150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 31

Good Morning!

We are reading Psalm 31 today--can't believe it has been a month already since we started reading through the Psalms!  I am really enjoying the slow pace.  I like having time to think about each chapter, and look to see what lesson God wants to teach me.

There were several verses today that caught my eye--I always love verses that speak of God's strength and how He will protect us!  But in the end, I choose something completely different.  Because sometimes life does not turn out the way we want it to, and we don't FEEL very "protected" after all!

"Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD God of truth." Psalm 31:5

First I decided to look up the word "redeem" in the dictionary:

Redeem:  wider in its application than ransom, and means to buy back, regain possession of, or exchange for money, goods, etc.; to redeem one's property.  To ransom is to redeem a person from captivity by paying a stipulated price, or to redeem from sin by sacrifice.

Lots of precious promises of safety in the Bible--yet we all know of those who for some reason have not been kept safe in this world of sin.  Ones who have died in car accidents, for instance, or whose body gave in to the cancer.  Why were they not kept safe?

"For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face:  now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."  1 Corinthians 13:12

I do not know.  But I DO know I can safely commit my spirit to Him.  He created me--and He has redeemed me.  I can trust Him.  He isn't going to pay the price of my sin and then leave me here in a sin filled earth.  Some day He WILL return for His treasure people!

"Behold, He is coming with clouds, and eve eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. . . " Revelation 1:7

No matter what--we can safely commit ourselves to Him.  There is no other safe place!

Have YOU committed yourself to Him?  Have you given Him your most treasured possessions?

~Susan

Home School Review--Tenzi from Timberdoodle

Hi Everyone!

I am excited to bring you another Home School Review from Timberdoodle today!  What I will be sharing with you today is a math game called Tenzi as well as the Tenzi Card Deck.  These two products are sold separately, but they are also included in Timberdoodle's complete 2nd Grade Curriculum Kit.  Having taught 2nd grade in the classroom previously, I was very interested to see what I thought--but considering I am currently home schooling a 6th grader, I didn't really expect my daughter to be interested in Tenzi.

I was wrong!  Ever since we opened this game up, my daughter has been activity looking for a willing victim--I mean, family member--to play with her. :)

The Tenzi Game itself comes with an instruction sheet that explains how to play nine different game variations.  But if you are interested at all in the game itself, I would definitely recommend purchasing the Tenzi Card Deck along with it.  There are just SO many more fun games you can play!  According to the box the cards come in, there are seventy-seven different ways to play using the Tenzi Card Deck.  No, I did not count to see if they are right--I decided to take their word for it!

I  really like that there is a card encouraging kids to make up their OWN Tenzi game idea!

Some of the cards are very simple--showing number patterns that the players have to roll and match in order to win the game.

I am not a "high speed" kind of person, and there are non-speed game ideas for people like me!   There are also plenty of "speed" game variations, for people like my daughter!

There are games that will help your child learn their skip counting by helping them learn their odd or even numbers.

And--while there are enough dice in the Tenzi Game for up to four players at a time, if you are playing with just two players and are like my daughter, you will talk the other person into playing with twenty dice each!  I can barely hold the twenty dice to start rolling!  But we had plenty of fun and giggles trying to get them all picked up!

Even Dad has been talked into quite a few Tenzi Games!  There is one card that instructs to "Pick a favorite song and sing it while you're rolling for a TENZI."  We haven't tried that variation yet, but I am going to have to try hard to ignore whatever song my daughter is singing so I can keep straight the song that I am singing!!!

Over the two weeks that Tenzi Game and the Tenzi Card Deck have been living in our house, they have been in almost constant use.  In fact, at the time I am writing this post, my daughter has thirty minutes before her bed time to play.  And guess what she is playing with right now?  Yes--she has Tenzi out and is playing game after game even by herself!

I love all the variations of games suggested, and it is a fun way to help children learn good number sense.  You could even make up games that were a little more challenging for older students--obviously my 6th grader loves it!

There is only one tiny thing that I don't really love--and I realize this is being picky, but in the instruction sheet for the Tenzi Card Deck  there is a mild slang word used.  In our family, we choose not to use the word "Heck," but this may not be a problem for other families.  I just wanted to mention it as I am wanting to tell both what I like and what I may not like about any product I review.  I have not so far seen any slang language in other parts of the game cards.  Overall, this is certainly not going to keep us from loving and using Tenzi.  And I have a little white-out correction tape that might find it's way onto part of the instruction sheet. . .

I hope you have enjoyed this Home School Review!  Tenzi and Tenzi Card Deck definitely get an A+ from our family!  I do think the lower elementary grades are the best place to use this in your home school, just like Timberdoodle is recommending by including it in their 2nd Grade Curriculum Kit.  But it would be very easy to make a few changes to create more challenging games for older kids.

Now, if I could just drag my 6th grader away from Tenzi, it's time for her to go to bed!

~Susan

Disclaimer:  I received this product free of charge in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions expressed are completely my own.

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 30

Good Morning!

Today we are on Psalm 30!  There were two verses in this chapter that spoke in a special way to me, although there are many other great verses as well!  These are the two that I choose:

. . . Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.  Psalm 30:5

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.  Psalm 30:11

Have you ever wept about something?  I mean, about a really truly important something?  If you have lived to adulthood, I would guess all of us have--and sadly even some children I know have had to face really hard things.  Not hard like losing your favorite toy or not getting to go to camp--but hard like losing your father to cancer when you are only four or six years old kind of hard.  Things that truly make you weep.  Things that break your heart, and you know nothing will ever be the same again.

