Hiatus

MiPa's Monologue is going on a short hiatus as I enjoy some much needed family time. I'll be back by the end of October. Bless you all!

I AM Lesson 15: Full Circle

It's time for another installment of I AM...so you don't have to be. This is a great study and I really can't believe we are almost to the end. I am loving the fellowship in comments as well as the way God is using Lisa's words to transform my life. Really, if you haven't started this study yet, there is still time. Round two is just starting. Go to The Preacher's Wife and dive in. You won't regret it.

This week's lesson is out of Numbers 14 and Numbers 32:16-18. Here are my responses to the Burning Questions.

Burning Questions:

1. I think we can all agree most of us find ourselves closer to God in the struggle than without it. How does it affect you knowing that trial is what draws you more intimately in relationship to Your God? After the struggle, it is a blessing because I know that the trial was not in vain. As I go through the trial it can be either a blessing that reminds me that God is using it or a frustration of why does it have to be a trial? I think I find the trials of my own making, the ones that are more discipline related than refining related, so much more frustrating because I know that I could be close to God without going through all the unnecessary hard stuff. Refining trials I know God has purposed for my good.

2. Have you ever made a huge mistake but then found yourself in the position for a 'do-over'? Did you make a better decision the second or third or fourth time around? :) I honestly think that most of the time I am good at learning from my mistakes. So when God has graced me with a do-over, I have made better decisions (often not best decisions, but at least better). It certainly gets easier to make the right decision everytime the opportunity presents itself, lol.

3. Is there a 'generational sin' in your family you have overcome? This can be anything from a lineage of unbelief to issues of many kinds. This may be a private matter. Share if you feel liberty or quietly thank God for His deliverance. If you have not yet been delivered, I pray with all my heart God's Word is giving you courage to ask for help in that area. This year I have focused on breaking the generational pattern that louder (err...yelling) does not produce more obedient children. My mother learned it from her father who probably learned it from his father. By God's grace this is the generation that it ends. And He is honoring that desire--again I'm not there yet but lots of progress.

4. Have you ever been misunderstood? Do you feel unforgiven for past mistakes even though you know God has forgiven you? yes and yes (and I can't say more than that)

5. Is there a sister you need to extend grace towards in order to be able to 'bless God together'? Do you comprehend how your unforgiveness is hindering her from inhabiting her own Promise? If no, do you recognize a situation within your church body where this may be happening? If so, ask God to raise up a 'Phinehas' (mediator) in this situation. He may just reveal the Phinehas is you. :)
Having spent a large part of the last four years as the unforgiven, despite attempts to resolve the issue, I totally can comprehend that unforgiveness can hinder someone from inhabiting their own Promise if they let it. I know that God has forgiven and that God was leading in the situation and I can live in Promise despite her unforgiveness. But the situation has made me more acutely aware when grace needs to be extended. I don't believe that there is anyone to whom I currently need to extend that grace. But God did present a situation last night where I may be asked to be Phineas. Please pray for wisdom! :-)

IOW--Big, Big God

"If we could understand everything God does, then He'd have to be a small god--small enough to fit in our little minds."

~ Randy Alcorn ~

It is a dilemma.

On the one hand, I want my God to be BIG. Big enough to handle any of the major and minor catastrophes that litter my days. Limitless to cope with my questions and my doubts. A heart huge enough to love me at my most unloveable. A mind vast enough to fathom the deepest and darkest mysteries. Yes, I want God BIG.

But...I also want Him small. Small enough that I can think He is controllable. Small enough that I am not afraid when I seek to manage my daily stuff on my own. Compact enough to carry around in my pocket and pull out like a magic genie anytime I really need him. Limited, so that my finite brain and heart can understand and love Him.

