Circle of Forgiveness

“In your anger do not sin” Ephesians 4:26 

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13  

“I hate you!” shouted my angry sixteen-year-old self at my inebriated, alcoholic father one cold February evening. He had disappointed me again, and we had argued. After stalking dramatically out of the room, I left the house to go wherever small-town teenagers might have gone on Tuesday nights in the 1960s. Library? Play practice? I can’t remember. What I do remember vividly, however, is what happened early the following morning as my three siblings and I got ready for school. Our uncle, Mom’s brother, appeared unexpectedly at our front door bringing with him the devastating news that there had been an accident during the night, and Dad was dead! 

As the world crumbled around my family, I internalized my grief and began to wonder. Wow! Was it possible that I had somehow caused this horrible event? I had sinned by lashing out in anger. And I had long blamed Dad and his drinking for everything that wasn’t quite right in my life and in my family. I had pleaded and bargained with God, praying fervently that the drinking would stop. Well, now it was stopped, but in a way that I certainly never anticipated. That self-assumed burden of guilt was heavy, but impossible to share. Bringing added pain was the knowledge that my last words to my father had been so hateful. Why had I been so mean?  Did he know that I loved him?  Could I ever be forgiven? 

Biblical scriptures and my Christian faith eventually brought assurance that God, my heavenly Father, had graciously forgiven me for no other reason than that He loves me. Over time, as my family survived, and as I gained better understanding of alcoholism, it became easier for me to forgive Dad for all the ways in which he had failed us. I could only hope that Dad had forgiven me for my last angry words. Forgiving myself has been the most difficult of all, and I’m still working on it after all these years. 

Prayer: Thank You, God, for Your endless grace and forgiveness. I ask, as did the psalmist in Psalm 51:10: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.”  

Judith Keller (reprinted from 2017)

Food for the Soul

A third time he said, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt that he asked him a third time. Do you love me? "Lord," he said, "you know everything; you know I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep." John 21:17 (NEB)  

Tend the flock of God whose shepherds you are and do it not under compulsion; but of your own free will as God would have it; not for gain, but out of sheer devotion. 1 Peter 5:2 (NEB)  

In 2003, I decided that a whole loaf of homemade bread was too much for one person to eat, so I started sharing half my loaf with friends whose health or age no longer allowed them to stand in their kitchens to bake or who lived in retirement centers where they missed that "homemade" taste. Back then, I had the feeling that my visit was more important to them than the food.

As time went on, I added baking cookies and other treats to the things I delivered to these friends. Over the past ten years, many of the names on my list have changed. As they aged, some of my friends have moved away to be nearer to family and some have gone home to be with Our Lord.

Last month, I again delivered plates of cookies. Much to my sorrow, two of the friends I have been visiting for a number of years no longer recognized me. It was so sad to see people I care for lose the everyday ordinary skill of thought processing. However, it was encouraging to see the lights in their eyes as they looked at the cookies. Their lifelong habit of good manners came forward and they thanked me.

Perhaps now the food is more important to them than the visit. At this point, I'm unsure if sharing time and treats with my friends has been food for their souls; but it has definitely been food for mine. "Tending the flock of God" as Peter admonished us to do will keep me baking and visiting even if though it makes me sad and I am no longer recognized.

Prayer: Thank You, Father, for Your Son, Jesus, who taught us about loving and serving others. Make us ever grateful for Your blessings of a strong body and a sound mind that enable us to conduct our lives using every day ordinary skills. In Jesus' holy name we pray. Amen.

Judy Welch (reprinted from February 2013)

Lord, Abide with Me

I have been on a journey for the past three years in Nebraska. I have had food. I have had health. I have my cat, Rosa. She has been with me through thick and thin. I have been happy and content. Yet, change is on its way. Soon to be 26, I will no longer be on my parents’ health insurance and hopefully done with school. It is scary to imagine. 

