Psalm 26:7

Singing aloud a song of thanksgiving, and telling all thy wondrous deeds. 

RSV

Thank you Stacy Bergstrom for the beautiful sunset

What a huge responsibility it is to translate the Word of the Almighty into a language that I can understand! I have nothing but respect for those who did this great work for me and for the missionaries who continue this work for the people who still are without the Word. I want to state that up front.

The phrase "singing aloud" or "that I may publish" in the kj is translated from the Hebrew word SHAMA' to hear. Well known as the first word of Deuteronomy 6:4

Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God is One.

David's SHAMA' tells us to "listen (SHAMA') and worship out loud, the mighty wonders, the extraordinary, surpassing (deeds isn't even part of the description, we just do not know how to communicate who YHVH is and what He does without a handle to hang it on) ...our King, our brother, our beloved Betrothed, Salvation; Y'shua

Mrs Hagerty, July 26, 2016

Deliver us from evil...

Sing praise to YHVH, you His godly ones, and give thanks to His holy name.
For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.
Psalm 30:4-5

What a night! I awoke with a burden on my heart ...not for the soul of someone else, but for my own. Feeling dull and useless to my beloved Y'shua-Jesus, cast aside, and lost in my own thoughts instead of His; all I could do was pray "The Lords Prayer". It is what I do when my mind does not co-operate with my heart.

I love Hebrew. John Parsons of Hebrew for Christians, has written an essay on the Hebrew translation and meaning of the Lord's prayer. I go back to that essay when my mind is only spitting up rote words instead of letting my heart cry out to Messiah. The Spirit of the Almighty led me directly to the problem.

.Matthew 6:13b ..deliver us from evil...  hatzileinu min-hara

John Parsons essay said that this idea is yetzer hara.

...the inner impulse to gravitate toward selfish gratification (idolatry). This concept first appears in Genesis 6:5 where the wickedness of man is described as "every imagination yetzer of the thoughts of his heart was only evil ra"...

It is overwhelming to realize that my problem with sin is exactly the problem that brought the flood! Could my beloved LORD be sorry that he wasted His time with someone like me? Genesis 6:6-7 Despair! What hope is there for me? Wouldn't the evil one, min-hara be delighted if he could freeze us up with that horrible thought. I was almost there in the darkness of my morning.

Is God finished with me? Feeling a little numb I started flipping through Facebook and came across an Anne Graham-Lotz post. It was a verse of scripture that ended with the hash-tag #PrayerAndPraise. Why was that on FB? Aren't hash-tags for twitter? Curious, I clicked on it and came to a page filled with encouragement. The love of God began to flood every fiber of my being.

The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. Psalm 145:18 NIV #PrayerAndPraise 

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2 NIV #PrayerAndPraise 

he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. Isaiah 25:8 NIV #PrayerAndPraise

On and on it went until I came to Philippians 1:6

being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  Philippians 1:6 NIV #PrayerAndPraise

The amazing love that filled my soul and set my spirit to singing! I wanted to make this old body dance, to lift up my hands in praise... but for the sleeping, hard working man next to me who needed a few more hours of rest. Never mind! God is not through with me, I am not trash that He is sorry He tried to redeem. That is not who He is. With joy, I proclaim the words of Paul...

Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you. For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.
    Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
    How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
    "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?"
    "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?"
    For from him and through him and to him are all things.
    To him be the glory forever! Amen.  Romans 11: 30-36 NIV #PrayerAndPraise :)

Mrs. Hagerty, July 25, 2016

On Growing Weary; Isaiah 40: 27-31

"Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it.  "For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.  Matthew 7:13-14 NAS

I have chosen the way of life. I have bound myself to YHVH. Very unexpectedly I sense a weariness in my walk. Where does that come from? To my surprise, I find that I am like the children of Israel who marched out of Egypt in triumph, witnessing things I can only imagine. 