I have experienced the chill of a nurse telling me on the phone to get to the hospital immediately, because my child is not expected to live much longer.  Praise God my child DID live and leave the hospital--but many others do not.  Weeping.  Deep I-don't-know-how-I-will-live sort of weeping.

But it doesn't end there.

Even if life ends--the story doesn't end there!

"You have turned for me my mourning into dancing. . . "

Dancing?  Yes--joy so full that it bubbles out of you and you cannot contain it all.  Which reminded me today of another promise that sort of goes along with these two:

Eye has not seen, nor ear heard; Nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."  1 Corinthians 2:9

Even when we are still in the midst of the weeping--we need to remember the promises that joy IS coming!  That we WILL dance again!  That God has many wonderful surprises ahead for us that we cannot even guess.  That our joy WILL be complete.

I looked up 1 Corinthians 2:9 in my Bible commentary to see if there were any notes on this verse, and there were.  It's a little long, but I thought I would share what I found with you here just in case someone else finds it encouraging like I did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You need to dwell upon the assurances of God's Word; to hold them before the mind's eye.  Point by point, day by day, repeat the lessons there given, over and over, until you learn the bearing and import of them.  We see a little today, and by meditation and prayer, more tomorrow.  And thus little by little we take in the gracious promises until we can almost comprehend their full significance.

Oh, how much we lose by not educating the imagination to dwell upon divine things, rather than upon the earthly!  We may give fullest scope to the imagination, and yet, "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."  Fresh wonders will be revealed to the mind the more closely we apply it to divine things.  We lose much by not talking more of Jesus and of heaven, the saints' inheritance.  The more we contemplate heavenly things the more will our hearts be brimful of thanks to our beneficent Creator.

SDA Bible Commentary
Vol. 7A p. 1085

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I do not want to "lose much" by not talking more of Jesus and of heaven!  Yes--there IS much weeping here--too much weeping.  But we still have the promise that joy comes in the morning!

How do YOU keep your mind on Jesus and on heaven?  I would love to hear how you are focusing on Him!  Let's share and encourage each other!

Have a joy-filled day!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms---Psalm 29

Good Morning!

Here we are--another Monday!  I would guess that if a poll was taken, most people would NOT pick Monday as their favorite day of the week!  Just a hunch, but I suspect top contenders for favorite day would probably be Friday, Sabbath, or Sunday.  And Mondays CAN be hard!  But you know what?  So can Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday--every day can be hard.  Afterall, cancer does not only strike on certain days of the week.  Neither do job layoffs, car accidents, or any other trouble that might come our way.

Which brings me to Psalm 29.  Are YOU reading the Psalms along with me?  Did you see the same verse in Psalm 29 that I did?  It was verse 11 that God sent to me this morning:

"The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace."  Psalm 29:11

I think I can really use this verse on a Monday morning--and on EVERY morning, for that matter!

I looked up the definition of "strength" in the dictionary.  Even though it is a familiar word to me, sometimes we can gain new understanding as we think about how those words apply in Bible promises.

Strength: 1) the state or quality of being physically or mentally strong; 2) the ability to withstand or exert great force, stress, or pressure; 3) something that is regarded as being beneficial orr a source of power:  their chief strength is technology

I need God's strength today!  And I suspect you do too!

Then I looked up the word "peace."

Peace:  1) a state of harmony between people or groups; freedom from strife; 2) law and order within a state, absence of violence or other disturbance; 3) absence of mental anxiety (often in the phrase peace of mind)

I might desire strength, but it does not come from me.  This verse clearly says that the LORD will give strength to His people.  Since the strength comes from Him, it is His strength and is powerful indeed!  I long for peace--and this too is a gift from God.  And it is not "just" peace, but perfect peace!

"You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You."  Isaiah 26:3

So there you have it--promises of strength and peace for this new week!  Have a wonderful STRONG and PEACEFUL Monday--and take God's strength and peace with you on into Tuesday and the rest of the week as well!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 28

Good Morning!

Today I was reading in Psalm 28.  Just like yesterday's Psalm, it has some beautiful promises in it!  I choose verse 7 to write for my Bible notebook:

"The LORD is m strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him."  Psalm 28:7

"The LORD is my strength and my shield," --this verse is a reminder to me of where I am to be placing my trust.  Of the only place that is trust-worthy.  A few chapters ago we had Psalm 20:7, which reads:

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God."

What are the things we are in danger of trusting these days?  Our spouse?  Our job?  Our bank account?  Our church membership?

All these things are not necessarily wrong or bad things.  They can even be a result of blessings from God!  But they are not what is going to help us, not who is going to stay by us every day of our journey.  Not who gives us each next breath.

And so I am reminded.  Do not trust in a gift.  Instead trust in the True Gift-Giver.  For He is the Only One who saves.

Are you trusting in Him today?

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 26 & 27

Good Afternoon Everyone!

I am VERY happy that so far today, my computer seems to be cooperating very nicely!  So it does indeed seem that the entire reason for it acting up on me yesterday was my daughter running it's battery completely down.  It's nice when it is as easy to fix as leaving it plugged in for several hours!  What seemed strange to me was when it was turning on and going to pages, but not working properly on any of those pages.  Guess computers are not something I really understand!  But at least it is back up and functioning normally today! :)

So--I was able to read Psalm 26 yesterday, but just not post.  For this reason, I will just combine Psalm 26 from yesterday and Psalm 27 from today.