Yet, I am not alone. God is with me and Rosa as we travel through this time of uncertainty. I have received generosity and I have given even though financial anxiety at times grips my heart. It could be worse, and it could be better. However, these are challenges that I don’t face alone, God is with me. Always and forever.

I will leave you with a simple prayer as stated above. “I solemnly pray to You Oh Lord, Abide with me. Amen.”

Charles Kendeigh

Meaningless?

Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless. Ecclesiastes 1:2  

He made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:9-10 

Awhile back I sent my great nephew and nieces photos of the different pictures I see out my large window where I do my quiet time with God. Each day the sky, trees, squirrels and birds are different. Now, in the winter, there is even the shape of a heart in the tree branches. I take it as a sign God loves me. I know he had me seek him to see the eternity he has for me in heaven. 

Yesterday was a very meaningful moment as I looked out my window and focused on what God gives me every day. When the morning sun shines at me, the naked tree branches are black. I saw a flickering tiny red light. Finally I realized it was a bird’s beak with the sun shining through at me. The red light flickered for me to see as the bird moved. Just as I believed I could not have a more wonderful moment, a second bird joined and I had two tiny red lights in the naked tree. 

Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to be still and soak up the most beautiful and meaningful moments you give us. What you have created is beyond anything I could imagine. Amen.

Sandra Hilsabeck (reprinted from 2016)

 

The Serenity Prayer

 Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

                                         Serenity Prayer

   God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change;

   Courage to change the things I can;

   and Wisdom to know the difference.

   Living one day at a time;

   Enjoying one moment at a time;

   Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

   Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;

   Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will;

   that I may be reasonably Happy in this life and supremely happy with

   Him Forever in the next. Amen.

 

I found this prayer on a bookmark and it made me think and relate the words to me in my life. This prayer was written by Reinhold Niebuhr about 1934. He used it in his sermons. It was adopted and popularized by Alcoholics Anonymous and other groups. The prayer has appeared in many versions through the years. Serenity means calm and cheerful. The prayer asks God to grant us serenity-calmness in dealing with different aspects of our life. Read through the prayer many times and relate it to yourself. Read it other times and come back and read it again. It has a way of sticking with me and facing life with God. I hope you come back to it many times.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, help us with Serenity, Courage, Wisdom, Living, Enjoying, Accepting, Taking, Trusting, Happy, and Forever.  Amen.

Susan Taylor (reprinted from 2017)

    

             

Words from Hebrews

He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Hebrews 9:26 ESV

How To Find God in a Horror Movie

This may seem counterintuitive but bear with me as I explain.

Horror movies may seem like the bane of good Christian values, but like an onion it has layers. Peel back the surface, you will find that there are inherent values and a lesson to be learned by those who seek it. When you see a horror movie you come face to face with the worst mankind can come up with. In the movies, the devil is on earth, the dead come back to life, and society as we know it crumbles. Cynical viewing aside, a horror movie can be a morale about the injustice in this world. A simple truth that bad things happen to good people. Horror movies bring that to the forefront of our minds. Like Job, we are forced to reconcile that our power is limited when compared to the all-mighty. We don’t know everything. In the story of Job, we are shown that bad things happen to good people. We are humbled because our power doesn’t match God’s power. No one is perfect like God. We can struggle to comprehend the concept that bad things happen to good people. A good horror movie brings that struggle to the forefront. He knows all and we know little compared to him. We find God in horror movies by accepting our limited understanding when compared to the Almighty.

 Then Job replied to the Lord:

 “I know that you can do all things;
    no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
    Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
    things too wonderful for me to know.

 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
    I will question you,
    and you shall answer me.’
 My ears had heard of you
    but now my eyes have seen you.
 Therefore I despise myself
    and repent in dust and ashes.”

Prayer: Dear God, please bless us with your wisdom. Help guide us as we confront injustice in this world. Help us to put our faith in you lord. Help us to understand our shortcomings. Help us to grow. Help us to love. Guide us when life is cruel when we stumble and fall. Lift us up with your loving hands. In your name we pray, Amen.

