I Will Sing of Your Strength

But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. — Psalm 59:16

Monday I took dinner to my coworker whose wife just had a baby.

And I made a chicken pot pie for our family, too.

Yum!

 I will sing of God's strength.

In the morning I will sing of His love.

God is my fortress.

He is my refuge in times of trouble.

The Whole Earth Is Filled with Awe

The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy. — Psalm 65:8 

Yesterday was Palm Sunday.

The children in our congregation waved palm branches as they came down the center aisle.

Next year, these palms will provide the ashes we'll use for Ash Wednesday.

Yesterday we sang Hosannas.

By Friday, we'll be shouting "crucify Him"!

What a fickle bunch we are.

Yet God calls forth songs of joy.

The whole earth is filled with awe at God's wonders.

I Will Sing of Your Strength

But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. — Psalm 59:16

Last night we went to a class on the Confessions of Augustine.

We are on Book 3.

It's a translation written by Sarah Ruden.

We had a good discussion about Augustine as a teenager, lamenting over the empty place in his heart.

And his mom praying for him with her tears.

Very similar to my mom praying for each of us her children, the week before she died.

I will sing of God's mercies and strength.

Today is Kyle's birthday!

In the morning I will sing of His love.

He is my fortress and my refuge.

Great Is God's Faithfulness

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. — Lamentations 3:22-23

Saturday night, Judith led the orchestra in our annual hymn sing.

This time it was held on our church courtyard so we could socially distance.

Everyone wore masks.

And only 50 people were admitted to sing along.

It was a beautiful evening.

One of the songs she chose was, "Great Is Thy Faithfulness."

The words of the first verse say, 

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father.
There is no shadow of turning with Thee.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided.
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto Thee.

What a powerful testimony to God's greatness.

He is faithful to me, even when I lose my way.

His compassions never go away.

Instead, they are new every morning.

Great is your faithfulness, O Lord!

San Diego Bridge Walk

I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. — Lamentations 3:21-23

Today I joined some friends for a walk over 7 bridges in downtown San Diego.

We started at the Rose Garden in Balboa Park.

It was a beautiful morning for a 6-mile walk.

These are just a few of the ladies who have been praying for me over the last 6 months, during my operation and chemotherapy.

They continue to surround me with love and friendship and prayer.

This is the suspension bridge we walked over.

It felt like one of the moving walkways at a carnival fun house, where you think you might lose your balance, but none of us did!

I have hope because of the Lord's great love.

His compassion for me never fails.

Easter Celebration

Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. — Psalm 30:5

Sunday the weather cooled a bit at our house. Steve and Miki made it to church, which was a huge blessing.

I went for a walk around our neighborhood after church. The birds are singing and the sun is shining. The flowers are blooming in honor of Easter.

Our friend Rudy stopped by in the early evening to say hello and catch up.

Ernie was planning to come too, but his car was sideswiped so he ended up  having to file a police report instead. What a bummer.

We are blessed with wonderful friends who surround us with their love.

Rejoicing comes in the morning!

I Will Sing of God's Love

I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. — Psalm 59:16

I love to sing. This Psalm resonates with me, singing of God's love in the morning.

Saturday I got my hair cut and also had my hairdresser, Vito, trim the bangs on my wig just a bit. He graciously did not charge me for the appointment, so I'll bring him a bottle of wine to thank him.

Here's a picture of me in the wig, which I'll probably start wearing in a week or so, when my hair begins to fall out.

And now that my hair is shorter, I won't have as much left to fall out. When it does start to shed, Vito has said he'll be glad to give me a buzz cut, and he'll squeeze me in so I can take care of it as soon as I want or need to.

What a blessing to have such thoughtful friends who help me look and feel my best.

I will sing of God's strength, in the morning I will sing of His love!

Los Peñasquitos Canyon Hike

He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. — Psalm 121:3-4

Los Peñasquitos Canyon

Yesterday some friends and I headed out to Los Peñasquitos Canyon for a beautiful morning hike. 

The bridge was out so we were not able to cross the river, but with all of the rain we've had recently, the grass and plants were growing tall and green. And the water was higher than it had been in a while.

The day started out chilly and cold, but warmed up as the sun came out and we started moving. 

One friend who joined us had had a lumpectomy last summer followed by radiation and is doing well. Her cancer is gone for now, and we are rejoicing.

Another friend's mom has been diagnosed with non hodgkins lymphoma and is undergoing chemo now. She will have her second treatment this week while I have mine. As we walked we talked about how it's especially hard because she lives halfway across the country and has been having a rough time of it with lots of nausea and fatigue. 

There's really nothing her daughter could do if she were there, but it's hard to be so far away and watch your mom suffer. It's hard to be close by and watch your mom or mother-in-law suffer, too.

God is watching over each of us, and He will not let us slip out of His reach.

He will neither slumber or sleep. When we turn to Him, He is ready and able to respond. What a comfort!



 

Hiking In San Diego County

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. — Psalm 121:1-2

Today some friends and I are heading out to Los Peñasquitos Canyon for a beautiful morning hike. We'll see if we make it all the way to waterfall. I hope so! 

We have had a lot of rain for San Diego this year (over 11 inches). Most years, we have only 10 inches of rainfall for the entire year.

Here's a photo of the preserve taken in October 2016 by Alexandre Buhov. I'll post one after our hike so we can compare. My guess is it will be even more green than this. We'll see.

What a treat to get out into God's creation, lifting our eyes to God our Maker, where our help comes from.