In Psalm 26, I really liked verse 7:

"That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all Your wonderous works."  Psalm 26:7

My heart's desire--to tell of all He has done for me.  Not as a preacher in a pulpit, but just as me--wife, mother, home schooling parent, friend.  To walk beside others through life, and when the rocky places come to lend a hand and help them through--and share about Him.  If I don't tell about His goodness, who will?

"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."  Luke 19:40

If I don't tell about my God, He is powerful enough to have rocks do what I am not doing  I don't know about you, but I don't want to be replaced by a rock!

In today's reading we had Psalm 27.  I wrote down verse one in my Bible notebook:

"The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?  The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1

"The LORD is my light and my salvation. . . "  this is everything--all that I need.  If I have Him, I lack nothing.  NO matter what happens to me, I will not be alone, and I will have no lack because He is my Shepherd.

The entire chapter of Psalm 27 is just gold.  Several months ago this was a chapter that I memorized in it's entirety.  I highly recommend this as a memory project for everyone!  It is just filled with precious promises!  Memorization is not easy for my old brain--but this chapter is one that is definitely worth putting the effort into--no matter how slow you may have to go.

So if you haven't read Psalm 27 today, go do so!  You will be blessed abundantly!

Have a beautiful rest of your day with your Light and your Salvation!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Where am I?

Good Evening Everyone!

Just in case you have missed me this morning, I sat down to write up my blog post and sadly my computer would not cooperate!  Then I discovered my daughter had run my laptop battery completely dead, so nothing to do except give it a good charging time.  Happily, it is charged up now and I should be able to get back to posting tomorrow.

Praise the Lord that I do not need a battery to reach HIM!  In fact, reaching Him charges me up--it does not deplete me at all!

So have a good evening with Jesus--and I hope to see you back here tomorrow!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 25

Good Morning!

I am a bit later posting today than I normally am--had to make a quick trip to the dentist office first thing so he could adjust some work he did on me last week.  I have to say--I am SUPER blessed to have such a good and kind dentist.  And he is a strong Christian as well, which makes it even better because I know he prays for God to guide his hands as he works.  No matter what doctor I am seeing, I always pray for God to work through them--but it is even better when I know the doctor is praying for the same thing!

Which reminds me of our Psalm for today--Psalm 25.  As I read through it,, I choose verse 15 to record in my notebook:

"My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for He shall pluck my feet out of the net."  Psalm 25:15

"My eyes are ever toward the LORD."  How often do we let our eyes look at others?  When you are a child, you may complain that a sibling has a bigger dessert than you received, or you may envy a new toy a playmate has.  When a teen, you might feel bad when your friend has a date on Saturday night but you don't.  And as adults, you subtly size up the other kids at the school to decide if your child is smarter or more beautiful.  But in all these situations we have misplaced our eyes.  We are looking at ourselves when we should be looking toward HIM.  For He is the only One who can save us.

I also really liked a verse further down in today's chapter, verse 21:

"Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for You."  Psalm 25:21

This is what I want.  Today--and every day--I want to keep my eyes ever toward the LORD, and wait for Him.

How are you looking toward Him or waiting on Him today?

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 24

Good Morning!

This morning I read Psalm 24.  It has many beautiful things in it, yet we often don't read this Psalm because we always head to the more popular Psalm 23!

As I read through, searching for what God wanted to teach me through this Psalm, I was struck by the question/answer format that appeared in verses 3-5.  I guess it's the teacher in me coming out, but I like when there is a question posed--and then the answer to that question follows right away.

"Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?  Or may stand in His holy place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart. . . He shall receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation."
Psalm 24:3-5

I long to ascend into the hiss of the Lord--to be with Him in His holy place.  Psalm 24 gives the answer of WHO may do this--but it is only those who are clean and I am dirty.

"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."  Psalm 51:7

He is willing to clean me up--He does not abandon me!

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right Spirit within me."  Psalm 51:10

It is my God who recreates me, and makes me clean and pure so that I may dwell with Him.  "Who is this King of glory?  The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory."  Psalm 24:10

Go to Him.  Ask Him to clean you.  And then you may be with Him!

~Susan

Home School Review--Puzzleball Globe from Timberdoodle

Hi Everyone!

I am excited to share a Home School review product with you today!  Recently I was contacted by Timberdoodle and asked if I would like to review several items for you.  Having ordered a variety of items for use in our home school over the past eighteen years, I have always been pleased with items from this company, so of course I JUMPED at the opportunity!!!  So over the next couple of weeks, I am going to be sharing with you our thoughts on the products we tested.

The first product I want to tell you about is the one my daughter was most excited to test--Timberdoodle's Puzzleball Globe.  This is exactly what it sounds like--a ball shaped puzzle that is also a globe!

  

I wasn't sure what to expect, if the finished product would truly hold together and be able to actually be USED as a globe--but I wasn't disappointed at all!

This product is manufactured by the Ravensburger company, which I have come to respect as having high quality in other games and puzzles we have had in our home, and the Puzzleball Globe held true to the standard I have come to expect.

 When we opened up the box, this is what we found:
1)  a simple instruction sheet, which directs you to start  building your Puzzleball Globe from the Antarctica end of the world, then continue in a spiral shape going up

2)  a plastic bag holding the puzzle pieces

3)  two different stands for the finished globe--one if you would like the globe to be able to spin around, and a second bowl-shaped stand if you want to be able to just set it there and pick it up easily to use--this stand is also useful for holding your Puzzleball Globe while building

 

 The first thing we did was I suggested that Alison divide the pieces and find just the first twenty pieces.

