Let Us Kneed Before the Lord Our Maker

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice. — Psalm 95:6-7 

Yesterday we visited with Megan and Nic and their family.

At their beautiful home.

Megan is due on Christmas!

Their first baby - a girl.

We had a fun barbecue with friends we hadn't seen in a long time.

And it was great to have Kirk's brother and sister-in-law in town.

Katie arrives today.

We are the people of God's pasture.

The flock under His care.

Let Us Kneel Before the Lord

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.  — Psalm 95:6-8 

Let us bow down in worship.

Come and kneel before the Lord.

He is our Maker.

And our God.

We are His people.

He calls us His sheep.

The flock under His care.

This is the cathedral in Bayeux, near Normandy.

Happy September!

God Cares

You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. — Psalm 65: 9

God cares for the land.

He waters it with rain.

He enriches His creation abundantly.

And He blesses us, His creation.

Showering us with His goodness and love.

God cares for us.

The Work of Your Fingers

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them,  human beings that you care for them? — Psalm 8:3-4

Tonight Abby and I went to a Switchfoot concert at the outdoor amphitheater at SDSU.

We also saw Need to Breathe.

What a fun evening together.

And it was only ten minutes from our house.

Praising God through music.

Our Creator!

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Those Who Work Hard

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. — 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13a

My friend Mari works hard for the Lord.

She prays for others, tells them about Jesus, and lives to serve Him.

She walks her neighbors dogs.

Here's one she brought on our walk down to the Old Mission Dam.

And she cares for their pets when they are unable to.

I admire and respect her.

She will go in for a scan tomorrow to see if the doctors can find why she is still in so much pain.

I am praying for her healing and for relief from the pain.

Our Competence Comes from God

Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. — 2 Corinthians 3:5

I am not competent in myself to claim anything for myself.

My competence comes from God.

On Sunday I sang "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" for our worship service.

You can watch it on LiveStream about 59:35 minutes into the service:
https://livestream.com/FPCSD/events/8914821/videos/199466636

Our new pastor was preaching a sermon about Tamar and Judah, but he told me the theme was God's care.

When he mentioned that, I immediately thought of this song, which ends with "I know He watches me."

During the sermon I was doubting the choice, thinking "Because He Lives" might have been more appropriate.

I asked God to communicate the song's message through my singing.

I realize I'm not competent on my own.

God helped me communicate His message through the song, and our pastor Jeff mentioned how perfectly it fit with his sermon.

That was definitely a God thing.

He can use me as He sees fit. My competence comes from God.

He is worthy of our praise!

God's Word Is Sharp

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. — Hebrews 4:12

Today our new pastor spoke from 1 Timothy 5 about take care of our human family members and also taking care of our older church family members who do not have family to care for them.

It was a thought-provoking message.

Yesterday we celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary with some of our friends and family.

Abby did a great job pulling it all together and making it a special day.

Here's Kirk with our friend Ernie.

Ernie is wearing one of the Hawaiian shirts from the collection of Kirk's dad.

Very sweet that he chose to wear it for our party.

And Marion made us a hand-crafted anniversary card.

On the right is our neighbor from Budapest, Hungary.

He works at the same company as Ernie's daughter, although they are in different divisions.

God's Word is alive and active.

We are amazed and grateful for so many wonderful Christian friends.

Come, Let Us Worship

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. — Psalm 95:6

The past two weeks have been wonderful to have my brother Steve worship with us.

Last week Kirk's brother Kelly joined us, too.

It means a lot to worship together as a family.

Our church family means a lot to our family, too.

Let us bow down in worship.

Let us kneed before the Lord, our Maker.

He is our God and we are the people of His pasture.

We are the flock under His care.

He shows his love to us daily as He continues to care for us.

God Understands

You understand, O Lord; remember me and care for me. — Jeremiah 15:15

God understands me.

He created me and knows every hair on my head.

God remembers me.

He cares for me in ways I cannot even imagine.

He surrounds me with his love and compassion.

God understands me and takes care of me.

Children of God

To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. — John 1:12

As a child of God, I am loved and cared for by God himself.

He guided us to a long weekend of rest and relaxation.

He has guided us through my cancer and chemo treatments.

