The A Team??

In the early 80's, one of my favorite TV shows was The A-Team. It was about a team of guys trained as US Army Special Forces, who used unconventional tactics to right wrongs and overturn evil, while overcoming incredible odds and keeping a good sense of humor. Whew! The show usually ended with Hannibal Smith sticking a stogie in his mouth, smiling a contented smile, and saying... "I love it when a plan comes together!" I felt that way this past Friday evening as I was sitting in our family room, (minus the stogie), observing and sharing in the joy of plans coming together.

Friday evening, after weeks of thoughtful and creative planning, Brad Leach proposed to our daughter, Leah. Because he knows she loves surprises, he arranged a delightful evening of one surprise after the other, beginning with... him! They hadn't 'planned' to see each other that weekend ;) Brad secretly enlisted the help of a few close friends and family to keep the secret and get her where she needed to be, and truly, it was PERFECT! In fact, it was 'over the top'!

As a mom, I can't express how special it was to me to watch Brad cook (really!) and create a romantic atmosphere for a moment in time which would set the course of a lifetime. His desire and his mission was to delight Leah, and watching him prepare and bring that to pass blessed me beyond words.

Brad secretly gathered Bruce and me, his parents, Samantha, Ashley and Nate to all be here as a surprise when he and Leah returned to our home Friday evening, and it was so much fun!! I honestly have never seen my daughter so happy.

But I think the best part is knowing beyond a shadow of doubt that this is all part of a bigger plan coming together. I know that God sovereignly aligned their paths to meet and fall in love, and the 'backstory' is full of heartfelt prayers, incredible odds, and uncoincidental coincidences. I've been so thrilled to watch it unfold, and I'm so in awe to witness God's handiwork and planning bear lovely and good fruit. The more I know Brad, the more I know that he is an incredible, talented, gifted, charming young man. He's the Ephesians 3:20* answer to 28 years of praying for my daughter's life partner. He's clever and funny, and you can see from this picture, he's a real 'looker', too!

When Bruce, Samantha and I met with Brad's parents for dinner Friday evening, his dad greeted us with a smile and said, "Will you marry us?" It was such a fun moment! God's plan includes a wonderful extended family for Leah and for all of us. Could be the beginning of a new A-Team. I love it when a plan comes together!!

*Ephesians 3:20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Far Far Away

I was reading on CNN this morning about the discovery of a new planet. I am interested in things astronomical, and often visit the Hubble Telescope site to see what's cookin' in deep space. I love to look at the photos taken by the Hubble and other orbiting telescopes. Some of them look like something you might see under a microscope and I am humbled when I realize how huge they really are, and how far away they are. I really can't adequately wrap my little mind around it.

This CNN article is about a new planet, just 'discovered' in a solar system far, far away. It always makes me... chortle... when 'objective' articles make it sound like mankind should take some kind of credit for the discovery, and minimize the magnitude and plan of creation. It kind of has the sense that, if we don't know it's there, then it isn't. Here's a quote from one authority on the sighting: "It's just letting us know that nature has some surprises for us ... a much wider range of possibility than we could imagine." Astronomer, Alan Boss

While it's daunting to even try to imagine the realm of 'outer space', I take comfort that it's way beyond my ability to grasp. Because I know The Creator, and the heavens are just another bullet point on His résumé. It just reinforces to me the value of faith over sight.

Here's a quote from another authority: "Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you." Jeremiah (32:17)

There's a Name for It

I like mysteries. I like to read mystery novels, and watch mystery movies. I like to pick up on the subtle 'clues' along the way to try to determine 'who dunnit' before the plot is actually revealed. I knew that Dr. Nichols murdered Richard Kimble's wife in the first 5 minutes of the movie, way before Tommy Lee Jones did.*

I do that sometimes, too, when reading my Bible. Something I read will strike me as obscure, or unusual, like a 'clue' to something I need to know. And so I'll do a little 'digging' to try to learn more, and sometimes I uncover a nuance that speaks directly to me and/or a situation I am dealing with.

