Psalms 11:3-7

Have you had those days when you feel like everyone's out to get you? Those days when it seems like evil triumphs, the good guys are taking all the hits and you can't find the sunshine among the clouds? We all have. No matter what path you walk down, or career you chose, the friends you surround yourself with or the life you lead. everyone has days like this. Everyone. So what do you do? Where do you turn? How do you deal with the crushing defeats and the fear that evil will triumph?

You confront every lie with the truth. Every time.

Psalms 11:3-7

"The foundations of law and order have collapsed. What can the righteous do? But the Lord is in his holy Temple; the Lord still rules from heaven. He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth. The Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked. He hates those who love violence. He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked, punishing them with scorching winds. For the righteous Lord loves justice. The virtuous will see his face."

Can you relate? To that feeling of the foundations of law and order have collapsed? I think we've all been there. What I love about the psalms though is that they don't allow us to stay in that pit of despair. They bring us back to the truth. The Lord is in his holy Temple. That's just as true today as it was thousands of years ago when these words were first penned. And it will be true for all of time. 

I love that it brings us back around to the fact that God doesn't only judge the wicked. Although the remember that He's always watching us makes me squirm in my seat when I think about my own sins, it also brings about a great sense of peace. The Lord isn't some distant judge who's so busy judging evil that He doesn't have time to watch over His children. And He isn't a naïve Father who just sees the good His children are doing and refuses to see the bad stuff. He sees it all and He does something about it! He judges the wicked and rains down blazing coals and burning sulfur, punishing them with scorching winds because of His love for justice and for the righteous. That's a pretty amazing thing when you think about it. How much He loves His people. How much He loves justice.

So on those days when things seem really dark, remember that there's someone who has perfect night vision to see in that darkness and He is able to take care of everything. 

Kiddos

This morning my grandpa asked me if he should check my blog to read my latest post. I told him that I hadn't had a chance to write it yet so I asked him what I should write about.

He suggested Psalms 11:4 "The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes everyone earth; his eyes examine them."

I love this verse and I want to talk about it but something else is distracting me this morning. Every year my family celebrates Christmas in January or February when we can all get together. It started way back when, my siblings were working in service industries and couldn't get time off around the holidays. As time went on they got married and by celebrating Christmas late we could guarantee to give people enough time to rearrange schedules with multiple families and get time off from work.

Normally we rent a place where we can all gather for a weekend. We chip in on meals and bring gifts to exchange. We get to spend time hanging out, catching up, tormenting each other and being woken up by siblings with dart guns. (That only happened once, brothers #1 and #3 decided brother #2 had been sleeping too long. I got the whole thing on video. It never fails to make me laugh.)

This year, COVID. (And isn't it strange that can be a complete sentence these days?) So instead of going somewhere those who can get together gathered at my parents house. Including the two nieces and the nephew. The older they get the more they crack me up. 

Michael (4 years old) says:

gggggggg

lgg hhhbh h hbb           bh                        ub

gggggg

The verse line is apparently translated: "I am checking a present". I have no idea what the rest supposedly says, he wouldn't tell me.

Addy (6 years old) says:

djdmssssksjjjdkkjjhdyduu

Translation: "Nothing but I say no tonight." I'm wondering if that means she's not planning on sleeping tonight? Have fun with that Mom and Dad! I'm grateful I live close enough to go to my own house!

She also typed her own name: addison

Ella (9 years old in a few days) says: 

I likepups

Translation: "I like puppies." She was a lot more shy about this because she wasn't sure what to day. I told her that was okay, it's part of being a writer. I never know what to say but I write a post each week. I tired to explain the job of an editor is to make our words make sense. Since her grandma is my editor this seemed like a logical explanation to me but she wouldn't go for it.

Another fun thing they did this weekend was when I showed up they were so excited to show me their paper airplanes. They kept telling me that Grandad had made them paper airplanes. It turns out their dad had made about 13 and their grandad had made about 2. That's okay though, all the kids could talk about was what their grandad had made for them. Dad's apparently not important when granddad is around. That's kids though.

Maybe next week we'll get a chance to look at Grandpa's devotions in Psalms. This week I'm going to go enjoy some time with these awesome kiddos. Have a great weekend!

Going Back to Church

Hello and happy Saturday! If you've been following this blog at all in the last year you know that between COVID shutdown and some difficult circumstances I haven't been attending church in person for some time.  Well with a new year I knew that needed to change. So it was time to head back into the house of the Lord.