And how did she know which were the first twenty pieces?  I'm glad you asked that!  I didn't realize the Puzzleball Globe was made this way before opening the box, but take a look at the picture below to see what helped us:

 NUMBERS!  The underside of each puzzle piece has a number on it, which ended up helping Alison quite a bit as she divided the pieces into piles.

Another thing I hadn't realized, is the puzzle pieces of the Puzzleball Globe are plastic!  And not a flimsy plastic either, but quite sturdy.  And I think the color on the "right" side of the puzzle pieces is beautiful, with bright colors and clear text where words are written.

 And so she began!  The ages that the Puzzleball Globe is recommended for is ages 7-12.  Alison is on the very top end of this age range, having just turned 12 this summer--so I was interested to see if this would hold her interest or not.

Alison is a true puzzle-lover, and does not want puzzles to be what she considers "too easy," so at first she was disappointed to see that there were numbers on the reverse side.  But she soon realized that she didn't "have" to use the numbers, and could simply look at the pictures and assemble the puzzle as she would any other puzzle--and she choose to do this.

However--with 180 pieces in the entire Puzzleball Globe she also was having trouble finding pieces if she was searching through the entire pile of pieces--so she decided on a half way approach, and would use the numbers to pick out the pile of the next twenty or so pieces, and then would turn them all picture side up and only use the pictures to decide which piece went next.

 Soon I started getting questions such as "The Indian Ocean is generally between Australia and Africa, right?"  and  "Where is Ecuador?--Oh!  I just found it!"

 Being the type of mother that I am, I made her stop progress for lunch.  She inhaled her food, and was soon back at it!

 I was impressed with how well the Puzzleball Globe held together--even when we had to leave it for a while.

 And even when Alison--because she WAS putting it together from the pictures and not the numbers--had it put together in pieces extending up and over, it still held together very well!

 I wouldn't say the pieces snap together, but I would say they hold very well together.

Alison was delighted with the Puzzleball Globe, and as she was almost finished she had an idea!

 She wondered what would it look like if you were INSIDE the Puzzleball Globe as the last puzzle piece was put in?  So she slipped out a couple of the pieces, and inserted her little camera which has the capability of hooking up to work with my iPad. . .

 Using my iPad to control the camera, she took a picture as she placed in the last puzzle piece.  Silly girl!  Of course, then she had to take a few pieces out again so she could retrieve her camera!

True confession time:  I AM the type of parent who will purchase something "educational" that is also fun, and give that as a birthday or Christmas present.  This Puzzleball Globe is EXACTLY that type of item--something that will NOT disappoint if a child receives it as a gift--and I then sit back and smile at all the "sneaky learning" that takes place!

And the frosting on the cake for Alison?  When she realized that the Puzzleball Globe actually had the Space Shuttle where it should be on the "Space Coast" of Florida!

Timberdoodle includes the Puzzleball Globe as part of their full 3rd Grade Curriculum Package, which--as a former 3rd grade classroom teacher I think is totally awesome! So if you are looking for a full year curriculum for that grade, make sure to check it out using the above link!

 Having taught in both classrooms as well as our home school, this product is sturdy enough to hold up to multiple children and many many times assembling it!  While the recommended ages of 7 through 12 is excellent, I also would personally not be afraid of using it with a younger child if a parent was willing to help them, and even a little bit of an older child if they are especially interested in maps and puzzles.

I hope you have enjoyed this Home School Review!  Timberdoodle's Puzzleball Globe definitely gets an A+ from our family!

~Susan

Disclaimer:  I received this product free of charge in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions expressed are completely my own.

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 23

Good Morning Everyone!

Today we are reading that most popular Psalm--the Shepherd's Psalm.  Sometimes if something is so familiar to us, we don't really find anything new in it so I wondered what I would find to write in my Bible notebook.

Well, I did not need to worry about that!  I got to the fourth word in the chapter and just sort of sat on that word for a while! So I ended up choosing verse 1 for the verse I would write down.

"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want."

Did you see what caught my attention?  MY shepherd.  Not my parent's shepherd.  Not my neighbor's or my friend's shepherd.Not the church's shepherd--mine.

I looked up the dictionary definition of the word "My," and it said "of or relating to me or myself especially as possessor, agent, object of an action, or familiar person.  My car, my injuries, my man."

Just to think about Jesus being MY shepherd.  For although He may indeed be the shepherd of my parents or neighbor or friend--but if I do not choose Him for myself then He is not mine.

There was a long study note in my Bible at the bottom of the page, so I thought I would share it with you.    So everything in the section below is from the study note.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I am the Good Shepherd:  the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."  "I am the Good Shepherd, and know My sheep and am known of Mine.  As the Father knoweth Me, even so know I the Father:  and I lay down My life for the sheep."

Again Jesus found access to the minds of His hearers by the pathway of their familiar associations.  He had likened the Spirit's influence to the cool, refreshing water.  He had represented Himself as the light, the source of life and gladness to nature and to man.  Now in a beautiful pastoral picture He represents His relation to those that believe on Him.  No picture was more familiar to His hearers than this, and Christ's words linked it forever with Himself.  Never could the disciples look on the shepherds tending their flocks without recalling the Savior's lesson.  They would see Christ in each faithful shepherd.  They would see themselves in each helpless and dependent flock. . .

"He shall feed His flock like a shepherd:  He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom" (Isaiah 40:9-11).  David had sung, The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want" (Psalm 23:1).  And the Holy Spirit through Ezekiel had declared:  I will set up one Shepherd over them, and He shall feed them" (Ezekiel 34:23). . .

