall apart. Remove from heat. Strain out chicken and stuff and set aside until cool enough to chop. Reserve broth for next step.

1 large onion (coarsely chopped or sliced)
1 fennel bulb (sliced thin)
1 leek (sliced thin)
4-6 stalks of celery (coarse chopped)
large red pepper (coarse chopped)
1/2 lb. carrots (coarse chopped)
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 C good White Wine
salt and pepper

Place oil in bottom of large pot and heat. Add onion, fennel, celery, pepper and leek and sauté until onion just transparent. Add wine and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Cover the vegetables with chicken broth from chicken--add more broth from can or box if you don't have enough broth from chicken and simmer veggies until just tender.

Frozen green beans
Frozen peas
zucchini
flat leaf parsley (chopped)
1-2 cans chopped tomatoes with juice
salt and pepper to taste

Add these above ingredients and simmer until everything is tender. Add chopped chicken, salt and pepper to taste.

No virus can withstand this soup.

You can also add cabbage with the end ingredients if you like (I do!), or any other veggies your family likes. Sometimes I'll throw in whatever is in my veggie bin in addition to the above.

The next day add egg noodles and turn it into chicken noodle soup.

Shake It Off

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Have you ever realized, after the fact, that you had been given a test, and you failed it?

I have. I failed one on Sunday.

With all my posting on the psalms, with all my love of God's Word, I expect more of myself than what I am about to reveal in the following incident. But in the interests of keeping it real, I thought perhaps I should tell my story.

Here it is:

On Sunday, I went to church and worshiped God with all my heart and soul.

I watched a dear friend be baptized, and watched her dear children and husband standing there with tears rolling down their faces. It was an incredible moment.

I drove off back to the Boonies, and thought on the way home I would stop and pick up a few provisions. It was just me and my dear daughter, because the Big Bison and our dear son were still at church, since the BB was playing guitar for the second service. We stopped at Costco, and on the way out, the Boonie Baby asked if she might buy a soft drink. I talked to her about saving her money, and how it's good to learn to say no to yourself and deny yourself a small pleasure for a little bit, if it will help you save your money and put it toward something you really want. The Boonie Baby, agreed she didn't really need a soda, and was OK with saving her money.

I'm not a tightwad, but I do try to be really careful with money, especially since I am not bringing in any, and we rely solely on the money that God sends through the work He sends dh's way. So I view a part of my role as dh's helpmeet is to be careful with that money. We try to give generously, at all times, because it is NOT our money.

And yet...

I was in the parking lot, loading our stuff in the car, and a pickup truck slowed and came to a stop beside me. I knew within two seconds or less that the woman was going to hit me up for money. Knew it.

She said, "'Scuse me, my name's Donna, and I've really gotten myself into a mess....blah, blah, blah."

And I'm thinking, (and this is just the truth) "Carp! Why did I have to be out here right now? Why did she hit on me?" Because I had noticed the truck cruising up and down the parking lot. She was shaking and looked like she had had a rough night the night before.

I interrupted her sad story (she was starting to get all emotional) and I said, "Look, I'm not going to give you any money, but I will buy you some food if you need some food." And she continues on with, "I'm not from here, I'm from ____ county, you can check my tag if you don't believe me, and my tank is below empty, you can look and see, I'll show you some ID."

And I'm thinking, "For crying out loud, woman, I don't wanna see your stupid ID." But I said, "Look, if you'll just settle down, I will see how much money I have, and I will put some gas in your car." And she's getting more and more worked up with her sad tale, and I said, "Look, I really don't want the drama, and if you don't settle down, I'm not going to give you the money I have."

Yes, I said that. I can't believe I said that, but, God help me, I did. I was angry.

I really felt like she was totally lying to me and trying to manipulate me to get what she wanted out of me from the get-go. And it made me angry that she was taking my dh's hard earned money.


I told her I would follow her to the nearest gas station, and buy her some gas, and I did. I went inside and paid the attendant with the cash I had.

And then I went back outside to her.

I said, "Look. Someday it could be me who is desperate for money for a tank of gas. I realize that. And I bought this gas for you because of all God has done for me, and because He tells me to give. But look at how ugly I've acted to you. Shame on me for acting this way."

And then she said, "Well, I'm not perfect, either. I've made a lot of mistakes. I just feel so stupid having to ask you".

(insert me shaking my head in shame, here)


And then we asked God to bless each other, and parted ways.

But I did all this in front of my daughter, and I told her that I knew I had behaved badly.

