MESSY MONDAY!

LIFE IS MESSY!

Especially on Mondays. For Sundays to be serene, I must be still, quit striving and let go of emails and texts. Then when I awaken to a new day, portals need to be finished for tomorow's doc appointment, text and emails answered but my internet* is missing & that's messy!

Think, non-existent atop this mountain ridge. 

Unraveling comes to mind.

Before I had a complete "come apart",  I needed to have a cuppa sani-TEA and get back into the Psalms. All that's necessary is a Bible. 

Grateful I found notes I had taken yesterday---from Psalms 104 (BC FUMC) and Psalm 1 (FEC Memphis) 

Praises for reminders ---Reading aloud Psalm 104 3x and noting words/verses that "jumped off page" and into my heart! 

MEDITATION kept jumping!

May my meditation be pleasing to Him, for I rejoice in the Lord.(Psalm 104:34)

Psalm 1 notes---Blessed (intensely happy and "gets it right"-- Pace)

is the man (a regular person, not  a king or scholar or man of note)

embracing these negatives of actions....

walks not in counsel of wicked...

stands not in the way of sinners....

sits not in the seat of scoffers ie scorners.... 

Yet, the positive stood out to me. 

but he delights in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night. (Psalm 1:2)

Think exercising your mind to dwell on a passage. Think deeply. Ponder. 

Meditation turned my "Messy Monday" into Meditation Monday."

*Internet back @ 1:03 pm EST

"vitali-TEA"

Righteous Father,......I know you, and..... I have made you known.... and will continue to make you known....(John 17:25-26, NIV)

John 17:25-26 are the words of Jesus but they also reflect the hearts of believers who want to thrive in their lives as God's children. Living a life of vitality in Him that others might get a glimpse of Him as we strive to "know Him and make Him known." A simple creed with a big message.

More than alive. Thriving. A life of vitality.

"Thrive," a Casting Crowns "big camp" praise song, was written "using the idea of Psalm One in showing them (students) what a believer looks like." 

"Like a tree panted by the water, we will never run dry."

He put you here to thrive, to dig in and to reach out and this record (song) is an effort to draw a picture of what a believer, a follower of Jesus, would look like if they dug into their roots and understood God and themselves more.”  (Mark Hall, lead vocalist/Casting Crowns)l

Fill our hearts and flood our souls with one desire,                            Just to know You and to make You known. 

Joy unspeakable... 

Faith unsinkable... 

Love unstoppable, ("Thrive")

A cuppa "vitali-TEA" is filled with; unspeakable joy, unsinkable faith, & unstoppable love.  Drink deeply if you desire to thrive in life.

brevi-TEA

God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. (Ecclesiastes 5:2)

Much time was spent this morning in God's Word. So much so, that when my phone rang at 12:20, I had to admit I was still in my gown-tail. (a Mama Davenport term) 

Yet, not one blog thought had been given. Not even a "tea" word. Was this the blog door closing? 

Verbose. Had I been writing too much? My desire has been to write in a "pithy with a punch" way? Were my own words overshadowing His truths?

Driving home from Bible Study tonight, I prayed, "Lord if you want me to blog today, please give me the words. So......here they are.

• Serve a cuppa brevi-TEA.
• Pare it down and pour it out. 
• Take truths from today's study & summarize.

There's a stark contrast between the godly who delight in God's Word and the ungodly who scoff at God. (Psalm 1) 

• God's Word: Delight. Meditate. Follow.

God reveals Himself in nature and His Word as we "look" for Him. (Psalm 19) 

• Look for God daily.

God's truths give completeness and purpose to life while wickedness centers on self without purpose. (Psalm 37) 

• "Fret not!"

Pouring out only a 1/2 cuppa of all I learned today. 

• 

Just enough. Sometimes brevi-TEA is best. 

SATURDAY SURPRISE

1/28/12 Sitting in my usual Saturday morning spot with a cuppa and my Bible open to Psalm 1, I heard a loud clanking sound. It was the men from Macon Road Landscape delivering our memory tree. A Cherokee Princess white dogwood from 21 dear, dear friends. A gift in memory of both of our parents.

What a glorious surprise! 

How appropriate that I was meditating on Psalm 1, especially those first 3 verses.

