Psalm 31

I just needed to re-read this tonight... I think my Bible just flips open to this Psalm, I've read it so much...

Psalm 31-A David Psalm (The Message)

 ^1-2I run to You, God; I run for dear life. Don't let me down! 
      Take me seriously this time! 
   Get down on my level and listen, 
      and please—no procrastination! 
   Your granite cave a hiding place, 
      Your high cliff aerie a place of safety. 

 ^3-5 You're my cave to hide in, 
      my cliff to climb. 
   Be my safe leader, 
      be my true mountain guide. 
   Free me from hidden traps; 
      I want to hide in You. 
   I've put my life in Your hands. 
      You won't drop me, 
      You'll never let me down. 

 ^6-13 I hate all this silly religion, 
      but You, God, I trust. 
   I'm leaping and singing in the circle of Your love; 
      You saw my pain, 
      You disarmed my tormentors, 
   You didn't leave me in their clutches 
      but gave me room to breathe. 
   Be kind to me, God— 
      I'm in deep, deep trouble again. 
   I've cried my eyes out; 
      I feel hollow inside. 
   My life leaks away, groan by groan; 
      my years fade out in sighs. 
   My troubles have worn me out, 
      turned my bones to powder. 
   To my enemies I'm a monster; 
      I'm ridiculed by the neighbors. 
   My friends are horrified; 
      they cross the street to avoid me. 
   They want to blot me from memory, 
      forget me like a corpse in a grave, 
      discard me like a broken dish in the trash. 
   The street-talk gossip has me 
      "criminally insane"! 
   Behind locked doors they plot 
      how to ruin me for good. 

 ^14-18 Desperate, I throw myself on You: 
      You are my God! 
   Hour by hour I place my days in Your hand, 
      safe from the hands out to get me. 
   Warm me, Your servant, with a smile; 
      save me because You love me. 
   Don't embarrass me by not showing up;
      I've given You plenty of notice. 
   Embarrass the wicked, stand them up, 
      leave them stupidly shaking their heads 
      as they drift down to hell. 
   Gag those loudmouthed liars 
      who heckle me, Your follower, 
      with jeers and catcalls. 

 ^19-22 What a stack of blessing You have piled up 
      for those who worship You, 
   Ready and waiting for all who run to You 
      to escape an unkind world. 
   You hide them safely away 
      from the opposition. 
   As You slam the door on those oily, mocking faces, 
      You silence the poisonous gossip. 
   Blessed God! 
      His love is the wonder of the world. 
   Trapped by a siege, I panicked. 
      "Out of sight, out of mind," I said. 
   But You heard me say it, 
      You heard and listened. 

 ²³ Love God, all You saints; 
      God takes care of all who stay close to Him, 
   But he pays back in full 
      those arrogant enough to go it alone. 

 ²⁴ Be brave. Be strong. Don't give up. 
      Expect God to get here soon.

"A Deeper Story"

I came across a new blog thanks to a friend reposting this on her own blog:


“You hold no more value because you are running around like a chicken with your head cut off.  Your days are numbered, fill them with eternal things rather than a chasing of the wind.  Everyone is tired…get off Twitter and GO TO BED.  Being a “perfectionist” makes you flawed, not perfect.  Being overly busy can deter people from investing in you, and will most certainly lessen your ability to invest in others.  You feel more important when you are busy, when you are harried and undone, when you are exhausted at day’s end.  Unplug.  Put the phone on “silent”.  Live life slowly.  Sleep in.  See if the world keeps spinning.  It will.  Without your help.  Without your accomplishment.  Without your control.  Without your to-do list.  Without your bossy-pants self.  Without your hurry.  Oh…and lay off the caffeine.” (from http://deeperstory.com/im-exhausted-are-you-great/)

"A Deeper Story" is a forum where Christian women with "creative minds–writers and artists–[can] engage their craft in a way that collides forcefully with both faith and culture." They post about the tough issues of life, wrestle with world issues, and seek to glorify Christ through it all. I'm intrigued by their passion. 


And as always, take my recommendations with a grain of salt.

Helping up...

taken 8-13-2009 at The Children's Park

"Two are better than one... if one falls down,
   his friend can help him up." Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

"Light Up the Sky"

I just had to share this video...

Comfort...

Have you ever just opened your Bible not really sure what you're looking for, knowing that God is only one who can supply it, but not really knowing where to go?

Today is one of those days. I'm sitting here in the Starbucks right across from campus, savoring my venti triple peppermint mocha and I just opened my Bible to 2 Corinthians. No particular reason, except that I hadn't read it in a while.

And I got stuck on chapter 1:3-11

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.  For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.  If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

I needed a little comfort this morning, I guess. I wasn't really sure what I was expecting. In fact, I was skeptical that I would feel any better by reading in the Word... but I feel kind of guilty that as a Bible study leader I tell my girls to go to God with their worries and troubles and yet I rarely do so myself. So today I was like, whatever... I guess I'll try it... And God had something to show me this morning.

I think I'm supposed to be comforted today. And oddly enough, I am.