I gave. But what an AWFUL, awful attitude. Wallowing in self-condemnation after I got home, I remember thinking, "If God loves a cheerful giver, He must hate my guts."

So much for being salt and light in the world. Right after church.


I was so consumed with guilt over my loss of my temper that I posted about it on the Sonlight Forums, and my friends there offered me a lot of wise words about how I had messed up, yes, but I had realized my sin, repented and confessed it, sought reconciliation with the person I had wronged, and had talked to my daughter about my struggle, too.

They were a whole lot more gracious and eloquent than I am being here. Let me quote one of my encouragers, my friend Chloe:

"Your daughter watched you wrestle with your flesh and overcome and you feel like you're scum?!?!?!? When did we Christians become nonhuman? The point is the wrestling. There is no glory if there is no wrestling just as there is no courage if there is no fear."

I went on a walk with my dear husband that afternoon, and shared my load of guilt with him. After listening very kindly to my self-flagellation, he offered to go down into the woods, and get me a big log so I could beat myself up a little more effectively. (I love this man! Knows me inside out, he does, and loves me anyway.)

So, why am I sharing this with you?

Well, today, as I was finishing up reading the final reading in Beth Moore's book,
"Stepping up: a journey through the Psalms of Ascent" I stumbled upon a portion that was meant for me at this moment, at this point in my processing of the whole situation.

I have been lagging behind a bit in finishing my assignments (our group actually finished the study a couple of weeks ago), but I haven't been stressing much about it, because I always feel that God wastes nothing, even my procrastination. And that the timing of when I was reading WHAT I was reading was in His hands. So, this morning, as I was reading her last chapter, I came upon some passages that applied directly to me.

We were reading Psalm 134, which maybe I'll post more on tomorrow, because it is so good.

Here's the text from the NIV:

Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord
who minister by night in the house of the Lord.
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
and praise the Lord.

May the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion.


So, I'm reading along on what Beth has to say in this psalm, (which is all great, by the way) and it boils down to that we are to be a blessing to God through our praise, and He in turn will bless us.

And I'm thinking, "Well, yes, He does that. He blessed my socks off at church on Sunday. But aren't we blessed to be a blessing? And here I turned around and just totally disregarded the value of another person who crossed my path on Sunday. Even though she probably WAS lying to me. I looked at her as a problem, and not as a person. I feel like I totally failed the test.

So here's the story that Beth told next, that I feel like might be the reason that I was delayed in reading this particular chapter, till this particular morning.

She is referring to a story that her dear husband Keith left on her voicemail. Again, I'll quote:

"The parched land he leases in South Texas had received a rare downpour, and with great delight he watched a precious, wobbly-legged fawn with big brown eyes and oversized ears get mud on its hooves for the very first time. He said it jumped in the air, twirled around, and bucked like a miniature bronco until it shook every last bit of mud off its feet. I was completely grown before I realized that the mud I got on my feet from ditch-dwelling didn't belong there."



She goes on to pray for her readers:

"May your eyes be open to snares your enemy sets in your path and, should you tumble in the ditch, may your troubled heart be disallowed to condemn you. Jump in the air, twirl around, and buck like a bronco with repentance before your God until not a single speck of mud is left on your feet. Let God wash them in the water of His Word and plant them back on your path. When we feel heavy-laden in our journeys, may we check first to see if it's the burden of a swollen ego or the load of taking on a role that only belongs to God. May we lay down what has no place in our packs and run with the wind."

And so, fellow pilgrims, I'm just letting y'all know that by and because of God's grace, I am shaking it off. That much guilt and self condemnation is symptomatic of spiritual pride anyway. (But that's another blog post, no doubt...) I'm kicking my heels up, and the muck is a flying. And on we go, on this pilgrim pathway, headed toward the loving, outstretched arms of the One who knew all about my sin in advance, and yet chose to love and die for me anyway. I can't wait to see Him!

I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing

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Are you old enough to remember that old commercial? Picture a bunch of young fresh faced hippies on a mountain top, singing a catchy little ditty. Begin swaying. Pop open a frosty bottle of Coke, and sing along.

OK, everybody back from your Coke break? I hope you paid special attention to that phrase, "perfect harmony", because that's what I'd like to talk about today.


Here's the text of today's psalm, Psalm 133, from the New Living Translation:



A song for the ascent to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.

How wonderful it is, how pleasant, when brothers live together in harmony!

For harmony is as precious as the fragrant anointing oil that was poured over Aaron's head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe.

Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And the Lord has pronounced his blessing , even life forevermore.



Harmony! Is there anything sweeter?

