The Word of the Lord

Sing, O barren one who did not bear;
burst into song and shout,
you who have not been in labour!
For the children of the desolate woman will be more
than the children of her that is married, says the Lord.
Enlarge the site of your tent,
and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
and strengthen your stakes.
For you will spread out to the right and to the left,
and your descendants will possess the nations
and will settle the desolate towns.

Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed;
do not be discouraged, for you will not suffer disgrace;
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
and the disgrace of your widowhood you will remember no more.
For your Maker is your husband,
the Lord of hosts is his name;
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
the God of the whole earth he is called.
For the Lord has called you
like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,
like the wife of a man’s youth when she is cast off,
says your God.
For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.
In overflowing wrath for a moment
I hid my face from you,
but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,
says the Lord, your Redeemer.

This is like the days of Noah to me:
Just as I swore that the waters of Noah
would never again go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
and will not rebuke you.
For the mountains may depart
and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted,
I am about to set your stones in antimony,
and lay your foundations with sapphires.
I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
your gates of jewels,
and all your wall of precious stones.
All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
and great shall be the prosperity of your children.
In righteousness you shall be established;
you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
and from terror, for it shall not come near you.
If anyone stirs up strife,
it is not from me;
whoever stirs up strife with you
shall fall because of you.
See, it is I who have created the smith
who blows the fire of coals,
and produces a weapon fit for its purpose;
I have also created the ravager to destroy.
No weapon that is fashioned against you shall prosper,
and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgement.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
and their vindication from me, says the Lord.
Isaiah 54

Lord have mercy on me, a sinner.

Relevant Reading
Psalm 55

Out in the Fields with God

A Field of Poppies in France

The little cares that fretted me,
I lost them yesterday
Among the fields above the sea,
Among the winds at play,
Among the lowing of the herds,
The rustling of the trees,
Among the singing of the birds,
The humming of the bees.

The foolish fears of what might pass
I cast them all away
Among tile clover-scented grass,
Among the new-mown hay,
Among the hushing of the corn,
Where drowsy poppies nod,
Where ill thoughts die and good are born -
Out in the fields of God.
Author Unknown, often attributed to Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Quizzy Quizzy Quizzy

Your Result - St Macrina the Younger

You have a great spiritual influence on others and are the spiritual center of your family. You treasure asceticism and can live without “necessities.” You consider that foolishness and misunderstanding are the causes of the grief that attends the death of a beloved one and that often weighs down those who remain on earth. These arise from a failure to comprehend that the flesh passes away; being composite, the body alone is dissolved at death. The body lies in the grave; the body is insensate. The soul, however, remains sensate. It knows all that it knew when the body lived, and its knowing derives from what the body experienced and what the soul knew. The soul can still contemplate God and will be like God insofar as it sees His beauty.
Which Cappadocian are You?

I wish.

Lord have mercy on me, a sinner!

Relevant Reading
St Macrina, Devoted Sister
The Life of St Macrina as Written by St Gregory of Nyssa
The Cappadocian Fathers

Today's Theme Song

Crazy - Alana Davis

You've got your home of the brave

And I've got my land of the free.

You conform to what society says

And I conform to me.

Looking for light in the corners,

Getting caught in the spider web.

You look at me as though I'm giving a performance

When I'm just being myself

And you know that I'm doing alright

And I won't explain myself to you just to avoid a fight

How I'm living ain't correct,

But for me, its just right

Chorus:

I'm not completely insane.

I'm maybe just a little bit crazy.

There's no one to blame,

Got no shame 'bout my game,

Don't want nobody to save me.

I've got a pair of ruby slippers that

I don't wear much anymore

And if I had the nerve,

I'd click my heels and return

To the wonderland I knew before.

I'm waiting on a slow boat to China,

Gonna sail away to the sun.

I've been searching for myself,

And I know I'm gonna find her

If I break away from everyone.

So, the way that I act may not fit in.

Just because I have a mind of my own,

Doesn't mean its a sin.

I don't ask you to give up;

Don't expect me to give in.

Chorus

Some like to live for the moment,

Taking life into their hands every day.

And if they don't get killed,

They get so high off the thrill,

They could float to heaven anyway.

And others want to save for tomorrow,

Thinking money is security.

Well, I understand the need,

But I don't get the greed.

Y'know, they all seem pretty crazy to me.

You can tell by the expression I wear.

Though I seem a little strange to you

I don't really care.  I've got the freedom to be;

There are others like me everywhere...

Chorus

The Law of the Ugly Chair

Yesterday, I got tired of looking at this chair that has been in my living room for several years. Well, it's not actually a chair chair, it's really a desk. You know, one of those school desks that's all of one piece with a storage shelf on the bottom for books and that groove in the desk part for a pencil that's always too shallow. Well, I've had one for years now. It's old and needs some work--sanding and polishing etc. We were given it as a gift once upon a time and always intended to "do something" with it but never did.

Then the dramedy happened and it's just been sitting in the corner being piled upon for the last 3 years.

