River of God's Pleasure

How precious is Your lovingkindness O God! 

Therefore the children of men 

 put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. 

They are abundantly satisfied 

with the fullness of Your house, 

and You give them drink 

from the river of your pleasure. 

For with You is the fountain of life; 

In Your light we see light.

Psalm 36:7-9

"Nobody can take away from you those texts from the Bible 
which you have learned by heart."
Corrie ten Boom

Famous hymn writer Fanny Crosby, who became blind at the age of 6 weeks, memorized 5 chapters of the Bible each week when she was a child. God's Word in her heart enabled her to become a beloved hymn writer, and she continued to write until her death at 94.

Singing Time

I wake in the morning early

And always the very first thing

I poke out my head

And I get up in bed

And I sing and I sing and I sing!

Rose Fyleman

It is nice to wake up hearing the birds sing their happy songs. This morning God was reminding me that it is the Holy Spirit who reveals God's love and care to each of us. We can't earn His love, purchase His forgiveness, or understand His ways in our own strength.  But by His Spirit, I can sing, because "His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me".

Come and Drink

Jesus said:

Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! 

For the Scriptures declare, 'Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.

John 7:38

My brother in law went on a trip a few years ago and John shared these waterfall photos with me. The above picture was taken at Sioux Falls, SD.

I love waterfalls.

Accept No Substitute!

Sitting at the first grade teacher's desk, filling in for her one day,  I heard the kids coming down the hall from the bus. One little girl had out run the others and when she saw me instead of her regular teacher, she turned back and announced in her loudest voice, "It's a SUB! And she's OLD!!" Then she proceeded to come in and welcome me with her sweetest smile.

I remembered her when I saw this cute anecdote.

A fourth grader asked the teacher’s assistant, "How old are you?"

"You should never ask an adult’s age," the teacher interrupted.

"That’s okay," the assistant said, smiling. "I’m fifty."

"Wow, you don’t look that old," the boy said. The teacher was breathing a sigh of relief when another child chimed in, "Parts of her do."

Monday Morning Walk

I love the blue wildflowers that grow in the fields here, alongside Queen Anne's lace. There was still a morning mist when I went to walk. It was refreshingly cool with a gentle breeze.

I found a nice wooded trail and I enjoyed the many different bird songs.

This is my Father's world:
The birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their Maker's praise.
This is my Father's world:
He shines in all that's fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass,
He speaks to me everywhere.

Maltbie Babcock

Good Questions

Is there anything anywhere that you want more than Jesus?

And is there anything you would rather do than the will of God?
Rolland Baker, Missionary

Show me You ways, O Lord,

Teach me Your paths.
Psalm 25:4

Breathe on me, breath of God.
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love the way You love,
And do what You would do.
Edward Hatch

Led by God's Spirit

It's the voice of the Lord that will guide us.

He knows when it's time to move

and when we should stay put.

God's children don't make decisions just by what they can
see or hear or feel.

We are called to do what our heavenly

Father tells us to do.

We are not to be led by circumstances or situations,

but by the Spirit of God.

We live by faith, not by sight.

Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; 
he will never permit the righteous to be moved. 
Psalm 55:22

A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
He taketh my burden away.
He holdeth me up
And I shall not be moved.
He giveth me strength as my day.
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
And covers me there with His hand.
Fanny Crosby

Bunny

We have so many rabbits here at the apartment complex. I suspect that some of the residents are feeding them lots of carrots because none of the bunnies need glasses. This one is so tame; he turned and posed for me this morning. He faithfully visits 87 year old Marilyn who sits on the porch each morning at daylight. She wears bright colored flip flops, toe rings, and ankle bracelets. He creeps right up to her and seems to be smelling her toes.
Why do we see bunnies in the cool of the morning? If they played in the heat of the afternoon, they would be hot cross bunnies.
How do you catch a unique rabbit? You 'neak up on it. How do you catch a tame one? Tame way.

Thankful for the Bright Colors of Summer

When do you GO at RED and STOP at GREEN?

When you're eating watermelon!

What is the coolest letter in the alphabet?

Iced T

About Caleb

Caleb and me on his 2nd birthday

When I mentioned my fourth child in a recent post, several newer friends asked about him.

He had Down Syndrome and severe heart and lung defects, as well as extremely low muscle tone. He amazed the doctors by living three and a half years. The most he ever weighed was 22 pounds. He could say a few words. He never walked or crawled, but he was very loving and cheerful. He enjoyed worship music, and would bounce on his seat and clap his hands and shout, "Woo Hoo!"

The time he was in the hospital when he was 20 months old, we were told there was nothing that could be done for him and they expected him to die right away. That was when we were playing the praise music. A few days later, the heart doctor was shocked to see him smiling and bouncing a rubber ball against the wall.

We had many happy days together, and then many sad ones as his health began to decline again.
I had a "professional" tell me I should put him in a facility and forget about him because he would have a negative influence on his brothers and sister. I cannot even describe what a tremendous blessing he was in my life and in theirs.

Unspeakable Joy

Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glory without fault and with unspeakable joy, to the only God, our Savior, be glory and majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before time was, now, and in all ages to come, amen. Jude 24-25

When my youngest would be in the children's hospital, he loved for me to play worship songs on the little tape recorder. He loved Marty Nystrom's songs. Our doctor and the nurses would come in and comment on the peace they felt in his room.

I was having arthritis pain this morning and feeling sorry for myself, and remembering Caleb clapping his hands to this song cheered me up!

“No" can be an anointed word. We cannot be saviors to all. We are servants, daughters, sons, and brides, but not saviors. There is only one Savior. We cannot have His job. We are called and allowed to rest. God is able to keep His world going, and in the meantime it is very important we do not do more than He is asking.  Heidi Baker

LIBERTY

“Since the signing of the Declaration of Independence 241 years ago, America always affirmed that liberty comes from our Creator. Our rights are given to us by God, and no earthly force can ever take those rights away. Our religious liberty is enshrined in the very first amendment in the Bill of Rights. The American founders invoked our Creator four times in the Declaration of Independence,” - President Donald Trump

Children of God

 In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice;

 in the morning I lay my requests before you 

and wait expectantly. 

Psalm 5:3 

I have been enjoying some biographies on my Kindle. I am inspired by George Muller, who obeyed God by opening an orphanage in the 1800's in Bristol, England, caring for 10,000 children in his lifetime. He trusted God to provide, and never tried to raise money himself, and God did provide.

His faith that God would provide for the orphans, was the same faith that assured him that he was a child of God, forgiven, on the basis of God's promises in His Word in John 3:16.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, 

that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.