TERSE VERSE

Today's verse might not be terse but the words from a praying friend were just what I needed to start my day. A "lifter-up of my head" as it says in Psalm 3. My entire body seemed spiritually lifted as it the Lord were "strengthening my frame" for the day ahead. (Isaiah 58:11)

I rise spiritually; Lucy, age 13 in Long Island NY, rises physically.

Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear;  then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. (Isaiah 58:8)

*Click to read Journeys blog from 2015

TEACHINGS FROM A TUBE.....

No inner tube.....tho it was looking at my most inner places.

No test tube----tho it could be considered one.

No packing tube----tho I felt packed in.

Not just any tube.....

....a closed MRI tube for a 20 - 50 minute journey that lasted 80 minutes and the sojourner was claustrophobic.  

Teachings from the tube are the lessons I learned while inside said tube.

• Solitude can be companionable----if God is in the tube with you. (Isaiah 43:1-7)
• He who is "the lifter up of my head" (Psalm 3:3) can keep it flat and immobile for 80 minutes.
• Fear is not from God....."fear not for I am with you." (Joshua 1:9)
• Valium helps.
• God is in control even in the midst of the JACKHAMMERING, WHIRRING, CLANKING and POP. POP. POPPING sounds.
• When the selected MoTown music cannot be clearly heard in the tube, it helps to call to memory hymns that allow an old church choir tp ring in you head and sing in your soul. 
• When praying alphabetically thru the attributes of God, my "n" section is lacking.
• Prayers of others can "temper" any medical procedure and fill one's heart with hope and joy.

Regardless of the results, God is still good.

CONSIDER OTHERS & LET THE SUNSHINE IN

On a soggy day when one's heart feels as gray as the clouds outside, it's hard to have a "sunny" attitude. But God....reminds me in His word, that He is the lifter up of one's head. (Psalm 3:3)

So, I looked up and there was a recent gift from a sweet friend. A perfect gift for me. It had even been given in a "Dotsy" bag....and "dots" ran along the border of the tea towel.

It was all I needed. A gift with a "spiritual" history to take my eyes off my self and begin considering others. The fair trade company tag said, "Let Hope Arise!" My tea towel was hand-made in India by "Daughters of Hope, a social enterprise which supplies "a link in the chain of freedom in southern India." Sale of their products provide, poor and often forgotten, women from the slums of Bangalore with a chance to better themselves. What a treasure of a gift! A gift to open my eyes.

Lesson learned. Allow what you already have to bring the "Sonshine" in to your heart. I only had to have eyes to see that which was right in front of me.

Quo-TEA-ble

Ubiquitous Quotes. 
A-men. Quotes are every where! On license pates. In my chocolate. 
In my throat lozenges. 
Yes---even Halls™wants to leave me a message.
Their "well-being/well-meaning" messages  are a little self-centered for me. It's hard enough to get my focus off of self when I'm having a "sore throat pity party."

It's NOT all about me----but I did try to remember how to do the "soul strut" the 1968 Capleville cheerleaders taught me  when I read the "Put a little strut in it" message.

The BEST quotes for me are straight from scripture.
But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory and the lifter up of my head. (Psalm 3:3) 
Calming quotes---best ingested with a cuppa chamomile.

"Lifter Uppers"

Been feeling low these past few days, especially in my lower back....but God sent a lifter upper from the "land of the living" (Psalm 27:13) and from His word.

But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. (Psalm 3:3)

A plethora of "lifter uppers"---an encouraging email from a "new to me" sister in California plus food with flowers from Jerrie's yard and Dove chocolate served with God's truth.

"the lifter up of mine head"

12/21/13 Psalm 3:3 is a psalm I have prayed for others lately----BUT GOD...... answered it for me as well.

A simple e-mail from Samaritan's Purse lifted my spirits. No request from me. No fanfare. Just a BIG God-wink. He knows of my "heart for Ukraine. He placed it there.

And then in order to lift my head, He sent my shoeboxes there!!!

Can you read it ???? Your shoebox has begun its journey and will be delivered to a child in Ukraine.

Glory streams from heaven afar.....

11/21/13 Glory streams from heaven afar.....today seems more than lyrics from a Christmas carol----Some days heaven seems closer than normal

as we behold the glory of the Lord in the lives of others.

But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. (Psalm 3:3)

Ask yourself, Do others see God's glory in my life? 

When the Lord raises my friend Claudia's head as she comes out of some dark gray days, those around her know that she will once again speak of the glory of God and His goodness.

Declare His glory among the nations, 

His marvelous works among all peoples. (1 Chronicles 16:24)

T.T.T.T. Revisited

3/25/11

T.T.T.T.---That acronym is part of the marginalia I had added to 3/22 entry of my Jesus Calling. Sarah Young’s entry for that day reminded me to ”be thankful!”….. ”practice trusting,” ”practice thanking.” My practicing skills seem to be a little rusty lately. I know that thankfulness to the One who is the “lifter up of my head” (Psalm 3:3) can lift me above my circumstances. Needed----a “paradigm shift” from planner to truster.

That day I chose to quit worrying about the “beating” of my heart and concentrate on the grateful shaping of my heart.

T.T.T.T. is my separated and simplified reminder.

