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“Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord; Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope…for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.” (v 1,2,5,7) In the eight verses of Psalm 130, the name Lord appears eight times. We see that suffering is real and that God is a real presence in it. God brings forgiveness (v4), hope (v5,7), plenteous redemption (v7, KJV), and l

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” (v5) Psalm 23 is a beautiful declaration of God’s love and care. Goodness and mercy come not only at the end of the psalm, but run all the way through, encouraging us to be confident in God’s presence with us. It is interesting to notice the language in the psalm. It begins in the third person: “He is my shepherd”.  “He makes me lie down in green pastures”. David tell

“O come, let us sing to the Lord…Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving…For the Lord is a great God…He is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice! Do not harden your hearts.” (Psalm 95:1,2,3,7,8) I was in a church choir years ago. I remember we sang an anthem based on Psalm 95. It was a joyful, upbeat song. I often think of that when I turn to Psalm 95. However, as you stay with the Psalm, i

I lift up my eyes to the mountains — where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth… The Lord watches over you — the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night… The Lord will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore. (Psalm 121: 1-2; 5-6; 8, NIV) “You can learn to live carefree before God. He is most careful with you.” (IPet 5:7 MSG) There is something we all have i

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him. Rejoice in the Lord and be glad.” Psalm 32: 8-11a “When we align ourselves more closely with God, he finds pleasure in this, and we fi

Please join me in a Lenten Journey meditating on the Psalms. We will look at one psalm each week. Short Psalm Reflections will be shared on Monday.  During Holy Week, there will be an additional Psalm on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. The Psalms selected will be from the Revised Common Lectionary. Together we will reflect on God’s word and let it be a part of our day and our life - a strength and a trustworthy guide to light the way forward. As I looked at the collection of P

An old song refrain came to mind as I thought about the word ‘ stay’ : “Should I stay or should I go?” By this time of year, you may want to go away from the goals, intentions, or plans you made when the new year started.” Stay with yourself. Stay with your best thoughts. Stay with your good goal or with the thing you need to do. As the old saying goes - stay the course . It is not only resolutions that may prompt us to go.  There seems to be something in us that wants what’s

“Let the peace of Christ rule your hearts.”  Col 3:15 Hopes. Dreams. Goals. Resolutions. Ideals. Plans. Projects. Habits. Change. Possibilities. Have you been hearing about it? Thinking about it? Do you already have a plan? A word? A goal? I am entering the new year gently - peacefully. I have been hosting out-of-town guests and enjoying our college-aged kids home from break. I have been trying to be in the moment. I have been taking it all in. It is not easy to live gently,

“Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.” G.K. Chesterton It’s the end of the year. Christmas is around the corner. There are things to do, things to figure out, things to face, things you would like not to face, and in the middle of it all, we find a story. Consider the one told by Matthew. His story seems to start a little slow with a list of names, but of course, a closer look reveals something wondrous - it’s a list of names! Each name on the list is a person

“Praise the Lord, my soul. Lord my God, you are great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment.” Psalm 104:1-2 This may be what the shepherds saw when they encountered Baby Jesus. Angels appeared to them and told them, “I have good news.”  Imagine that. The angels said there is good news of great joy that on that very day when the angels appeared, a savior was born. (Lk 2:8-11) When they heard the good news, the shepherds

“Faith in God is less apt to proceed from miracles than miracles from faith in God. ” Frederick Buechner I am at a new beginning point right now. The beginning of something brings both anticipation and uncertainty. Will what’s ahead be good? How will it all work out? I guess you may be wondering the same thing if you are in the middle of something. Andrew, John, Peter, Phillip, and Nathaniel may have been asking those same questions as they started to follow Jesus. He had inv

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, all that is within me, bless thy holy name, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget  all his benefits - who forgives…who heals…who redeems…who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good as long as you live. Ps 103:1-5 This is one of my favorite psalms. It tells us to bless and not to forget. We are to remember. When does forgetting begin for you? It often happens sooner than I would like! I sometimes forget to look

They left a nightlight in the bathroom of the rental we stayed in recently. I notice things like that and find such gestures very thoughtful. We need light. If you wake up in the dark in a strange place and try to find your way, you will bump into the truth, into reality. It may feel like a stubbed toe in the morning. Light brings clarity. It helps us see what is really there. Of course, you need to look. How often do we not see what’s right in front of us? “What do you want?

The area where I live was once a farm. When it was developed into a residential area, they retained some land for farming. It is fun to...

I was a radio show host during my college years. The memory of it popped into my mind as I thought about the word engage . We called our...

“To orient your life around Jesus and his teachings positions you to live with greater attentiveness to God’s care and love. What makes us secure is not our circumstances but God’s ever-faithful presence in our lives.” Rich Villodas When I was in High School, I took an Introduction to Art class. We dabbled a little in charcoal drawing, painting, and pottery. We also had an assignment to design a floor plan for a dream house. Thinking back, I wonder if any of our plans would h

“The true goal is to be  what we do. ” Abraham Joshua Heschel "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." Mt 6:33 We are moving through the Sermon on the Mount to learn how to live it out. As C.S. Lewis said of the Christian life, it is going to be easy and hard. There is an atmosphere in the kingdom of God - an environment that is life and leads to life. “The heart of God is the environment for the Christian. God meant th

"Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." Mt 6: 33 “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek - to be with the Lord all the days of my life.” Ps 27: 4 Jesus shared some very challenging words in the Sermon on the Mount. When you hear them and think about them, they stop you in your tracks. For example, Jesus addresses a group of his followers. These are people who want to be with him. They are the people who kno

“Praying is talking to God about what we are doing together.” Dallas Willard "Prayer is a surge of the heart, it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy." St. Therese of Lisieux I enjoy children. After spending time with children, you discover that they can be both simple and complex; sometimes, a child can understand the complexity of simple things in a way that adults miss. Years ago, I was part of a Christ

One day, I was walking on a beach in Florida and stopped to look out at the ocean. Little did I know that someone was also looking at me.  After a seagull nearby caught my attention, I turned and noticed a little boy. He was crouching in the sand, looking up at me. He had a huge smile and a hand full of something. I waved to him, trying to match his smile. He waved back to me. Then he turned to exchange words with his mom a little farther back. They both started to walk towar