Summer in the Psalms - Week Ten Gathering Place

Welcome, once again, to your Gathering Place girls! I could tell from some of your responses, that perhaps more than any other week, this week has genuinely required of you - in the sense that the scope of your reading was not only lengthy, but also deep and far reaching in it's content as well. However, because the sole intent of this particular exercise was to simply set our heart's upon pilgrimage, allowing these psalms to draw us ever closer to our God, discipline was also required of you, as you were not to take it any farther than to just drink of God's Word and to not try and over 'think' it.

Although there have been many books and studies written, regarding these particular psalms, and commentaries will give you even more information regarding them, I am encouraged to know that you have allowed God alone to guide you through His Word and minister to you as you yourself were placed by Him upon the pilgrim's path.

The title, 'Songs of Ascents', is a Hebrew title given to Psalms 120-134, it looks like this in Hebrew שיר המעלות, and it's transliteration is 'Shir Hama'aloth‎'. Over the centuries these 15 psalms have come to be known as 'The Gradual Psalms', 'The Songs of Degrees', 'The Songs of Steps' or 'The Pilgrim Songs'. I came across this picture on the right, which shows the Songs of Ascents written in Hebrew right into the walls at the entrance to the City of David in Jerusalem.

You probably noted in your reading that although we do not know for sure who wrote all of these psalms, four of them are clearly psalms written by David (122, 124, 131 and 133), and one (127) was written by David's son Solomon. If you look closely at 127, and if you have every studied the books of Samuel and Chronicles, you will undoubtedly see the significance of Solomon's words, "Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it;".

During the reign of his father David, it was in the heart of David to build a house for the Lord, but because David was a man of war the Lord chose his son Solomon to build the house (1 Kings 5:1-5, 2 Chronicles 6:7-10). Similarly, knowing the life of David will intensify his words in Psalm 133, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!" David had known the love of Jonathan (1 Samuel 18:1-4), yet David's life was characterized by anything but unity. The first king of Israel, Saul, sought David to take his life; David's own sons were against each other, leading to the murder of one of them by the hand of his brother; one son schemed to kill David himself; one son raped his sister, David's house seemed to be a house divided and anything but unity seemed to reign. So his words in this psalm are deeply meaningful. David understood that the unity of God's people was pleasing to God, it sets them apart from the other nations, consecrating them as the oil that ran down the beard of Aaron the priest - this reminded me of our study in the book of John, where we learned, through the High Priestly prayer of Jesus, that His desire for us is that "(we) be one, just as We (God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit) are one;"

These psalms are significant in that they are songs of worship, sung by pilgrims as they made their ascent (way up) to Jerusalem to attend the three annual festivals - the Festival of Passover, the Festival of Pentecost and the Festival of Tabernacles. In her time, Hannah, the mother of Samuel, would have been counted among the number of these pilgrims (1 Samuel 1) who sang these Songs of Ascents as she made her way up to Jerusalem. In Luke 2:41-42 we see Jesus Himself, a pilgrim of 12 years of age, going up to Jerusalem for the Festival of Passover; He would also have been singing the Songs of Ascent, the Hallel, just as you yourself did this week.

Think upon Jesus, singing, along with his parents and the others on the pilgrimage path Psalm 121... "I will lift My eyes up to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip..." I cried as I read this, knowing that as Jesus sung this pilgrimage psalm, on His first journey to Jerusalem for the feast - that ahead of Him yet lay His wilderness temptations (Matthew 4:1-11), the persecution from His own (John 1:11) - yet lay ahead of Him Gethsemane, where His soul would be "deeply grieved to the point of death" (Matthew 26:38) - and yet lay ahead of Him the agony of the cross, the separation from the Father (Matthew 27:46).

He Himself was the "Maker of heaven and earth" (Psalm 121:2; John 1:1-3), yet He positioned Himself in submission to the Father and lifted His eyes to Him and Him alone - that I might today, on this side of the cross, claim these words as He Himself did, knowing that all has been accomplished through the pilgrimage of Jesus that ultimately took Him to the cross, for the forgiveness of my sins. These Songs of Ascent speak to me this... "STEP UP! STEP UP!" I do not know what yet lays ahead of me on this pilgrims path, but as I look up, keeping my eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of my faith, He beckons me on.... "STEP UP! STEP UP!