Christ applied these prophecies to Himself, and He showed the contrast between His own character and that of the leaders in Israel.

From "The Desire of Ages," by E. G. White p. 476, 477

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I love how Jesus used what was around people in His teaching!  So as they went about their daily life they were constantly remembering what He had taught them!

And for today--and every day--I am wanting to remember the lesson I learned from this Psalm.  That Jesus is MY Shepherd, and He will take care of me!

Have you claimed Him for your Shepherd?

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 22

Good Morning!

Psalm 22 today!  A Psalm that may be often overlooked as we turn the pages on our way to it's more popular Psalm next door.  A Psalm that predicts in so many ways what would happen to Jesus when He came. . .

And yet--it still ends with hope.  It still turns to the "Happily Ever After" that will be the end.

I choose several verses to write today for my notebook.  Couldn't choose just one!

"The poor shall eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the LORD.  Let your heart live forever!  All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before YOU.  For the kingdom is the LORD'S.  And He rules over the nations."
Psalm 22:26-28

God's "happily ever after."  The poor will have enough.  We will praise the Lord.  Our hearts will be glad.  All will remember Him.  We will worship Him and He will rule over us.

And there will be peace.

Have a beautiful day with Jesus!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 21

Good Morning Everyone!

Today is Psalm 21--and I choose a verse that if taken a certain way looks like God will always give us anything at all that we want!  But I don't think that is exactly the way it is intended. . .

"You have given him his heart's desire, And have not withheld the request of his lips."
Psalm 21:2

So if this is a Bible promise, then God is going to give us whatever we want--right?  Humm. . . . I think there is more than meets the eye here.  I am pretty sure that I could safely say that every single person who has ever lived on this earth has had desires that did not get answered the way we wanted.  And it doesn't have to be just desires that would be "bad" for us.  What about desires for a loved one--or even yourself--to be healed?  What about when your child dies?  That wasn't a "selfish" prayer, right?

I think many times there are things that we desire that are good and true and pure.  Things that there is nothing wrong with us wanting them, praying for them--and in fact there may be everything "right" with our desires!  But we still live in a world of sin.  And bad things still happen.  Even if we prayed for a miracle.

I don't have all the answers--I don't even have MOST of the answers!  But I do know as I wrestled with this verse an reflected on my life, sometimes it is the timing that does not match up with God's.  At least in my own life, there was a "desire" I prayed about for around nine years before it was granted.  And sometimes we say that "God answered our prayer" when we get whatever it was that we wanted.  But what about if God has already answered?  What about if His answer is "No?"

"Our plans are not always God's plans.  He may see that it is best for us and for His cause to refuse our very best intentions, as He did in the case of David.  But of one thing we may be assured, He will bless and use in the advancement of His cause those who sincerely devote themselves and all they have to His glory.  If He sees it best not to grant their desires He will counterbalance the refusal by giving them tokens of His love and entrusting to them another service."
Ministry of Healing by E.G. White p. 473

Isn't that a precious promise?  And to think of God knowing that He needs to refuse us what we are asking for, so He gives us "tokens of His love."  He doesn't want us to feel unloved when He has to tell us "No."

And here is another promise that I have clung to many times:

"God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him."
Ministry of Healing by E.G. White p. 479

I see what I think would be good--but God sees more.  My understanding is limited--His understanding is limitless.

And so I continue to trust in Him.  I trust that He WILL give me my heart's desire--if not on this earth, then in the earth made new.

Keep trusting in your Savior.  Because He really does love you!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 20

Good--opps!  It's not morning as I write this, so I guess I cannot wish you a "Good Morning!" now can I?  So I guess I will wish you a "Good Afternoon" and a "Happy Sabbath" instead!

No time this morning to write up a blog post,  but I still did not want the day to pass without my sitting down and seeing what God had for me in today's Psalm of Psalm 20.  I loved the promises in this chapter, and ended up underlining quite a bit of it.  But what I choose for writing in my Bible notebook was not a verse that I would put in the "promise" category, but rather in the "this is God's Will for my life" category.  But really it doesn't matter where YOU would put it--as long as you put it in your heart!

So I choose Psalm 20 verse 7, which goes like this:
"Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God."

As I have mentioned before, my Study Bible that I am using each morning is a NKJV, so I went ahead and looked this verse up in both the NIV as well as in the ESV, and they both word the last part of the verse "we will trust in the name of the LORD."  So I went ahead and looked up the word "trust" in the dictionary, just to see if I could get any more insight into the meaning of this word.  The definition I found went as follows:

"reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc. of a person or thing; confidence to trust in another's honesty"

Which got me to thinking--God made our lives in the first place.  He created us.  He sustains us.  He teaches us.  He forgives us.  He redeems us.  He rescues us.  He restores us.  I guess I would have to testify that He is certainly trust-worthy!

Have a beautiful day with Jesus--and remember to trust Him!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 19

Good Morning!

Did you read Psalm 19 today?  It was really hard for me to choose just one verse!  But I finally settled on the first verse in the chapter--but don't miss all the other great promises and instruction!  Make sure you read the whole thing!

Verse 1 reads as follows:

"The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork."

Everywhere we look--even if we are not reading in our Bibles--nature is telling us about Him.  Our Creator.  The One who created everything good, good, and very good.

I had another study note today.  This one is from the book "Steps to Christ" by E. G. White on page 86.