It is a dilemma. But it is a dilemma of my own making. My lack of trust is what makes me think I need to control Him. My acceptance of the cultural creed "Just Do It" says I need Him compact so I can do it myself. My buying the lie that I can understand everything, makes me limit what He can do in my life. It's not really a dilemma, it is a sin. I am attempting to make an image of God that I can control--otherwise known as an idol. And we know what Scripture says about idols:

"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments." Exodus 20:4-6

Back in my University days, my chapel group undertook a study of J.B. Phillips, Your God is Too Small. In his introduction, Phillips states, "If it is true that there is Someone in charge of the whole mystery of life and death, we can hardly expect to escape a sense of futility and frustration until we begin to see what He is like and what His purposes are." This quote, and this book, challenged me to not put "God in a box" or make Him just my "resident policeman." I was/am so guilty of making God small enough to control and therefore missing the vastness of His power and glory. I am grateful to that University study for challenging my "small" God. But, I must say, in my post-University journey I have learned to question this book as well. [For instance, there is no way I would say if it is true, because my experience shows me that God is true over and over.] But more pointedly, the quote seems to imply that once we begin to learn what God is like, the sense of futility and frustration abate. For me, it is quite the opposite, the more I know of God the more I know that there is still so much to know about Him. Which brings me full circle to the dilemma. Do I want to be challenged by a big God, and constantly reminded of the smallness of my ability to understand? Or do I want to be in control?

Today, I choose to relinquish control to my Big, Big God. And, by His grace, I will face the choice again tomorrow and everyday that follows until He takes me home and I see how BIG he really is. I pray that each day I choose more of Him and less of me. What is your choice today?

"But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15

Today's In Other's Words is hosted by Loni at Finding Joy in the Morning. Please join us there for other meditations on this quote.

homeschool update

A homeschool update is here:

Thanks for visiting!

IOW--Thorns or Roses?

She slips into the back pew at the church, heart heavy.

*sigh*

A mental review of the week. "You know God it is hard to follow You." *sigh*

Finding a parking place this morning was difficult. Why did she have to park so far away? Almost half-way across the parking lot! Whoever designed the church building and parking didn't take into consideration that if people were running late a ten minute walk would be frustrating.

And work. Don't get her started! Her co-worker is Jewish, so her boss gave him the day off Thursday for the start of some Jewish holiday she has never heard of. "It just isn't fair!" she fumes, "he wouldn't give me a day off for a Christian holiday! Really! I'm not even allowed to wish anyone a 'merry Christmas' anymore lest it offends someone. Discriminated against, that's what we are. Discriminated against."

And then there was her son. Suspended from school for praying. All he was doing was saying grace before his meal. He didn't even say it aloud or ask others to join him. But the principal said that his bowing his head at the table might offend someone. "More discrimination," she muttered.

The music starts. It is an upbeat, contemporary praise tune. "Why can't we just sing the traditional stuff. Where is Luther's 'A Mighty Fortress' in today's services?" *sigh*

Oh good, the sermon. "What's he saying? He wants me to give my hard-earned money for those persecuted in other countries? Doesn't he know about the persecuted kid at my dinner table?" The sermon drones on. *sigh* Now the preacher is asking for volunteers to do street work with the homeless. "Touch those people. I think not! He must be out of his head. I'm not going down there--at night even!"

Service over. In her car. Frustrated again that it is taking so long to get out of the parking lot. "Why does coming to church have to be such a hassle?"

Meanwhile. Half a world away, a young girl pulls her collar up around her neck. She quickly looks around her to see if anyone is watching, then ducks into a dark room and hurries down to the basement. She is alone. Mother died when she was young. Father, in prison somewhere, maybe dead, just for having a Bible. Siblings, all scattered. Did they make it to safety or were they caught? She won't know this side of eternity. There are four others there already. There will not be any more--too risky to have a large gathering. They join hands around a single candle and pray. The quickly, hungrily read the few pages of the Bible they have managed to get. The same verses every week, but such a comfort. Why do they risk meeting for just a few words? Because the sweet aroma of fellowship and worship with their Lord is worth any cost.

