My Soul Finds Rest in God

Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. — Psalm 62:1 

Recovering from pneumonia, I have had to take time for plenty of rest.

And my soul has found rest in God and His Word.

Starting on Monday, I began swimming for 25-30 minutes each morning.

And my body found rest swimming laps gently at a snail's pace just doing the sidestroke.

My salvation comes from God alone.

And my soul has found rest and a deep peace in His comfort and care.

I grow stronger each day, thanks to His healing touch.

Blessed Is the One Who Trusts in the Lord

Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. — Jeremiah 17:7-8 

Our confidence is in God the Lord.

We trust in Him.

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord.

Their trust and confidence is in him.

Happy July!

God Raised Us Up

God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. — Ephesians 2:6 

God raised us up with Christ.

He seated us with Him in the heavenly realm.

He gives us passage to live with him in heaven.

We are blessed.

Praise the Lord!

 Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, And let all the peoples praise Him. — Romans 15:11

God is worthy of our honor and praise.

He is our Creator, Savior, and Redeemer.

His Word commands us to praise Him day and night.

Let all the peoples praise Him.

For all of the marvelous things He has done and will continue to do in our lives.

Praise the Lord!

Speaking the Truth in Love

Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is, Christ. — Ephesians 4:15

Just as our flowers have grown over the past season,

We are to grow up in Christ.

Since He is the head.

And to grow up in all aspects of our lives.

And part of growing up is learning how to speak the truth in love

Rather than out of malice or anger.

Exhibiting beauty on the inside and out.

The beauty of Jesus shining through our lives.

In the Name of Jesus

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. — Colossians 3:13

Saturday we enjoyed spending time with friends.

Hiking Mission Trails early in the morning.

And having another group of friend over in the afternoon for charcuterie and carrot cake and wine.

Sunday we will go to our Easter sunrise service at Waterfront Park down by the bay.

Our orchestra will play the hymns and our choir will join in the singing.

Kirk and I will serve communion.

It will be a sunny Easter day.

Some of our older family friends will not be able to join us tomorrow, since we have not all be vaccinated, but our other family members will come over for ham.

We are blessed.

 

All Things Created

By Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. — Colossianas 1:16

God tells us that He created all things.

You and me and everything around us.

Yesterday it rained off and on.

Kirk got in a great golf game - solo, since everyone else wimped out, thinking it would be too wet.

He had the whole course to himself.

After one of the rain spells, there was a beautiful rainbow outside my office window.

Reminding me that God created the world and everything in it.

A reminder of God's promises to us.

And a visible covenant with us that He always keeps His promises.

I am so grateful.

God Showed His Love

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. — 1 John 4:9

As we approach Easter, we remember that God sacrificed His Son for us.

I have an only child, and I cannot imagine giving her up for someone else.

Much less for someone who I consider an enemy.

But God did that for me and for the whole world.

Even while I was still a sinner.

He sent His one and only Son into the world for me.

If I had been the only one on earth, He still would have done it for me alone.

Amazing.

Just so I can live with Him.

This is how God showed His love among us.

Thank You.

John Gave This Testimony

Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him." — John 1:32

Today we all have the day off.

Of course, Kirk has every day off!

It's President's Day.

We are heading out to the beach.

Then Abby and I will head over to Santee to swim.

A very relaxing day.

And fun family getaway.

 

All Things Made New

 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. — John 1:3

God created the world and everything in it.

Jesus was with God from the beginning.

He also created.

Through Him all things were made.

Without Him, we would have nothing.

Nothing would have been created.

These beautiful flowers were arranged by my friend LaVonne.

Her business is called Adorations Botanical.

This week you can get 10% off everything ordered by February 5 at https://www.adorations.com/ using the code DAYMADE21 when you check out.

Today is World Cancer Day, designed to bring awareness and inspire action for a cancer-free future. 

We know we are living in a sinful world.

But with Jesus, we have everything we need!

They Followed Him

So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. — Luke 5:20

Jesus called the disciples to follow Him.

They obeyed and left everything.

They followed Him wherever He went.

They left family, friends, homes, and all they had.

I find it hard just to leave the busy-ness of my life.

Help me, Lord, to leave wverything for You.

Live a New Life

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. — Romans 6:4

Sunday we celebrated with a renewing of our baptism at Waterfront Park down by the Harbor.

Our worship service included additional congregations that have worshipped in our campus over the years.

We sang and praised God together outside.

And we shared communion.

God was glorified.

God's Mercy Never Ends

 His mercy extends to those who fear him,  from generation to generation. — Luke 1:50

God's mercy never ends.

He gave us Jesus to be our Savior and our advocate.

God's mercy lasts from generation to generation.

He forgives me over and over.

And He paid the ultimate price by sacrificing His Son for me.

Overflow with Hope

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. — Romans 15:13

God gives hope to a world lost and dying.

He fills us with joy in His Son, Jesus.

The Lord brings us peace through Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

When I trust in Him, He fills me with joy and peace.

So I can overflow with hope.

And with the power of the Holy Spirit.

This Advent season, we look forward to the Lord's coming.

To the birth of our Lord Jesus.

Welcome Him in the Lord

So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him. — Philippians 2:29

Today is my Aunt Judy's birthday.

She has been a blessing in our family and in hers.

Even though we are far apart - from Virginia to California, it seems like we are just next door.

She has a way of lighting up the entire room with her smile.

And her words of encouragement and support are like a breath of fresh air flowing over us.

We love and miss her.

Sit Alone in Silence

It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him. — Lamentations 3:27-28

It takes a lot of fortitude to bear the yoke of hardship.

But it is a good thing to experience when we are young.

It is hard to sit alone in silence.

I want to be up and moving, trying to accomplish something.

But God calls me to be still and know that He is Lord.

He asks me to sit alone in silence and bear the yoke He has given me.

Help me to obey You, Lord.

The Lord Is Good

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. — Lamentations 3:25-26

God is good to those of us who hope in Him.

To those of us who search for Him,

Who do His will and look for His guidance.

He directs our paths.

God helps me wait for Him.

The Lord helps me to be quiet, even in the midst of our busy lives.

He asks me to wait quietly for His salvation.

Salvation through His Son, our Lord Jesus.

Here is the September moon, shining over our neighborhood.

Today is the first day of the new month!

Chosen

He [God] chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. — Ephesians 1:4

God planned for me before the word was created.

He chose me as one of His children.

I don't worship Him just to be blessed.

I worship Him because of what He has done for me.

Yesterday Abby and I walked around Lake Murray. 

It was hot but beautiful.

The ducks were paddling on the lake and a few people were fishing.

It brought back memories of her birthday party on Lake Murray when she was in elementary school.

God has chosen us to be holy in His sight.

God Exists

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. —Hebrews 11:6

Abby decorated our kitchen to celebrate Kirk's retirement.

He has been such a strong and faithful leader of our family.

He lives his faith in everything he does.

Without faith it is impossible to please God.

Kirk has a very strong faith.

He believes that God exists and occasionally teaches our adult Sunday school class to help others believe, too.

We are blessed.

Sing Praise to God

I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord. — Psalm 104:33:34

First Presbyterian Church Choir 2011

I loving singing praise to the Lord.

I will sing praise as long as I live.

A few weeks ago I had a chance to record several songs and hymns for our worship services.

Our quartet recorded some, I did a duet, and I got to sing a couple of solos.

Last Sunday, one of those solos was included in our online service.

The words were from Chronicles and quoted God's word to us:

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray,

Then will I hear from heaven and will forgive and heal their land.

Very timely for our world today.

Even with the violence and hatred in our city and our country, I rejoice in the Lord.