Charles Kendeigh

God's Message

And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, this is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21

I knew I wanted to get a devotion sent for this month. I had three ideas in my head and I was working on the inspirational path they would go. Yesterday I had a chance while sitting at the computer. I opened Word program. And…BLANK! All my ideas were gone, I couldn’t even remember a single thought about what I was going to say. I know I should have taken the time to at least jot the thought down on paper but I didn’t and now here I sit with nothing. I was so frustrated with myself. I told myself after a few minutes best move on to doing something else. 

I added to my night prayers to please help me remember what I had been working on and went to sleep. 

This morning I woke up and I got the message. The message is the devotion comes from God. It needs to be His message, his devotion, not mine. I need to remember to open my heart and hear His message. I was trying so hard to come up with a devotion, I needed to stop and listen. 

Prayer: Thank you God for taking the reins and reminding me I need to turn it over to you to control. Help me to stop and turn all my storms, troubles, and daily tasks over to you. Open my heart and mind to hear what you want me to see. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Lori Hood

Psalm 16

  Keep me safe, my God,

    for in you I take refuge.

 

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;

    apart from you I have no good thing.”

I say of the holy people who are in the land,

    “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”

Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.

    I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods

    or take up their names on my lips.

 

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;

    you make my lot secure.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

    surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;

    even at night my heart instructs me.

I keep my eyes always on the Lord.

    With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

 

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

    my body also will rest secure,

because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,

    nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

You make known to me the path of life;

    you will fill me with joy in your presence,

    with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16

Servant Heart

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” Acts 20:35

…to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up Ephesians 4:12

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. Matthew 25:35

While reading The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, there was a passage that spoke of the purity of disappearing in an activity, in having a focus on what one is doing that makes other thoughts and worries go away. “You kind of stopped being you and became the thing you were doing.”

I thought of serving others, and the volunteer work we do. I thought of leading, serving, and other activities that take us outside ourselves and put us in the service and company of those around us. Whether it’s serving in the Food Pantry, singing in the choir on Sunday mornings, or assisting with our children’s ministries, maybe the “becoming lost” can be a little bit like “becoming like Christ”.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for giving us opportunities to serve others. Show us where we can be like you in our homes and communities. Amen

Donna Gustafson

Psalm 56

 

Be merciful to me, my God,

    for my enemies are in hot pursuit;

    all day long they press their attack.

My adversaries pursue me all day long;

    in their pride many are attacking me.

 

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

    In God, whose word I praise—

in God I trust and am not afraid.

    What can mere mortals do to me?

 

All day long they twist my words;

    all their schemes are for my ruin.

They conspire, they lurk,

    they watch my steps,

    hoping to take my life.

Because of their wickedness do not let them escape;

    in your anger, God, bring the nations down.

 

Record my misery;

    list my tears on your scroll—

    are they not in your record?

Then my enemies will turn back

    when I call for help.

    By this I will know that God is for me.

 

In God, whose word I praise,

    in the Lord, whose word I praise—

in God I trust and am not afraid.

    What can man do to me?

 

I am under vows to you, my God;

    I will present my thank offerings to you.

For you have delivered me from death

    and my feet from stumbling,

that I may walk before God

    in the light of life. Psalm 56

God's Children

 

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. Revelation 21:1-7

A God of Love

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32

I recently read a book where one of the characters is trying to redeem themselves.  Having committed a crime in their youth, they feel compelled to improve. One of the questions the character struggles with is “are you a good person?” and alternately “how can you tell?”.

This has sparked many conversations in our house about what makes a good person. Are you a good person strictly by being a Christian? Living as a Christian?  What does it mean to live as a Christian? Does it mean to give? To care? To believe? To pray? To sacrifice? To worship? Being a Christian means that we recognize sin, so good and sinful can live together – with repentance, faith and grace. 

