The Skies Proclaim the Work of His Hands

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. —  Psalm 19:1-2

God's glory shines in the world around us.

The heavens declare His greatness.

The skies show us His creation.

The work of His hands.

Day after day, the world around us shouts His name.

Night after night, the each reveals His wisdom and knowledge.

The Lord God is amazing!

Shepherds Living Out in the Fields Heard About Jesus

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. — Luke 2:8-9 

The shepherds were amazed that night.

They were just doing their job, watching their sheep.

Until an angel of the Lord surprised them.

And the glory of the Lord shone around them,

They were some of the first people to hear the news of Jesus' birth,

And they celebrated!

Worshipping God's Son Jesus.

Blessed Is the One Whose Delight Is in the Law of the Lord

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. — Psalm 1:1-2

Here's a photo from our Thanksgiving dinner from last year.

This year we'll have some new faces around our table.

As we welcome some friends of our family.

And friends of friends.

We are thankful for the blessings we've been given.

And for the law of the Lord.

Help me to meditate on it day and night.

His Son Is With Me

By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life. — Psalm 42:8

God directs His love toward us all the time.

By day, we feel Him in the warmth of the sun.

And in the cool, wet air of a rain shower.

By night, His song is with us.

Music gives us an opportunity to pray twice — once through the words and once again through the music.

A prayer to the God of my life.

Amen.

 

The Skies Proclaim the Work of God's Hands

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. — Psalm 19:1-23

The heavens declare God's glory.

And the skies proclaim His handiwork.

Day after day the heavens pour forth speech.

They resound with the voice of our Creator.

Night after night they reveal the knowledge of the Lord.

And proclaim His glory.

Holy Is the Lord

Day and night they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.” — Revelation 4:8

When we see Jesus in heaven, we will worship Him day and night.

We will never stop praising Him.

Just as the living creatures around God's throne said, "Holy is the Lord God Almighty," we will do the same.

He is the great I Am.

He was, and is, and is to come.

Amen! So be it.

Anna Never Left the Temple But Worshiped

There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.  — Luke 2:27-28 

God planned for Anna also to be able to see baby Jesus.

She blessed Him when He was brought to the temple.

She had been fasting and praying, worshiping God night and day.

She was a widow, 84 years old.

And she loved the Lord.

So do we!

Shepherds Living Out in the Fields

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  — Luke 2:8-9 

When Jesus was born, there were shepherds keeping watch over their flocks of sheep.

At night an angel of Lord appeared to them.

The glory of the Lord shone around them.

And they were afraid - terrified!

But the angel had come to tell them the good news of Jesus' birth.

And when they heard it, they got so excited that they ran off to tell others.

This is great news of tremendous joy!

We should be sharing it with our friends and neighbors, too.

His Song Is With Me

By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me — a prayer to the God of my life. — Psalm 42:8

Today we worshiped God and sang His praises.

Our guest pastor was from Egypt and gave a wonderful sermon about relying on God and trusting Jesus.

He explained the stories of the man possessed by legions, the woman who was sick for 12 years and was healed after touching Jesus' robe and Jairus' daughter who died after 12 years and was brought to life again.

Pastor Isaac William was an inspiration to help us understand that we too, should reach out to the isolated and hurting people around us just as Jesus did.

Our director of Ladle Fellowship also spoke about how Ladle has served the downtown community for 40 years now.

Last week a man appeared at our church who had received a cup of coffee from that new ministry back in 1983.

He had returned to thank us and bring us a can of coffee.

God is at work - He directs His love by day.

And at night His song is with me.

A prayer to the God of my life.

 

Like a Day in God's Sight

A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. — Psalm 90:4

A thousand years in God's eyes are like a day that has flown by.

He is not tied to time or space.

Rather, He is omniscient and omnipresent.

With me all the time.

Going before me like a watch in the night.

Guiding me on the path of life. 

Blessed Is the Man Whose Delight Is in the Law of the Lord

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. — Psalm 1:1-2

Today we had a fun potluck at work to celebrate Thanksgiving.

I made party potatoes, and they were a hit.

We also had turkey, stuffing, ham, mashed potatoes, cornbread, rolls, mac 'n cheese, salad, cranberry sauce, and lots of desserts plus sparkling cider.

Our social committee did a great job setting up the event.

Everyone had a wonderful time eating and laughing together.

God asks us to put our delight in Him and His law.

