JOY INCREASING!

Happy First Day of Spring! 

Memphis has flowers and our snow has dissipated! (Pradip pic)

Just the thought of springtime brings me JOY!

In every season.....winter, spring, summer, fall, ordained by God;

Focus on Him. 

Lean in to others in the "church."

Result = JOY 

Think increasing JOY!

Come let us sing for "JOY to the Lord"! (Psalm 95:1a) for "all my springs of joy are in you." (Psalm 87:7)

Everlasting JOY!

RRRRRRRRRRRRR........................

RRRRRRRRRRRR--probably rings in your ears as a sound of frustration! Today it very well could be, but it's not. The Rs are all words "ringing" in head as "letter next" in my meditation. As a retired librarian, I can even meditate in alphabetical order if the need arises. Today it did and R is where I landed.

It started as I was praying Psalm 87:7 for the Davises in Uganda.

"Those who sing as well as those who dance say, "All my springs are in you." 

(World English Bible)

Other versions used fountains, joy, roots, thoughts for springs.

Yet each gave me the idea of refreshing so I began to pray using different parts of speech for refreshing...

Refresh. Refreshed. Refreshes. Refreshing. Refreshment. How easily the words flowed as different aspects of their ministry came to mind.

Today I continued with R words for my Wednesday Friends....Prayers to revive their hearts, reminders to refocus, reignite their passion for Him, regenerate their faith to new and higher grounds, renew their commitment to love their neighbor, "Return to first  love," (Revelation 2:4) and remember & obey the "Lord your God."(Psalm 119:55)

RRRRRRRRRRRRR----13 Rs & 13 r words used in prayers.....but whose counting! I was,,,,but not until after I typed this entry. Then, I saw that the exact number of r words used in prayer were same number of Rs in the title, which I had typed earlier. I recognized that as  reassurance of God's hand in this blog!

sa-TEAs-faction

I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy. (Psalm 63:4-5, NLT)

Sometimes the obvious alludes us. I've walked by this "display" on entry hall bookcase for weeks  and enjoyed Timothy Botts' art in his The Book of Psalms. But... only recently did I see the "tea" word in the text. Sa-TEAs-fy. Since then, I've been meditating on the downfalls of seeking sa-TEAs-faction apart from God. Apart from Him, there is no complete and lasting satisfaction.

"In Christ Alone." "No scheme of man" brings satisfaction.

"All my springs of joy are in you." (Psalm 87:7)

 His cuppa leads beyond mere sa-TEAs-faction to consummate joy!! Why hadn't I seen it earlier!

Dancer's Delight

1/19/12 Psalm 87:7 says, "They that sing as well as they that dance shall say , All my fountains are in thee." (ASV)

---Singers and dancers alike say, “All my springs are in you.” Psa. 87:7 (ESV)

May I be one who, though she can't sing a lick but loves to dance, recognizes the LORD as the source of living water. May I be one who declares, "springs of spiritual peace and refreshment are available to all who believe." May my delight in my "Lord of the Dance" overflow to others.