How can you tell you are a good person is more complicated. We have discussed living without regret. Helping others when you can. Checking yourself for greedy tendencies. Recognizing your shortcomings. Maybe you are always volunteering to help with something but you are overly critical of others or the process. We wondered about the Monet effect, people who “look” good from the outside but when you get to know them they are unkind, selfish or worse.  

We hear that “God is good” and we know that means he loves us, despite our shortcomings. He loves saints and sinners. He loves those in faith, and those in conflict. He loves those who don’t believe in Him and those who know He is always with us. He loves…. And it’s good. 

Prayer: God of love, help us to do good in your world. Help us to continue to know what good looks like and feels like. Help us to be the people you know we are in our hearts. Amen

Christi Moock

After its Kind

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1

Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear;” and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:9-10

For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. Luke 6:44

All the plants created on the third day were to have “seed” imbedded within the very nature of the plant itself, and all of the subsequent “yielding” of that seed (reproduction) was to be “according to its kind.” Everything we know about plant biology verifies this simple statement. The biological structure and nature of any earth “product” are contained within the cellular information of that specific plant. That very complex internal information assures us that an apple tree will not produce kumquats, and that a rose (however broadly expressed) will never become a petunia.

Not everybody agrees about just what the Hebrew word for “kind” (min) means. Its biblical use is mostly applied to living things, everything from grasshoppers to cattle.

However, one thing is sure: There is absolutely no proof of a common ancestor to all living things. What is absolutely certain, as far as observation is concerned, is that every plant and every animal reproduce only “after its kind.” Each has its own DNA that can only direct the reproduction of the same kind. There is no indication that a fish can become a duck or that algae can become a cow—none. ~From Six Days of Creation by Henry M. Morris III

In Genesis I we can read about the creation of the earth, the plants, the animals and people. God completed his work in seven days. In all my years on earth I have seen these things about reproduction to be true.

Prayer: Dear Lord, please help us all to see the truths given in your Bible. Help us to be aware when those truths are stretched or called wrong. Please lead us in this complex world. Amen.

Sandra Hilsabeck (photo below submitted by Sandra)

Surprises after Dark

And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, over every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1: 20-22

The last few summers, I have put up a jelly feeder for the orioles as well as a hummingbird feeder. The jelly feeder attracted not only beautiful orioles, but catbirds and house finches. The sweet nectar of the hummingbird feeder brought in the baby hummers starting August first this year, a month earlier than 10 years ago when they arrived September first.

I have struggled with myriads of bees coming to the jelly feeder, threatening the birds and me. One night, I decided to try and fill the jelly feeder after dark—without the bees, but to my surprise, the bees were still there at 10 p.m. The term “busy as a bee” took on new meaning as they seemed to be feeding there 24-7. My neighbor raises bees and sells honey. I will ask him if the honey tastes like grape jelly. One night I checked the jelly feeder at 11 p.m. and to my surprise, the bees had been replaced by about 30 pale gray moths. They almost looked like little ghosts feeding on the jelly.

Today I got serious about putting out bird food for the fall, hanging up the suet feeders, and a peanut butter feeder for the woodpeckers. The response from the birds was immediate—a young scrappy nuthatch checked it all out and selected a sunflower seed. The blue jays let out an alarm and swooped in for the peanuts in the shells. The baby sparrows and gold finches were trying to figure out the suet feeder which they had never seen before. A young mourning dove was standing in the middle of this, trying to figure out what to do—I don’t think they are very smart. I knew Mr. and Mrs. cardinal would be in at dusk.

Being able to watch the birds has truly been a blessing this last year. With retiring, staying home because of Covid, and adapting to my new lifestyle, feeling the joy of God’s creation has been beautiful.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the wonders of your creation. Thank you for the birds of the air, their varieties and habits. Thank you for their beautiful color and their songs. Help us to praise you for providing us with a perfect world and help us to appreciate the environment which helps us all to live. Amen.