And the rabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, "Who will give us meat to eat?  "We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic,  but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna. " Numbers 11:4-6 NAS

I have not yet come to a place of looking back at the abundance of food, but sometimes I miss being a material girl. I would have denied that label when we still had a big check coming in on a regular schedule. Now, living without that abundance, I can clearly see how much I liked things as much as I liked my religious choices. My life is still very easy. We have a home, a roof over our heads during the unrelenting Pacific North West rain and cool shelter for those rare hot days. We have food to eat, clothes to wear. We do have a good income, just not as much as we once had. Life is good. And yet there are moments that I want to turn back to an earlier time when we could get out the credit cards, go shopping or take a crazy day out. Our God is asking something different of us now. Shall I act like a spoiled child or do I stand firm on the way? Shall I be like the rabble, who were not hungry, just bored with the menu? Do I love my freedom from slavery or the benefits that come with slavery? 

I chose freedom in the Messiah of Israel, I will continue in him!

I suspect that this is why he gave this warning…

Y’shua said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." Luke 9:62 RSV

I am often impressed in prayer that we have a privilege during this season of our life. We are preparing for soon coming days that are far more difficult then anything we are experiencing today. Our life feels like a class room, A safe place to learn to depend on YHVH. We thought we were living that way, but with that big monthly check being gone I have come to realize that thankfulness for something and dependence on God are not the same. Thanksgiving is good, but it is easy. My life has not become hard. Hard is what the Kurdish Christians are experiencing.

"If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out, Then how can you compete with horses? If you fall down in a land of peace, How will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?  Jeremiah 12:5 NAS

All these words are just prolog to describe the encouragement I experienced this morning, rising in the dark for the powerful filling of the Ruach as I pray, just as the Valiant Warrior (Proverbs 31: 14-15) that I long to be. I found encouragement in the Word of YHVH to Israel.

Why do you say[1], O kquy[2],

and dabar-speak, O Israel,

"My way is hid from hwhy,

and my mishpat-justice is disregarded by my “Elohiym"?

²⁸ Have you not yada’-seen? Lo! Have you not shama’-heard ‘”Elohiym?

hwhy is ‘owlam-everlasting,

HWHY the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He does not faint nor grow weary,

his understanding is unsearchable.

²⁹ He gives vigor to the faint,

and to him who has no might he increases strength.

³⁰ Even youths shall faint and be weary,

and young men shall fall exhausted;

³¹ but they who wait for[3] hwhy shall renew (spring-up) their vigor,

they shall mount up with wings like eagles,

they shall run (rush) and not be weary,

they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40: 27-31

It is not by my strength that I continue in the way but by binding myself to YHVH whose strength is mine…. And in Y’shua ha Machiach it is yours. Be encouraged and put one foot in front of the other. He will get you to the Kingdom on this steep, narrow path.

Shalom

---

[1] “to say” rma with a t prefix: when prefixed to a verb stem like amr it indicates 2^nd person, future tense You will (with a suffix it can be 3^rd person, feminine, future tense she will) …why will you say..?

[2] Ya’^aqob, known as Jacob in English

[3] But they that wait for: ywqw (kaw-vaw’); a root meaning “to bind together”. I take this to mean that when my life is folded into YHVH, praying “Thy will be done”

The Song of the Sea; Sh'mot (Exodus) 15: 1-19

Impossible!   In order to move forward, Israel would have to swim across a sea. To turn back they would need to pass through an army of soldiers filled with blood lust.

Isra'el did what many of us do when it seems there is no hope. They called upon YHVH (the LORD) then turned around and blamed Moshe/Moses for their trouble. (Sh'mot/Exodus 14: 10-11) The swords they carried out of Egypt (Sh'mot 13:18) gave them no sense of power. But YHVH had an unexpected plan for their salvation.

