THE LORD--MY REST

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures---(even with a sleeping bag and blanket)

That's REST!!!

The shepherd's presence seems to make all the difference in the behavior of His tired sheep! Turning back fear before it can get a foothold. Sitting in His "Love-Light."

Think revitalizing!

Thou has formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee. -Augustine

HOPE /LOVE/FAITH

TRIAD OF VIRTUES IN ST. AUGUSTINE'S WORDS

Love gives us hope that one day we will see face to face the One who is love.

FAITH, HOPE, & LOVE ARE INTERTWINED!

It's His love we rely on. It's the core of our faith! (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Paul instructed his followers to be defined by love (John 13:34-35). 

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

God is love. In Him we put our faith and receive hope.

SATURDAY SAMPLER!

Smoky taste. Sweet taste. Literary taste. Artsy taste. Spiritual taste. 

SMOKY 

SWEET

LITERARY 

ARTSY

Spiritual

Oh taste and see that the Lord is good! (Psalm 34:8)

Reflections of ......

Reflections of Psalm 148 from St. Augustine.

"If you love what He has made, love still more Him who has made it all. If the creation is beautiful, God who is reflected in it is infinitely more beautiful." (Drinking From the Hidden Fountain, 270)

Read Psalm 148 yourself. Then take a "praise" walk outside and reflect on what you have read.

Sabbath Snapshot : paterni-TEA

Until memories of Daddy flooded me as I was driving home this Father's Day, I had planned to do a non-fiction book review. But, somehow it didn't pan out. I didn't have the wherewith all to share a deep book based on the spiritual and political turmoil of Poland during WWII. My feelings needed refreshing instead.

I'm not the only one who has buried his/her dad. Some have never know their father or have never married and lived alongside the father of their children. K-Love suggested that everyone has some male in their life whom they could thank for mentoring them (at church, in scouts or a friend's dad) and coming alongside with encouragement and words of wisdom.

So, when I got home I picked up a "Father Tim" book and did a thumb-thru re-read. In the fictional "Mitford series" this small town rector became a mentor for many and a surrogate father as well. This simple book is one to peruse at leisure---no plot, just meaningful quotes that he might have collected in his years of ministry.

Patches of Godlight by Jan Karon is subtitled, Father Tim's Favorite Quotes. Although the book is without page numbers, the listings are somewhat random and there is no topical index, it worked for my mood today. Even the handwriting and old-timey typewritten varieties of entries were appealing to me. Sometimes that's all one needs when her heart is feeling heavy---some pithy reminders of goodness. Plus, there's a teacup on the cover----always a draw for this reader/reviewer.

A few gems from Father Tim's notes:

•  Faith goes up the stairs that love has built and looks out the window which hope has opened. (Charles Haddon Spurgeon)
• If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself. (St. Augustine)
• It is only the words, "Our Father," which make the prayer bearable. If God is indeed something like a father, then, as something like children, maybe we can risk approaching Him....(Frederick Buechner)
• You can't get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. (C.S. Lewis)
• You can not do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
• He is your friend who pushes you nearer to God. (Abraham Kuyper, 1837-1920)
• Where is human nature so weak as in a bookstore? (Henry Ward Beecher, 1813-1887) Where indeed?!!!

PRAISE PRACTICE

6/6/11 A plethora of meds have graced my bathroom counter these last few months. All are intended to improve my physical health/well being. Finally, I’m about to get used to this routine---with hubby reminders. But….it takes practice. Daily practice.

I assume if I need these daily doses for my physical health, then a daily dose of "praise" would surely improve my spiritual health. (and yours too) I’m prescribing it for all of us as we begin this week of meditation. Psalm 5, a psalm of protection tell gives us a direction for beginning.

1.Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. 2. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. 3.My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

RX for improved spiritual health for week of June 6-12

• MON. I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High. (Psalm 9:1-2) Does my heart even know how to praise Thee adequately? May I improve with practice.
  
• TUES. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD. (Psalm 27:6) Are my enemies real or perceived?
• WED. I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. (Psalm 34:1-3) Is my praise continual?
  
• THUR. I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. (Psalm 40:1-3) Am I waiting on the Lord? Do others see Him in me?
• FRI. Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. (Psalm 112:1) Am I delighting in His law or trying to Make it fit my desires?
• SAT. I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. (Psalm 145:1-4) Do I bless His name everyday?
• SUN. Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness………Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD. (Psalm 150:1-2, 6) For from Him and in Him I have my being.

What’s the rationale for praising the Lord? God's Word says, "Rejoice in the Lord!" (Psalm 97:12) It’s good for the soul.

St. Augustine said it well, from the Lord’s perspective. “You stir man to take pleasure in praising you, because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” (Book I of St. Augustine’s Confessions)