The Songs of Ascents are also significant because they were also sung by the priests as they ascended the fifteen steps in the temple in Jerusalem, to minister to the people. And once again I hear, "STEP UP! STEP UP!"

Psalm 126 was also meaningful to me, as I saw that it was written upon the return of God's chosen people, from the Babylonian exile, back to Jerusalem. It describes their emotions upon their entering in... it was like a dream, mouths were filled with laughter, their tongues becoming the instruments of joyful shouting, "the LORD has done great things, we are glad". This took me back to the time of my own initial salvation, when God Himself delivered me out of the captivity of death and darkness and into Life and marvelous Light... and I sang this particular Song of Ascent as praise to my God.

Psalm 122 reminds me of the importance of praying for the peace of Jerusalem. Not human, wordly, governmental peace, but God's peace, for "Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain." (Psalm 127:1) An ordinance has been given to Jerusalem, that thanks is to be given "to the Name of the LORD." We can pray for God's peace (shalom, meaning 'whole, complete, nothing broken, nothing missing') to be upon and within Jerusalem.

This week has been deeply meaningful to me, God has ministered to my thirsting soul and given me refreshment through His Word. And although each held meaning for me, it was Psalm 130 that was continually upon my heart, my memory verse being v.5-6...

"I wait for the LORD,

my soul does wait,

and in His Word do I hope.

My soul waits for the LORD

more than the watchmen for the morning;

indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning."

Now girls,

may the God of hope

fill you with all joy

and peace

in believing,

so that you will abound in hope

by the power of the Holy Spirit...

Romans 15:13

I missed seeing you in the Comment Cafe last week at our Gathering Place, so I am really looking forward to seeing you there this time!

Until then,

love you like crazy!

Your sister-mama,

In Absolute Stitches...

Before we left on vacation I was in absolute stitches, trying to get some draperies completed! I had been searching for material over the past few months and had not seen any that I really liked - then one day I happened to glance at a 50% off table on my way out of a fabric store and there it was! I knew right away that it was what I was looking for, I immediately took out all my little paint chips to make sure my eyes were not playing tricks on me, and yep, everything seemed to just blend together beautifully.

So, home I went and out came the scissors and tape, the needle and thread!


One of my favorite parts about sewing draperies is the hand-stitching of the hems, no sound of a machine, just the quiet, simple, easy motion of needle and thread...

Early one evening, as I was hand-sewing, my husband had just finished cutting the lawns and the fresh fragrance of new cut grass came wafting in through the window. As the sky began to darken, it looked as if we might be in for a little bit of summer rain. So, in came the pillows from the garden chairs and the barbeque covered and put away, and not more than an hour later there was the most spectacular display of thunder and lightening that I have seen in quite a while. It was glorious!

And all the while, there I sat, quietly stitching to the sounds of the cracking of lightening, the roll of the thunder and the patter of heavy rain on the roof.

It's a lovely way to spend a few days... in absolute stitches.

Summer in the Psalms - Week Ten Reading

OK, this is the last posting of the day! Promise!

I was giggling just thinking about telling you what your reading would be for this week, thinking that some of you were holding your breath, believing that because our last psalm was 118 that I would never, ever, ever, suggest that this week's reading would be 119 - just from the sheer fact that they are back to back and it being so-o-o long and all! Well, you know what? You're right! Your reading will not be Psalm 119... (sigh) but I have to say, it is one wonderful psalm, and one that is well worn in my Bible.

Girls, your reading this week is Psalm 120-134, the "Psalms of Ascents". Should I be wondering at this point whether your enthusiasm for me being back is as enthusiastic as it was earlier?

I will continue to encourage you to keep on reading Out Loud and to select from your reading a verse, or verses, to commit to memory.

Other than that, I will say no more, except... ENJOY!

Summer in the Psalms - Week Nine Gathering Place

Thank you so much for your lovely words, welcoming me back to our Gathering Place and just plain, back! I really had a great time with my family, I'll tell you all about it later... with pictures!
Angie said in one of her comments that I would be overjoyed at the activity that has been taking place in the Comment Cafe and, oh my goodness, Angie, were you ever right! I was on the deck with my computer early this morning, laughing and clapping my hands in sheer delight as I saw your time together in the Cafe. I giggled when Angie said that she was enjoying chasing Debbie around in it, I totally 'think' in pictures, so this was a visual that just tickled me no end! Edna, Marnie, Debbie, Takako, Jan, Margaret and Angie you are my 'go to' girls this week, and I treasure you like crazy!