Moshe and Isra'el crossed the sea on a path of dry land. It is said that this was their baptism. The Hebrews emerged on the other side as a new man. Those who would force them to be slaves, mired daily in clay for bricks, were now mired in the wet sea bed. The very Egyptians who had also forced them to drown their first born, drowned in the sea. The children of Isra'el and the "mixed multitude" emerged from the path through the water as one new man. Halelujah!

If therefore the Son Should free you, truly you will be free men.Yochanan 8: 36 (25)

Moshe and the people of Isra'el sang a new song, the Song of the Sea. Reading through it I am filled with praise. Listen to what is said of YHVH our Elohim / The LORD our God.

YHVH is:
Highly exalted... (1)

...my strength and my song..
..my salvation (my y'shua)..
..my Elohim/God: I will glorify him
my father's Elohim: I will exalt him (2)

...a warrior (3)

His right hand (where Y'shua/Jesus sits) is sublimely powerful
...it shatters the foe. (6)

His great majesty brings down His enemies
His wrath consumes them like stubble. (7)

A blast from his nostrils and the waters piled up -- they stood up like a wall (8)

Another blast and the enemy was covered by the sea, they sank like lead in the mighty waters. (10)

...sublime in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders.. (11)

In love, You led the people You redeemed;
in strength, You guided them to your holy abode. (13)

...by the might of your arm (the enemy) is still as stone until You people pass over...
...till the people you purchased pass over (16)

You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain which is your heritage, the place that you made YOUR abode, the sanctuary which your hands established. (17)

YHVH will reign forever and ever. (18)

Sing to YHVH, for He is Highly exalted!
The horse and its rider he threw in the sea! (21)

Deb.... who cannot get that song out of my head.
"I will sing unto the LORD for He has triumphed gloriously, the horse and rider thrown into the sea
The LORD liveth, and blessed be my rock and let the God of my Salvation be exalted... "

A Whole Lot of Nothings

After almost 35 years of making Easter Baskets for my family I got a great idea. Someone else should be in charge of Easter Baskets. On Easter morning there were no jelly beans, no bright cello "grass" or chocolate bunnies. My Easter basket was a small cardboard box that made squeaky noise. Welcome to my world (from left to right) Bertha, Miss Purdy, Stella (formally known as Pecker Head because of her habit of pecking at the sides of the baby box ALL night long) and Lil'bit. When they came to my house they were just downy little black fuzz-balls. I live a very small life. I work from home, I've been almost a year now without a car and my walking partner, Connie, has retired and travels. Since the Nuggets have come into my life I have a reason to get up and get dressed at the start of every day....I do not want the neighbors to see me in my robe when I go out and let the girls out.

As a gardener, the most upsetting thing I have witnessed this year is not the lousy weather hitting most of the United States, it was the television coverage of the Japanese Tsunami. It made my small life, my small scale troubles seem utterly pointless. In America, when we think of emergency preparedness, gardening skills are on the list of top 10 skills. Then I watched that wave cover the Japanese farm land. I was sick for the people of a tiny nation that took care of themselves. Really, the nuclear disaster was secondary to the farm disaster. It has taken me this long to settle in my heart that God is still in control, that He is still Merciful and can be counted upon no mater what this world throws at us. The simple things in life are still the good things.

The little garden is still coming along. After a nasty spring we are on our second clipping of lettuces. Radishes have been eaten and replanted and eaten again. Even small lives go on and the joy of Elohim is still my strength to rejoice for the gift of today as well as being able to face an uncertain tomorrow.

The good thing about the tsunami, the tornadoes, the droughts, floods and the price of gas (we only have a surban now)? Everything, anything, is a chance to practice thankfulness, to rejoice in my small life and the joy that those around me infuse into my days. Little potatoes and plan old onions are a good reason to celebrate life. L'chime! Life is worth the living because Y'shua lives!

The Light of the World

Spent a quiet evening at home, just Ray and I on the 4^th night of Channukah remembering Y'shua, the light of the world.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12 RSV

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." John 9:5

But where is Y'shua/Jesus now? Where is the light? The Word made flesh, born to the woman, where is he? The man, the king of Israel, bruised, betrayed and bloody by the hand of men whom he so loved, where is he? Didn't he say that as long as he is in the world that he is the light of the world?

