O Lord, in the Morning...

Psalm 5:1-3
To the Chief Musician. With flutes.

A Psalm of David.

Give ear to my words, O LORD,

Consider my meditation.

Give heed to the voice of my cry,

My King and my God,

For to You I will pray.

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD;

In the morning I will direct it to You,

And I will look up.

(this was the view from my porch early this morning, and the song running through my heart and my head while I sat in that stillness before dawn...)

-ing on a Thursday night

watching- my across-the-street neighbor teach his 4 year old son how to cast a fishing line in the front yard.
listening- to two kids play Parcheesi.
sitting- in between two daughters.
waiting- on one soccer player to get home from practice.
eating- homemade German chocolate birthday cake.
singing- the birthday song.
laughing- at the dog on neighborhood watch at the front windows.
talking- to family on the phone.
celebrating- a new grand-nephew, Liam!
wondering- how to see the A Family and GrandBabyH sooner than later.
thinking- about the book I'm reading...
smiling- at my kids quoting The Princess Bride ("... I'm swamped!")
enjoying- it all

you?

Simple- August 24

FOR TODAY, Monday, August 24, 2009...

Outside my window... clear blue skies, gently swaying tree branches, shadows of morning sun.

I am thinking... about this and this by Andree Seu, and this, also from WORLD.

I am thankful for... open windows, cool breezes, days with no where to be!

From the learning rooms... formal classes not in session! But preparation starts this week.

From the kitchen... homemade waffles.

I am wearing... denim shorts, a green t-shirt and flipflops

I am creating... space, by cleaning up piles today!

I am going... no where any time soon!

I am reading... When Helping Hurts by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett and this, still...

I am hoping... for thunderstorms tonight.

I am hearing... girls play Life ("Just let me live my LIFE!"), a lawnmower down the street, a breeze in the trees, cicadas (which remind me of this from the comics yesterday...)

Around the house... there are a lot of kids, and a dog, too. :-)

One of my favorite things... days when I have no where to be!

A few plans for the rest of the week: soccer game, volleyball practices, piano lessons, Wednesday night at church, thank you's, school planning, house cleaning, organizing.

Here is picture thought I am sharing... my family on the beach at the tip of the Puget Sound in Washington, taken at the beginning of the month.

Thanks to The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Finish the sentence

Lifted again from Facebook...

1. My ex is... ex?
2. I should learn to... grill, but then I wouldn't have to have someone else do it.
3. I love... watching my kids laugh with (not at!) each other.
4. People would say that I am... friendly?
5. I don't understand... how aspirin knows what hurts.
6. When I wake up in the morning... I check the time.
7. I lost... my military ID in the window gap in my car...
8. Life is... good.
9. My past taught me... God's grace is big.
10. I get annoyed... when people don't try.
11. Parties are... work.
12. I wish... it was simple.
13. Dogs and cats... yes and no.
14. My childhood... climbing the apple tree.
15. Tomorrow... more ESL training.
16. I have a low tolerance for... whiners.
17. If I had a million dollars... I'd buy my husband a 16gb itouch. (he told me to write that...)
18. I'm terrified of... nothing. (but I'm fearful of the tree in the front yard falling on my neighbors house.)
19. I've come to realize... you should never change lines at the grocery store. Ever.
20. I am listening to... my husband play guitar.
21. I talk... but mostly would rather listen.
22. My best friend... in 2nd grade was Carrie.
23. My first kiss... kiss and tell?
24. Love is.... patient.
25. Marriage is... hard work.
26. Somewhere, someone is... ?
27. I'll always be... seeking the Lord.
28. The last time I cried was... Wednesday.
29. My cell phone is... purple.
30. Before I go to bed... I check on my dog and shut my daughter's door so he doesn't escape and poop in the living room in the middle of the night.
31. My middle name(s) is... Lynne
32. Right now, I am thinking... this is a long quiz!
33. Yesterday I... drove a lot!
34. Tomorrow I will be... teaching ESL training all day.
35. I really want to... get to the border!
36. The person most likely to re-post this is...??
37. The person least likely to re-post this is... ??
38. My relationship with my grandparents...was the easiest thing in my life.
39. My most treasured possession is... my bible.
40. My favorite pictures... is my grandpa holding my first born.
41. I sing... all the time!
42. If I were a crayon... I'd be cobalt blue.
43. Someday I want to travel to... Africa.
44. I am wearing... the same clothes I've worn all day.
45. My favorite class...was English in my sophomore year in high school.
46. My favorite language is... English, but I wish I knew Spanish as well.
47. It hurts... when you step on a Lego in the dark.
49. My profile picture is... a Georgia O'Keefe poppy.
50. I need... a hot shower and coffee every morning.