"They gave our Master a crown of thorns. Why do we hope for a crown of roses?"
~Martin Luther ~

"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:10

"A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all." Psalm 34:19

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Matthew 10:37-39

Father forgive me! Forgive me when I am complacent about the freedoms I have to come to You and worship You freely. Forgive me when I complain about surface issues, when so many are suffering for Your name, right this very minute. Forgive me when I am angry that life is not easy and help me to instead seek You in my troubles. Forgive my selfish and ungrateful heart. Amen.


Our hostess this week for In Other Words is Iris at Sting My Heart. Please join us there to share your take on the quote, or to be blessed by what others are writing.

Finding the balance

1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
Psalm 103:1-5


The Ladies Bible Study I lead started again last Friday. This autumn we will be reading and discussing Joanna Weaver's Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. The theme God has laid on my heart this year is balance, balance, balance. As I shared with the ladies, God is calling us/me to have balance in our/my life. I need not stop doing the things at home in order to pursue Bible Study, nor do I stop my quiet times to care for family and house. I can't neglect my physical well-being in order to develop my spiritual disciplines. It is all about balance! I'm really looking forward to what God is going to do in our group this year.

Each year, I ask God to lead me to a verse that will be my basis for leading throughout the year. This year, He led me to Psalm 103:1-5. Each of us need to pursue the 5 benefits in our life. We may need physical healing--or we may need to claim that promise for others in our realm of influence. We may need to be freed from a pit of sin or we may need to feel His love and compassion. As we pursue balance this year, I am encouraging my ladies to memorize these five verses and to claim the promises in them. We can only find true balance in allowing God to reign in our lives. How about you? Do you need to claim the promises? Blessings to you as you pursue your own relationship with the Almighty.

photo credit: www.morguefile.com, author=taliesin

Lingering and Loving

I've been thinking a lot about family and friends this week. This post by Tami at The Next Step got me started. Situations differ, but the desire the same--to connect. I am blessed that my immediate family are all believers. But believing in and loving the same God, does not always equate easy to be together. Although we are not even a year apart in age, one would think that my brother and I were raised in different households. Our perceptions of home and family are that different. In many ways, when our parents divorced (almost twenty years ago) he adopted my mother's reality and I took on my Dad's. I'm sure the truth is somewhere in the middle. *grin* We are both opinionated (is that a surprise?) but he cannot see any way beside his own. In his reality, no one should ever leave Texas (I left 17 years ago), wives should always be at home (I worked for the first years of my marriage), church should be Pentecostal (I am Baptist through and through), etc etc etc. He never travels. He rarely steps out of his comfort zone. And, I'm happy for him. It works for him. It would drive me insane, but it works for him. I just wish that he could allow me the choices to live where I want, worship how I want, to travel and constantly push the boundaries of the comfort zone, and for him to understand that my choices work for me. So we find ourselves with a chasm--and not much to talk about when I go to visit. Since we moved overseas, and get home so infrequently, I have tried to view my life from his point of view, straining at times to find a connection. Tami's post left me with that wanting...wanting him to linger and wanting to find the right combination. But I don't see it. I thank God we share faith in common and that some day the other differences won't mean anything. But I wonder what we are missing now.

The second reason family is on my mind, is that my dear niece turned thirteen yesterday. Thirteen! How can my baby brother have a thirteen year old? (because obviously that means I'm old enough to have one as well!) She has already experienced more disappointments in life than many people see in a long lifetime, yet she is developing a lovely faith of her own. My biggest regret of living so far away is that I can't really be an influence in her life (and God knows she needs a female influence in a household of men). All I can do is pray, and be thankful that she has a church that loves her and teaches her. Happy Birthday sweetie!

As I was praying for my niece yesterday morning, then doing my blog reading, I found this post by Ann at the Holy Experience of Listening. God frequently drives me to my knees through Ann's words, and yesterday was no exception. I literally sobbed through much of the post. The question: "Who is the lost sheep in your life He is calling you to love?” stood out. My immediate family may not be lost sheep, but German's family are all lost sheep. I take for granted that I have eternity to be with my family, even if the here and now is somewhat silent. German does not have that assurance. And in reality, it is his brother that lingers and hovers and waits for a word of encouragement from us. He says he wants nothing to do with God, but is it true? Often I think what he really means is he wants nothing to do with the church. Are we living our lives where he sees that God and the church are not necessarily one in the same (another soap box for another day)? Do I really love my brother-in-law in a way that would draw him to Jesus? How can I show that with an ocean between us? So many questions, left at the throne of grace. But between Tami's and Ann's blessings of words this week, I'm more determined to love and to watch for lingering and to allow God to work.