I read the other day that there's actually a name for that! Midrash. In Hebrew, it means to search out, and it's a Jewish tradition that invites deeper exploration of Scripture. Judith Kunst (The Burning Word) describes it as reading the Bible "not for what is familiar, but for what is unfamiliar, not for what's clear but for what's unclear... Midrash views the Bible as one side of a conversation, started by God, containing an implicit invitation... to keep the conversation going." Nothing in the Bible is there by accident, so Midrash motivates us to take the oddball verses or inconsistencies and, with God's help, to try to discover why they are included in His Word. Often, I take my queries to Bruce, or to our kids, and we continue the conversation, bouncing ideas off one another or sharing our thoughts.

Proverbs 25:2 says, It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings. Sounds like Midrash to me.

*(Uh, hope you've already seenThe Fugitive; if not, sorry I spoiled the ending)

Good Readings

I've read some good books lately, two of which are noteworthy and so I thought I'd share...

Leaper, The Misadventures of a Not-Necessarily-Super Hero, by Geoffrey Wood, is a very funny and yet introspective novel about a journey of faith. The hero one day discovers he has a super-power of 'leaping', and this is the vehicle to help him learn about relationships... with other people and with God. Sounds trite; it's anything but. It begins with the ending, and then the pieces are filled in via a combination of laugh-out-loud and 'ah, gee' moments.

I'm going to read it again, not just because I liked it, but because the ending isn't the ending, and I'm not sure what it all means. And, I don't want to just 'jump' to conclusions.

Another good book, which I read much more slowly, with lots of time to reflect, is the organic God, by Margaret Feinberg. She takes a look at God's character in a fresh way and in her words... is seeking a relationship with God... that is stripped of all pollutants and additives of this world. Not sure that's entirely possible, but there were moments I was reading, and I thought... I've never thought of that :-)

It's kind of like a king-sized blog, and she blends stories of her Jewish heritage with her unconventional upbringing and her Christian faith. Some of the attributes she ascribes to God are: bighearted, outrageously generous, surprisingly talkative, and deeply mysterious. My favorite... wildly infallible.

Peace, Out

In the movie, Miss Congeniality, the character of Gracie mocks the contestants in a beauty pageant for what she perceives as an airhead answer to a deep question. When asked, "What is the one most important thing our society needs?, the contestants all reply, "World peace." And the audience cheers.

When I was a little girl, I remember one day sitting next to my mom on our couch as she was handling some correspondence. She was actually sending a contribution to a missionary organization, which had also invited people to send them prayer requests which they would undertake in prayer. The reply card invited people to list their one most heartfelt prayer (if you could ask God for one thing, what would it be?). As a child, I had witnessed the power of prayer, so I was very excited about this prospect, and asked her... what did you ask for??? I had visions of millions of dollars, or a baby sister, or a puppy. So, I was disappointed when she told me that she had already written her request.... Peace.

Peace? Huh? You sure about that, Mom?? And I remember the peaceful look she gave me, as she said something like, if we have the Peace of God, everything else will fall into place. Puzzled, I figured that my mom blew the chance to be rich, and I ran off to play.

I realize now that my mother was wiser than I knew.

I was reading in my Bible this morning about peace. The first thing Jesus said to his disciples when He appeared to them after His resurrection was, "Peace be with you!" They were together, with the doors locked, in fear for their lives. And He said, "Peace". Having a 'dead' person appear before them might have added a bit to their fear, but He didn't say, "Don't be afraid". He offered them peace. His friend, Thomas, wasn't around that day, and for whatever reason, he doubted it. So, Jesus repeated the scene about a week later, when Thomas was there. Again the first thing He said was, "Peace be with you!"

Sometimes, when Jesus healed someone, he told them, "Go in peace". (Mark 5:34, Luke 7:50, 8:48). And when the angels declared the birth of the savior, they annnounced..."Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." The reason we need a savior was because sin alienated us from our Creator, Jesus's sacrifice on the cross reconciled us to Him, and brings ... peace. God's intended world was not one of sin, destruction, sickness and death. Reconcilliation with Him, the Prince (and source) of Peace, brings the promise of restoration of His original intention for us.

Jesus's answer to fear, doubt, sickness, and death was ... peace. His peace. The Hebrew word shalom (peace) conveys tranquility, wholeness and completion. To enjoy shalom is to enjoy health, satisfaction, success, safety, well-being and prosperity.*

This is significant to me, because something was troubling me this morning. I needed peace. I prayed, and His peace became the answer to my fear and doubt. One of the last things Jesus said to his friends on earth, the thing He wanted them to remember was this: "All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

World peace? Maybe it's not such an airhead answer afterall.

