wild melody

I have theme songs. if 2012 had a theme song, I'd have to pick two by the Avetts: in the curve & tear down the house. I could have shipwrecked my life this year, & at times I truly thought I had. or circumstances had for me. but God is faithful. "He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust." {ps 40.1-4a} {inthecurve} how I love this song. never thought I'd "get it" like I do now. in a way that if I use words to explain, it will do no good. this was my year. so perfectly describes the months of feb-may. it will not be the theme of this year. I'm grateful to have also "walked from ashes with just a fee scratches..." "I've never taken this curve Dr...

i was pretty depressed this morning. discouraged about the direction of politics, of life, of the american and world current atmosphere. what is God up too? im wondering if i'm going to see strange things in my lifetime or if its just part of the cycle of ups n downs that have continued throughout all of history. but. God is the one who holds the nations in His hands, He sets authorities in power. He has a long-term, worldwide plan of redemption that will display HiS glory and culminate in the return of the Warrior-King Christ. He is always working towards that goal. He is my hope. My peace, my assurance. so. because of all the ^above^ i am *determined* to enjoy today. its not shallow, its okay to wrestle with God in the morning & then choose to delight in little everyday things. or maybe it is, i don't care. life. is. still. beautiful... *hooray for front porches on second-story apartments--treetops rising above the buildings in front of me are right at eye level; alo...

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength ; each one appears before God in Zion. O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed! For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. N...

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities. psalm 130 this psalm has been on my heart often recently. it is so good for addressing my current season of life. {that oxymoron called "actively waiting"}. whether I find myself in a time of joy or a time of fighting to choose joy; there is one thing I ought to be ALWAYS grateful for: my iniquity is not counted against me. all other gifts from God pale in comparison. no storm can destroy the power of this truth. my h...

Shout for joy in the Lord , O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him... For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness . He loves righteousness and justice ; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord . By the word of the Lord the heavens were made , and by the breath of his mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him ! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm... The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations... The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not deli...

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you." As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. .. The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot . The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places ; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken . Therefore my heart is glad , and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy ; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. .psalm 16. I love this psalm. I've read it often. This week, I found a new treasure. Verse 3. In a psalm where David is putting His trust in God and choosing jo...

Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me. When I am afraid, I put my trust in you . In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? You have kept count of my tossings ; put my tears in your bottle . Are they not in your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know , that God is for me . In the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? O God; I will render thank offerings to you. For you have delivered my soul from death , yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life. { from psalm 57 } .please pray for Grandma Elizabeth. (i've called her grandma benjamin before} the cancer is causing alot of pain and making her rather sick. pray that God is her comfort, that He will also comfort Grandpa; that mum and her sister will have wisdom and strength. thank you.

Shout for joy to God , all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise! Come and see what God has done : he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man. Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard, who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip. For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul. I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But truly God has listened ; he has attended to the voice of my prayer . Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me! ~from psalm 66 {i'm housesitting all week, so there will be few if any posts.}

While canoeing with the Peines Saturday, the following conversation ensued between 6 yr old (?) Mathew and I: "You could put this picture on your blog and tie it into God." "How would I tie it in?" "You could say how God is bigger, stronger than an alligator..." I don't have time to actually write today; so instead I'll post a portion of the psalm I read yesterday. The whole psalm is beautiful but longish for here. " O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great. There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it. These all look to you, to give them their food in due season. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die ...

"O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, your right hand shall hold me. If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night," even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the de...

"O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. ... When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him , and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,... O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" .from psalm 8.

I love you, O Lord, my strength ...my fortress and my deliverer , my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield , and the horn of my salvation . I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me. From his temple he heard my voice... Then the earth reeled and rocked; because he was angry. Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him. He bowed the heavens and came down...He made darkness his covering... Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds...And he sent out his arrows and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings and routed them. Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O Lord... He drew me out of many waters. He rescued me from my strong enemy... for they were too mighty for me. He brought me out into a br...

" Light dawns in the darkness for the upright ; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous...For the righteous will never be moved, he will be remembered forever. He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord . His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries..." psalm 112:4,6-8 i want my heart to be steady in the light of His gospel. Even when crazy things happen, when joy and sorrow are strangely mixed. when loved one's cancer counts are up and the chemo becomes ineffective. when one of your dearest, closest friends becomes engaged (big cheesy smile!!!) my desire is to stand firm in the strength of the Lord, to be able to celebrate whole-heartedly with one's great joy after comforting one's great sorrow-in the same day. the peace that surpasses understanding comes only after i surrender completely and trust in the One who rules the universe. great joy comes in the knowledge that i can do none of it on ...

[photocredit: robin hood] The Lord is my light and my salvation The Lord is my stronghold, whom shall I fear? When the enemy attacks, and I'm surrounded I will not stumble, cause Lord you are near. One thing I ask One thing I seek Is to dwell in Your house O Lord... Just to gaze on Your beauty Just to gaze on Your beauty... Don't hide Your face from me... We will see Your goodness Yes we will see Your goodness {psalm 27 as paraphrased by telecast}

i agree with Carolyn McCulley. everybody needs a laugh on mondays. check out her blog. which may or may not make you laugh. "i'd rather be a loser then have an average blog." ((cj mahaney)) i take that as good news. it seems to imply that one cannot be both a loser and have an average blog at the same time. therefore, i must not be a loser. big news! (don't pick apart my logic. let me believe my delusions.) oh wow. i think the heat in my head is affecting me adversely. i am beyond random ramblings... trusting that God will carry her through the work week and keep the kiddos from getting whatever it is she has, dams " i give you thanks , o Lord, with my whole heart ; before the gods i sing your praise...give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness , for you have exalted above all things your name and your word...all the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, for they have heard the words of your mouth, and they shall sing of the ways...

God is good. Faithful. Gracious. Merciful. Holy. Glorious. Almighty.... "a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. i would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and a shield; the Lord bestows favour and honour. No good thing does he withold frpm those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!" psalm84.10-12

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.' Surely He will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you make the Most High your dwelling-- even the Lord, who is my refuge-- then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in thier hands, so that y...