I had the privilege of singing in my church's choir last Sunday, to celebrate Resurrection Sunday/Easter. What a joy that was for me!!! And talk about a flashback to college days!

In college, I enjoyed four years of singing in a cappella choirs. And nothing brought more joy to my heart than singing and touring with those choirs. We talked and laughed and sang and talked and laughed some more. If I were designing my perfect world, I would schedule in touring with a bunch of talented singers, singing inspired music, seeing the world, and generally having a ball for at least several weeks out of each year. I think that was one of the places in my life that I truly found my bliss.

And if there is any one thing that I have learned from participating in this Beth Moore study, it is that life is a pilgrimage: we are all just pilgrims on our journey to heaven. So, as long as we're all on the way together, don't you think a little Journey Music is in order? I do. As long as it's in harmony. Because there ain't much more painful than music that is NOT in harmony - when somebody's singing flat or sharp or doesn't make their entrance at the designated time. Harmony is essential.

But harmony among brothers? Well, that can be rare, can it not? In fact, the first story of brothers that we have in the Bible, the first set of brothers, Cain and Abel, ends in the worst kind of disharmony. It ends up as a murder story.

Brothers, going on a journey together. Does that make YOU have a flashback?




For me, it brings back my family's epic trek across the USA in the summer of 1962. I was four. I don't remember much, except that each morning, Mom loaded up the front seat floor of the big old aquamarine 1950 something Chrysler with two Scotch plaid gallon thermos jugs: one with iced tea, and one with ice water. I slept on the floor of the front seat for a lot of that trip, so that's why I remember sharing my space with those two jugs. And when we crossed the Mojave desert in the middle of summer, with no air conditioning, she would wet down paper towels with ice water and put them on my flushed face. Man, it was hot. And I remember that my brother almost died when his cowboy hat blew off and in chasing it, he couldn't get stopped going down a gravel slide - almost falling into the mighty, gushing, tumbling waters of the Snake River. And I remember that I rode the Cups and Saucers at The Mad Hatter's Tea Party at Disneyland and got sick to my stomach. But that's about all I remember of that trip.

Except to say that my mother and father were probably saints for not killing us kids. And brothers traveling together in reality can be a big whiny, grumbling pain in the butt.

We don't get to choose our family, do we? We get what we get. Mine was a mixed bag of unconditional, stalwart love, solid dependability, laughter and sniping, and out and out betrayal and pain. Anybody else been there?

For better or for worse, our families helped form us into the human beings that we are today. As Christ followers, our families can be the very catalyst that keeps our prayer lives ignited, and ongoing. And let's face it, it's the hard times that cause us to draw nearer to Christ. Harmony, as David says, is precious. And we were designed to respond to it. To long for it.

If you've been through the pain, even more can you say from the depths of your heart, "How WONDERFUL it is, how PLEASANT, when brothers live together in harmony." Really, there's just not much sweeter than when we do get back together, letting go of the past and the pain, and just allow each other the grace and the space to be who we are and how we are, and choose to love, regardless.

So, yes, this psalm celebrates brothers living together in harmony. As a psalm of ascent, it would have been journey music for them, as they traveled on their pilgrimage to Jerusalem. With old Uncle Simon, and weird cousin Phineas, and dear Aunt Naomi. And all their foibles. And eccentricities. It is a call, I think, to unity. A call to let go of the hurts, and open the heart, one more time. Accepting one's brother without looking at him through the filter of unmet expectations. A reminder of the sweetness that harmony brings to our lives.

We long for harmony with those beyond our extended family, too. I'm referring here to the family that we get to choose: our friends. (Side note: Why is it so much easier to extend grace to them, than to our own biological families? Maybe it's the lack of close proximity? Maybe that they're people we chose in the first place because we like them? I'm not completely sure, but I think it's worth considering - how we might extend the same grace towards our own families that we extend to our friends.)

But this psalm alludes to even more than that, I think. The analogy of of the dews of Mount Hermon falling on the mountains of Zion. Geographically speaking, that is a literal impossibility, since Mount Hermon lies in the north of Israel, and Jerusalem is in the south. But I think David was longing for a unity among his countrymen. That those who lived in the north of Israel might extend the kind of love that fosters unity toward their countrymen who lived in the South. That all God's people might extend the kind of grace toward each other that allows us to experience harmony. It's a call to the church, today, as well.