* Ann Spangler, Praying the Names of Jesus

"Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?"*

I was baptized as a baby, and subsequently publicly 'confirmed' years later what was said on my behalf as an infant. However, having fully committed my life to follow Christ as an adult, I came to believe that I needed to be baptized again, intentionally and of my own volition. At that time, baptisms at our church were part of the church services, and each person being baptized gave a brief testimony of why they were being baptized. While I truly wanted to be baptized, the thought of doing that in front of all the people in the actual service terrified me, and that fear was winning the internal battle I fought each time the Baptism services were announced.

One summer, years ago, we were vacationing at Heritage, USA, and they happened to have Baptisms in one of their swimming pools one afternoon each week. I decided to take the plunge while we were there. Although I thought the relaxed 'pool atmosphere' was the answer to my 'fear factor' and somewhat of a 'comfort zone', I nonetheless was sincere in my heartfelt desire to be baptized, and like the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:36-38)*, I didn't think it was a 'cop out' to not have a 'crowd'. Afterall, who would bother to hang around the indoor pool on a sunny, uneventful, Tuesday afternoon???

The venue was a large indoor pool in the main lobby of the hotel. I arrived at the appointed time for the pre-Baptism teaching and preparation, about 1 hour prior to the actual event. The pastor talked with each of us to be sure we knew what we were doing and why. There were about 20 of us sharing our 'testimonies' with each other in the little gazebo next to the pool, and while I was a bit nervous, I was very glad to be getting baptized, and happy that courage finally kicked in and suppressed my fear.

I knew that Bruce and our 3 daughters were going to 'watch' from one of the 4 balconies which surrounded the hotel atrium/lobby and pool, so I looked up to try to locate them, and realized that ...a rather large crowd was assembling. And over the next 20 minutes or so, it grew to a gathering much larger than I would have faced at one of our church services (it was a big lobby). So much for my desire to avoid attention! I could picture in my mind, God smiling at me, and saying, "GOT YA!" And I smiled and thought, "Yes, you did!" He gave me the opportunity to do something which He wanted me to do, and I wanted to do, but needed a gentle push.

Surprisingly enough, as the crowd grew ... and grew, ...my anxiety dwindled. I blocked out the people, and focused on my Baptizer. It was a special moment, and a cherished memory.

I was thinking about this today, because in a few weeks, our church is having a group Baptism, in a big swimming pool, in our church lobby! It's part of our Take a Stand Weekend, and will provide a wonderful opportunity, and maybe a gentle push, for many people to take this important step right then and there!

The Hawk and the Crows

The other day, Bruce and I were sitting on our deck watching a hawk soaring above our backyard. Suddenly, a bunch of crows started harassing the hawk, diving at it, making that annoying noise that they make. The hawk flew around a bit, trying to avoid the harangue of the black birds. And after just a few minutes, I was surprised to watch the hawk give up, and fly like crazy, leaving its territory for the crows to settle.

Hawks are 'raptors', bird of prey, ...with powerful wings, sharp beaks, and powerful deadly talons. They can spot their prey from a lofty perch, or often catch it while flying. With a wingspan of 4 to 4.5 feet, and a body of almost 2 feet in length, the average Red-Tailed Hawk is a tusker compared to the crow. I wondered why the hawk, turned-tail and fled, rather than just fight them off.

Maybe, the hawk was having an identity crisis.

Occasionally, so do I. Sometimes, it seems like I am being 'ambushed' by a proverbial bunch of lousy crows (I'm the majestic hawk ). Expectations flee to doubt, hopes fade to disappointment, and fears settle my territory. I may fly around a bit, thinking they'll leave, but sometimes they are so noisy.

Neil Anderson (Victory Over the Darkness) says, that an individual will never consistently perform or behave higher than he perceives himself to be. At our church, we have a Spiritual Breakthrough Retreat every three months. The key to spiritual breakthrough is knowing our identity. As a believer in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, my identity is in Him; His victory and authority are my victory and authority. When confronted by my enemy, I need to act like a 'raptor'.

