I yearn to hear those words,
“Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed of your suffering.”
Being raised with teaching that certainly God can heal but He doesn’t always heal,
Your Faith Has Healed You!
A Bird for His Purpose
Brilliant. Beautiful. Graceful. Pleasant. Stately. Confident. Cocky.
“Cocky.” That’s the trait that ended Gary Hancock.
He couldn’t help being “cocky.“ That’s how God made him, the very peacock that he is (was). Through the years, I’ve witnessed the “cockiness” of the wild turkeys that strut our yards and fields – of the pheasant that crosses the road as though he owns it, which he does! Likewise, it was the innocent, stately, God-given confident “cockiness” that brought about Gary Hancock’s demise one afternoon as he crossed the road he assumed he owned.
#29 Our Cute Little Trailer: Our Sequel to The Long, Long Trailer
Have you ever seen the old movie, The Long, Long Trailer? Oh my goodness! It’s a classic! So try to watch it, if you haven’t.
On their honeymoon, Lucy and Ricky go across the country with their new 40-foot house trailer.(Their names are Tacy and Nicky in this movie, but I’ll call them Lucy and Ricky!) Here’s the “trailer.” to the movie:
(If the website music is playing, you’ll want to “pause” it so you can hear the videos in this post. (Find the music adjustment on the right of laptop or tablet. Scroll to bottom of post for music adjustment on phone.)
Who wouldn’t want such a beautiful trailer as they bought.
#19 Our Own Oregon Trail
We left the Redwoods, our hearts full. (Have you read that post? Click here.) We yearned for more time in these forests, but it was time itself that caused us to move on. We tried not to look at all we left behind – rather at all that lay ahead for us.
We took a bit of the Redwoods with us – a seedling for our grandson, Noah. 
It would yet travel over 2500 miles with us. I babied it all the way.
#27 The Patriot
You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.
~ Abraham Lincoln
Those of you who personally know Ron and me are aware: we are patriots. Being a patriot seems to make the division in this country in the last few years most disheartening, to say the least. I think that may be the reason God led us to Mt. Rushmore in our northwestern cross-country journey a few years ago – to remind us that we are not alone in our love for this beautiful country of ours – and to challenge us
#17 The Fog Lifts
Ron and I both wished I had booked another night at Honeyman State Park along this beautiful Oregon Coast. So much to see. So little time. But this and each night’s camping reservations had been made from over 2000 miles away, many months previous . Not realizing all we would want to see, we had wished for more time at nearly every site we’d visited so far on this journey and would wish it again over and over in the weeks to come! But we moved on, leaving this deeply-wooded park,
The Dash Draws Me In
When you sit down with your Bible open, do you sometimes lack direction as to what to read. Old or New Testament? Do I read the passage accompanying a Devotional Study I’m following?
I ask the Lord for direction. This is where the notes and highlighting come in!
Turning the thin pages of my old Bible, I cast my eyes upon notes and highlighting. Years of it. So many years that I have replaced the cover of the old Bible instead of buying new. I never want to lose those thin pages filled with lessons the good Lord has taught me – saturated with whispers He has spoken – abounding with insight He has given – encompassed with evidence of His ever present mercy and grace. The pages are worn. Some are tear covered. Ink is smeared in spots. Embedded highlighting rises like memories of my mother’s voice. It has become a part of me – this Bible. I never want to be without it.
So on this warm summer morning, the first reprieve from immense heat in days, I sit here on my porch, from where and when the whispers often come. I’m in the quietness of the country. Today, the birds are not flooding the feeders but sing from a distance. The Mourning Dove makes herself known from somewhere at the edge of the yard. Chipmunks flitter about. I hear them running in and out of the metal eave downspouts. But otherwise, it is quiet. I cherish the stillness and open my Bible. and as always, my eyes are drawn to the notes and highlighting.
He speaks to me from Psalm 103. I praise Him. My soul praises Him, and I remember His “benefits -“
There it is! The dash!
As a writer, I’ve used it – even overused it in my writing. Simply look above at this article thus far and you’ll probably see it many times! It comes natural to me to use it as a slight break, most often emphasizing what follows. David, the writer of this Psalm, uses it here to emphasize the benefits given us by our Lord. I like to list them:
-
- He forgives all my sins.
- He heals all my diseases.
- He redeems my life from destruction.
- He crowns me with love and compassion.
- He satisfies my desires with good things so that my youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
- He works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
It is an effective use of the dash, whether intentionally by David or simply added by the translators.
That dash emphasizes some of the benefits of knowing our Lord, and with David, I “Praise the Lord, O my soul, all my inmost being.” I “praise His holy name.” I focus on that list – after the dash – thankful that my relationship with the Father comes with such benefits.
And then I listen – in this quietness – to the lessons He is teaching me through His Word – to His whispers. I soak up the insight of this Word, allowing His Holy Spirit to encompass me with mercy and grace.
Yes, some times the dash makes all the difference.
Psalm 103
Of David.
1 Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
The Trip Itself
When we travel to a location, we don’t consider that location to be our “destination.” Instead of a “place,” every mile, every jaunt, of the trip itself is our destination.
Mother’s Day
I remember when her mother died. Mom’s heart was broken, and I thought I understood. Soon after, Mom and I and my daughters went to a Mother/Daughter Banquet to celebrate Mother’s Day. I was celebrating her – my mother, and I told her so. But Mom was not celebrating. Her heart was broken from the loss of her own mother, my Grandma Locke. And again, I thought I understood.
Remember what He said . . .
The day was the worst ever. It was neither “Good” nor “Holy,” as we now refer to the Friday of Holy Week. In the midst of the curious, the angry, the Jewish officials, and the Roman soldiers, this handful of Christ followers – the women – stood near the cross, numbed in their sorrow and despair. Their Messiah, their Lord, their Savior, had been brutally beaten – beyond recognition. Earlier, they had followed Him and the procession of onlookers as He carried His cross, sometimes falling to the ground, up the hill.
How can He possibly continue. Please God.
But He did continue.