Peace

   How many folks wake up this morning full of worry about what this day will bring? How many need the peace that the words of this song speaks about?

"When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul."

   This was the verse and the music that was on my mind this morning, and I can see where these thought come from. Two of my best friends are facing medical issues this day, and when I woke up I knew that I needed to get up and pray for them and the ones that love them.

   One friend I visited with yesterday is having all kinds of trouble with his back and can't seem to get much relief from the pain. I'm sure he is looking for a way out of all that, even as he deals with the uncertainty of when.

   Another friend is facing surgery this morning to fix a blocked artery. Although this is a common procedure, there is always the nagging fear any time a person faces this.

   I know that there are many others that face uncertainty this morning, even maybe some that will read these words. None of us know what this day will bring, and sometimes the future looks so murky that we cannot but tend to be uneasy.

   So I pray for these two men and their families right now, and I throw in a prayer for anyone else that is going through anxiety over anything else. I pray that they might have the peace that the hymn writer speaks of.

   And I pray that for my life also. We all need it.

   God knows about my life today, and He knows about those tomorrows, too. His is the peace that gives us rest and security, and we all need just that.

   Lord, help us to know those words in our lives and not just sing them.

An Apology and A Thought

   It is bad when you wake up and the first thing that you think of is how you messed up yesterday. It is not great big deal in the grand scheme of things, but I made a big mistake yesterday morning in my quick blog post. I used the wrong composer of the music I used for my backdrop. It was not Mozart that penned this symphony, Ode to Joy, of course it was Beethoven, but I guess I was in too big a hurry to get out to play.

   Then, as I walked, I got to thinking about how other people got up this morning.

   I saw a light on in one home, and the TV picture shown through the window. Thinking it was pretty early for this, I then remembered that the British Open was being played, and the 5 hour time difference meant that the telecast of play was already being shown. The person in this house was up watching golf. What thoughts were on his mind as he got up early to do this?

   I stopped and talked to a lady that was leaving on a trip, going to visit a home where a dear friend had passed away. What were her thoughts when the alarm went off this morning?

   Then there was the man that I passed on the cart path. I see him a lot of mornings and, as is usual, he nods with a quick "morning", and moves on, hardly making eye contact. I resolve to stop him the next time I pass him and talk, but, as we meet again on this circular path, his curt nod and demeanor say "not today". What are his thoughts and his attitude toward this new day?

   All along my path this morning there are homes. People living in them may wake with anticipation, with dread, with hope, with none, and all the emotions between. God sees each one, and He cares, even if they do not know it.

   The sky was still out there in these early hours. Looking toward the east it looked like this:

   Looking toward the west it was more like this:

   It all depends on the direction I look, as to what I see.

   God help me to turn around and look if I wake with my skies cloudy and gray. Help me to see You in the light of this new day and know You are there, and that You care.

   And help all those others out there also.

Morning Glories

   With so little time to write, I still must put down the song that was in my head as I awoke on this Friday morning. One of my favorite pieces of music from the pen of Mozart, Ode to Joy, and the hymn that springs from it, from Henry J. Van Dyke in 1907:

1. Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee,
   God of glory, Lord of love;
   Hearts unfold like flow’rs before Thee,
   Op’ning to the sun above.
   Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
   Drive the dark of doubt away;
   Giver of immortal gladness,
   Fill us with the light of day!
2. All Thy works with joy surround Thee,
   Earth and heav’n reflect Thy rays,
   Stars and angels sing around Thee,
   Center of unbroken praise.
   Field and forest, vale and mountain,
   Flow’ry meadow, flashing sea,
   Singing bird and flowing fountain
   Call us to rejoice in Thee.
3. Thou art giving and forgiving,
   Ever blessing, ever blest,
   Wellspring of the joy of living,
   Ocean depth of happy rest!
   Thou our Father, Christ our Brother,
   All who live in love are Thine;
   Teach us how to love each other,
   Lift us to the joy divine.
4. Mortals, join the happy chorus,
   Which the morning stars began;
   Father love is reigning o’er us,
   Brother love binds man to man.
   Ever singing, march we onward,
   Victors in the midst of strife,
   Joyful music leads us Sunward
   In the triumph song of life.

   I thought of morning glories this morning and actually went out to look at some, but the light was not quite good enough to enclose a photo. Maybe next time.

   Anyway, it is a joyful morning, enjoy the day with the music of the Master ringing in your mind.

A Snowball in July

   Yesterday, when I awoke, I had this feeling of being right with the world. I had a song in my mind and the words of it spoke to my heart. As I walked I could feel the rightness of those lyrics, and it was easy to see that God was using those to bless me, even as the song said I would bless Him.

   So, what is different about this day? I still got up, I still saw the morning sunrise, the grass was still green, the birds sang, but it seemed that I did not react the same way to the same stimuli. Was not God still there, and was He not still blessing my life, even by allowing me to be moving about in His wonderful world?