The Bible says, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7). The Word of God is a tool to that end. Often, specific scripture verses have become my weapon for chasing away the crows and holding the territory God gives me*.

Hawks are a protected species. Crow are pests. And in most states, there's no bag limit on how many crows hunters may kill. I am protected by God Almighty; there's no limit to the power He wields on my behalf.

"...I will throw my net over them; I will pull them down like the birds in the sky. When I hear them flocking together, I will catch them. Hosea 7:12

*Psalm 5:11-12, Psalm 124:7, Eph. 1:19, Luke 10:19, 20, Malachi 3:17, 4:2

Athlete in Action

A long time family friend, Rachel Frederick, recently returned from a three week trip to Brazil with Athletes In Action. We've had the pleasure of knowing the Fredericks for many years and watching Rachel blossom into a lovely young woman, and a very gifted athlete.

Rachel is a member of the Ohio University women's basketball team, and has received numerous accolades and awards for her athletic ability. She took that talent, along with her faith in Christ, to kids in Brazil, where she was part of a team that played some exhibition games, and ran basketball camps for younger athletes.

She's featured in an article online at Ohiobobcats.com .

In Case You Missed It

Every now and then I'll come across a story on cnn.com that makes me smile. This is one of them. It's not about someone doing a good deed, doesn't contain any drama, and probably has no intrinsic value. It's about a guy who, as a child, imagined he could fly, and did.

Unconventional, yes. Silly, maybe. Certainly dangerous,... but nobody got hurt except for a few rope burns. And while it may seem that this guy doesn't aim very high in his 'dreams', at least he lived his (twice, actually).

Last weekend, Kent Couch ... kissed his wife goodbye, petted his Chihuahua, "settled down in his lawn chair with some snacks..." and then flew 193 miles, aloft for 9 hours until he decided to land just outside of Hells Canyon in Oregon! He concocted a 'flying machine' using 105 helium balloons, some plastic bags filled with water (for ballast) and a GPS in his pocket. He said, "When you're a little kid and you're holding a helium balloon, it has to cross your mind." It crossed mine, a few times, I must admit.

The part of the story that made me smile, though, had to do with a previous 'flight' of another balloon-man, who rose 3 miles above Los Angeles in 1982. A surprised airline pilot radioed the control tower that he had "just passed a guy in a lawn chair." Imagine being in a window seat on that plane :)

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/10/flying.lawn.chair.ap/index.html

It Came From Beneath the Earth

Today, I was a husband. Well, I guess technically, the term is 'husbandman'. The definition is "one whose business it is to cultivate the ground. It was one of the first occupations, and was esteemed most honourable ." I'm probably still stretching it a bit, because I wasn't really 'cultivating the ground', I was gardening. Pulling weeds, digging, clipping dead leaves/flowers, feeding the plants, and spreading mulch is more like it. My husband was a husbandman, too. We didn't realize how old we are until at the end of the day, we could hardly move.

Anyhow, one of the things I dislike the most about gardening is worms. I don't like to see them, touch them, or even imagine them crawling around in the ground as I'm digging. I recently read an article about the Jamestown settlement, which said that originally, there were no earthworms in North America, and they likely arrived with the Jamestown colonists, who dumped ballast (European dirt and rocks) from their ships to make room for their tobacco exports. Over the centuries, the little buggers have multiplied and drastically altered the ecosystem.

The colonists brought honeybees, too. The fussy 'American' bees would only pollinate a few species of plants, but European honeybees, it seems, would pollinate anything. While the colonists brought the bees for their honey, the plants they brought with them wouldn't have proliferated without them, and Georgia probably wouldn't be called the Peach State.

Funny how little things can worm their way in unnoticed, but given a chance to grow, can change a whole landscape.

Troubled

I've not been online for a while, because, well, ...I've been off-line. Our ISP had some 'issues' and for almost 48 hours, we couldn't access email or connect to the Internet. A friend of mine sent me this cartoon, which of course I couldn't read till we were back on line, but it seems appropriate nonetheless. It was troubling to me how disturbed I was being 'disconnected'.