After reading through your (very lively, I might add) discussion, it became apparent that I needed to, once again, just bring everything that I had personally gleaned over this past week, lay it before the Lord and only add to your comments very little, so as not to go over what I believe you all 'caught and got' already!

Right out of the gate, I just have to say that when I read Takako's comment, my arm just flung itself into the air and punched out the exclamation marks to my repeatedly stated word of YES! YES! YES! Takako sweetheart, you nailed it, pure and simple... any form of true spiritual deliverance, out of the enemies schemes against the child of God, will only come IN THE NAME OF THE LORD... ever. Read through v. 10-14 and notice that through the psalmist, God tells us that the enemy nations that surrounded the psalmist, surrounded him like bees. Girls, have you ever been surrounded by bees? Is there any possible way of escape? Which one do you hit? How many can you hit? They are too numerous to count. If you hit 50, will that nullify the other 1,000 that are attacking you? Can you see them all at one time, simultaneously? They are too numerous to count, and so like many, you end up just yelling, swinging your arms and legs frantically, randomly, hoping to hit, shake or scare any or all of them away. What do you think your odds are of achieving victory - not only over being stung, but of sending them all 'to flight' or even causing them to all drop dead?

I found these verses to be quite profound, in the sense that the word 'surrounded' is in the past tense, meaning the occurrence of this 'surrounding' has already happened in the past, and yet it is in the present tense that the psalmist takes us back to that very moment of faith in his God, that moment in the midst of his being surrounded by an enemy whose numbers were too numerous to count, that moment in time where he lifted up his voice in faith and shouted, "IN THE NAME OF THE LORD I WILL SURELY CUT THEM OFF!" And those bees, that enemy whose numbers were too numerous to count "were extinguished as a fire of thorns". During biblical times, thorns were used as kindling, if thorns were burned on their own, they would eventually be extinquished as the source of fuel itself had completely burned up without anything else for it to ignite. It was a crown of thorns that was placed around the head of our Saviour Jesus, but those thorns, placed mockingly upon His head, when kindled by God Himself, as He hung on that cross, ignited the power of the cross and became the burning fire of the crown of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords; and led to a fire in the bosom of his children that is unquenchable.

In Psalm 118, we see the enemy that was extinguished as a fire of kindling thorns and written of by the psalmist, become a roaring fire of faith in the heart of this same psalmist.

God never wastes a Word. And in this psalm He wants us to KNOW, that it is the enemy that pushes the child of God violently so that they fall (v.13); but that it is God Who helps that child, when they call upon THE NAME OF THE LORD. The Lord is our strength, He is our song, He has become our salvation (v.14) This is a truth, and also a warning.

Margaret, you were absolutely right in pointing out v. 29 as being a covenant term in relation to God's kindness being everlasting; and also when you shared that this Psalm was also part of the Hallel that would have been sung during the Passover. Girls, since we have just come out of our year long study in John, think about this. Psalm 118 is the last of the Hallel Psalms - Hallel simply means praise, and consisted of Psalm 113-118 that was sung, in all probability, by Jesus and His disciples in the Upper Room before they began the journey to the Mount of Olives on the night of His arrest.

Now, think about Jesus singing this, last of the Hallel's - "Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His kindness is everlasting." As He stood singing the Hallel with His disciples, He was the New Covenant; He was the Stone the builders had rejected who would soon, through the cross, become the Chief Corner Stone; He Himself was and is the Gate of Righteousness that we ourselves have now entered through; and get this .... "this is the LORD'S doing", He knew what lay ahead of Him and it was His doing, and isn't it truly just "marvelous in our eyes"!

When v. 24 tells us that "this is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it", the day that is being spoken of here is the church age, the age that we now live in, inaugurated through the cross, as the Stone the builders rejected became the Chief Corner Stone, and which points, ultimately to the "day of the Lord" yet to come (1 Thess. 5:2). The LORD Himself made this day (v.24), it is His doing (v.23), that all who now enter in through the rent veil of the flesh of the Son of Man may now have fellowship with God and access to the very throne of the Father Himself.

