Blessed Is the One Who Trusts in the Lord

Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. — Jeremiah 17:7-8 

As someone who trusts in the Lord God, I am blessed.

My confidence is in the Lord.

And He promises that I will be like a tree planted by water that sends out its roots by the stream.

The tree doesn't worry when it gets hot.

Its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought.

Likewise, when I feel tired, dried out and weary, I too should not worry.

That tree never fails to bear fruit.

My life can bear fruit when I put my trust in Jesus my Lord and Savior.

Earnestly I Seek God

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. — Psalm 63:1 

God is my God.

I try to look for Him earnestly each day.

Often I completely miss the mark.

Even so, I thirst for Him.

My whole being longs for Him.

In a dry and parched land, it often feels there is no water.

Here we are at the zoo last year for our friend's wedding.

This year she's expecting her first baby.

Our friends Mark and Rachel celebrate their 11-year anniversary yesterday and today.

Another story.

Very exciting.

God is great!

Christ Loved the Church

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word. — Ephesians 5:25-26 

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I'm so blessed to have such a loving and caring husband.

It's easy for me to relate to Christ's love for the church because of Kirk.

Just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, Kirk is willing to give up things each day for me.

Jesus did that for us to make the church holy.

He cleanses us by washing us clean through His Word.

And we are thankful for His sacrificial love!

Blessed Is the One Who Trusts in the Lord

But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. — Jeremiah 17:7-8

The person who trusts in God has deep roots.

Their confidence is in the Lord.

They are like a tree planted by the water.

It sends out its roots by the stream.

Because it is connected to its source, it doesn't worry about what to do when the heat comes. 

It drinks freely of the water so its leaves are always green.

It doesn't worry when a year of drought comes along.

And it continues to bear fruit.

Blessed Is the One Who Trusts in the Lord

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” — Jeremiah 17:7-8 

We who trust in God are very much blessed.

Our confidence is in the Lord.

We are like a tree planted by the water.

Our roots go out to find refreshment so they can grow deep.

We continue to thrive and grow, even in tough and rocky times.

When we feel discouraged or our hope is dried up, God sustains us.

He prunes us so we can bear His good fruit.

The Lord helps us to thrive.

God Will Wipe Every Tear From Their Eyes

The Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ — Revelation 7:17

Jesus the Lamb will be our Shepherd.

He will lead us to springs of living water.

Jesus is our source of life.

God will wipe away every tear from our eyes.

And there will be no more crying or pain.

You, God, Are My God

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. — Psalm 63:1

God is my God.

He watches over me and heals me when I'm sick.

I thirst for Him.

My whole being longs for Him.

In a dry and parched land where there is no water, He provides for me.

Saturday I was admitted to the hospital for pneumonia.

Apparently it was bad. The x-rays showed both lungs were affected.

But by Monday, they let me go home without an IV.

And since then I've continued to improve.

It's called "community pneumonia," meaning I caught it from someone in the community.

But no telling where or when - they could have been asymptomatic.

So for 10 days I'm on two kinds of antibiotics plus additional meds.

The prayers that have covered me have helped me progress a bit each day.

Our friends Mike and Laurie brought these flowers along with a delicious dinner that I continued eating for three days.

Praise God for His goodness.

We Do Not Fear

They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. — Jeremiah 17:7-8  

Those who trust in the Lord are like a tree planted by the water.

It does not fear the heat.

I have no need to fear since God is with me.

It's leaves are always green.

God keeps me nourished so I can grow in Him.

It has no worries in a year without rain.

I don't need to worry since God will guide and direct me, even when things look bleak.

It never fails to bear fruit.

I can keep sharing the love of God with others.

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.

Worship the Lord

Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. — Exodus 3:25

Today we are worshipping God on Livestream, since we can't gather in person.

Our services are recorded days or weeks earlier and then the music, pastors, prayers, sermons, and each section is spliced together into one service.

Our family usually watches together at 11:00.

God calls us to worship Him.

Sometimes it seems easier to worship the world He has created instead of worshipping the Creator himself.

When I begin to fall into that trap, I try to shift my focus to thank God for creating the entire world.

And to thank Him for creating each marvelous part of it.

Draw Near to God

Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. — Hebrews 10:22

Our hearts have been sprinkled with water from baptism by the Holy Spirit..

Our bodies have been washed with pure water from baptism to cleanse us from our guilty conscience.

So we are able to draw near to God with a sincere heart.

He has given us the full assurance that faith brings.