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16

We who are his servants have his light, his truth. For a Messianic like me, Channukah is not about a romantic flame, it isn't about jelly doughnuts and good food. The candles and the food, the traditions of giving are all part of Channukah but they are not what make the eight days precious to me. Remember Acts chapter 2? All were gathered in a room after the 50 days of Shavuot (Pentecost) when suddenly the room was filled with the sound of a roaring wind (a mighty groaning Spirit, AENT footnote) and fire sat upon every one of them. The Spirit appeared to them like tongues of flame. It was the Channukah of the Spirit of Elohim, The servant lit all who followed him, giving light to the world. Y'shua lives in me, in each of us who believe that he is the Messiah, the Son of the living Elohim.

For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3

And how have you who believe died?

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

Our life is the light of truth. Each of us who believe has experienced this life at a point in time. The Sprit of Elohim lives in us so that the Light of Life, the Messiah, is in the world because he lives in me, in you who believe. Let the light of your life shine before men in such a way that we give glory to Elohim.

as it is my eager expectation and hope that I shall not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. Philippians 1:20

Happy Holidays

As close as I could come to a wreath. The frosty grass that should not be growing around my paving stone. YHVH give grace on this 4th day of Channakah

Something new and beautiful day by day

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,

His mercies never come to an end;

They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness

I knew that a poppy was growing against the fence. I even noticed that the pods were filling out and bending over from the weight of the flower inside. I have seen other poppies in the neighborhood blooming and still did not think much about these in the shade of my garden. I walked and puttered about the whole of my garden and wondered at the arugula sprouts, the pumpkin leaves and zucchini blooms without seeing the orange glow along the fence. Just as I turned to go inside again, there it was, something common that filled me with wonder. The music of the passage in Lamentations 3 has been drifting along the edges of my soul ever since. The steadfast love of YHVH never ceases, His mercies never come to and end....

Luke 8:5-8

" The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed some fell beside the road; and it was trampled under foot, and the birds of the air ate it up. And other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it, and choked it out. And other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up and produced a crop a hundred times as great." As He said these things, He would call out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

Luke 8:5-8 NAS

Psalm 50:14-15, 23

Sacrifice thank offerings to God,

Fulfill your vows to the Most High,

And call upon Me in the day of trouble,

I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.

He who sacrifices thank offerings honors Me

And he prepares the way

So that I may show him the Salvation of God.

The Passover

Y'shua said to her, "I am the resurrection and the Life. He who believes yet in me will never die! Do you believe this?"

John 11:25-26

Forget the bunny, remember the Lamb

The Journey

Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I will keep it to the end. Psalm 119:33 RSV

I love Psalm 119. I remember feeling dread when it came up in the monthly rotation of Psalms because it takes so long to read. To much information to take in when I wanted to get through my five Psalms in a day. Now I love to linger here. I have hardly graduated from Hebrew preschool but I know enough to understand that each Hebrew letter has a testimony to tell. This verse, Psalm 119:33, is part of the story of the fifth Hebrew letter, Hey.

ה Hey is the letter of the divine breath of God, the Holy Spirit. It represents revelation and light from the LORD-YHVH. Hey is shaped somewhat like a hut with a window. The often used word, "behold" is from the idea of Hey. When I see the word "behold" when Y'shua-Jesus is speaking, I know that I am about to get a glimpse beyond the physical realm into the heavenly. Pay attention to what comes next. Hey tells of the creative power of the Almighty, the Creator.

Teach me, often translated, cause me, is translated from the Hebrew 'howreeniy' The Hebrew root is yaw-raw' (Strong's #3384) meaning to flow like water or to rain. It also is used of shooting an arrow or to point with the finger the way, which gives the word the meaning, "to teach". In this verse yaw-raw' has the letter Hey as a prefix. As a prefix Hey is translated as the definite article, "the". The teaching of the Almighty becomes "the cause" of what comes next.

