Happy Are We

Blessed are the poor in spirit 

 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:3 

I don't know why I took this picture...probably because our backyard looked pretty in the fog in the evening.  As I look at it, I'm inpressed by the blessings we have.  We're not rich people by America's standard but we feel very wealthy.  

I feel particularly blessed today.  We kept three of our grandchildren overnight, something we try to do a couple of times a month, and having them here is a joy.  The fourth child is not ready to stay overnight yet but we're getting there.  He stays long enough to eat supper, play and get a bath.  It gives Mom and Dad a few hours together until they pick him up...ready for bed. 

We will see four more grandchildren this week and we look forward to that so much.  We don't get to see them very much...only two or three times a year so our visit is special.  Last week we visited our other seven grandchildren to celebrate a high school graduation.  We love to celebrate!

In reading Matthew 5 today...The Beatitudes. I realize that we are truly given these gifts by God...A little home, a nice yard, a place to store the machines that make us money, a few swings and a loving family.  What more could we want here on earth?  God is good and we are very much aware of our blessings.

Flowing From The Heart

Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.

Proverbs 4:23 ESV

 For out of the abundance of the heart 

the mouth speaks.

Matthew 12:34 NKJV

Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.

Psalm 119:11 NKJV

(Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 

by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.)

I purchased this 1800's Bible and love looking at the well-used and worn pages that someone had read and loved.  They spent time in God's Word and the cover and pages show it.  The book is falling apart but the words are still there with loads of meaning.

How spent is your Bible?

"Today we don't even need one.  

We have The Bible App." 

Wow, just saying that makes me cringe.

Yes, I'm from the old school

but I try to live in this modern world by using what the younger generation uses. I do have the app, 
but somehow, it is not the same as holding the printed Word of God in my hands and reading the words I have underlined through the years.  Those words have meant something to me in times of need, in times of spiritual despair, in times of searching for God's presence.

Just having God's Holy Word in my hand is not the same as having it in my heart.  Life has meaning when God's Word enters my brain in my time of need.  I don't memorize well so I have to renew my memory by reading scripture again and again, by revisiting those underlined passages and reading them in context, by seeking God's will in those words as I turn the pages.

In times of sorrow, disappointment or despair, gladness, excitement or celebration...I remember that God is in my heart and flows out of it as I follow His calling.

Waiting Quietly

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;

it is good to wait quietly...

Lamentations 3:25-26

Spring has been beautiful...one of the best ever with more flowering trees and profuse roses than I can remember --- Breathtaking!

Literally!...

but in reality, it has been awful.

Two months ago I got sick with a three-day cold-like virus with a low-grade fever and the next day my left ear went almost completely deaf.  It was Thursday, Sunday was just around the corner and Holy Week with its rehearsals and services was looming.

I expected it to last a short time but it has lingered through two rounds of antibiotics, a month of antihistamine and cortisone nose sprays and four doctors' visits with zero results.

Deafness.  This is quite a disability to a musician and I know three others in the music paths I walk that had EXACTLY the same thing.  What gives?  It has been a challenge playing when I couldn't hear myself.  Two times I could not play with the choir in the service because I couldn't hear if I was too loud or too soft.  I don't put myself on the same musical plane as Beethoven but I can definitely associate with his frustration at being deaf and having to perform, rehearse and teach music.
  I'm planning to retire from playing this summer and am thinking I may as well do it now.  I don't feel very effective.  At least this week I feel better physically!

I'm being thankful for the little things

and 

"waiting quietly."