The problem started, so they say, with some storms we had last week which damaged phone lines, etc. We have DSL service which is through the phone line. After several hours , outwardly it seemed to be fixed... flashing lights stopped flashing, and unlit lights lit up. But, we still had no connectivity.

After having spent an hour on the phone with Tech support, resetting settings and rebooting and rebooting, it still wasn't resolved. So, my account was flagged as 'trouble'. That word must have great significance in cyber-repair, because I started getting phone calls from 'field technicians' who were replacing equipment on my behalf. And then, suddenly, the 'trouble' was corrected and it was working again. When the 'issues' were resolved, I had lots of catching up to do. Still doin' it.

Final thoughts from a commentary on Life Before The Computer... remember when memory was something that you lost with age, a program was a TV show, a cursor used profanity, a web was a spider's home, a virus was the flu, a hard drive was a long road trip, and a mouse pad was where a mouse lived :-)

Bread of Life

When our daughter, Samantha, was 4 years old, she had Whooping Cough. As an infant she'd had a bad reaction to the first dose of the vaccine, so she couldn't be innoculated with the susequent doses necessary for immunization. It was a very frightening time and took six months for the disease to be completely resolved. It wasn't medically treatable either.

We fervently prayed and prayed that she would be healed, but day after day and night after night she was beseiged with frequent, horrific coughing episodes. I vividly remember asking God, "Where are you? Do something!" I vividly remember His response to me... "I'm right here. And I Am doing something. You just can't see it." As I thought about that, I acknowledged that while I wanted her to be all better right then, she was progressively getting better, week by week. And she didn't die from the disease, which could have happened. I could even picture in my mind's eye, Jesus holding Samantha and gently pushing on her chest as she was gasping for breath.

My attitude changed from disheartened to thankful. My prayers changed from pleas to praise as I recognized I had much to thank Him for.

I was reading a devotional guide this morning which Samantha had reommended to me. The book is Praying the Names of Jesus by Ann Spangler, and today's message was centered in Luke 24:30-32. It's the account of two men who had met Jesus on the road to Emmaus, after He had risen from the dead. They were telling Him the disheartening tale... of His death... and didn't realize that He was right there with them. They felt abandoned and bewildered, until they recognized the "Bread of Life" in the breaking of the bread. They had an attitude change, too.

Ann Spangler says,

"We long for tangible evidence of God's love, but we fail to see it, in part because we have not learned to be thankful. It's not just that God likes to be thanked. It's that we need to thank him... Thankfulness opens our eyes to God's faithfulness, which in turn nourishes our faith. No wonder the word "Eucharist," a common name for the Christian commemoration of the Last Supper, comes from a Greek word meaning "thanksgiving". Skipping gratitude is like skipping the meal God has prepared for us. Without it, we merely move on to the next need, felling hungry and empty without the faith to believe that God will sustain us."

When I'm full of gratitude, I see things so differently. It's a pleasant state of mind.

I used to have a little decorative plaque that sat on my desk. It said, "If we pause to think, we'll have cause to thank." Wonder where I put that?

Antiques R Us

In our family room, we have a desk that had been in Bruce's family since he was a little boy. It is a lovely desk, but the surface is marked with some gashes and pock-marks. Bruce told me that as a young boy, he remembers his mom fervently pounding on the desk with a big garden claw. She also performed this same ritual with other wooden furnishings in their home. She wasn't angry or taking out her frustration on the furniture, but purposefully marking the furniture to give it the appearance of an 'antique'.

Antiques are valuable for different reasons. Some are worth money. Some are worth memories.
I redeemed a mirror from the dark corner of my grandma's garage several years ago. It was earmarked to be thrown out because she hadn't used it in years and had replaced it with a new one. However, it was part of the first furniture she had when she was married as a young girl of 17, and it became special to me because of what it had 'been'. It connected me somehow to her, though she had been dead for several years. It now hangs in our foyer, and tho' not pretty to look at, it is a treasure to me.

Antiques are not valuable because they are old, they are valuable because of what they've been through. Furniture that has been 'beaten up' can have scars of character. It's lasted, endured, and remained. There's a testimony that is hidden beneath the marks... a story worth remembering.