He calls us to meditate on His Word day and night.

Children of the Light

You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. – 2 Thessalonians 1:5

As a child of God, I am a child of the light.

As a child of Jesus, I am also a child of the day.

We do not belong to the night.

And we don't belong to the darkness.

We belong instead to the Light of the World, our Savior Jesus.

Night and Day I Remember You

I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. — 2 Timothy 1:3

Happy September!

The start of a new month and fall is almost upon us.

You would never know by the heat we've been having lately.

San Diego tends to be hot in September and October, just in time for students to go back to school.

We have had lots of answers to prayer this week.

My friend who has four kids was able to find a new place to live.

Her friends helped her move in - they organized their youth group to help her get her things from her old house to her new.

It's quite a bit farther away, but it was affordable and had room for them all.

She had been looking for the last two months so we are praising God for providing.

Nigh and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 

Your Light Will RIse in the Darkness

If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. — Isaiah 58:11

God asks us to reach out to the hungry.

To meet the needs of the oppressed.

When we do, God's light will rise in the darkness.

And our night will become like the noonday.

Today I had my performance review with my supervisor.

He had nothing but compliments for me and my work over this past six months.

He is recommending that I be promoted to Vice President.

Our company usually promotes people to AVP - Associate VP first.

So he's not sure if I will be able to get the new title without that step.

Either way, it was a real blessing to be recognized for my hard work and accomplishments.

God has blessed me overwhelmingly.

I am grateful.

Children of the Light

 You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. — 1 Thessalonians 5:5

God calls us children of the light.

Jesus is the true Light of the World.

When we follow Him, we become children of the light.

We become children of the day.

No longer do we belong to the night.

We have escaped from the darkness.

And we have emerged into the light of day.

Thanks to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Praise God!

I Will Praise the Lord

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. — Psalm 16:7

I want to praise the Lord at all times.

I rarely do, but I have good intentions.

Today I went back to the La Jolla Y to swim with Abby.

Very refreshing.

It was 91 degrees on the way home at 10:00 a.m.

I went again to the Santee Y this afternoon.

I praise God for the beautiful weather, the cool water, and the ability to swim today.

Both pools have beautiful views of the mountains around us.

And the blue skies up above.

God's world is amazing!

A Beautiful New Day

And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years. — Genesis 1:14

Today is another beautiful day.

The sun is shining and the birds are singing their hearts out.

A couple of monarch butterflies just flew by our window, circling our yard.

God has given us the sun and moon, day and night.

I thank Him every day for letting me live in such a beautiful place.

On Friday I'll have a zoom appointment with a lymphedema therapist to help me massage the areas of my arm and chest that are still affected with edema and a bit swollen.

I got carried away with my weed pulling, taking out some ice plant on our bank and overdid the pulling with my left arm.

I completely forgot to wear the compression sleeve that I had been wearing to the YMCA for my workouts.

Fortunately, it's gone down a lot and is no longer uncomfortable.

So I've stopped jumping rope for now - walking 2-3 miles around the neighborhood instead.

God is great and has blessed me.

I am grateful.

Night Will Shine

Even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. — Psalm 129:12

God is light.

Even the darkness will not be dark when He is near.

Night will shine like the day.

Darkness is as light to Him.

When I am feeling as if I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, God's light shines before me.

He created all things.

Including me!

Meditating on God's Law

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. — Psalm 1:1-2

God calls us to meditate on his law all the time.

I try to read my Bible each day, but I do have moments and days where I lapse.

I think that's one of the reasons why being part of a weekly Bible study is so valuable to me.

Even if I can't make it every week, I have a set of Scriptures to study and meditate on throughout the week.

Each time I ready my Bible, God calls out new passages to me.

He helps me delight in His law and His Word.

His Song Is With Me

By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life. — Psalm 42:8

Today I have another Herceptin IV, but no more chemo.

Last time this IV only took an hour total, so I got to work by 10:00.

We'll see if that happens again today.

I got a new note from my radiation doctor to allow me to work part-time, if necessary, through November 7 (my birthday)!

I have been working full time since the week after my surgery, so I don't think I'll need to move to part-time, but I'm taking each week one at a time.

A week from today I'll have my first radiation appointment.

I don't think they actually start the treatment until the day after, but I'll find out.

God directs his love to me. At night his song is with me.

My life is a prayer to my God, the God of my life.