Remember, it is vital that we understand that the an enemy attack is 'cut off' IN THE NAME OF THE LORD and not by our own fleshly strength or worldly wisdom. Look at v. 26... those who come IN THE NAME OF THE LORD are... blessed! Debbie asked a great question, I just loved it, because it just so ties in the Old and New Testaments so beautifully, and Angie, you did a great job answering it! In the O.T. those that COME IN THE NAME OF THE LORD were not only blessed by God Himself through the priests, but today, those that COME IN THE NAME OF THE LORD are blessed by God Himself, through Christ in their brothers and sisters in Christ. Believers are a royal priesthood in the house of the Lord, Jesus Himself being our Great High Priest (Hebrews 6:20), and when others come IN HIS NAME we bless them from this house!

Where is this 'house of the Lord', this temple of God today? Today, the Lord takes up His residency within believers.... we are the house of the Lord, the temple of the Lord! (1 Cor. 3:16 1 Cor. 6:19).

In Psalm 118:15 God promises us, through the psalmist that "the sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous" - "the tents of the righteous" today, on this side of the cross, are our earthly bodies, where Christ Himself dwells. This has always been one of my favorite verses, and of course, last week we learned all about "joyful shouting', so the impact of this should be huge for us this week.

There is so much more that I would like to say regarding what this Psalm has to say about 'distress', or what this Psalm means regarding "therefore I will look with satisfaction on those who hate me", but we can continue that discussion in the Comment Cafe!

By the way, Angie and Jan, what a blessing it was to hear your conversation regarding the Family of God. I was blessed by your words to one another and it really resonated within me because of my own thoughts and musings before the Lord just this past Saturday morning. The last line I wrote in my Journal before heading into the day was this - "...this morning I give thanks, His covenant kindness is everlasting, and I join my voice with all believers as I read through Psalm 118, knowing that my precious sisters in Christ, are doing the same.

I love you and cherish each and every one of you, and frankly, missed you like crazy!

I'll give you the 'heads-up' on our next Psalm in the next post!

And the Winner is...

Congratulations Debbie! I was dancing around the room when I opened up the entry paper - and there was your name! I am really happy for you and am hoping with all my heart that this Journal will become, not only a sweet and joyful reminder to you of your Summer in the Psalms, but also a place where you will be able to pour out to the Lord, all that is within your heart, and record all that He is showing you, through His Word and by His Holy Spirit as He restores and brings refreshment to your soul.

The theme of this Journal is Life, and sweetheart, it just could not be more suited to who you are. Truly you are full of the Life of Christ which overflows into the lives of others. Your sisters and your 'sister-mama' have been blessed so abundantly through your questions, your honesty, your encouragement and your love and zeal for Life.

Have a wonderful time away and I'll see you when you get back! And please thank that wonderful husband of yours for me, for purchasing that laptop for you - for the express purpose of being able to visit the blog while you are away... as a matter of fact, we ALL thank him!

July Giveaway Drawing...

click to enlarge

Hey sisters! Just a 'heads up' to let you know that the drawing for the July Giveaway will be held on Monday, August 3rd.

Remember, every comment you make will enter your name into the drawing up until midnight Friday, July 31st...

I can hardly wait to find out who will soon be recieving this Summer in the Psalm's Journal!

Summer in the Psalms - Week Nine Reading

Good Monday morning to you! I found myself humming a song last night, and realized a little while later that, nope, it wasn't a hymn, it was that old song written by Irving Berlin in which the opening line is, ... "We're having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave, it isn't surprising the temperature's rising, a tropical heat wave". Now, don't be writing me to tell me what a horrible song that is... I was only singing the first line for heaven's sake! ... and you have to admit, it fit the heat and humidity of yesterday! Never have I more desired someone to just come along and say 'Oh, Cathie, go jump in a lake' as much as I did yesterday! Amazing what becomes music to your ears when only days before could have been taken as an insult ...

Anyway, without further ado, our Psalm for this week girls is Psalm 118! - I truly hope that you will enjoy and receive the blessing of it!

I will not be able to post on it until late Sunday evening, but you go right ahead, on Thursday, and post your comments in the Comment Cafe ... yours sisters are in need of your fellowship and wisdom!

By the by, I just wanted to say that I was blown away by the depth, wisdom, exuberance and openness that I saw in all of your comments on our last few postings - I am believing with all my heart that God is using this place as a platform for ministry beyond the scope of 'all that we could ever ask or think', and that He is using you to accomplish His purposes.

Now, to Him Who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21

Now, away you go into your day, drinking lots of water and being strong in the Lord, you mighty women of God!

With love from your 'sister-mama',

Where Three or More Are Gathered...