He has given us a chance to get away before Kirk starts school again and before Abby begins her master's program.

God has blessed us with time together as a family.

God's Glory

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. — John 1:14

We are able to make it through the trials of this life because we have seen the glory of Jesus, who lived among us and now comforts and guides us on our journey.

God sends wonderful friends and family our way to surround us with care and compassion and to lift us up when we need their support.

Here are some of my hiking buddies and prayer warriors.

I am grateful for these women of faith and many more who keep me covered with God's love and remind me of His grace daily.

Roses from a Friend

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. — James 1:2-5

Roses from Mary's garden and chocolate flan

Saturday evening our friend Mary brought us chicken tortilla soup, appetizers, jicama salad, chocolate flan, and these beautiful roses from her garden.

Our home smells like lilacs and roses! What could be better.

We consider it joy, even though going through trials, because we know that God give generously to us. In His mercy, He cares for us even when we don't deserve it. Especially when we don't deserve it. Actually, we never deserve it.

Nonetheless, God gives generously. And we are thankful.

The People Under God's Care

He is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. — Psalm 95:7

Last night I went to book club and enjoyed talking with friends and eating tasty Asian food.

I stopped taking my nausea pills on Tuesday but have been feeling great. Today I will work at home, since my oncologist suggested I need to cut back a bit and rest more.

My team members and supervisors at work are completely supportive.

We are the people of God's pasture, the flock under his care.

We are blessed to be under God's loving care.

God's Faithfulness

I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. — Psalm 57:9-10

God is faithful. His love reaches up to the heavens and down to me here on the earth.

I am surrounded by His goodness and care. I love singing His praises.

This is one of the views we had in Peñasquitos Canyon a few weeks ago.

We did a prayer walk in silence for ten minutes on our way back to our cars. I am reminded to praise God wherever I am, not just when I'm hiking.

God is faithful no matter where I go, no matter how bad my attitude, no matter how long I've ignored Him. Very humbling.

I will praise you, Lord!

Peaceful Vistas

We will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever. — Micah 4:5

Torrey Pines State Park

Over the past few days, as I've explained to others how wonderful I feel and how quickly I seem to be healing, their concern is that I might be anxious as I wait for the pathology report. 

I'm certainly hopeful that the cancer has not spread into the lymph nodes, but I'm not anxious or worried. And I'm not sure why. But I have  a deep sense of peace that goes beyond anything I can understand.

I feel a calm assurance that God is in control. At the same time, I realize that I'm not in control and can have no impact on the future. But somehow knowing that God's got this means I don't have to worry. Whatever the outcome, I'm still in His hands. He'll see me through it all.

So my prayer is that God's will be done in our lives and that Kirk, Abby and I will be able to give Him the honor and glory no matter what the next steps may be.

Torrey Pines beach as seen from above is a favorite spot for our family to hike. The waves lapping up against the shore and the beach areas butting up against the cliffs provide such a scenic view of creation and the beauty around us. We are blessed to live near these awesome vistas — these reminders of God's love and care.

We are at peace.

Rejoice!

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice! — Philippians 4:4

I've noticed that laughter just seems to make everything better. 

A deep belly laugh at a good joke restores the spirit and brings a sense of camaraderie and fellowship. 

It's amazing how a good laugh can clear the air.

I have a friend at work whose laughter is contagious. As soon as I hear his laugh, I start laughing, too.

The day I left the house wearing one blue shoe and one black one brought a look of horror to my face when I arrived at church and looked down at my feet. 

But then I just burst into laughter. It was too funny.

Laughing at ourselves feels good and releases all that pent-up nervous energy.

At times I think God must be laughing at some of the crazy things I worry about or stress over. Even so, He doesn't give up on me. I rejoice in His unfailing care for me.

We are joyful.

God's Promises

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. — I Peter 5:7

 After a beautiful walk around the bay today, we came home to a brief rain shower and this awesome rainbow surrounding our neighborhood and reminding us of God's promises:

But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the Lord — Jeremiah 30:17

How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! — Psalm 36:7

I will never leave you nor forsake you. — Joshua 1:5

Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. — I Kings 8:23

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. — Micah 6:8