The way of thy statutes; Life is a journey. Believers in Messiah have repented from going our own way and have turned (repented) to go The Way of Messiah. "The Way" is the journey and "thy statutes" are like the key on the map or The prescribed Way of YHVH. Therefore the Divine Breath, which we call the Holy Spirit of God, is the understanding, the insight to God's heart and Word, that directs me on the path of life.

Imagine that you are lost in the thick forest. Never having been here before you have no point of reference to find your way home. The guidance of the Spirit is like a gentle breeze. It does not force you to go anywhere like a hurricane would. The Spirit needs to be paid close attention to. At times we need to stop for a moment and meditate on the direction of the breeze, to hear the testimony of the Spirit's whisper in the ear of our heart. Walk before our God in righteousness. He is directing you home with an intimate gentleness that requires use to pay close attention to the end.

Mrs. Hagerty, reposted February 19, 2017

Smells like love

Freshly bathed babies, my husband right out of the shower, Crest toothpaste, Mennen aftershave and a wool suit, waffles. Each of these smells like love to me. Each is attached to a strong memory. The babies and the husband probably do not need explanation. The smell of waffles came from my mom's kitchen when I was a nasty, cranky teen who absolutely did not want anyone coming to my door singing "it's time to get up". The suit, toothpaste and aftershave were my dad coming to kiss me good-by in the early morning before he went to work (when I was still little enough to kiss).



For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing;2 Corinthians 2:15 NASU

Those who have come to repentance and salvation by faith through the grace of the Messiah smell like love to YHVH. A mother can breathe in the scent of her baby and feel warmth in her heart. I suspect YVHA reacts to us and our scent of Messiah in some similar way. When Paul wrote this word, he spoke of a scent that is an offering to the Emperor. We are privileged to bring an offering to our Lord, we are the offering. Washed in the blood of his only begotten son. But to the world, even to the religious of the world we smell like death. They are repulsed by the faith we stand on. We cannot live in shock because of the world's rejection. We live in the joy of God and trust the world to our all loving and conquering Abba.

If you received a Prayer Poke from me today (September 22, 2009) then today I prayed for you to walk in confidence before our LORD knowing that it is not your strength or endurance that pleases God but the scent of the Wind, the Spirit of God, given to you because of the blood of His Son, grace through faith it is not of yourself. Live in the strength of that today. Stop striving to live a moral ethical life, the kind of life directed by the world, but instead, I pray that you live in the grace of Messiah, with your words of praise, your scent of life carried on the wind of the Spirit to the throne of glory, walking in the footsteps of Y'shua.

While reading the Word this morning, looking for a passage that was teasing me, I looked up "pleased" in the concordance. I was somewhat shocked to see the difference between what pleases the Father and what pleases men. Just from the New Testament, YHVH is pleased by what he loves. He loves his Son and before the Son does anything, The Father announces that he is pleased with him (Matthew 3:17, Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22)

Before Y'shua went to the cross, YHVH again told those who were with him that He was well pleased with the Son (Matthew 17:5)

Men are pleased with what they see, with getting what they think they want. Herod was pleased to the point of foolishness with his niece's dance (Matthew 14:16, Mark 6:22). Herod was again pleased when he finally got to meet Y'shua because he hoped to be entertained by Him (Luke 23:8)

It seems that God is pleased by faith. Faith is standing firm on the word of God, a trust that the Word is our only sure footing. Men are pleased with what others do for them, give to them. I think that is why we often think that we must "do" for God. But that is not how we please God. Living by faith is what pleases Him. Live today.

