Does God Watch Over Us?

Many moons ago, my husband and I were the caretakers of a 400-acre ranch in the Hill Country of Texas. Here's a story from those days and the lesson we learned from it.

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2014 was not a good year for our sheep. We started losing lambs in February, and it didn't stop until April. Coyotes, bobcats, and even some wild hogs killed every single lamb that was born during the winter and spring. It was a sad, depressing time for us. Each day we would hop into the 4-wheeler to check on the sheep, wondering who would be missing from the group. I'd taken to naming the babies as they were born, but after Gimpy, Valentine, and Junior all went missing, I stopped giving them names. It was just too hard on my heart. When the easy-pickings-lambs were gone, the predators started on the ewes. Our herd dwindled to what we referred to as "the lucky thirteen." 

Thirteen terrified, unhappy survivors.

Blackbelly Barbado sheep

Hubby, aka Mighty Hunter, and I knew we had to do something or else the entire flock would be wiped out, but what? How do you protect sheep on 400 open acres of land, bordered by property dense with trees, where all manner of predators live? We tried traps, snares, hired guns, and cameras, but still the sheep disappeared one by one. 

One day I was reading about sheep and shepherds online and came across an article about llamas. Specifically, guard llamas. Llamas have a natural alertness to their surroundings. They dislike dogs and are not afraid to attack a coyote or any other predator that threatens. The more I read, the more I liked the idea of a guard llama, so I passed the information on to the property owners. 

It was soon decided we needed a llama! 

A week later, Jaxx arrived at the ranch. We moved him and the sheep to an enclosed pasture so they could bond. And you know what? We haven't lost one sheep since that day! Our herd is now up to 35 sheep, with all kinds of sweet babies. They are happy, content, and not the least bit afraid. Instead of staying huddled together in a tight group, they spread out to graze and bask in the sunshine. The lambs love "Uncle Jaxx" and follow him around when their mama's are busy eating. 

It's amazing what a difference one year and one llama made!

I can't help but think about how our Good Shepherd is always watching over us the way Jaxx watches over the sheep. Like our sheep, we are often in danger even when we don't realize it. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us that our adversary, Satan, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. In Job 1:7, Satan describes how he stays busy: "...going to and fro on the earth, and walking up and down on it." You and I know he is doing his best to wreak havoc in our lives while he's here!

Like our sheep, we need a protector. We need someone who will stay alert to dangers we can't see or anticipate. We need someone who isn't the least bit afraid of the enemy and is willing to do battle for us. I don't know about you, but I need someone who will keep his eye on me 24/7/365 so I don't find myself in trouble!

Psalm 23 is a perfect picture of what we need.

The Lord is my shepherd;

I have all that I need.

He lets me rest in green meadows;

he leads me beside peaceful streams.

He renews my strength.

He guides me along right paths,

bringing honor to his name.

Even when I walk

through the darkest valley,

I will not be afraid,

for you are close beside me.

Your rod and your staff

protect and comfort me.

You prepare a feast for me

in the presence of my enemies.

You honor me by anointing my head with oil.

My cup overflows with blessings.

Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me

all the days of my life,

and I will live in the house of the Lord

forever.

On those days when you wonder if God is watching over you...on those days when you're frightened and feel alone...on those days when you sense the enemy is near...know without a doubt God is right there. He will never leave you nor forsake you. All you have to do is trust Him.

Rest in that peace.

Blessings,

  ~Michelle

  

The gang.

Valleys and Mountaintops

I've been reading in Psalm 23 lately. It's such a short little psalm, and yet it packs so many powerful truths.

Hubby and I are in Colorado this week. We traveled here with our sweet boss to visit her brother. His estate is absolutely gorgeous, and admittedly we are being spoiled rotten. We have our own private suite overlooking the Rocky Mountains, with snow-covered pine trees right out my window. We've enjoyed seeing the deer, snow falling, and gorgeous sunsets.

As I read through Psalm 23 yesterday morning, I realized I would not be here in this beautiful place with these people I've come to love had I not walked through "a valley of the shadow of death" back in 2017. In August of that year, we lost our job working as caretakers of a large ranch in Texas. We trusted God had plans for us, but those eight weeks we waited to discover his plans were some of the longest of our lives.