Jesus longed for unity among his followers. He prayed for it in John 17:20-21. "That the world might know". Our unity, our harmony, was how the world would know that God the Father had truly sent Jesus, His Son. So it is a reminder to me to lighten up on my judgmental attitude toward churches and groups of people I have judged. The whole judging thing: that's pretty much God's department. A particular form of worship may not be to my taste, but if they belong to Jesus, it's His job to get them straightened out, and He is well able to do that.

After all, if they belong to Him, looks like we'll be spending eternity together, so I might as well get going on learning to love and serve them now. Life forevermore, well, that's a long time.

Here's my version of the psalm:


It is so good to live in harmony with my brothers and sisters.

Anointed by our Lord, we know that we are loved and chosen: set apart by Him for a special purpose.

We receive the Lord's mercies like dew - fresh and new every morning -
and the greatest thing of all is to know that we have eternity to enjoy this perfect harmony forever.

When the healing comes

Pin It My friend Lisa Bevill is struggling with a monster that is attempting to suck the joy and peace from her life, by striking out at her health. This monster is known as Lyme Disease, and she is not the only friend I have who is suffering from it.

But I also have other friends who are battling chronic pain through fibromyalgia and arthritis. And still others who are in the fight of their lives with cancer: breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Oh, it pains my heart just to think of the lovely ones for whom it has been my privilege - I mean it - my privilege to pray.

But the reason I am naming Lisa in particular, is because Lisa sent me a link tonight to a beautiful video she just posted on youtube. Lisa is a professional singer who has sung on music my dear husband has produced, but she has also become my friend through the Friday morning Bible study we both attend. Since she shared her beautiful song with me, I'd love to share it with you, too, and hope that you will pass it along to anyone else who is waiting for their healing.






Listen, and be blessed. And pass the blessing along. You'll see that Lisa has the voice of an angel, and I believe there is a link on the youtube link to her own website, in case you are interested in purchasing this song, or any of her other beautiful music.

Holy Smoke!

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Today's post really piggybacks onto Monday's post, "Never Give In", so not to discourage you from reading this one if you HAVEN'T read that one, but I think what I want to say today will be more meaningful to you if you have read and meditated on the first half of Psalm 132. Just sayin'.

So, today I'm going to try and tackle the second half of Psalm 132. If you will remember, David had tried to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem, but had hit a literal bump in the road with the whole ugly Uzzah incident, and now, was ready to come back and try again, doing things in the way that God had already said they ought to be done (with the priests carrying the ark on poles, like they were supposed to).

To rightly understand this psalm, Beth Moore says in her book, "Stepping Up: a journey through the Psalms of Ascent", that you have to look on this psalm as a dialogue between David and his Maker. That is, that the first half is the cry of David's heart, and the second half is God's answer to David's prayer. In the first half, David asks the Lord to remember him, and all the hardships he has endured, and to not reject the one that God Himself chose to be anointed (that would be David). So, here, in the psalmist's words, is the second half of Psalm 132 (verses 11-18):

The Lord swore an oath to David,
a sure oath that he will not revoke:
"One of your own descendants
I will place on your throne -
if your sons keep my covenant
and the statutes I teach them,
then their sons will sit
on your throne for ever and ever."

For the Lord has chosen Zion,
he has desired it for his dwelling:
"This is my resting place for ever and ever;
here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it -
I will bless her with abundant provisions;
her poor will I satisfy with food.
I will clothe her priests with salvation
and her saints will ever sing for joy.

Here I will make a horn grow for David
and set up a lamp for my anointed one.
I will clothe his enemies with shame,
but the crown on his head will be resplendent."



So, the first thing is: do you get the wonder of the concept that not only did God hear David's prayer, but God talked back to Him.

Can you imagine what that would be like? If every time you prayed, you got immediate feedback? Picture it. You're on your knees, in your little prayer closet.

"Dear Father, I ask you please to guard and protect my children's hearts, that they might never stray too far away from you. "

And all of the sudden, the closet door bursts open, and an angelic messenger with a notepad in his left hand, and a pencil tucked behind his ear leans in your closet and says, "God says He'll get right on that, and for you to not worry your pretty little head over that for one more second. Now, what's next? Hey! As long as I'm here, I see you're running about a quart low on peace and joy. Want me to top off the old tank?"

Wouldn't that be loverly? A girl can but dream....

Still and all, despite my digression into the fanciful, I DO think that God really DOES talk back to us when we pray. It just generally isn't quite so clear cut for me as Michael's Messenger Service Divine would be.

I think He talks back to me when I read His Word, and I think His Spirit speaks inwardly to my spirit, if I take the time to give Him a chance. So, that's where prayer and the study of His Word washes me out on the inside so that I can hear Him better.