If you were poked on facebook today (9-20)

Y'shua you are the firm place for my feet. Your way, your path is not the way I might choose (it is so steep, so narrow and hard when I look at it instead of you), but yours is the way of life, the way of love that pours out instead of just sucking in. YHVH I pray for my beloved friends that today they would be able to gush with love because they have been filled to the point where they must nearly burst with your love. Father life can scheme to pull us down, to cloud your glory with dark pain in our soul, wounds and words can turn my eyes to my little scars instead of to the wounded feet that walk the path before me; to excuse my shrinking back on the path with pity for my pain, exposing me to the scheme of the roaring lion. Let us encourage each other today, to point to the pierced hand that reaches to us, knowing we have the eyes of love and His helping, wounded hand reaching out to us. You are not so far away after all. May my dear friends press on today, in the strength of joy, and hope, and yes, in confident faith. Standing alone in the company of those who believe and gaze back with confidence at Him Who is soon returning. Hebrews 10:35-39

Blossoms?

In my neglected front garden, I noticed a little bit of crisp white. There are actual blossoms in my garden! Whoo-hoo! Never mind how nasty looking the lawn is, (really, it has come a long way from when we first moved here) I should check with my mom before I attempt to put a name on this plant, but I think it is a____________ . Humm, gotta find my book or my mom.

Does the bankrupt United States have an extra 900 million dollars? Apparently we do or Sectary of State Clinton would not have pledged $900,000,000.00 to the Palestinian Authority. The things we choose to do with our money when we do not have any! The money we do have is borrowed from China (so I am told). China now owns us until our children and their children, and who knows how many generations of their children after them, are able to pay China back. You do know that we have not finished paying for "The New Deal" and it was a whole lot less money. Will we even last long enough for pay back or will the new national language be Chinese? What have we done? What foolishness are we still doing?

March is roaring instead of barking today. Wild wind gusts, pounding rain, teasing sun breaks. I was going to go to Tulalip Bay Marina for my March in March today, but Ray would rather I did not go there alone, so as soon as I am done with my school work, Rudy and I will head back to Mukilteo. Looks like hat, scarf and gloves weather. The wind might be blowing too hard for an umbrella.

The phrase from Amy Carmichael for March is "fear not". She added to that this morning with Psalm 60:12

Through God we shall do valiantly,
And it is He who will tread down our adversaries.
NAS

Amy added, "...Each of us has something to do which is not easy... If things were easy, where would be the fight? How should we be trained for Heavenly service? But there is no need ever to be overcome. God makes provision for victory, never for defeat. "

Fear not

Fear Not

March comes in like... well, like a wet dog. It is raining on this first day of March 2009.

Did you know; that on this first day of March in 1781, The Continental Congress of the young United States adopted The Articles of Confederation? Remember from your Jr. High days, when you had to learn about things like the Continental Congress? Maybe of greater interest on March 1st, Yellowstone National Park was established as the world's first (not just the nation's) National Park in 1872.

We also have some black eye's on the 1st of March. 1971, The Weather Underground takes credit for an explosion from a bomb hidden in the Men's room of the Capital. Just to balance the evil scales between the Left and the Right, in 1974 indictments for the Watergate Scandal were delivered.

On to current events. Way back in early February I discovered chives already coming up in the herb garden and I got a little excited. Here they are on the 1st of March. I am not convinced that they have made any real progress. But they are still there. One thing new since I last looked at the Chives is that the dogs have discovered the soft soil of the garden is fun to dig in.

Sadly, I did not get any peas planted in February. It isn't too late yet, Saint Patrick's Day is my personal traditional day for Pea Planting. Lettuce should go in today (spinach and radishes too).

Apparently March is not traditionally a month of Good Luck. Not being one for tradition (never mind the Pea post) or luck, good or bad, I truly appreciated Amy Carmichael's passage for March 1 in Edges of His Ways.

