...finally made it to the fabric/quilt store...

It's been a very long day, running errands. I finally made it to the fabric/quilt store to get some supplies for a banner. I do hope to start quilting again. I found a sweet new pattern, and I hope to say soon - that in spite of everything, I was able to pick out my fabric - we will see.

Psalm 6

Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger

    or discipline me in your wrath.

Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint;

    heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.

My soul is in deep anguish.

    How long, Lord, how long?

Turn, Lord, and deliver me;

    save me because of your unfailing love.

Among the dead no one proclaims your name.

    Who praises you from the grave?

I am worn out from my groaning.

All night long I flood my bed with weeping

    and drench my couch with tears.

My eyes grow weak with sorrow;

    they fail because of all my foes.

Away from me, all you who do evil,

    for the Lord has heard my weeping.

The Lord has heard my cry for mercy;

    the Lord accepts my prayer.

All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish;

    they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.

Psalm 12

Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore;

    those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.

Everyone lies to their neighbor;

    they flatter with their lips

    but harbor deception in their hearts.

May the Lord silence all flattering lips

    and every boastful tongue—

those who say,

    “By our tongues we will prevail;

    our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”

“Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan,

    I will now arise,” says the Lord.

    “I will protect them from those who malign them.”

And the words of the Lord are flawless,

    like silver purified in a crucible,

    like gold refined seven times.

You, Lord, will keep the needy safe

    and will protect us forever from the wicked,

who freely strut about

    when what is vile is honored by the human race.

It will be a little quieter here on earth...

A saint called home, today we heard that one of Peter's dear friends had died. Bill was a man that got Peter involved with a group of men that became his dear friends. Bill was a man who called Peter often after his stroke to encourage him to keep playing. In spite of everything,Bill was the man who got Peter out of the house and playing in front of people again. Bill was a banjo player himself, ever cheerful, ever encouraging - a great listener. He knew what music meant to Peter and helped him to keep on playing. I'm not sure how many people have friends like this, but it was special. As every phone call ended, I could hear Bill say, "I love you, brother" - he died in his chair, playing his banjo. It will be a little quieter here on earth...but, Bill "we love you, brother!"

Psalm 71

In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;

    let me never be put to shame.

In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me;

    turn your ear to me and save me.

Be my rock of refuge,

    to which I can always go;

give the command to save me,

    for you are my rock and my fortress.

Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,

    from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.

For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord,

    my confidence since my youth.

From birth I have relied on you;

    you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.

    I will ever praise you.

I have become a sign to many;

    you are my strong refuge.

My mouth is filled with your praise,

    declaring your splendor all day long.

Do not cast me away when I am old;

    do not forsake me when my strength is gone.

For my enemies speak against me;

    those who wait to kill me conspire together.

They say, “God has forsaken him;

    pursue him and seize him,

    for no one will rescue him.”

Do not be far from me, my God;

    come quickly, God, to help me.

May my accusers perish in shame;

    may those who want to harm me

    be covered with scorn and disgrace.

As for me, I will always have hope;

    I will praise you more and more.

My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds,

    of your saving acts all day long—

    though I know not how to relate them all.

I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord;

    I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.

 Since my youth, God, you have taught me,

    and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.

Even when I am old and gray,

    do not forsake me, my God,

till I declare your power to the next generation,

    your mighty acts to all who are to come.

Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,

    you who have done great things.

    Who is like you, God?

Though you have made me see troubles,

    many and bitter,

    you will restore my life again;

from the depths of the earth

    you will again bring me up.

You will increase my honor

    and comfort me once more.

I will praise you with the harp

    for your faithfulness, my God;

I will sing praise to you with the lyre,

    Holy One of Israel.

My lips will shout for joy

    when I sing praise to you—

    I whom you have delivered.

My tongue will tell of your righteous acts

    all day long,

for those who wanted to harm me

    have been put to shame and confusion.

...adults waving palm fronds...

I wonder if people driving by our church today knew what we were doing. A group of adults waving palm fronds and processing into the church - celebrating openly Jesus Christ. I hope your Palm Sunday was great.

The beginning of Holy Week, culminating with Easter. We have a wonderful Lord and great things to celebrate! Blessings!

...so, I didn't go anywhere....

I've had a self-imposed rest day. I got up this morning, anxious to get out of the house - but really no where to go - so I didn't go anywhere. I crafted, made pizza for lunch and even took an afternoon nap.

I really wanted to get out of the house, but, in spite of everything - I had a great day. Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, we are almost to Easter, examine the scripture that speaks of Holy Week - go to your "empty" church and think about Jesus...

Psalm 147

Praise the Lord.

How good it is to sing praises to our God,

    how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

The Lord builds up Jerusalem;

    he gathers the exiles of Israel.

He heals the brokenhearted

    and binds up their wounds.

He determines the number of the stars

    and calls them each by name.

Great is our Lord and mighty in power;

    his understanding has no limit.

The Lord sustains the humble

    but casts the wicked to the ground.

Sing to the Lord with grateful praise;

    make music to our God on the harp.

He covers the sky with clouds;

    he supplies the earth with rain

    and makes grass grow on the hills.

He provides food for the cattle

    and for the young ravens when they call.

His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,

    nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;

 the Lord delights in those who fear him,

    who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Extol the Lord, Jerusalem;

    praise your God, Zion.

He strengthens the bars of your gates

    and blesses your people within you.

He grants peace to your borders

    and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.