David really WAS the Lord's anointed: the one God chose to be king over the nation Israel. And God really did have a message for him. But the beauty of this whole psalm is that while the answer WAS for David, it was so much more than that. In Ephesians 3:20, Paul says that God is able to do "immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine", and that was certainly the case here, with David's prayer.

Let's look at it a little more closely.

"The Lord swore an oath to David,
a sure oath that he will not revoke."

God says: "Have no fear, David, that I am going to reject you, my anointed one. I swore an oath. I don't go back on My promises."

"One of your own descendants
I will place on your throne -
if your sons keep my covenant
and the statutes I teach them,
then their sons will sit
on your throne for ever and ever."

Did David's sons keep God's covenant and statutes? Not so much. And God did allow them to go into captivity. But God remembered David, in ways that David at the time could never have understood. David was thinking (as you and I tend to think when we take a request to God in prayer) of the here and now. God's plans were beyond David's wildest dreams, and involved the salvation of not only Israel, but of the entire world, for as many who are willing to receive it.

"For the Lord has chosen Zion,
he has desired it for his dwelling;
This is my resting place for ever and ever;
here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it."

Historically speaking, Jerusalem had not always been the capital city of Israel. In fact, David had just conquered it in the chapter before the bringing back of the Ark of the Covenant. Saul, the first king of Israel, hadn't occupied it. So, in conquering the fortress of Zion, and calling it the City of David, in building his palace there, and in bringing back the Ark of the Covenant there, David was doing a new and radical thing, but God is telling David here: "You've done GOOD, son, in choosing Jerusalem. You're not the only one who has desired it to be my dwelling place - I have, too." And really, as a side note, I think we should never underestimate what Jerusalem means to God.

"I will bless her with abundant provisions;
her poor will I satisfy with food."

These are all things that an earthly king would be concerned about. David wanted his new capital city to fare well. But in God's answer to David, there is also an answer that leaps over the immediate, temporal needs - the hills in the foreground, if you will. And extends across time to the inhabitants of the kingdom of God in the future - the more distant hills in the background of the picture.

"I will clothe her priests with salvation,
and her saints will ever sing for joy."

In the New Testament, the followers of Jesus are called a kingdom of priests. And truly, we have been clothed with salvation through the righteousness of Christ, and have more reason to sing for joy than anyone.

"Here I will make a horn grow for David
and set up a lamp for my anointed one.
I will clothe his enemies with shame,
but the crown on his head will be resplendent."

A horn, in the Old Testament, was apparently a symbol of strength. And all these images are fulfilled in Messiah Jesus, the anointed one (for that is what Messiah means). His strength is eternal, His kingdom will last forever, He is the light of the world and He Himself is the lamp in heaven. Our enemy death was defeated at the cross through the empty tomb, and in Revelation, when John sees Him, on His head are many crowns.

So, here's my point. Our prayers, rising up to Him like incense, are indeed the holy smoke - a fragrance pleasing to God. And He DOES answer them. In fact, I believe He delights in answering them. But as with King David, not always in the way or with the timetable that we might imagine or desire.

But how can He answer them, if we're not praying them? (That question I'm posing directly to myself, but if the shoe fits, I'll loan you my pair.)

God was pleased with David's desire to honor God above all things. He took great joy in answering David's prayer in ways that would have been incomprehensible to David at that time. Besides, David had other God-given fish to fry: things that God wanted done for His people Israel at that time. But to us, who view God's answer from the distance of time, who have been blessed to see the coming of the Messiah, and the establishment of His church on earth - Wow!!! Can you even believe the scope of God's answer???

"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!"" (Romans 11:33)

For what it's worth, here's my version of the rest of Psalm 132:

The Covenant Maker and Keeper swore an oath to David;
a promise He will never abandon:
"David, one of your descendants will be My Anointed One,
who will sit on the throne forever".

God has chosen Jerusalem -
He has desired it for His home forever.
He will bless its food and satisfy its needy with bread.
He will clothe its inhabitants, who will be priests, with salvation.
Its godly people will shout with joy!

Jesus Himself will be the sign of God's strength.
God's anointed One will be a lamp providing light for the world.
His enemies will be ashamed
but His crown will be glorious.

So, as you ponder the wonder of God's answer to David's prayer through the lamp that He set up through Messiah Jesus, be encouraged to let your prayers to Him be like incense. Time to send up a little Holy Smoke. And know that He hears your prayers. And watch for His answers. Answers that come out of the depths of the riches of His wisdom and knowledge.