Nancy Hall

 

Rooted in Christ

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7

Children of God

 

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.  Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.  Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.  If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.  And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. 1 John 3

Suffer for His Kingdom

All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 2 Thessalonians 1:5

During a golf day, one of my friends said something about enemies. Then one said "Sandra doesn’t have any enemies".

I went home and felt surprisingly good about not having any enemies. I must have been nice to everyone and therefore had no enemies. Well, later I thought about how the Bible tells about the people who speak up for Jesus and then get put in prison and have people or countries as their enemies.

So, suppose I haven’t been vocal enough about Jesus being my savior. Just a time for me to think. Maybe I am not doing enough to spread the word about the Kingdom of God.

Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, please use me. Teach me. Help me spread your Words. Help me be worthy. Amen.

Sandra Hilsabeck

Words from the book of Lamentations

 

 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,

    for his compassions never fail.

 They are new every morning;

    great is your faithfulness.

 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;

    therefore I will wait for him.”

 

 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,

    to the one who seeks him;

 it is good to wait quietly

    for the salvation of the Lord.

Let us examine our ways and test them,

    and let us return to the Lord. Lamentations 3:22-26; 40

Seasons

(click on photos to view larger)

Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. Ecclesiastes 11:7  

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5

God provides healing in unexpected ways. I’ve always believed in the healing power of nature in its many forms. Sunshine and heat and prolific wildlife in the summer, cold, crisp air and the beauty of death and decay in the winter. But are those plants really dead? Not all! Some are just waiting for spring’s touch to come back to life. They’re resting, gathering strength (the reason you’re not supposed to cut some flowering bulbs back), and will reappear in March, April, or May (at least here in the Midwest) looking fresh and new. There is beauty in the decay, though, and I’ve included some of those photos here. If you've taken the time to appreciate the fall leaves and their fiery, beautiful color, you know what I mean.

Like a resurrection, spring offers hope and healing. Can winter offer the same? Probably not in the same way, but it can offer us a time to rest and gather strength.

“Whatever the design of the day, it was beautiful and calming” writes a devotion writer from Tennessee in The Upper Room. She shows appreciation for nature in all its forms.

We may struggle through some seasons of our lives, but there is beauty in the struggle, beauty in the “rest”.

Talking in their Sleep, a poem by Edith Thomas

“You think I am dead,”

   The apple tree said,

“Because I have never a leaf to show—

   Because I stoop,

   And my branches droop,

And the dull gray mosses over me grow!

But I’m still alive in trunk and shoot;

   The buds of next May

   I fold away—

But I pity the withered grass at my root.”

   “You think I am dead,”

   The quick grass said,

“Because I have parted with stem and blade!

   But under the ground

   I am safe and sound

With the snow’s thick blanket over me laid.

I’m all alive, and ready to shoot,

   Should the spring of the year

   Come dancing here—

But I pity the flower without branch or root.”

   “You think I am dead,”

   A soft voice said,

“Because not a branch or root I own.

   I never have died,

   But close I hide

In a plumy seed that the wind has sown.

Patient I wait through the long winter hours;

   You will see me again—

   I shall laugh at you then,

Out of the eyes of a hundred flowers.”

Prayer: Dear Lord, be with us through the many seasons of our lives. Be with us when we struggle, knowing that you are growing our faith and perseverance. Help us remember that we can learn from troubled times. Thank you for the beauty and hope of spring, and for the rest and dormancy of winter. Help us remember that we are growing through it all. Amen.

Donna Gustafson

 

Psalm 16

 

 Keep me safe, my God,

    for in you I take refuge.

 

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;

    apart from you I have no good thing.”

I say of the holy people who are in the land,

    “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”

Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.

    I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods

    or take up their names on my lips.

 

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;

    you make my lot secure.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

    surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;

    even at night my heart instructs me.

I keep my eyes always on the Lord.

    With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

 

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

    my body also will rest secure,

because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,

    nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

You make known to me the path of life;

    you will fill me with joy in your presence,

    with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16