Now as I look back on those days, I'm so incredibly thankful for them! I'm so thankful God heard my cry and removed us from a situation that wasn't good for us anymore. I was emotionally exhausted and hubby was physically exhausted, so it was definitely time to move on.

Every day we thank God for bringing us to Tennessee to work for the most wonderful, funny, and generous boss. We are blessed beyond measure. As King David said in Psalm 23, the cup the LORD prepared for us truly is overflowing, and we are basking in his goodness and mercy. Valleys are part of life, but so are mountaintops. And my mountaintop is currently snow-covered and glorious.

If you are walking through a dark valley, hang in there! God's ways are not our ways, but his plans are always, always good!! Your mountaintop is just ahead!

Blessings,

~Michelle


Psalm 23 King James Version (KJV)

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Finding HOPE in the New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The last few years I've chosen a word to sort of embody the new year. I try not to simply pick a word I like, but rather a word that is on my heart and in my spirit. A word I need to learn more about, to really dig into.

2017 was a year of TRUST. On January 1st I wrote that word on a rock I found on the property in Texas where we were living and working. I also included the scripture reference I felt God had given me to remind me to trust Him: "Taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who trusteth in Him." (Psalm 34:8) I had several things in mind that I needed to trust him for and set about praying for them. As you may have guessed, they were NOT the things I truly needed to trust God with. In August of that year we lost our jobs. We spent the next eight weeks learning to trust God's plan and His provision. Our faithful Father knew what our future held when I chose the word Trust, and He taught us that no matter what challenges we face in life, we are His children. In October we left Texas and moved to Tennessee to begin our new jobs working as Caretakers of a beautiful farm owned by a beautiful widow who truly loves and appreciates us. I look back on 2017 with joy and gladness of heart because I learned the deeper meaning of trust.

2018 was a year of REST. After all the excitement and stress of 2017, I needed rest. Rest of body. Rest of mind. And rest of soul. I claimed Hebrews 4 in the Message Bible for the new year. The word "rest" appears in this passage ten times! King David also spoke of rest in Psalm 62:1 & 5: "My soul finds rest in God alone; my hope comes from him." I learned that rest doesn't mean being lazy and laying around. It means pausing from life's worries and busyness to remember that God is God and we are not. We can safely rest in Him and His love.

Because I rested so well in the LORD through 2018, I find myself raring to go in 2019! As I pondered what word to chose, I kept coming back to Expectation. While we were in Texas over the Christmas holiday, we took our boys to the coast for a family vacation. I found a sweet little rock on the beach that would be perfect for my word of the year, and suddenly I knew what it was: HOPE. The definition of hope is "a feeling of expectation and a desire for a certain thing to happen; to expect with confidence; trust. I don't know exactly what I'm expecting, but I know it will be good. God is our Father and He loves pouring out blessings on his children. Yes, he also disciplines when we go astray and disobey, but His heart is that of a loving Daddy, our Abba. He already knows what 2019 holds, so I'm heading into it with expectation--with hope!--willing to go wherever He leads.

My heart's prayer for 2019 for myself and for you is found in one of my favorite verses:

"May the God of HOPE fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with HOPE by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

Blessings to you and yours in the New Year!

~Michelle

P.S. Here are some more of my favorite verses that talk about Hope:

Psalm 33:18-22
Jeremiah 29:11
Psalm 42:11
Isaiah 40:31
Hebrews 11:1
Hebrews 10:23

Be Still ...

Some days I feel like a hamster on a wheel, going around and around and around yet not getting anywhere! I imagine most of you know that feeling from time to time. Life is just so dadgum busy these days!! Emails, cell phones, computers, apps, jobs, kids, marriage, home life, church life, life life ... it can be all-consuming at times. There are days when I get so frustrated and overwhelmed I want to scream, "Get me off this wheel!" The ride ceased being fun.

I'm in a season of life I've looked forward to for a very long time. After writing and submitting and writing and submitting for more years than I care to admit, my first novel, The Planter's Daughter released in March. Many of my author friends who've walked the road to publication ahead of me warned that the work doesn't stop once your book is published. Nope. One might go so far as to say that's when the hardest work begins! The work of marketing and selling is just as challenging as the work of writing, editing, and submitting. In the latter case, you're trying to get a publisher to buy your work. After publication, you're trying to get the public to buy your work. Both can be daunting. Add to that the amazing blessing of two more book contracts, both with release dates in February 2018, you can color me one busy--and blissfully happy!--writer!