He sends his command to the earth;

    his word runs swiftly.

He spreads the snow like wool

    and scatters the frost like ashes.

He hurls down his hail like pebbles.

    Who can withstand his icy blast?

He sends his word and melts them;

    he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.

 He has revealed his word to Jacob,

    his laws and decrees to Israel.

He has done this for no other nation;

    they do not know his laws.

Praise the Lord.

...without need or want.

I had a wonderful lunch with my daughter today, then we shopped around the beautiful downtown area of Franklin. Shop local - the shopkeepers are very nice. In spite of everything, I didn't find a thing I needed or wanted. It's a good thing to be without need or want!

Psalm 95

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;

    let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before him with thanksgiving

    and extol him with music and song.

For the Lord is the great God,

    the great King above all gods.

In his hand are the depths of the earth,

    and the mountain peaks belong to him.

The sea is his, for he made it,

    and his hands formed the dry land.

Come, let us bow down in worship,

    let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;

for he is our God

    and we are the people of his pasture,

    the flock under his care.

Today, if only you would hear his voice,

“Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,

    as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness,

where your ancestors tested me;

    they tried me, though they had seen what I did.

 For forty years I was angry with that generation;

    I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,

    and they have not known my ways.’

So I declared on oath in my anger,

    ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”

Psalm 141

I call to you, Lord, come quickly to me;

    hear me when I call to you.

May my prayer be set before you like incense;

    may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.

Set a guard over my mouth, Lord;

    keep watch over the door of my lips.

Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil

    so that I take part in wicked deeds

along with those who are evildoers;

    do not let me eat their delicacies.

Psalm 146

Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

I will praise the Lord all my life;

    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

Do not put your trust in princes,

    in human beings, who cannot save.

When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;

    on that very day their plans come to nothing.

Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,

    whose hope is in the Lord their God.

He is the Maker of heaven and earth,

    the sea, and everything in them—

    he remains faithful forever.

He upholds the cause of the oppressed

    and gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets prisoners free,

     the Lord gives sight to the blind,

the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,

    the Lord loves the righteous.

The Lord watches over the foreigner

    and sustains the fatherless and the widow,

    but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

The Lord reigns forever,

    your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the Lord.

...unfinished time with Jesus...

The day is slow and cloudy, but, in spite of everything - I've completed all of my unfinished projects and my table is clear. Yet, I know that I have unfinished time with Jesus - I need to spend time talking with Him - because, "blessed is the people whose God is the Lord." I hope I always have unfinished business with Him, for it will mean I am still growing....

Psalm 144

Praise be to the Lord my Rock,

    who trains my hands for war,

    my fingers for battle.

He is my loving God and my fortress,

    my stronghold and my deliverer,

my shield, in whom I take refuge,

    who subdues peoples under me.

Lord, what are human beings that you care for them,

    mere mortals that you think of them?

They are like a breath;

    their days are like a fleeting shadow.

Part your heavens, Lord, and come down;

    touch the mountains, so that they smoke.

Send forth lightning and scatter the enemy;

    shoot your arrows and rout them.

Reach down your hand from on high;

    deliver me and rescue me

from the mighty waters,

    from the hands of foreigners

 whose mouths are full of lies,

    whose right hands are deceitful.

I will sing a new song to you, my God;

    on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you,

 to the One who gives victory to kings,

    who delivers his servant David.

From the deadly sword 

 deliver me;

    rescue me from the hands of foreigners

whose mouths are full of lies,

    whose right hands are deceitful.

Then our sons in their youth

    will be like well-nurtured plants,

and our daughters will be like pillars

    carved to adorn a palace.

Our barns will be filled

    with every kind of provision.

Our sheep will increase by thousands,

    by tens of thousands in our fields;

our oxen will draw heavy loads.

There will be no breaching of walls,

    no going into captivity,

    no cry of distress in our streets.

Blessed is the people of whom this is true;

    blessed is the people whose God is the Lord.

If we look the same...

If we look the same as we did when we were young, are we still the same person? Are our faces supposed to change as we grow into what we are today? I know that worry, laugh and frown lines can show up on our faces - and we can let disappointment and sadness continue to haunt our eyes - but can our faces show maturity in the Lord? How does kindness and gratitude map our faces? Are we recognizable to old friends in good ways or bad? How do you feel when someone tells you, you look the same? I don't know, but I'm going to ponder these thoughts for a time, trying hard not to wrinkle my brow and let you know my conclusions at a later time. Smile - it feels good!

Psalm 128

Blessed are all who fear the Lord,

    who walk in obedience to him.

You will eat the fruit of your labor;

    blessings and prosperity will be yours.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine

    within your house;

your children will be like olive shoots

    around your table.

Yes, this will be the blessing

    for the man who fears the Lord.

May the Lord bless you from Zion;

    may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem

    all the days of your life.

May you live to see your children’s children—

    peace be on Israel.

Psalm 129

“They have greatly oppressed me from my youth,”

    let Israel say;

“they have greatly oppressed me from my youth,

    but they have not gained the victory over me.

Plowmen have plowed my back

    and made their furrows long.

But the Lord is righteous;

    he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked.”

May all who hate Zion

    be turned back in shame.

May they be like grass on the roof,

    which withers before it can grow;

a reaper cannot fill his hands with it,

    nor one who gathers fill his arms.

May those who pass by not say to them,

    “The blessing of the Lord be on you;

    we bless you in the name of the Lord.”