Never Give In

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"We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."

Oh, I love that famous quote, by Winston Churchill, describing our family's vacations....

OK, I'm sort of kidding, but I was pondering Churchill this morning, actually because of something else that he said. And then the aforementioned quote came to mind.

And why was I spending time pondering Sir Winston, you might ask?

Well, it all goes back to King David, who I was thinking about before Churchill.

Backtracking still more, here's today's psalm, Psalm 132. I'm only doing the first half of the psalm today for two reasons. First, that's the way Beth Moore divided it up in her study that I'm working through right now, called "Stepping Up: a journey through the Psalms of Ascent". Secondly, it's because it really is a long psalm, with two major divisions, and so each half deserves separate (but equal!) attention.

O Lord, remember David
and all the hardships he endured.

He swore an oath to the Lord
and made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:

"I will not enter my house
or go to my bed -
I will allow no sleep to my eyes,
no slumber to my eyelids,
till I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob."

We heard it in Ephrathah,
we came upon it in the fields of Jaar;
"Let us go to his dwelling place;
let us worship at his footstool -
arise, O Lord, and come to your resting place,
you and the ark of your might.
May your priests be clothed with righteousness,
may your saints sing for joy."

Context is everything, with this psalm. If you know the back story, the whole psalm becomes a whole lot more understandable and, therefore, applicable. So, let's investigate a bit.

When David became king of Israel, Israel had one particular problem of which David was keenly aware, because his heart was so set on honoring God. The problem was that the Ark of the Covenant, the ark built at the command of God by Moses and the craftsmen he appointed, the ark that resided in the tabernacle, and represented the presence of God living among His people - that ark was MIA, so to speak. When Israel had been under the command of the judge Samuel, and Eli was the priest, Eli let his sons take the ark into battle, to kind of rally the troops. And this was a move that was NOT sanctioned by God, and as a result, God allowed the Philistines to capture it. The ark caused serious trouble for the Philistines, and they wanted to get rid of it, so they sent it packing. In I Sam. 7:1, we discover that it ended up at Abinadab's house, in Kiriath Jearim (the fields of Jaar in today's psalm). Saul became the first king of Israel, but apparently he never saw it as a priority to bring the ark back to its home in Shiloh.

Enter King David: when he became king, and conquered Jerusalem, and made it his royal city, he made bringing back the Ark of the Covenant a top priority. He realized that the Ark symbolized the presence of the Living God among His people, and more than anything else, He wanted the Lord enthroned in Jerusalem. So David organized a great big party: a festival celebration all around bringing back the ark of the Lord to Jerusalem. II Samuel 6 tells the story of what happened next.

David's big party for God started with 30,000 invitees. That's a lot of port-a-potties, and a lot of food prep, if you ask me. He took all those men, and said, "C'mon, boys, we're going to go bring back the presence of the Lord into my brand new capital city. Let's go get Him and bring Him back where he belongs!!!!" (followed by loud huzzahs, and alleluias, undoubtedly!) They put the ark up on a new cart (which, coincidentally, is just how the Phillistines had transported it). David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might, scripture tells us, with songs, harps, lyres, tambourines, and cymbals. One of the oxen pulling the cart stumbled, and a fellow named Uzzah reached up and grabbed hold of the ark to keep it from falling off the cart, and God struck him dead, right there in the road.

What the ????????


Well, it turns out that while David's heart really was in the right place, he didn't involve his brain quite as much as he ought to have. God had some really clear guidelines in place for how His people were to handle His ark. Basically, His people WEREN'T to handle his ark. At all. Period.

The priests were to carry it in a prescribed way, on poles.

And if David had bothered to consult with the priests on how things should be done here, and if the priests had bothered to look it up in scripture and find out, they would have known this.

The ark was where the Presence of God was said to reside. It was where the priests applied blood to the cover, the Mercy Seat, for the atonement of the sins of the whole nation of Israel. So, it's easy to understand why such an object needed to be treated with the highest reverence. God is seen in this psalm as being enthroned in heaven, with the earth below Him, and here, He props His feet up on His footstool - the Ark of the Covenant.



And so FINALLY we get to today's psalm:

O LORD, remember David
and all the hardships he endured.

In verse 8 of II Samuel 6, it says that when Uzzah was struck down, David's first response was anger. Well, yeah. God had kinda ruined the big party David was throwing in God's honor. And the next verse says he was afraid. "How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?" he asks.

In David's mind, God had not behaved the way David thought God ought to. And I think that in today's psalm, when it refers to all the hardships David endured, I am betting that it is referring to David's struggle with anger and fear after God had behaved in a way that David didn't understand.