I think that's why Psalm 46:10 is so meaningful to me these days: "Be still, and know that I am God." It's hard to be still when you're on a hamster wheel going ninety-nine miles per hour and barely hanging on! It's hard to be still when life is so full you can't catch your breath from all the running, plotting, working, playing.

This past week Psalm 46:10 has come to my attention three different times in three different ways. I hadn't connected the dots until today, and now I'm wondering if perhaps God has been trying to get my attention, reminding me to be still so He can move in my life. How can I know what God is up to if I'm not listening to him?

I have a plaque hanging above our door that a dear friend gave me with Psalm 46:10 on it. I read it most every day as I walk by, thinking, "Yes, Lord. I hear you!" and then go about my business. A few days ago I discovered this journal (pictured) in a junk drawer. I'd purchased it several years ago but only wrote on two pages. I needed a new journal to takes notes at church and this was perfect. I read the verse aloud and said, "Yes, Lord. I hear you." I put the journal with my Bible and kept on truckin'.

It wasn't until we were at church yesterday that it finally stuck! Pastor Max Lucado asked the congregation to join him in "40 days of listening prayer." He said, "Pray and then be still. Listen." Jokingly, he added that we go into prayer with two ears and one mouth. Use them wisely.

So today I'm trying to be still. To listen. To pray ... and then shut my mouth! Thankfully our God is a patient God. My babbling won't turn his ear away from me, but I also believe he has things to teach me in the silence.

I'm determined to stay off that ol' hamster wheel! How about you? I invite you to join me in 40 days of listening prayer. I'll check back here from time to time throughout these next weeks and post my progress, what God is teaching me, and see how you're doing. Feel free to share in the comments.

Have a wonderfully still day!

~Michelle

No Resolutions....Just Gonna Live Life

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

My hope and prayer for you is that 2016 will be one of the best years of your life! True, some years hold more problems than we can bear: heartache, pain, sorrow, illness, financial woes, relationship woes. But one thing I've learned as I've aged is that each of those situations can be overcome when you have Jesus Christ in your life. Allowing Jesus to be Lord doesn't mean you'll never experience bad or sad things. It simply means you don't have to bear them alone. He is willing and able to carry you, heal you, restore you, provide for you, etc. How do I know? Because I've experienced it! Life can be messy and downright mean sometimes. To the point there is no way to make it on your own strength. So before the year gets underway, if you are struggling with life issues or maybe you've never invited Jesus to be Lord of your life, today would be a GREAT day to let Him have control of your future!

2016! 

Wow! Hard to believe yet another year has come and gone. 2015 was a good year for us. Lots of changes, but good ones. Our oldest son graduated from college in December -- Whoop! -- and is now busy sending out resumes. Our youngest son joined the Army in November -- Whoop!! -- and is in the throes of Basic Training. We are beyond proud of both of them and pray God's perfect will for their futures!

What will the new year look like? Much like the previous year, I imagine, but with different changes sprinkled in here and there. I've never been keen on making new year's resolutions, mainly because I don't stick with them very long. A month or so at most. Weight loss. Eating healthier. Spending more time in the Word. All the usual suspects.

So instead of starting the new year with a list of "to do's," I thought I'd instead start with a list of "right now's." More like a list of blessings and Hoorah's than a list of "get 'er dones or else feel like a failure." Below is my Top Ten List. Feel free to share your own in the comments.

1. I have a Savior who loves me unconditionally.
2. My Bible is my favorite book!
3. I'm married to my very best friend. We will celebrate 29 years of marriage this year!
4. My two sons are becoming amazing young men with amazing futures. Trusting God to make His plans and purposes fulfilled in their lives. 
5. All four of us are healthy. 
6. I'm down 15 lbs from where I was last year at this time. 
7. We are making healthier food choices most of the time. 
8. We have a really good job that allows us to work together on a beautiful ranch in the hill country. 
9. Despite a mound of bills, we always have everything we need and many things we want. 
10. I am loved by family and friends. 

I hope you'll make your own list. Focusing on the positives definitely helps when the negatives come up, as they tend to do.