"From the stars that in their trackless courses through space follow from age to age their appointed path, down to the minutest atom, the things of nature obey the Creator's will.  And God cares for everything and sustains everything that He has created.  He who upholds the unnumbered worlds throughout immensity, at the same time cares for the wants of the little brown sparrow that sings its humble song without fear. . . No tears are shed that God does not notice.  There is no smile that He does not mark."

Even the brown sparrow.  Around a year ago I was walking in our woods--actually, I was planting daffodil bulbs so that we would have them come up and bloom in the Spring.  So I was walking around with my spade, looking at the forest floor as I scouted out likely spots to tuck in some bulbs here and there.  Places where there wouldn't be TOO many tree roots to dig through, and also not be in the paths where our family walks and therefore get trampled.  And I saw it.  Right there at the base of a tree, laying on a mossy patch.  A little bird--lying still in Death's grip.  My heart sunk as I gazed at it.  I had no idea what had done it in, as I didn't see any visible damage.  But it was there nonetheless.  I paused, as I realized that God already knew His bird had died.  Until I found it, no one but God knew--but He had seen it, and had mourned it's death.  When you think about it, it is quite an honor if the God of the whole Universe is sad about a death.  Cries over the sin that caused it.

There was nothing that I could do, but bow my head and thank God for creating such beautiful creatures for us to enjoy.  Thank Him for His plan to make the world over new, where the little animals will not suffer the effects of sin any longer.  And I picked up my spade and buried it.

Gone.  But it is not forgotten.

God knows exactly where His little bird is.

And He knows exactly where you and I are.

Have a beautiful day with your loving Savior.  He watches over you constantly.

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 18

Good Morning!

Today we are reading Psalm 18--and it is FILLED with things that reveal what our God is like.

For my Bible notebook, I chose to write down verse 6:

"In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried out to my God;  He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry me before Him, even to His ears."

I think the reason I loved this verse is because we DO have distress in this world!  But this verse tells us what to do--cry out to MY God.  Did you catch that "my" there?  It kinda indicates possession, doesn't it?  And I think God is HAPPY to be claimed as MY God!  And He--in return--claims US as HIS.  And when we cry out to Him, He hears our voices--just as if we were talking right into His ear!

There are SO many beautiful promises in this chapter!  Look at verse 16:  "He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters."

And what about verse 18?  ". . . But the LORD was my support."  I want God to be MY support, don't you???

And I can't ignore verse 19 because it is mind boggling:  ". . . He delivered me because He delighted in me."  Have you ever realized that God delights in you?  Yes, you!  No matter how messy and mixed up your life may be right now, no matter if you are going through a divorce or just yelled (again!) at your kids--God delights in you!

So as you go throughout today, remember that in your distress you can call out to Him.  And He WILL answer, because he delights in you.

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 17

Good Morning!

I am off to a late start this morning--woke up late, and did not want to skip either my quiet time or my exercise time, so my day's activities are getting a bit crowded here on the front end!  But I wanted to take a few minutes to post anyway.

Psalm 17 has some wonderful guidance for us!  I choose to write out verse 4:

"Concerning the works of men, By the word of Your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer."

This is a pretty direct "secret."  If we want to know how to stay away from the "paths of the destroyer," we need to follow the "word of Your lips."  And how can we know what that word is if we are not reading it???  I know that is a pretty simple thing to say but so often we who claim to be Christians are so busy doing other "good" things every day that we are failing to read God's instructional Love Letter to us.  And I am just as guilty on this as anyone else!  But with God's help, I am changing this!

Every once in a while, my study Bible has a much longer study note that they put at the bottom of the page.  Today I came to one of those longer study notes, and it was so good that I copied the whole thing into my Bible notebook.  So I wanted to also share that with you here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The prince of this world cometh," said Jesus, "and hath nothing in Me" (John 14:30).  There was in Him nothing that responded to Satan's sophistry.  He did not concent to sin.  Not even by a thought did He yield to temptation.  So it may be with us.  Christ's humanity was united with divinity; He was fitted for the conflict by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  And He came to make us partakers of the divine nature.  So long as we are united to Him by faith, sin has no more dominion over us.  God reaches for the hand of faith in us to direct it to lay fast hold upon the divinity of Christ, that we may attain to perfection of character.

And how this is accomplished Christ has shown us.  By what means did He overcome in the conflict with Satan?  By the word of God.  Only by the word could He resist temptation.  "It is written," He said.  And unto us are given "exceeding great and precious promises:  that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 Peter 1:4).  Every promise in God's word is ours.  "By every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" are we to live.  When assailed by temptation, look not to circumstances or to the weakness of self, but to the power of the word.  All its strength is yours.  "Thy word," says the psalmist, "have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee."  "By the word of Thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer." (Psalms 119:11; 17:4)

Desire of Ages, by E. G. White, p. 123

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isn't that beautiful and encouraging?  By the word of God.  That is the answer.

Have a beautiful day!  And make sure to read God's Word today!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 16

Good Morning!

Psalm 16 is the reading for today--and what a beautiful Psalm it is!  If you are struggling with ANYTHING in your life--and really, who isn't!--then this is a great Psalm of promise for you!

I choose verse 8 for the verse to write down.  In my NKJV Study Bible it reads like this:

"I have set the LORD always before me, Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved."

I also looked this chapter up in the NIV version, and verse 8 in the NIV reads just a little different:

"I keep my eyes always on the LORD.  With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken."

I like to read different Bible versions, because it really helps me to gain better understanding of the meaning of that verse.  I was thinking today after reading this chapter about how a boat in a storm may put down an anchor.  The anchor does not make the storm go away, and it does not make the winds stop blowing the ship around.  But it WILL keep the ship secure and prevent it from being dashed against nearby rocks.