Fear not

I am more and more impressed as I read the Bible, by the reiterated "Fear not". There are so many promises, that it would not be strange if there were no "Fear not"; the promises are enough to rest upon. We should not need to be told not to be afraid, and yet there it is over and over again, in one form or another. This strong, loving encouraging "Fear not" of our God. Fear not, nor be afraid" (Deut 31:6-8 LXX) neither be cowardly (it is good sometimes to face the truth that yielding to fear is cowardice); "it is the Lord your God that advances with you in the midst of thee... And the Lord that goes with thee shall not forsake thee nor abandon thee."

It seems to be God's plan to allow all sorts of things to happen that would naturally cause fear, but to forestall them by the assurance of His presence. The Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, so Fear not, neither be dismayed.

I do not know what tomorrow brings, but I know who goes before me, Fear not!

Happy Birthday Yellowstone National Park! Ray took this picture of me in front of the Paint Pots during our vacation to Wyoming in 2005.

By the way, congratulations to the winner of The Great February Bird Count, Pittswood Birds with a total of 46 birds seen from his yard in February. Mighty impressive!

Edges of His Ways, February 22

Upon their shoulders

Numbers 7:9

The Princes of the Tribes brought six covered wagons and twelve oxen for the service of the Tabernacle. Those wagons were given to the Levites, that is to the sons of Gershon and Merari, to every man according to his service; but to the sons of Kohath no wagons were given, "because the service of the Sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders."

Those men were human. I wonder if they were ever tempted to wish they could have wagons. They also were grandsons of Aaron. Why must they carry those heavy burdens on their shoulders when their cousins had bullock-carts? If such thoughts ever came, perhaps they found help in remembering that to them was committed the care of the most precious things, things too precious to be carried in any other way

Is it not so even now? The burdens we have to carry on our shoulders are what our God counts the most precious.

The Shepherd took the lost sheep--and a sheep is a heavy thing--and laid it on His shoulders. If the Good Shepherd asks us to bear upon our shoulders the care of souls, surely it is because that burden is too precious to be carried in any other way.

Amy Carmichael

Pussy Willows

OK, I'll admit to two things.

First, these are actually catkins. Pussy willows probably grow on willows rather then on whatever this is.

Second, the tree was so far away that I should have used a tripod. Still, they are an early sign of spring in a season of cold sunshine, bird song and a total lack of green buds.

The mallard population has doubled since I first saw them last week. There are now 10 mallards in the little pond in the park. Oddly enough there are six drakes to only four ladies. I really need to get back to watching for "The Great February Bird Count"

This from Amy's "Edges" for today.
FEBRUARY 16
Isaiah 30:18 And therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you,...blessed are all they that wait for Him.

Did you ever put these two "waits" together like that? Perhaps there is a fear at the back of your mind just as a fear is sometimes at the back of mine. Perhaps nobody knows of it, or would only smile if they heard it. Never mind: read these words and let them lead you into peace.

For my Valentine

Snow Moon

I love insights from Hebrew. Each of the Hebrew letters have a meaning. For instance, the fifth letter of the Hebrew alaph-bet is Hey. Hey is shaped like a window on the side of a house. It communicates to the reader that insight is about to be let in like sunshine through a window on a summer morning. This idea is usually communicated with the English word "Behold"

Whether I am doing a study or just a devotional reading, I look for key words that open windows of meaning while I read the Bible. When I see the word "Behold" I know to pay attention, because God the Holy Spirit is about to open a window to see what is happening in the unseen world. I live and function in the physical realm, but that is not all there is to my reality. Powerful, dynamic things are taking place that cannot be seen with physical eyes. It is why Paul prayed for the eyes of our spirit to see the effect of the spiritual realm all around us.

Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
Ephesians 1:15-21 NKJ

Try this for yourself today. When you come across the word "behold" in your reading, take a closer look and see if a window into the spiritual realm of the kingdom of heaven has been opened for you.

Apparently I really should not have been surprised by the snow yesterday... or today (it is snowing right now) There was a full moon last night. The traditional name of this full moon (according to the Old Farmers Almanac) is The Snow Moon.

Mrs. Hagerty February 10,2009