Who lingers in your life? How do you need to reach out? Who is the lost sheep in your life He is calling you to love?

Blessings to each of you!


One other thing....if you are so inclined please pray for J&J, friends who left yesterday afternoon to live and work in Afghanistan with a Christian Service organization. They go as a family with their 2 year old daughter and their 4 week old daughter. And they go in such peace and faith as God leads. Pray for their safety and for their quick settling and adjusting to their new home. And please pray for their parents who have sent them with blessings and God's peace, but whose hearts must be heavy with concern and sadness. Bless you for praying!

IOW---Where is Your Priority?

"The worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love."
Henry Scougal (The Life of God in the Soul of Man ), quoted by John Piper in The Pleasures of God

If I were to ask someone what my passions were, based upon how they see me living my life, I believe they would say: family, needle arts and teaching the Bible (in that order). Those are the things that take up most of my time and bring me the most joy. God has convicted me this year of the order of my apparent priorities, and I am working at being more diligent about Bible Study and teaching and allowing hobbies to follow after that. Because where we spend our time, tells so much about us.

I hear people often say, "I'd never have enough time to do *x*" I like to answer, "do you find time to go out with friends? How about watch the telly?" I used to think I didn't have time to read, until I figured out how much time I wasted watching things that didn't matter to me on the television. I used to think that there was not enough time to take the walk with the girls, or just play in the back garden, until I learned that my hobbies and even housework could be left for those precious times. What we spend our time doing, tells the story of our priorities.

I look at it this way: If the object of my deep love is my children, what does it say to them when I say "I can't play I'm dusting, or vacuuming or mopping?" It says to their child-sized ability to discern "cleaning house is more important than us." So I'm learning to say, "I'll put this in the washing machine and we'll play a game or read a book." I'm learning that vacuuming can be done when they are resting, or playing alone after I've given them the one-on-one they need. My love for my children takes precedence. I can see it in their eyes and body language when it is not. I don't want to be a "too busy" mom. So I alter my behavior to show them that they are the object of my love.

In the very same way, if the object of my deepest love is God, am I showing that to Him (and those around me) by how I act? Do I prioritize Bible Study and quiet time over chores or *gasp* blogging? Am I constantly saying to Him, "let me finish this project then I'll get to You?" Too often, I am. I make the time for the things that are important to me--and I need to be making more time for Him.

The things I delight in determine how my life is viewed. Being a hard worker, caring for my home, making beautiful stitched pieces, baking lovely desserts are all things that I enjoy. But I want, when people look at my life and describe it, for them to say "She loved God passionately...and she cared and loved her family with all her heart." Those are legacies worth leaving.

In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge.
1 Timothy 6:18-19

O God, how I love You! I want my life to reflect that deep love for you. I want the people around me to notice Your love spilling out of my life--and they can only notice it if I am cultivating the relationship. Place within me the deep desires to carve out the time and space for a relationship to grow. I want my little girls to see my love for You. I want them to always feel like the priority in my life, and for them to desire the relationship with You as well. Help to organize my priorities so that they do not fall in behind anything else--not chores, not hobbies, not responsibilities. Organize my life with You as Head, and family as next and then all other things falling into place. Take my life and make it wholly Yours. Amen.

This week's In Other Words is hosted by Laurel Wreath. Please come and be blessed as others discuss this challenging quote.