I've felt that way before. Have you?

I have watched innocent babies die. I have seen children die. I have had godly friends die of totally ungodly diseases. I've seen friends lose their spouses. I've watched children be born with debilitating birth defects. I've seen children with the best parents in the world wander away from the Lord. And I do. not. understand. I really don't. Yes, I have been angry before at God, just like David was. And then I've felt fear, too. Like, "Well, if You let this happen, how can I ever trust you again???"


So, back, for a moment, to the story in II Samuel. Following this incident with Uzzah, King David left the ark for a time at the house of a guy named Obed-Edom. During the three months that the ark was left there, scripture tells us that the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and his entire household. Really blessed him. To the point that David found the courage to try again. Because somewhere deep inside himself, David must have firmly believed that one of the works that God had prepared in advance for him to do was to bring that ark back to Jerusalem. And he must have had those priests consult their owners manual, too, because, this time, when they try again, we find the ark is being carried in the prescribed manner. And David celebrates all the way home, knowing that at last, his desire to please the Lord, and to enthrone the ark in its proper place, in the center of the capital city, is going to be fulfilled.

When things happen in my life that shake me to the core, I wrestle, I struggle with God. But at some point, I always come back to Him. Because to be in relationship with Him is the sweetest thing I know. I truly would rather die than to live without Him. You know when lots of disciples are leaving Jesus because of some of his hard teachings, and Jesus looks at them and asks them if they are leaving, too? And Peter looks at Him and says, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." That's me. That's how I feel. Even if it's hard. Even if it doesn't always make sense to me.

So, go back to the top, and read David's version of the psalm again, with all the context that I've laid out for you in mind.

And here's my reworking - a little too wordy, but these are the thoughts that came to my mind as I was rereading David's words, and making it applicable to me.

Oh, Lord
Remember me and the pain I have endured,
and how I committed my life to you so many years ago.

I am determined, Lord, to faithfully do the works
that You have prepared in advance for me to do.

I want YOU, Lord, enthroned
as King in my heart -
that my heart might be Your dwelling place.

Be the strength of my life.
I am one of the members of your holy priesthood.
And as a garment, you have given me
the righteousness of Christ.

Now fill my heart with gladness
that I might shout for joy,
with the joy that comes from belonging to You.

Because I belong to Messiah Jesus,
the offspring of David,
do not reject me.

So, what, you might ask, does all this have to do with Winston Churchill????

In light of the fact that despite all David's hardships, David never gave up, I'm remembering one of Churchill's great speeches:




And hoping that you, too, will remember the love of the Father who drew you to Himself in the first place. And that you will never give in.

Ripples

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Have you ever done a little act of kindness, and then hoped that God would use your little effort somehow?

I want to tell you a story today about how a kindness done for someone else had a ripple effect that had an impact on me personally in a very real way. I love this story, and hope it will bless you.

I have a trip coming up, a trip I am very excited about. I get to go to a big city, and do some fun big city things that a person stuck back in the Boonies hardly ever gets to do. I am looking forward to this trip with great anticipation, as you can imagine.

Because I am married to a self-employed musician, we have no regularly scheduled income, if you know what I mean. God sometimes blesses my dear husband, the Big Bison, with a lot of work, and sometimes, we go through long periods of drought. It very often is feast or famine around here. So I try to be conservative in my spending, and wise with the money that comes our way, realizing that I may have to make it last for a long time. There just are no guarantees.

It's not the easiest way to live, but by God's grace we've been able to make it work (I've been home with the kids) for 15 years. And I praise God that we have been able to do this. Because dh works out of our home, it has enabled us to have a very pleasant life style: the whole family is involved in each other's daily existence, and we all view that as a very good thing.

But this very happy lifestyle didn't exactly arrive in an easy fashion. There's a back story that I want to share with you to give a shout out to God. I spent the first seven years of our marriage working for the local school district. I was making what for us was reasonably good money, and we were doing fine financially. My salary was what enabled us to buy our first house. But I worried about finances all the time. I really did. (That's kind of ironic to me now, when I often think how nice it would be to know for sure we had X amount of dollars coming in each month for me to work with.) Anyway, one Sunday at church, the pastor asked, "Does anyone have a besetting issue that you know is filling your life with worry and stealing your joy and peace, and you would like prayer to be set free from this issue?". Well, considering that the Holy Spirit had been nudging me all through the sermon that I was living in chains in regard to this financial worry, and needed prayer for deliverance, I popped up and went to the front for prayer. Which is not my usual m.o. I'm pretty much a background, don't make any waves kind of church member. But I knew this was for me, so I asked for prayer to be set free from my slavery to worry in regard to finances.