¹Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

 ²But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

 ³And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

As they were leaving the driver said, "Have a blessed day." I feel blessed indeed. I hope the leaves on this special tree will flourish and not wither. Can't wait to view my "Saturday Surprise" this spring when it's in bloom!  

Winnnowing

8/31/10 I need more winnowing in my life. How ‘bout you? Mine might not be a winnowing of good and evil but more of a winnowing of good for better or unnecessary for necessary even in the mundane tasks of writing and speaking. 

I’m often too verbose when it comes to both writing and speaking. I need to "cut to the chase" as I write and "get to the point" when I talk, by getting rid of so many details. Today as I spent more time in Psalm 1, I noticed the stark contrast of the one who prospers and the ungodly one. Psalm one compares the godly man (one who meditates on the word) to firmly planted trees nourished by water. The ungodly man is like the chaff---the useless part of the seed or grain that is left after the winnowing.

A woman in Joy Gill's India winnows (separates) the grain from the useless chaff as it blows away. 

In other parts of scripture we see the useless chaff scattered as it is wind/gale driven, wind blown, storm driven and angel chased. 2 Kings 19 gives a real analogy of chaff in the lives of Hezekiah’s people who had been invaded by the Assyrians: “Leaving their people dispirited, slumped shoulders, limp souls. Useless as weeds, fragile as grass, insubstantial as wind-blown chaff.” (v. 26, The Message) The chapter goes on to assure God's deliverance for His own glory---that His people might be the opposite of chaff. 

 People have their hearts as good ground, so that His word might strike root, and bring forth fruit in their lives as “they sink down roots and rise up fruits.” (v.30) 

Sounds like Psalm 1:3, doesn't it? Winnowing gets rid of the chaff and allows God’s fruit to “blossom” in all our lives. Allow the Lord to help you look closely into your life to help you recognize and rid yourself of the chaff, the undesirable parts. It might take a close examination but the winnowing will be worth it as it frees you from the superfluous or the unnecessary or maybe even the bad. 

Winnowing certainly needs to be a bigger part of my "life" vocabulary.

150 FLAVORS

8/30/10 This past weekend’s USA Today featured another one of their food lists ---“Great American Bites ” I love lists like that. Between USA Today’s “10 best places to……” and Southern Living, I have files full of ideas of places, mostly food related, to check out on our jaunts---it’s how we found Dinner Bell with lazy Susan style serving, in McComb MS, ruby reds (large shrimp) at King Neptunes in Orange Beach, yummy breakfast at the Pancake Pantry in Nashville and juicy In and Out burgers in CA. You get the idea!
Larry and I have mapped an entire trip to Florida in order to take in “restaurants,” a term used very loosely for some hole-in-the-wall places we’ve tried. So, this most recent article fascinated us because it listed the “best” ice cream parlor in each state and D.C. I begin checking off ones I/we had already tried. Alabama, check. Arkansas, check. Maine, check. Missouri, check. Then, I saw Mississippi’s winner, located just north of the Hernando town square on Highway 51. Hm-m-m. Guess who checked off the Velvet Cream on the way home from Batesville yesterday.
It was tasty---even the burger and onion rings were yum. But this milkshake mecca offered 150 flavors of ice cream type drinks, from concretes to slushes and everything in between.
These first 2 paragraphs illustrate the somewhat absurd lengths I go to in order to satisfy my “taste” buds and check a conquest off my list. It’s really kind of sad when I realize that I all too seldom go out of my way to find the perfect scripture---much less blend it with other scripture passages for a fulfilling experience.
There are 150 Psalms so I’ve decided to “taste” those over the next few weeks. Psalm 34:8 says, “O taste and see that the Lord is good;"...... But where do I start?
Maria, in the Sound of Music sang, “Let's start at the very beginning / A very good place to start”…..So, I’m going to select Psalm 1:1-2 and I’m going to blend in other cross references, listed in the outer edge column of my Bible, as parallel passages in order to get the full flavor. Today I’m even going to add memorization for meditation Monday---that way my selection will stay with me longer.
Just like the 150 flavors at the Velvet Cream, I may not be able to fully try all of them but I can take a lick at it. (bad pun, I know)