Yesterday, I got tired of moving it around so I could swiffer under it and decided to get rid of it. It just had to go, like so many other useless things in my life and once it was gone all I felt was relief. Now, I have a clear space where I had none before. I can chase Chelsea around with the swiffer unimpeded and  I don't have to look at it anymore.

Glenn Bland wrote, "...[You]cannot have both money and things...To accumulate money, you must give up things. But if you accumulate things, you will never have money. It's just that simple and yet few people really understand it." (Success: The Glenn Bland Method, p55-56). One of my favorite books. I don't always adhere to this philosophy, as my closets can attest, but for the last few years (for the most part) I have and the concept has proven itself true, time and again.

Don't get me wrong, I like my stuff but I think I like getting rid of stuff even more.  It gets in the way, caring for it takes up time I could better use elsewhere and it takes up room when I would much rather have empty space. I despise clutter. Christ said that our life does not consist of our stuff and God isn't going to be counting our toys when we die. An article I read recently reminded me of that silly saying a few years ago, "He who dies with the most toys wins". Good grief, if all I am working for is toys I can't play with because I'm dead, what is the point of having them?

Someone someplace is going to say/think: "What a trite, holier-than-thou hypocrite she is! She accumulates crap just like everyone else! I know her very well!" And that is partially true. I know I accumulate stuff sometimes it just happens. Being mindful of it and the dangers of acquisition, I think, means I am not a hypocrite. First, I recognize that some things are required for life in these United States. Second, God never said we couldn't have stuff. Third, He also never said we shouldn't have stuff. He said to be on guard against it because the accumulation of things for accumulation's sake will interfere with your relationship with Him. It's not money that is the root of all evil, but the love of it. By the same token, it's not stuff that is the root of all evil, it's the love of it.

I do try to remember that every time I wander through the nearest SuperTarget. It doesn't always work, but I am learning.

Next on the agenda: the storage, I mean, guest room! LOL!

Lord have mercy on me, a sinner!

Relevant Reading
Luke 12:15-21
1 Timothy 6:2-10
Success: The Glenn Bland Method
How to Solve Your Stuff Problem
The Law of the Ugly Chair

Are You Saved?

Have faith in Him and He will open paradise for you

I was saved. I am being saved. By God's mercy, I shall be saved.

Lord have mercy on me a sinner.

Thank You, Lord!!!

 Answer me when I call, O God of my right!
   You gave me room when I was in distress.
   Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.

How long, you people, shall my honour suffer shame?
   How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies? Selah
But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself;
   the Lord hears when I call to him.

When you are disturbed, do not sin;
   ponder it on your beds, and be silent. Selah
Offer right sacrifices,
   and put your trust in the Lord.

There are many who say, ‘O that we might see some good!
   Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!’
You have put gladness in my heart
   more than when their grain and wine abound.

I will both lie down and sleep in peace;
   for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.
Psalm 4

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit;
Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Lord have mercy on me a sinner!

Relevant Reading

Advertising :o)
Ruth 3:11
Isaiah 54

Happy New Year!

Icons of Creation 

In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him and without Him not one thing came into being.

John 1:1-3

You who created all things in Your infinite wisdom, and set the times by Your own authority, grant Your Christian people victories. Blessing our comings and goings throughout this year, guide our works according to Your divine will.

GOArch.org

Another New Year. As usual, I am rather optimistic about whatever is to come but not so much that I lose sight of reality. Live in the real and name the lies is one of my favorite quotes and I try to live by it. This has been a good year in spite of some of the things that have happened to and around me. Sometimes I wonder if the "dramedy" will ever stop. However, the drama does not come from God (Isaiah 54:4-6; 11-17) and He promised me that He will see me through it all (Ruth 2:10-13, 3:11). 

I hang on to that promise with both hands and all my toes some days. LOL!

As the Lord only completed one part of creation at a time, I can only take one day at a time, one project at a time. Multi-tasking is a recipe for disaster with me. I know folks think that doing a bunch of stuff all at once is a virtue these days but it's not for me. If I want something done right, I need to concentrate on that one thing. So I've decided to stop trying to "create" multiple half-done messes and work on making one thing at a time "good". I guess you can say that is my "New Year's Resolution" (except I resolved to not do resolutions anymore ~snicker~).

As time has marched on, I do see progress, in spite of my resolution not to have resolutions. I see the continued development of dispassion  within me that God began last year. I see the achievement of goals that I set for myself in many areas of my life--personally and professionally. I see places where I have overcome fear--of circumstance, of people, whatever. I also see places that need A LOT of improvement. With God's grace, I will continue to see improvement. 

So, I'm enjoying this one-day-at-a-time journey I'm on with God. I know I kick and scream and get side-tracked regularly (Ooooh! Squirrel!) but He has the ability to put me back where I belong among those who want to journey with me. I am so grateful to and for those who have been with me thus far. (The Lord bless them for their willingness to put up with me!) 

So here's to this new year! My God give us all grace!

Lord have mercy on me, a sinner.

Relevant Reading
The Beginning
Speaking the Truth in Love
The Ecclesiastical New Year