Thankfully Trusting Thee Today

Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you. (Psalm 9:10)

Selah

10/26/09 Meditation started early this Monday morning in Psalm 3, a psalm of David. I was using my New American Standard translation but my heart was remembering the good ole King James version from my grandmother’s Bible. Psalms and KJV equal comfort for me. I was in need of a little old fashioned comfort this past weekend. Though my grandmother’s Bible is too fragile to travel, I’m staying in a preacher’s house where Bibles abound and the internet is at my finger tips. http://www.biblegateway.com/ (a great source for different translations)
Psalm 3, according to my Bible notes, is a morning prayer of trust in God. Perfect! The first 2 verses deal with the problem but in verse 3, the focus shifts from the problem to the problem solver.

But Thou, O LORD, art a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. (Psalm 3:3)

THOTS: As a shield, He is my protector. A biopsy report looms. Time is a critical factor today in scheduling both an infectious disease regimen and hopefully keeping my pending surgery on the docket. Of course, if diagnosis is cancer all recent plans go by the wayside. Regardless, He is my shield! My marginalia says, "to adorn" beside the word glory. Glory is perhaps the hardest word for me to wrap my finite mind around, so I am Trusting Him On This Subject today. Does He adorn me? Does my trust in Him adorn Him?? As the lifter up of my head, He is my encourager. No “happy pills” needed. (Yet!)

I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and He heard me out of His holy hill. (Selah) I laid down and slept: I awakened; for the Lord sustained me. (Psalm 3:4-5)

Those verses pretty much describe last night and my “new beginnings” this morning.

THOTS: Selah. Bible dictionary says there are different interpretations of this word---silence or pause is given.

I think I’ll pause to think on these verses. Won’t you join me!

Q & A

2/25/09 You asked---I answered.
Church? First Evangelical---when he was 4, Josh called it “first of the van” and would lament the times he had to sit in the cemetery (sanctuary) maybe b/c he had to be quiet in there.
Favorite song for dancing/bopping---“Ain’t too Proud to Beg” (Temptations) “I Can’t Help Myself” (Four Tops) I guarantee that if I hear those songs I start dancing even if it’s at “That Place on 98” near Apalachicola. Just ask embarrassed Larry.
Favorite Tea? Hard to narrow---I like a good assam---more of a black tea person than green tea. PG Tips (England) Red Rose (Canada) Bewley’s (Ireland) are in pantry now. Also love Jordan Pond tea (Maine) but I’m out, anyone going to the northeast??
Favorite book? Even harder to narrow but Keeper of the Bees, a real oldie (1925) by Gene Stratton-Porter stands out as a good one few folks have read. More recently read, Same Kind of Different as Me (Hall & Moore) and Shards of Shell, by “my” Michèle Phoenix.
Memorable Gift? Attending a mid-town home tour (1996) with Josh, I saw a French Limoges type porcelain box which had books on it and a Wordsworth sonnet quote---Larry & I had just been to WW’s home in Grasmere (Lake District in England) I loved it---from a distance---as it sat on an antique breakfront in one of the homes. I assume I mentioned it to Josh. A week later on my 50th birthday, I opened the beautifully wrapped Babcock’s gift from Larry and there it was! I was beside myself!! My mother was there and commented, “he probably paid $50 for that”---my thought was, I bet he wished that was all he paid. It’s still a gift I treasure. Diane surprising me on my 40th was a memorable “gift” as well.
Recent Memory? I have no recent memory---or not much anyway.
Big Surprise? “Grandmother” shower for me that I did not want---it was to be the month after Mother died, I didn’t want hoopla for me---kids needed the “stuff” not me---the surprise was that my dear friends brought the expectant parents & other grandparents from Texas along with my entire family from Kentucky to surprise me because I needed a “lift”---they showered me with love and I’ll never forget it. I’m crying just remembering the joy.
Travel Destination? For years, England was always the answer---these days home “feels so good” though I wouldn’t mind going to Germany so I could meet Michèle, whose faith and hope on her MacJourney keeps me hopeful.

Harder question but really the most important one (compilation of several) How do you keep on keeping on? It’s all about Him! I keep seeking His face. When I seek His face (Psalm 27:8) my heart is transformed and when my countenance reflects His peace it’s real, even if the tears are streaming.

As surgeries kept being put off, as new doctors bowed out and a team was being sought, I was faced with weeks of waiting. At the time, 4-6 more weeks seemed like a long time. But oh how I have needed that time both practically--- to deal with Larry’s folks and our dear neighbors and now my own dad’s diagnosis--- and emotionally and spiritually. I have needed time with Jesus.

Quiet times have been times of lingering---just being still in the Lord’s presence. Calming comes to mind. Meditation might begin in the early part of the day and then continue or be “refined” by the end of the day. Sometimes He brings affirmation of something learned at His feet through a friend’s comment, card, or e-mail.

One thing I know for sure---these times have been necessary for me to see my life with MAC, in the light of God’s goodness and truth. It has been a time of preparation for the spiritual battles that I encounter and even those yet to come. Some days l-o-n-g times with Him are NECESSARY (in all caps, for emphasis) to even hold my head up---but that’s when He becomes my shield and the lifter up of my head. (Psalm 3:3) It’s why I have never had to ask why?---that doesn’t matter, God’s glory does.