Here is Kirk out a Torrey Pines before social distancing began. 

This week he is taking golf lessons, preparing to hit the green again this summer.

I Thirst for God

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you. — Psalm 63:1

Potomac River

God is my God.

He watches out for me.

He has my back, even when I feel alone.

I seek Him in earnest.

When I read His Scripture, He fills me with His words of hope, conviction, and love.

My whole being longs for Him and His presence with me each day.

I thirst for Him as if I'm stranded in a desert without water.

And He fills me up with His Spirit, His Word, and His Presence.

Trust in the Lord

Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. — Jeremiah 17:7

Our family trusts in the Lord.

We put our confidence in Him.

Here I am last Thursday at my last appointment in the chemo suite at Kaiser.

I haven't had chemo since July, but I have been having a Herceptin I-V every three weeks.

This is Hazel, the sweet nurse who helped me with my final I-V.

She and Jesse were able to find a vein after the fourth try.

Hurray! The entire nursing staff were wonderful.

Kirk drove me to my appointment.

Because of the Coronavirus, he was not allowed to come in with me.

They even posted security guards at the door and gave me a wristband to show that I was okay to go in.

Another nurse, Rosana, took my picture since Kirk couldn't be there.

She had been my nurse many times over the past year.

I trust in the Lord.

He has brought me through this year of cancer treatments.

He has supported me with caring friends, coworkers, family members, and neighbors.

I am blessed and thankful.

Worship God, the Creator

Worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the fountains of water. — Revelation 14:7

God created the heavens,

the earth,

the sea,

people, animals, birds, fish,

plants and trees,

fountains of water.

We are thankful for beautiful days when we see butterflies flying around our Cassia Gold tree.

And the for the sun shining down on us, giving us vitamin D.

Yesterday I hiked down Mission Trails with some friends before church. 

It was really cold when we started, but it was also a beautiful morning.

Praise be to the Lord!

God Is in His Temple

The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him. – Habakkuk 2:20

Wednesday when I met with the radiation doctor, she said it will be no problem for me to go in the water at the beach as long I don't have any open wounds.

Fantastic! I can hardly wait to get out the boogie boards.

Ditto for swimming pools.

After my four weeks of radiation, she recommends I take 4-5 days off.

So I've alerted my colleagues at work that I will be taking off some time off after the radiation ends.

I still haven't heard when that will start, and I probably won't know for a few more weeks.

In the meantime, I'll take a class to show me the facility and to learn what exactly the procedure will be.

I'll also meet my friend Mariley for lunch so she can share the details of her experience with me.

I am blessed.

God is in his temple, all's right with the world.

Like a Tree Planted By the Water

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. — Jeremiah 17:7-8

I trust in the Lord, and he has blessed me.

I don't always have confidence in him, but I'm working on that.

When I'm grounded in the Lord, I am firmly planted on solid ground.

God gives me good food in its season.

God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. — Jeremiah 10:12

God made the earth and everything in it.

He founded the world in his wisdom.

He covered the earth with water, creating beaches and oceans.

He stretched out the heavens by his understanding.

We are overwhelmingly blessed to live in such a beautiful place.

And to get to spend time together, relaxing and enjoying the outdoors.

God's awesome creation.

The Lord Is Great

No one is like you, O Lord; you are great, and your name is mighty in power. — Jeremiah 18:6

Our sweet neighbors invited Kirk and Abby over to swim a couple of days ago while I was at work.

They enjoyed the refreshing water and the chance to swim and cool off.

Some of our favorite memories are at the beach or in the pool.

Here are the Rogers' boys in Iowa on the dock at Lake Okoboji.

Today we will spend part of the day swimming, enjoying each other and the cool water God gives us.

No one is like you, O Lord.

You are great. Your name is mighty in power.

Streams in the Desert

Each person will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land. — Isaiah 32:2

God gives us refuge from the storm, water when we're thirsty.

He gives us every good and perfect thing.

He surrounds us with strength, support and love.

Yesterday I received yet another encouraging card from our friends.

Every other week they remind me that they are praying for my complete healing.

We are so blessed.

My Hope Comes from God

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. — Psalm 62:5

Sunday we went for a walk by Lake Murray and saw lots of blooming cactus and wildflowers. What a beautiful day.

The sun was glistening off the lake, the ducks and geese were enjoying the water, and lots of people had the same idea we did.

Such a relaxing way to spend the afternoon.

My soul finds rest in God. My hope comes from him.