The Rising Tide

In commenting on the waters of Ezekiel 47:1-12, and the power of a river current, Pastor Michael Ross writes:

"This Rising Tide shows forth the awesome power of its Creator and Guide.

So does the Gospel stream of mission. It appears at the surface to lope along slowly. But where no man can go and no instrument may meausre, it carves deep into people groups, cultures, nations and the flow of world history. The rising tide of the Spirit of God is changing the world before our eyes."

from Justice, Mercy, and Truth: 50 Days of Prayer for the PCA (2009)

(photo credit: Storm Rising, stugriffith at etsy)

Heroes

Rescue at sea!

One of our good friends, a wardroom mate from the old USS Michigan days, is now the Commanding Officer of the USS Rhode Island (SSBN 740)(Gold). The boat is currently deployed, but made news last week for rescuing five people from a capsized boat.

Way to go, Cmdr. Mooney and crew! We're proud of you.

And get home soon, ok? :-)

(photo credit to US Navy, www.navy.mil)

Market bounty

The Farmers' Market is, as chef Alice Waters quotes from poet John Hollander, "the slowly turning Lazy Susan of the seasons." And for those of us without a garden, that's a wonderful thing.

Speak O Lord...

As part of worship yesterday, we sang this song for the first time, and I came back to it throughout the day, and again today. The truth of the lyrics echo again and again. (and the music is beautiful, besides- go listen yourself! Just scroll down the page and click on Speak O Lord.)


Speak, O Lord, as we come to You
To receive the food of Your Holy Word.
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us
All Your purposes for Your glory.

Teach us, Lord, full obedience,
Holy reverence, true humility;
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
In the radiance of Your purity.
Cause our faith to rise; cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority.
Words of pow'r that can never fail—
Let their truth prevail over unbelief.

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds;
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us—
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time
That will echo down through eternity.
And by grace we'll stand on Your promises,
And by faith we'll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, till Your church is built
And the earth is filled with Your glory.

"Speak, O Lord"
Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music

One Word

I copied this from Facebook. I like the blog better than Facebook... :-)

USING ONLY ONE WORD! It's not as easy as you might think! Copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It's really hard to only use one word answers.

1. Where is your cell phone? upstairs

2. Your Job? job?

3. Your hair? brown

4. Your mother? hospitality

5. Your father? loyal

6. Your favorite thing? worship

7. Your dream last night? none

8. Your favorite drink? coffee? ice tea? limeade?

9. Your dream/goal? servant

10. What room you are in? dining room

11. Your hobby? hobby?

12. Your fear? tree-falling

13. Regrets? few

14. Where were you last night? porch

16. Muffins? raspberry

17. Wish list item? laptop bag

18. Where you grew up? Albuquerque

19. Last thing you did? study

20. What are you wearing? pjs

21. Your TV? old

22. Your pets? sleeping

23. Friends? true

24. Your life? good

25. Your mood? content

26. Missing someone? yes

27. Car? van

28. Something you're not wearing? socks

29. Your favorite store? books

30. Your favorite color? blue

33. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday

34. Last time you cried? yesterday

an exhortation

"If you are a servant of the Lord, let me encourage you to please, please, humbly watch that you don't slip into the same error I did. The Lord God jealously desires us for himself. He is the lover of our souls. If we ever put anything before our relationship with Jesus- even our work for Jesus- then we will be ensnared. If you are burned out, stop! Rest! Your lamp needs a constant infilling of the Lord's oil or your light will be snuffed out. Remember that "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it... Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" Isaiah 30:15, 18
- from The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun

Of course, Brother Yun wrote that in reflection of his service to the house-church movement in China in the early 1990's, and he wrote that before thanking God for being imprisoned for the Gospel for the second time, because it gave him opportunity "to suffer for what is right." (1Peter 3:13)

I'm not there yet...