September Goals & this and that

I can't let the first week of the month totally get away without making some goals. I didn't make any public in August, so none to review. Here they are:

1. Get off to a good start with Kindy Home Ed (start 10 Sept)
2. Get off to agood start with Fall Bible Study (start 14 Sept)
3. Finish binding pinwheel quilt
4. Finish Flower's first quilt and plan her second
5. Get Neighbourhood RR ready to mail
6. Finish T's Blackwork RR (and K's if it comes before the end of the month)
7. Write 3 real letters to friends (more than just quick emails)

This and that:
Remember this? Well, she did contact me! I was so excited. I still don't know what God has planned, but I am convinced that He has orchestrated it.

SBQ:

Would you ever stitch one of your BAPs a second time? (This does not include starting over because of mistakes, bad fabric, etc., rather stitching something from the first stitch for a second time.)

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2007/09/sbq-seconds/

I love all the BAPs (Big Ambitious Projects) that I have completed, but they were each done for a purpose and I really can't see myself stitching them again. I have stitched 2 Stoney Creek Wedding pieces twice for different weddings. Fifteen years ago when I stitched them I would have considered them a BAP, but nowdays I'd call them a medium-sized project. Oh, how our perspective changes, lol.

I AM, Lesson 14, He Brought Us Out to Bring Us In

It's time for another installment of the I AM Bible Study! I can't believe how far we have come and there are only two more after this. Lisa has done a wonderful job opening up the Word to us. This week's lesson is based upon Exodus 6:6-8, Exodus 15:13 and Deuteronomy 6:23. Here are the Burning questions:

1. We talked of the importance of encouragement when God has called us to task. Has a lack of encouragement or even ridicule ever taken you back to a place of insufficiency you thought you had conquered?

I can't think of a specific incident that has taken me back to a place of insufficiency. But I do know that when I am teaching, several weeks of non-encouragement puts me in a place where it is just harder to get it done.

2. Is there someone you know right now who is attempting a new ministry that could use a world of encouragement from you? Why do you think this thing may be scary for her? Will you commit to write a note, make a call, or send an email with a dose of courage inside?

I learned this week that a family friend is taking a 2 year assignment with SIM to go to Peru. Since he will be encountering a new country, new culture, new language, new climate, new everything, I'm sure that will be rather daunting. He obligingly set up a blog, so I've been able to comment and encourage him through that. I will be looking for other ways to encourage as well.

3. Read Moses' song in Exodus 15:3-18. What line speaks to you most? Why does it touch you?

Verse 11 "Who among the gods is like you?" The world we live in is so filled with other gods claiming to be the answer, and some dear people around me are buying those lies. This verse is such a reassurance that God is God and the little gods are powerless.

4. Based on the applications of living either inside or outside the Promise, where would you now say you currently reside? (As I read your answers, if this one point seems to have been confusing, I'll elaborate in a separate post. Again remember I am asking this question in terms of abundant living and not in determining salvation.;))

Inside the promise.

5. If you are 'Somewhere in the Middle' between the girl you were and the one you want to be, how do you plan on changing that? Is there a barrier you feel you can't climb? Knowing God is for you and this study group is for you, is there a way we can help?

I think the path of discipleship will always have me somewhere in the middle of where I was and where I'm going to be. Because every time I reach one destination, God shows me a further goal to develop my trust and relationship with Him. As I've said before, I love that the journey is never stagnant--calm sometimes, frantic others, but always moving and growing in grace. I don't have specific barriers I need to climb. Just need to keep persevering in the Lord.

Blessings to you for reading. I pray you were encouraged.

Having Faith or Living Faith

There are two people in my sphere of regular contact who have very different life and religious views from me. In fact, their beliefs are as counter-Christianity as beliefs could possibly be. I was musing the other night that I am absolutely able to visit with one of them, and the other makes me soooo uncomfortable. When pushed as to why that was the case, this was the answer that came to me: because the first person holds those beliefs in her life and the second person has the beliefs as her life. With the first person, although I know her life view, her religious beliefs almost never come up. The second person lives it, breathes it and you cannot know her without knowing her belief system.