Most of us have scars... physical reminders of a wound. We may look at our scars and remember what caused them (usually some sort of pain); but we can also look at our scars and remember that they are wounds that are healed, pain that has been covered over. Some scars are unseen, written on our soul. My scars remind me of specific moments that God intervened in my pain, brought me through a hard situation, comforted me, taught me, and gave me character.

I believe that scars make us valuable. We've all 'gone through' things, perhaps even spent moments feeling abandoned in the dark corners of the garage, perhaps been beaten up with a garden claw... wondering how God was going to redeem the pain. When He does, He leaves us with a reminder that healing, restoration and redemption are part of His nature and His gift to us. HE has them, too.

I saw a desk once, in Williamsburg, VA, that was 'valuable' because George Washington had written upon it. How much more valuable are you and I when God has written upon us, given us a testimony, and left His mark on us?

Blue Bicycles and Other Delights

Sometimes I like to re-read books I read a while ago, not just to refresh my memory, but to get things I may have missed the first time. The second (or third) time around, I'm reading it with a different perspective. Sometimes, re-reading a phrase, but putting the emphasis on a different word gives a new meaning or a fresh insight.

Such a moment occurred many years ago, when I was reading Psalm 37:4 which says, "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires." I had once taken that to mean that if I 'delighted' in Him, He'd give me what I wanted. However, as I re-read the verse that day, I understood it to say that He would place His desires in my heart if I let Him. I felt great delight in that, because I trust that His will for me is surely better than mine and greater than I can imagine.

Henry Blackaby (Experiencing God) gives a great example of this. He tells of the time he wanted to give his son a bicycle for his sixth birthday, and found a blue Schwinn which he thought would be perfect. He bought it and hid it the garage, because the boy's birthday was yet a few weeks away. Then, over the next week or two, he found subtle ways to influence his son to think that a bike was a great idea, even suggesting a blue bicycle was the ultimate.

Soon, his son wanted a blue bike more than anything. And it was already in the garage! Blackaby just had to convince his son to ask for it; he did; he got it, and he was delighted! ...Not just because he 'wanted' it, but also because it was a great gift which his dad knew he'd love. His dad didn't trick him into wanting something he'd bought on a whim. His dad knew about six year old boys, he knew about HIS six year old boy, and he knew what would ultimately delight him and be good for him.

Romans 8:26-27 says, "And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will." Blackaby explains it this:

"What happens when you pray? The Holy Spirit knows what God has "in the garage." It's already there. The Holy Spirit's task is to get you to want it -- to get you to ask for it. What will happen when you ask for things God already wants to give or do? You will always receive it... Because you have asked according to the will of God. When God answers your prayer, He gets the glory and your faith is increased."

I just know my Father has a BIG garage.

Fish and Bread

Sometimes, when reading about people who did extraordinary things, I forget that they are just ordinary people who took a risk or extra-sized their faith. When I read about the heroes of the Bible, I sometimes forget that they were challenged by the same doubts and limitations then, as I am today.

For example, in Psalm 103:1-2, David says, "Praise the LORD, I tell myself; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, I tell myself, and never forget the good things he does for me." It's as if he's saying that sometimes he forgets... and he has to remind himself who God is and what He has done. And then he recollects God's faithfulness and he remembers His sovereignty.

A while ago, I was reading Mark 6:52. He is referring to Jesus' close friends, who had been with Him for a while and had already witnessed so many extraordinary things that He had done. Mark says, "They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened." The "loaves" referred to an event earlier that day, when He fed 5,000+ people with five loaves and two fish. And, I thought, ... how could these guys not understand? Are they dense, or what?? Then a still, small voice in my head said... "YOU do not understand." See, I had just been praying about some things and I was whining... I was doubting that He would intevene in my situations, I was forgetting about the extraordinary things He'd done so many times before in my life... my loaves. I needed to remind myself of them, and remind myself that what he did before, He'd do again. I needed to praise Him. My heart was hardened by discouragement, and my understanding was flawed.

I mention this now, because I found myself in a similar snit this morning. I was fretting over some things which I've fervently taken to prayer, which have not yet been resolved. And that still, small voice reminded me He's the same yesterday, today and forever. He's not a man, that He should lie, and I can trust Him.

Just as David's reflection led him, ...me, too! "As for me -- I, too, will praise the Lord." (Ps. 103:22b)