My Bible had another study note in this chapter that I wanted to share with you.  Not every chapter in this Bible has a study note, but many of them do and I always look forward to reading what is in the box!  This study note is from the book "Education," by E. G. White and is from p. 69:

"Our growth in grace, our joy, our usefulness--all depend upon our union with Christ.  It is by communion with Him, daily, hourly--by abiding in Him--that we are to grow in grace  He is not only the Author, but the Finisher of our faith.  It is Christ first and last and always.  He is to be with us, not only at the beginning and the end of our course, but at every step of the way."

Isn't that reassuring?  God did not just create us and then let us go on our own to sink or swim!  He is with us every step--on the day that you hear the word "Cancer," on the day that your loved one dies, and even on the days where your washing machine overflows and you are so weary you could cry!  When the car breaks down and your two year old is having a melt down during church--He is right there with you.

Today, I am going to try and remember that whatever I face, He is with me.

Walk with your Savior today!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 15

Good Morning!

Today I had an appointment for our car to be looked at for a problem that keeps coming up, so no time to write a blog post when I first got up like I usually do.  However--I am REALLY trying to keep God's Word first in my day, so I still took the time to read in my Bible and write down some of the notes I wanted to record.  Then it was time to rush out the door and drive 30 minutes to the dealership--which is where I am sitting at this minute!   Who says you can't sit in a public waiting room and be thinking and writing about what God is teaching in his Love Letter to us?  Praise God for the religious freedoms we do enjoy here in this country!

So--earlier this morning back at home, I read Psalm 15.  And this ended up being the chapter where I didn't choose just one verse--I didn't choose two verses--I simply had to choose THREE verses to write down for my Bible notebook!  The chapter starts out with a question, and then the next two verses answer that question.  So those were the verses I choose--Psalms 15:1-3.

"LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle?  Who may dwell in Your holy hill?  He who walks uprightly.  And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend."

Don't YOU want to abide in God's tabernacle?  I know "I" certainly do!  So I read with eagerness the "answer" that was given in verses 2 and 3.  And my heart knows that it is sometimes guilty of these very things.  Sigh.  When will I ever learn?  I need God to be a guard over my mouth--fortunately He has agreed to do so!

My Bible had a study note on these verses which I thought was really good so wanted to share it with you.  It is taken from the book "Education," by E. G. White and is from pages 235 and 236:

"We think with horror of the cannibal who feasts on the still warm and trembling flesh of his victim; but are the results of even this practice more terrible than are the agony and ruin caused by misrepresenting motive, blackening reputation, dissecting character?  Let children, and the youth as well, learn what God says about these things.  'Death and life are in the power of the tongue' Proverbs 18:21.  In Scripture, backbiters are classed with 'haters of God,' with 'inventors of evil things,' with those who are 'without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful,'  'full of envy, murder, debane, deceit, malignity.'  It is 'the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death' (Romans 1:30, 31, 29, 32).  He whom God accounts a citizen of Zion is he that 'speaketh the truth in his heart,' 'that backbiteth not with his tongue,' 'nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor' (Psalm 15:2,3)."

That study note is pretty convicting, isn't it?  If we are talking behind someone's back, we are no better than the cannibal who is feasting on the flesh.  Yuck!  Which, when I think about it, is probably just about how God views sin.  Yucky--like a cancer that decays our hearts.

But we have a surgeon who never fails.  We only have to ask Him.

Have a beautiful day with your Savior--and watch your tongue!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 14

Good Morning!

Today I am up to reading Psalm 14--I cannot believe it has been two weeks already!  Time really does fly by--I suppose because I am not a child any more!  Honestly, I think all children think that the days just drag by until they are old enough to do certain things they are anxiously waiting for!  But that is not the case for me any longer--I think the days are flying by!

Today, I choose for my verse Psalm 14:2, which reads like this:

"The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God."

The part that really caught my attention was the second part--to see if there are any who understand, who seek God.  "Who seek God?"  What does it mean to seek God?

So I typed into my Bible Gateway app search bar the words "seek God."  I was surprised at how many verses came up!  The Bible has quite a bit to say about seeking God!  I choose three verses that I thought best helped me to understand what "seeking God" meant in the context that I am reading it here in verse 2. . .

Hebrews 11:6--And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

This verse teaches me that I need to have faith that God exists--and that He is going to reward me if I am earnestly seeking Him.  But I still wanted to know better what it MEANS to seek God.  Which led me to another verse. . .

Proverbs 14:32--When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down, but even in death the righteous seek refuge in God.

This verse I thought was very interesting, because it does not pretend that nothing bad ever happens to God's people.  Quite the contrary--it says that "even in death," which certainly implies that the righteous WILL die--whether they are dying here from old age (and living in a world of sin where we all die) or dying from being killed--it says that even in death the righteous seek refuge in God.  My dear friend lost her seventeen year old son a year and a half ago to cancer.  This verse reminds me of her son--because even in death, he was seeking refuge in God.

But I wanted to know more.  I have learned that I need to have faith that God exists, and that I need to seek Him even in death--but I still wanted to know more about what seeking God looks like.  And I found my answer, in a surprising place--right back in the book of Psalms.  Just read this verse:

Psalm 10:4--In his pride the wicked man does not seek him, in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

That was it--that verse explained the question in my mind.  If the wicked person has no room in their thoughts for God, then what I want to do is the opposite of this--I want there to be LOTS of room in my thoughts for God!  I want to think about Him all the time!  Which reminds me of Daniel.  When the evil administrators in the kingdom wanted to bring Daniel down, they knew he was a man who they would find no dishonesty in.  They even said "We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God."  Daniel 6:5

So they convinced the king to sign a law stating that no one could pray to any other god except for him for thirty days.  The king signed it--not even thinking of his friend Daniel.  But read what Daniel did next!

"Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went hoe to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem.  Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before."  Daniel 6:10

JUST AS HE HAD DONE BEFORE.  Did you catch that? Daniel didn't change just because a new law told him that he couldn't talk with God any more.  Daniel had room in his thoughts for God--every day, and we know from verse 10 that at least three times a day he was thinking about and talking with God.

So that is what I want to have in my life.  Room in my thoughts for God.

I would love to hear how YOU are making room in your thoughts for God!

Have a beautiful day today--and make sure to save room for Him.

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 13

Good Morning!

We are on Psalm 13 today.  A very short chapter at only six verses!  But once again, as I looked for a verse to record for my Bible notebook, I had to pick not one but two.  They just kinda went together--and were holding hands, and said they didn't want to be separated! ;)

So I choose verses 5 and 6, which read like this:

"But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.  I will sing to the LORD; Because He has dealt bountifully with me."

These two verses are lovely!  Full of hope.  Full of trust.  But I couldn't help but notice that the chapter does not start out that way.  It starts out "How long, O LORD?  Will You forget me forever?"  Evidently David did not always FEEL like God was listening to him--like God was taking care of him.  And yet--even though sometimes he expresses his frustration, he continually comes back to a decision to trust that God is going to take care of him.  David looks back--and says that God has dealt "bountifully" with him.

I decided to look up the definition of "bountifully" this morning.  Do you know what some synonyms for "bountifully" are?  I found a whole long list:

generous, magnanimous, munificent, openhanded, unselfish, unstinting, lavish, benevolent, beneficent, charitable, philanthropic, abundant, plentiful, ample, copious, superabundant, inexhaustible

Just try and wrap your brain around THAT list of words!  These are all describing how God deals with us.  We can trust in His mercy--our heart will be safe.  We can sing--because the joy is bubbling out of us.  God does not deal in a stingy way with us, but in a bountiful way!  Even when we cannot see it.

Have a beautiful day with your bountiful Savior.  And trust your heart with Him!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 12

Good Morning!

Did you read Psalm 12 this morning?  I did!  There were several verses that caught my attention, but what spoke to me the loudest was actually a study note that was included in this chapter.  The note went along with verse 6, which reads like this:

"The words of the LORD are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times."

O.K.--so I have absolutely no problem with this verse.  It is telling us that God's words are pure.  Yup.  Got that.  I agree, so there isn't really a lesson in this for me, right?

Wrong! Just because I agree with something doesn't mean that I am DOING all that I need to be doing. . . I found this study note going along with verse 6.  The note is taken from the book "Education" by E.G. White, p. 244:

"We should reverence God's word.  For the printed volume we should show respect, never putting it to common uses, or handling it carelessly.  And never should Scripture be quoted in a jest, or paraphrased to point a witty saying."

So what's the problem?  I have always been taught to be careful with my Bible.  I remember my church school teacher telling us to never pile other books on top of our Bibles--and while I may not have done this I have always been careful with my Bibles, usually purchasing a nice Bible case to help protect them from anything as they are brought to church and other places.  It's the last part of that study note that got my attention.  The part that says not to quote Scripture in a jest, or paraphrase to point a witty saying.  I mean, I don't do this on purpose, but you see I have this very dry sense of humor that I inherited from my dad, and well, sometimes some witty comment just springs up out of no where and spills out of my lips.  But I do not want to do ANYTHING that dishonors God's Word.  But these comments aren't really something thought about ahead of time or planned (I know that is art of the problem!).  So there is only one thing left to do, and that is to pray THIS prayer:

"Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;  Keep watch over the door of my lips." Psalm 141:3

I am thankful that I can ask HIM for help.  Because I do not want to do or say anything that hurts my Savior.

Have you been convicted of anything lately?

I hope you have a beautiful day with your Savior!

~Susan

150 Days in the Psalms--Psalm 11

Good Morning Everyone!

We are reading in Psalm 11 today.  :)  The verse that spoke to my heart the most was verse 4, which reads like this:

"The LORD is in His holy temple, The LORD'S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men."

I thought the "eyelids test the sons of men" was a bit strange sounding to me, so I looked the same verse up in the New Living Translation.  That version is worded like this:

"But the LORD is in his holy Temple; the LORD still rules from heaven.  He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth."

This version made more sense to me, the way it was worded.  My study Bible had a comment for this verse, which I thought was really good so I wanted to share it with you here.  This comment is taken from the book "Education," by E.G. White and is on p. 132

"The hand that sustains the worlds in space, the hand that holds in their orderly arrangement and tireless activity all things throughout the universe of God, is the hand that was nailed to the cross for us.  
   The greatness of God is to us incomprehensible.  'The Lord's throne is in heaven;' yet by His Spirit He is everywhere present.  He has an intimate knowledge of, and a personal interest in, all the works of His hand."

Isn't that beautiful?  Too think that God has a intimate knowledge of ME, a personal interest in ME.  In all the people in this world, I am not lost in a huge mass of nameless, faceless humans.  No--God knows ME, and He knows YOU.  And He cares about every detail in our lives.

Are you reading the Psalms with me?  What spoke to you this morning?

Have a beautiful day with the One who knows you!

~Susan