promises & praise: 0082-0095

This week started well.  But then struggle spiraled downward.  
Focus...gone. 
Motivation...none. 
Prayer...inarticulate, distracted.
Scripture reading...last priority.  Even when I knew it should be my first comfort.  
Guilt...off the charts.
My soul crawled to the Lord's Table on Sunday morning.

And because God is good, faithful to His promises, abounding in grace, mercy, and steadfast love, my soul left that Table singing a new song.  And so this week, I give thanks for...  

0082:  This post by Sarah Markley on forgiveness.  ("He’d rather us hug one another, but when we can’t just bring ourselves to throw our arms around the neck of someone who has wounded us in our soul, He is there. We can fall into Him and be reconciled to one another BECAUSE of Him".  Amen & amen.)

0083:  pictures of my new baby nephew.

0084:  my younger (now taller) sister.  and her infectious giggle.

0085:  cool breeze and 80 degrees.  finally. 

0086.  a porch swing on which to enjoy #85. 

0087:  after-dark driving with my dad.

0088:  "Is anyone among you in trouble?  He should pray."  (even if all I can pray is "Father...hold me.")

0089:  "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

0090:  "...the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials..."

0091:  "The word of the LORD is upright, and all His work is done in faithfulness."

0092:  "The earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD."

0093:  "He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm."

0094: "Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His steadfast love, that He may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine."  

0095:  "My sin -- not in part, but the whole -- is nailed to the cross, & I bear it no more.  Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!" 

rain, reading, & red hair: 0065-0081

A long, tiring week - I can barely remember past Saturday.  I really should keep this list during the week, instead of making it over the weekend.

Even so, God is good.  Despite my forgetfulness.


0065:  Cooler days after a heat wave.

0066:  Good conversation after Bible study.

0067:  Making breakfast with my soul sisters.

0068:  Solemn conversation to hysterical laughter in an instant.

0069:  Different outlets of creativity - two dancers, a musician, and a writer.

0070:  Chocolate chip pancakes.

0071:  Naps - lots of them, and deep and long.

0072:  Thunderstorms that come & go in a violent flash.

0073:  No electricity - a night of no radio, no TV, no internet.  Just talking and books.

0074:  Finishing Middlemarch.  A bucket list item completed.  [highly recommend, by the way - I loved it!]

0075:  "The world is hungry for positive art." - an encouraging word from a wise lady.

0076:  The electricity came on this morning.  Hello, showers and food other than peanut butter.

0077:  Coffee and reading by the Potomac River.

0078:  A new baby nephew - Andrew Joseph.

0079:  A safe, quick delivery with no complications.

0080:  Hearing my brother's proud, tired, new-father voice.

0081:  My nephew's curly red hair!

0052-0064: journey mercies and wedding bells

I never really understood the concept of “journey mercies” or the comfort in prayer for safe travels…until I took a road trip by myself.

0052: The semitruck miraculously saw us and did not run us into the wall on the George Washington Bridge. Accident averted.

0053: We never got hopelessly lost. Not even when Google directions were wrong and our maps were unhelpful. Not even when we missed a turn in Friday rush-hour New York City. Not even when we were driving around middle-of-nowhere New Hampshire.

0054: We never ran out of gas (…though I occasionally worried when we were stuck in traffic).

0055: Fresh fruit, soft-serve ice cream, and a friendly home at the end of a long driving day.

0056: The gracious hospitality of our friend’s family (especially their mother. Especially during a busy weekend.)

0057: Relaxing by the water.

0058: Driving past grave yards

0059: Blasting The Sound of Music cassette. Old School, I know.

0060: Patience and endurance for the long drive home. Even when we thought we would lose our minds from looking at so much traffic-filled highway.

0061-64: Her infectious joy. The way he treasures her. A wedding celebration that constantly proclaimed the Gospel and anticipated the wedding feast we will share in heaven with our faithful Groom. The spiritual reality that this image points me towards:

Lord of all, to Thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise.

one thousand gifts 1-14
one thousand gifts 14-30
one thousand gifts 31-51