As we all know houses of the Lord here on earth are filled with His people. And they're wonderful people that make up the church. I know we're all grateful for fellowship with other saints but we also know that saints here on Earth are not completely sanctified. We all still have some work to do! Because of that going back to church after a long absence can be a little nerve wracking. So I've decided to write a list of simple things you can do to make this easier.

1. Check when the service starts- Last week I went to a church that I'd visited recently. I was sure and certain that the service started at 10:30am. I planned out what time to set my alarm, made sure I had time to get coffee and made it fifteen minutes early. I was quite proud of myself. Until I walked inside and found a packed full sanctuary and a congregation that was almost through singing. Yep, turns out service starts at 10am. That was embarrassing.

2. Bring a friend- Whenever you go to a church there's always people who are very friendly and outgoing. They want to talk to you and welcome you and if they can get you to open up you'll soon be telling them your whole life story. If you're like me and you have a hard time opening up then this is a bit terrifying. So, you bring a friend, this accomplishes two things. One, you can talk to each other and some people are dissuaded from talking to you at all. Or two, people still talk to you but now they need to take twice as long to talk to both of you and there's not time for you to share everything before the service starts.

3. Have something in hand to drink- Whether it's coffee, tea or water, having something in your hands is a great tool. It gives you something to do with your hands. Sipping your drink keeps you from having to answer awkward questions like, "Are you married, I don't see a ring?" from the sweet, older grandmas in the congregation or, "Are you in college?" because people think you look ten years younger then you are.

4. Take a Bible and a notebook- Not only do you look more "holy" when you're taking notes and using a real Bible instead of your phone but also it gives you something else to do with your hands. People will avoid talking to you too much or for too long if you're busy with your hands.

5. Get there early but not too early- This way you can find a seat and not be scrambling. You can choose to sit in the back and not get stuck with those crazies up front *cough my parents cough*. If you come in late you have to talk to people to ask to sit with them. However, if you show up too early then you get stuck with all the staff members and set up crew who feel the need to be extra friendly and outgoing. So plan your time carefully.

All right, so yes it's more then a little satirical but I hope you got a laugh at it!

Happy Saturday and I hope you all have a lovely weekend. Write to you all next week!

Pushing Through

Hey friends! It feels like it's been so much longer then a month since I last posted but, as promised, I'm back now that we're in February. My month off didn't go according to plan but then again, how often do these things actually work out the way we expect them too?

My original plan had been to write a bunch of posts and have them ready to go. Instead this is the first time that I've logged on.

I also planned to spend some time just relaxing and dealing with other things in my life. I've been battling severe migraines that occur almost daily for going on six weeks now. That has taken up a lot more time then I expected. It's meant that there are times I can't go to work because I can't even get out of bed or off the couch. Once I do I can't always drive. There's been other times that I make it to work but have to keep the lights shut off and can barely make it through the day. By the time I come home I take a rest before I can even make dinner,

I had hoped to get things around home done, like rearranging my room and perhaps even finish decorating. (After living here for almost two years it seems like it's time.) That it was one of the many projects that's still on the to-do list.

Plans to visit with my godkids got cancelled because of more COVID restrictions. Thankfully we've gotten pretty good at utilizing video chat and weekly phone calls.

I did manage to write some letters to my brother well he was at boot camp, although not as many as I would've liked. Still, he has now graduated and has his phone back so we can talk to him again!

One other plan that did happen was to finish at least a rough draft of book #2 for the Yagos series. Although I'm behind where I had hoped to be at this stage I'm pleased to announce that things seem to be coming along for the next book. More to come on that front so stay tuned!

It's been a weird month. I've had a lot of ups and downs. Dealing with the migraines has been frustrating and painful. Dizziness and nausea are a frequent companion these days that make life really tough some days. Not having answers about what's causing them is hard. God is good though, all the time and I've been extremely blessed as people have come out of the woodwork to help support me and offer their prayers. I'm so grateful for them and I'm trusting the Lord with this situation. 

Over that last month I've learned a tough lesson. One I've known for a long time but more recently have had to put into action. Sometimes when things get tough you just have to push through. That's the stage I'm in, learning to push through but understanding the limitations. Taking time to rest is what gives you the energy to keep pushing. Taking help and support from others gives you the encouragement. And relying on the Lord is the only thing that ever gets you to the finish line. 

So here's to pushing through! And next week I'll try to write something more cheerful! Until then, happy 2021 friends and thanks for joining me on this continuing journey as we discover God's graciousness despite my frequent stumbles.