I'll leave you with a favorite passage from Psalm 139:23-24. It seems appropriate for the beginning of a new year. Kinda makes you want to start out with a clean slate.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

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This week's Prayer Shout Out countries area:
USA, Germany, China, Taiwan, France, Kenya, Poland, Russia, Malaysia, India, Romania, Portugal, Luxembourg

Exactly how far is the East from the West?

I admit it. I'm a star-gazer. You? I positively love looking at a dark night sky, filled to overflowing with tiny pin-pricks of light. Living out in the country, far, far away from city lights, I'm astounded on moonless nights how many, many stars I can see! And what's even more astounding is there are billions and billions of stars I can't see.

Did you know that new galaxies are being discovered as science and scientific knowledge increase? This latest discovery claims that "four unknown galaxy clusters, each potentially containing thousands of individual galaxies, have been discovered 10 billion light years from earth."

Can you imagine?! Four "new" galaxies that potentially contain thousands more galaxies! Wow!

I have to chuckle at the use of the word "discovered" as though we are the first to know about those galaxies. We aren't. God breathed them into existence. Angels no doubt enjoy their beauty. Maybe even the folks in heaven can look down and see them. We may be the first people on earth to know about them, but Someone knew about them the moment He created them.

So, with the discovery of new galaxies, and the potential for more discoveries of more galaxies in the future, it makes me wonder...exactly how far is the east from the west? What do I mean? Psalm 103:12 says, "...as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."

Often people--including me-- read that verse and think in earthly terms. Spherically. Like, if you start out walking from your house and head east, will you eventually run into west? Even the Message Bible, which I love, says, "as far as sunrise is from sunset." But God is so much bigger than our little world here on earth. His thoughts are so much grander than ours. (Isaiah 55:8-9) When God tells us he has removed our transgressions--our sins--as far as the east is to the west, I believe he's speaking in terms similar to the discovery of new galaxies. Can these galaxies, added to the galaxies that are already known and those that are unknown, be measured? Can you go from the east of one galaxy and get to the west of another? I don't think so. As far as we know, all these galaxies go on and on and on, unending. Infinite.

That is the distance between God's east and west. Infinite. When we accept Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives and believe that his death on the cross freed us from our sins and paid our debt, God takes our transgressions and --- if you will indulge me --- balls them up into a tight wad like a piece of garbage and flings them as far as an all-powerful God can fling something.

As far as the east is to the west. 

And once he has flung my sin and your sin away, do you think he's going to go searching through the galaxies and stars and planets to find them again? To remind you of how much you messed up? No. He's not. When God removes your transgressions, your sins, your screw-ups, your messes....they are gone! The enemy will remind you of them and try to make you feel unworthy and worthless, but God won't. Because once he has flung them into the infinite space that is 'the east to the west,' he chooses to remember them no more.

"I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more." Isaiah 43:25

Next time you look up at the stars, rejoice in how far the east is to the west! Rejoice that God has removed your transgressions so far that they can never be found again. If you haven't asked Jesus into your heart and repented of your sins, you can right now. Then imagine God wading up all those sins and flinging them across the galaxies!

Hmm, I wonder if that shooting star I saw the other night is actually someones transgressions flying through the galaxy? ;)

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This week's Prayer Shout-Out countries are:
USA, Sweden, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Argentina, Ghana, India

Little Lost Sheep Found, Big Lessons Learned

Me and Junior

Oh, the adventure this little fella had yesterday! He's back with his mama now...and his mama and her compadres are also back where they belong. The past few days have been crazy, with all this "missing sheep saga" business.

It all began one dark and stormy night...

Well, not exactly. See, here on the ranch, we're responsible for a small herd of Barbado Blackbelly sheep. These sheep are not pets. They're wild and love to hang out waaay at the back of the 350 acres, up on some rocky hills. Lately they've allowed hubby to get fairly close, as long as he is doling out corn by the handful. I call him the Sheep Whisperer. It makes me smile.

Last week we couldn't find the sheep. That's not that unusual, as they can be pretty elusive. There are lots of hills and valleys and gullies throughout the property where they can hide. After several days, however, hubby called some guys to come help walk the fence line, because it was obvious at this point the sheep had gotten out somehow.

Let me pause a moment here to state emphatically that this is the part of the story where I want to seriously knock some sense into someone's pea brain!