The revelation chilled me. I wonder how they would describe me? Do they see me as someone who believes in Jesus, but has a life outside that? Or, do they see me as someone whose belief in Jesus is my life? I am ashamed to say, that most likely the first person sees me as someone who believes but that is it. I cannot think that she would be comfortable with me at all if Jesus was the main thing/only thing seen in my life. It would make her uncomfortable. It should make her uncomfortable. (I think perhaps I am a better witness with the second person because her beliefs are so vocal I feel I am able to be vocal as well. How sad is that?)

The problem is, I really like this first person even if her belief system is opposed to mine. Because I like her, I hurt for her because I know that she will not find the peace or comfort or joy that she is looking for in her life until she finds Truth. And, I pray for her to find Truth. But I, apparently, don't live my life in such a way as to intrigue her about my faith. I don't make her bristle. I don't make her uncomfortable. And I need to. Furthermore, I have allowed myself to be comfortable with her. I shouldn't be. The untruths that she bases her life on (however shallowly) should make me bristle. I want to live my faith in such a way that Jesus is totally uncomfortable in me when I encounter lies. I want to love the unbeliever, but not necessarily make camp with them. I need to find the balance.

How about you? Do you have faith or live faith? How do you find the balance? Maybe we can make this journey together.

Father, God, thank you for revealing the complacencies in my life. Thank you for drawing away the veil of rationalization and helping me to see that just saying I believe something will not lead my friends or acquaintences to You. Help me to live the faith that I put my trust in. I want You to be alive in me. I want to feel Your discomfort when lies are told. I want to be Your light shining in the darkness. Forgive me for compromising. Please do not allow the compromises I have made forever be a stumbling block to my friends. I want them to see You in my every word and deed. Thank you for loving them more than I can and desiring for them to know you as well. Oh, God, break the strongholds of darkness in their lives and if I may, let me be a vessel You use to heal them. Amen.

photo from morguefile.com artist= Richard_b

IOW--The difficult path of prayer

"Praying is no easy matter. It demands a relationship in which you allow someone other than yourself to enter into the very center of your person, to see there what you would rather leave in darkness, and to touch there what you would rather leave untouched. Why would you really want to do that?"

~ Henri Nouwen ~

Why would you/I really want to do that?

I think as women we often find ourselves feeling misunderstood. Our kids don't understand that the things we ask them to do are for their own good. Our husbands don't understand how much work goes into keeping a home peaceful and running smoothly. Our bosses (if we have them) don't understand our divided loyalties between career and home. Our childless friends don't understand how we could prioritize a child over a night out. Our unmarried friends (if we are married) don't understand that our husbands must come first in planning our time and our married friends (if we are unmarried) don't understand how much we would love to have time with them (since we don't have a husband to go home to for intimacy or conversation). Much of our life is about feeling misunderstood.

(Please note, I said feeling misunderstood. Often the people around us do understand, we just don't give them credit).

So why do I risk a prayer relationship? Why would I do that hard work? Because I want to be understood. And God understands me more than any of the people in my life have a chance to understand me. He, alone, created me. He knows my inmost thoughts. He knows my dreams even before I know them. He knows me. And I want to be known.

So, I take my Bible and I carve out a bit of my day that is for Him alone. I fight for a few minutes without the demands of motherhood and being a wife, a friend, a teacher. I seek Him out. I sit. I open His word. And I ask Him to speak to me, because He knows the status of my heart. As He shows me the darkness I would rather not admit is there I have two choices--ignore it (only to have Him remind me another day) or give it to Him to refine. As He shows me the blessings in my life, I can rejoice. I can tell Him my dreams, because He placed those dreams in my heart. I can show Him the darkness because His light can eradicate it from my life. He already sees me, and He chooses to commune with me. I can trust in that. I can rest in that.

I choose the difficult path because He knows me.

He knows me and He loves me anyway.

So I choose Him.

O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.

You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
Psalm 139:1-6

"But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." Colossians 4:2

Our hostess for In Other Words this week is Christine at Fruit in Season. Please join us there for others' interpretation or meditations on this quote.