   I wanted to have the same feelings of gladness, of being in the right place, but still I sensed that there was more to it than I had felt or written about. There was a nagging thought that I did not say all there was to say about those blessings that I felt.

   It seemed right yesterday, to end that blog post on a high note, to project what I was feeling during that early morning time, but there was another thought that intruded into my thinking at the end of all of that. There was that verse in Luke 12:

"From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more."

   Whoops, why could I not just leave it with the blessing part, and not think so much? Why couldn't I just stay in that land of blessings and not visit that place of responsibility?

   I am not sure of what that will require of me today. Will it relate to money, to time, to trust or to attitude? The only thing that I know for sure is that my first requirement is to acknowledge it.

   The next is to place this additional thought right after what I wrote yesterday, so that both sides of that blessing coin can be realized.

   Then the afterthought, when I bless others I am blessed again. It is not so much the opposite sides of a coin, it is more like a snowball, picking up new snow as it rolls down a hill.

   So, I pray, "God keep me rolling and don't let me melt".

   Amen

 

My Mind Sings

   There is one good thing about waking up and being able to search quickly for something that is on your mind. Technology may be a mixed bag, but for me this morning, it gave up the lyrics to a song that was playing in my head as I woke up.

   I always think there is a reason for any particular piece of music that floods my mind as sleep falls away, and I begin a new day. Most of the time I cannot even remember the last time I heard a particular song, but it is there, to remind me of something. Today it seems to tell me how to start this day.

   First the chorus to the song that is there this morning:

   Bless the Lord, O my soul
  O my soul

  Worship His holy name

  Sing like never before
  O my soul
  I'll worship Your holy name

   Then the words to the first stanza of this Matt Redman music:

   The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning
   It's time to sing Your song again
   Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me
   Let me be singing when the evening comes

   It is still early when I leave the condo to walk, and I am greeted by this:

   My favorite part of the sunrise is when the sun is still just below the horizon, but its light is evident on the clouds in the sky. Even before I see it, I know it is there, getting ready to light my day.

   And, as I think on these things, I know that I am blessed, and I know where those blessings come from.

   And, I want to still be singing as the sun goes down and this evening comes, regardless....

Question of the Morning

   Here is the question that plows through my thoughts this morning:

   Can a person keep working on something and be waiting at the same time? It may seem like an oxymoron, but is it?

   Here are some verses from Psalm 25 this morning:

"Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;"

"for you I wait all the day long."

"May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for you."

  It seems as though waiting is a virtue for sure. There are too many references to it for that activity to be overlooked, no matter how busy our life appears on the outside.

   I can wait before making a decision on something, but continue on doing what I feel He has called me to, trusting Him for the outcome of it all. Maybe trust is a key element here. If I trust that He has led me into something, do I have to know all the results of the call, or do I do the job and wait for Him to show me any results?

   Is all of this just an hypothetical exercise, or is there some actual questioning here?

   Since I am retired, and have no regular job to attend to each day, I fill my time with activities that I like to do. God has given me those "likes", but are they there for a purpose other than to fill my waking hours? Can my liking of playing sports, taking pictures and writing be a pathway to something else? If I do not see the benefit to someone else, do I trust that God has given me the pleasure in all of these for a purpose that I do not see?

   It is not hard to continue to do the things I like, but can I also be waiting at the same time, waiting to get a glimpse of a purpose beyond liking? I know that self-gratification is not the answer.

   If I had a life-changing decision like a career path, or a new job, or a new responsibility, it might seem easy to say that I need to keep doing what I am engaged in to the best of my ability until God shows me the new path. Where He leads, follow, but until that leading comes about, wait.

   I can fulfill my responsibilities while waiting, and I should, but can it be that "having fun" while playing, clicking, and choosing the right words to write is a worthwhile wait also?

   I guess the answer comes more from a sense of any call on my life, than it does for my knowing what the outcome of my activity will be.

   And still enjoy the beauty of the world around me, even as I play, and wait.

Desires of the Heart

   There was a verse this morning, from Psalm 20:

   "May He grant you your heart's desire"

   As I walked, I had to ask myself the question: "And what really are my heart's desires? Are there many or maybe just one main one that the others might flow out of?"

   I think I was true to my real feelings this morning when I answered to myself, but to God in heaven also, "what I want most of all in my life is to know that God is with me, and that He cares about what I think and do, that my life is in His hands and His Will is the best that can be fulfilled in my life".

   Before I slept last night, I asked God to wake me up so that I could spend some time in the quiet, reflecting on my time with Him. I had been somewhat busy this week, with a couple of early morning items on my agenda. Along with these appointments, I had some things on my mind that I wanted to write about, and these thoughts seemed to preclude much of my in-depth study and prayer.

   And mostly, I missed the feeling that I was doing what He wanted me to do, and that was to spend time, quality time, in this quiet before my mind got cluttered. I got no specific messages as to what the day would bring, even as the clouds in the east covered the sunrise, but I did confirm again that He is in control, and He wanted me to do this.

   So He did, and I did.

             and......

   It is well with my soul