It wasn't long before we discovered that someone had used wire cutters to cut the 8' high game fence that encloses the entire property, pulled a section back, and left a gaping hole plenty big for a herd of goofy sheep to wander through. Which is precisely what they'd done. The sheep were gone, gone, gone.

I was devastated.

"Why, God?" I kept asking. Lately I'd been feeling like God wasn't listening to me. Like he wasn't hearing my cries for help in a lot of areas. I didn't know why, and I didn't know quite what to do about it. In my quiet time the next morning, I remembered the passage of scripture in 1 Samuel 9:3-20 where Saul (later King Saul) is looking for his dad's missing donkeys. God knew where those donkeys were, and in the course of time let them be found (v. 20). It reminded me that God knew where our sheep were. They were lost to me but not to him. So I prayed, "Lord, you see those sheep. Please bring them home." Had he heard my cry for help?

Around noon, Sheep Whisperer and Jesse, a guy who works on the ranch occasionally, decide to drive over to the larger ranch where the sheep originally came from, thinking they might head in that direction. They hadn't been gone but a few minutes when I get a text from hubby saying, miracle of miracles, our sheep are in the road just down from our gate! They were wandering the county road, snagging mouthfuls of grass as they went. Numerous people, including sheriff's deputies, had been down that road the past two days with no sightings. What are the odds of the sheep being in the middle of the road, just down from our gate, at the precise moment Brian and Jesse decide to go for a drive?

The next five hours were spent trying to herd sheep that did not want to be herded. Me in a Jeep, hubby on foot, Jesse and several other guys in trucks and on foot, a few sheriff's deputies (who weren't all that helpful) and one amazing stranger in a truck, worked to get those dad-gum, stubborn, ridiculously skittish sheep onto the neighbors property (because our gate has a cattle guard) so we could then get them through a section of fence that we purposely cut for that reason.

Let me just stop and say, it is nearly impossible to make wild sheep go where they do not want to go. They were in and out of neighboring properties, crossing the road with cars coming and going, in the middle of the road, on the side of the road, running north, running south. Yeesh!

In the midst of all this chaos, one of the babies, Junior, got separated from his mama. We'd lost sight of the herd at this point, so Junior had to come home with me. He stayed in our guest bedroom -- where else! -- while I went back to work. Meanwhile, hubby and the gang are finally able to get the sheep onto our property. Hooray!!

But what about Junior? It would be dark soon, and I didn't want to keep him overnight. I jumped in the Jeep with him cradled in my lap and went looking for his family. I found the herd fairly easily traveling along the fence line that separates our employer's land from her dad's land. They were extremely skittish and on the move. Carrying Junior up high so he could see them, I followed the herd for a bit. They stopped and watched me, and Junior started making soft noises. I thought, "Great! This is going to be easy!" Just a little further and I'd put him down so he could run to his mama, bringing a happy ending to the whole crazy ordeal.

Except Junior did not know about my plans. When I put him down, he ran the wrong way! I bolted after him, the herd bolted down the hill and out of sight, and Junior managed to get through the fence and ran onto our employer's dad's property -- 700+ acres. If I didn't catch Junior, he'd never make it.

Here is where I need to confess something.

I yelled at God.

A lot.

As I was running after that little lamb, crying, stumbling over rocks and weaving through trees, I let God know exactly how I felt about Him letting Junior go the wrong direction; about someone cutting the fence and letting the sheep escape in the first place; about all the trust I'd given him only to have all these trials and tribulations come our way this past year. In those frantic, broken moments, I literally cried out:

"Jesus, pleeeeeeeeeze!!!!!"

That two-word prayer pretty much encompassed everything going on in my life at that moment. From the lost lamb to the desperate need for a job for our son to the lost souls I've been praying for for years. I think it was my cry for God to just hear me!

Breathless from chasing the lamb, I called hubby to come help. Miraculously the cell phone reception worked -- it usually doesn't out here in the boonies -- and he arrived in a couple minutes. The little lamb knew the Sheep Whisperer's voice and stopped near a tree. While Brian distracted him from a distance, I snuck up from behind the tree, praying like crazy. "Jesus, keep that lamb still so I can grab him!" And you know what? Jesus kept that lamb still so I could grab him! The picture above was taken a few minutes later.