Many times in our lives we have sin issues that are "our" besetting issues. We grapple with them for years, and maybe God has lessons for us all along the way because of them. They certainly help keep some of us humble. But every once in a while, God delivers us instantaneously and miraculously from addictions and sins.

When I went forward to pray that day, I still remember the sweet sister who came forward to pray for me. She didn't know me from Adam, and still doesn't. I'm sure she has no recollection of that Sunday that is burned in my memory. But I'll never forget it. She prayed fervently over me, that I might be delivered from my worry and anxiety: from my unbelief and lack of trust in God. And then (and here comes the weird, but true part) she looked thoughtfully at me and said, "I believe God is going to bless you soon with a child, and I'd like to pray for you about that." (Now, I had had two miscarriages prior to this, and I was totally ready for her to pray over me in regard to anything she wanted to pray for.) So, she prayed. And about 3 months later, when we had decided we were ready to try again to conceive a child, I became pregnant with our eldest son.

But the greatest part about this story was that after that Sunday, when I went up for prayer in regard to fear and anxiety over finances (and this with a dependable income), God totally did a miraculous work in my heart. I am no longer crippled by that fear. And I really NEEDED that work accomplished in my heart, because one year later, I lost that dependable salary by choice when I decided I wanted to stay home and raise my kids. And we began to live by faith on whatever work the Lord brought through the door for my dear husband. It is a really good thing to walk in relative freedom in that area. I don't say that I never worry anymore about finances. During a couple of long drought-like seasons, it has been so tough to pray and pray, and feel that my prayers are just bouncing off the ceiling. But what I DO say, is that I know before the chains that I was bound in, and those have fallen off. By the grace of God!

OK, so how does all this relate to the ripples from an act of kindness?

Well, yesterday I was at my weekly ladies group. We are studying Beth Moore's "Stepping Up" which is a study of the Psalms of Ascent, for those of you who are just now tuning in. But another very important thing that we are doing, besides studying God's Word, which is of the utmost importance, is that we are getting to know each other, and consequently, growing to love each other, and praying for each other. All good stuff to be doing. I highly recommend it.

So, not to steal her reward away from her by mentioning it out loud or anything, but my friend Judy showed up at the study with bags and bags and bags of beautiful women's clothing. NICE labels. She had a friend, she said, who had a shopping addiction, (yea for us!!!) and who was having a hard time parting with some of her old stuff - she just wasn't thrilled about the whole Goodwill concept, and Judy offered to help her out by taking them to church. And we were her first stop on her way to church!!! (Double YAY for us!!!)

And because I have this upcoming trip to the Big City, and a play to attend, I had told the Lord how sad I was that I needed to spend His money to buy a dress suitable for my Big Night Out On The Town. And there, amongst the many beautiful clothes on the floor of Diane's basement was The Dress. Perfect for my coloring. A little snug - enough so to motivate me to lose a bit of blubber before I have to wear it. And that's a good thing, too!!!

Oh, it's good all around on so many levels.

So, today, I am thanking the Lord for several things.

I am thanking Him for delivering me from a crippling fear 16 years ago, and allowing me to stay home and enjoy raising my kids.

I am thanking Him for His daughters who serve him quietly and faithfully in hundreds of small ways, extending themselves in kindness and mercy and grace toward others.

I am thanking Him that the ripples of these small acts of kindness extend far beyond what the giver may ever see or know.

I am thanking Him that He understood my desire for a special dress, but agreed with me that spending His money on that was unnecessary, and provided the perfect dress by way of my friend, Judy.

And if you have hung in there and read this very self-absorbed tale, I would encourage you, dear friend, to keep on keeping on with those small acts of kindness. You may never know who is touched by the ripples thereof, but God knows. He sees our small acts of service done because we love Him, and it matters to Him. And He's the very best audience of all.

My heart goes out

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I want to extend my deepest sympathies to a friend from the Sonlight forums who lost her husband to a cardiac arrest yesterday.

My heart is broken for you. You have been on my mind all day yesterday since I heard you were at the hospital, and all day today as I learned the news of his death.

I wish I had some words that might bring you a small measure of comfort, but I'm afraid that words won't cut it, today.

I am praying and grieving for you, and I just wanted to tell you how very sorry I am for your loss. I am asking the Lord to sustain you minute by minute, and hour by hour.