Friday, October 21, 2011

The call of the ocean

Ok, that may be a wee bit dramatic, but I do love the ocean. I can literally sit for hours listening to the surf and the birds. It is the most relaxing thing I can think of. Lakes come close, but there is nothing like the ocean.

We spent last weekend in Monterey Bay, CA. Beachside condo, it was wonderful! We got to see whales, sea lions, porpoise, otters, pelicans, and gulls.

Some day, I will live near the ocean. I hope. :-)

peace.

Thursday, October 06, 2011

He is or He isn't

I had a long conversation with a dear friend this week and I challenged her to decide whether God is who he says he is or he isn't. That nothing else could really be dealt with until that was settled.

Is God who he says he is?

My answer, a resounding yes. Of course he is! And yet, do I live my every day life like I believe this?

For the most part, this truth is buried deep in my heart. I do believe God is exactly who he says he is. He has proven it to me over and over. But in those moments of pain, anger, reaction, etc. I don't always behave like I believe it. I want to...

I want to live my life in the shadow of Psalm 139.


O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain.
Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
(Psalm 139 ESV)

peace.