Determined to get Junior back to his mama, we set off in the ATV to find the herd again. Searching, searching, with the sun sinking toward the horizon, we finally spotted them headed to the back of the property. Sheep Whisperer grabbed his bucket of corn and started calling them while Junior and I circled around from the other direction. But the sheep weren't buying it today. They'd had enough of people and vehicles and kept moving away.

"Lord, we need some help," I prayed.

Junior, who'd been silent this entire time, started making little bleating sounds. I inched closer to the herd, they inched farther away. I held Junior up a bit, hoping he'd catch sight of them, although I have no idea how good a 3-week old lamb's eyesight is. His little sounds got a bit louder. The herd stopped to look. Then came the most wondrous sound ever!

"Baaaaaa." Mama sheep was calling her lost baby!

"Baaa," Junior responded in his wee little voice.

"Junior?"

"Mom!"

Mama came racing down the hill. I ducked behind some tall wild grass so she wouldn't see me, holding Junior up above my head. I wasn't taking any chances of him going the wrong way again, so I hung on to him while he and Mama baa'ed back and forth. When she was close enough for me to be certain he wouldn't go the wrong direction, I held my breath...and let him go.

Oh, how I wish I'd had a video camera on their sweet reunion. Junior ran to Mama. Mama ran to Junior. They sniffed and nosed each other for a good long time before Mama turned and went back to the herd with Junior at her side.

I, for my part, sat there behind the tall grass and cried. All my prayers for those crazy sheep had been answered. I (and lots of other people) had prayed God would bring them home. He did. I prayed like a mad woman when Junior escaped. God put him back in my arms. I asked God to let us get Junior back to his mama. They are together even now. Using the lost sheep as his backdrop, God made it abundantly clear to me that he does indeed hear me. And not only does he hear me, he cares very much.

"I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live." Psalm 116:1-2

Lost sheep can absolutely be found.

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This week's Prayer Shout-Out countries are:
USA, Russia, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Malaysia, Poland, United Kingdom, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Romania, Netherlands, South Korea

"Be Still, and Know That I am God"

I took this picture a few weeks ago here at the ranch on a foggy February morning. The air was still, not even a breeze rustled the tops of the trees. All was quiet. Peaceful is how I would describe it. For me, this picture embodies Psalm 46:10, a favorite of mine. "Be still and know that I am God." The New American Standard Bible says, "Cease striving..." Like a lot of you, I often have to be reminded to "be still." Especially with the busy, complicated lives we lead these days. Peace is hard to come by when the TV is blaring, the computer is humming, cars are racing here, there and everywhere. Something deep inside me craves peace. The kind that only comes from God.

Be still, my friend. Rest in His peace today. Carve out some quiet time in your day to simply be still before the Lord. The outdoors, for me, is the best place to "see" God. His creation calms my spirit. Even the earth, as in the picture above, becomes still before the Lord. But wherever you choose, sit quietly. Listen to the silence. Let Him be your refuge and strength. No matter what is going on in your world, God is there.

Psalm 46

1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.  Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help here at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.  Selah
8 Come and see the works of the LORD,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields with fire.
10 "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.  Selah
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This week's Prayer Shout-Out countries are:
USA, Germany, Russia, Belarus, Canada, Malaysia, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Zimbabwe

Psalm 63

This morning I was flipping through my Bible on my way to Matthew where I'm reading these days, but something made me pause on Psalm 63. As in many places in my Bible, I'd previously highlighted a line or two and sometimes I like to go back and reread the things that spoke to me in the past. I especially like to read the ones I've marked with a date as a reminder of what I was going through at that particular time and how that passage of scripture impacted me.

But today it was simply the beauty of the words in Psalm 63 that captured my attention. David wrote them when he was being pursued by King Saul. I'm not being pursued by anyone that I know of, but I can still relate to the cry of David's heart. I imagine many of you can too. So I think I'll just share the loveliness of the psalm with you and leave it at that.

PSALM 63: 1-9

O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life,
my lips will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as with the richest foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help, 
I sing in the shadow of your wings. 
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.

If you have not earnestly sought God, my prayer is you will do so today. God's love truly is better than life.

Blessings,
~Michelle

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This week's Prayer Shout-Out countries are:
USA, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Ukraine, Canada, Russia, Philippines, Vietnam