I had a lovely surprise late yesterday morning. As I was preparing for my day that lay ahead, my husband told me that Angie had called and left a message. That message was an invitation to come and meet her Auntie Jean in her new care facility and also to meet Takako, who would be visiting Auntie Jean along with Angie. I quickly made the necessary adjustments to my schedule and away I went...who could turn down an invitation like that!

Here is the lovely Takako, who, through Angie, has blessed our study group this past year. She has just learned how to enter into the Comment Cafe and was visiting there with us yesterday -Takako had gone back to Angie's place later on yesterday afternoon, and Angie showed her how to leave her comment - if you would like to see what Takako had to say, just go into the Comment Cafe from yesterday's post!

The connection with Takako and Auntie Jean has been one of caregiver and friend, before the decision was made to move Auntie Jean into her new residence.

Angie brought out a photo album, showing us a picture of Auntie Jean and her sisters, taken when they had gathered together at a family reunion some time ago. We really had a wonderful time of visiting and fellowship; we laughed and prayed and absolutely everything that morning simply pointed to Jesus.

Takako has asked that our group of girls continue to pray for her, as she has another series of tests, examinations and doctor's appointments coming up quite soon - I have to tell you that her faith is strong and full of joy, and it was my delight and privilege to be able to meet Takako in person.

By the way, I took as many pictures as I could but my camera was definitely not cooperating -below you will see one of the pictures of me with Takako and Auntie Jean - they all looked great in the view finder thing-a-ma-jig, but, it was a whole different story when I started to download them!

Besides, I think you got the best three looking girls out of the group!

OXO

Summer in the Psalms - Week Eight Gathering Place

Welcome, once again, to your Gathering Place girls! It is my prayer this week that as you sit under the restorative shade of Psalm 100, that it becomes, not only a place of meditation and contemplation for you, but a place of great rejoicing and praise as well!

I have found this week that many of the old hymns have found their voice in me and I have thoroughly enjoyed the ministering work that they have brought about within my heart and soul... Great Is Thy Faithfulness; Come Thou Fount; Doxology; The Solid Rock; It Is Well With My Soul; Blessed Assurance; Immortal Invisible... it has been wonderful!

Did you know that Psalm 22:3 tells us that God Himself inhabits the praises of His people? There is nothing like praising God and knowing the sweet release and freedom that comes from the quick retreat of the enemy of our souls! And that is what this Psalm is all about - praise and thanksgiving!

On my first reading of this Psalm, I noticed that in v.1-4 there were seven distinct commands given - Shout, Serve, Come, Know, Enter, and Give Thanks and Bless. Since Monday morning I have been looking at each one of these commands, as deeply as the Lord would have me go, and I have been blessed beyond precious reason; I am still not done and am looking forward to the next three days of going even deeper. I will give you a 'for instance' that is particular to the season that I now find myself in, so the application has been quite profound.

As I looked more deeply into God's command for His people to 'shout ', one of the places I found myself studying was Joshua 6 - to keep it short I will just say this, when God commands His people to open their blessed mouths and 'shout', then we had better be about opening our blessed mouths and shouting... there are some walls that God intends to be coming down!

Psalm 100 directs us to 'shout joyfully'. This word 'shout' means 'to raise a sound, cry out, give a blast, to shout a war-cry or alarm of battle, to sound a signal for war or march, to shout in triumph over enemies'. Did you ever stop to consider that your praising of God is a battle cry of triumph over your enemies? That as you praise God, He Himself inhabits those praises and the enemy then turns tail and runs as your praises to your God blows the trumpet of Satan's defeat? Don't tell me that this wasn't a balm to my weary soul this week, walls were crashing down all over the blessed place and this particular girl was all about 'possessing the land'!

Something else that I noticed was the direction and the attitude of the heart that must be present as we Shout, Serve, Come, Know, Enter Give Thanks and Bless. We are to shout to the LORD joyfully; serve the LORD with gladness; come before HIM with joyful singing; know that the LORD HIMSELF is GOD; enter HIS GATES with thanksgiving and HIS COURTS with praise; give thanks to HIM; bless HIS NAME. The direction is always God-ward, the attitude of the heart joyful, glad, thankful and full of praise.

I then meditated upon v.3. When we truly know that He is God, then we understand that He Himself made us and not ourselves. Among God's people there is no such thing as the 'self-made' woman or man - we are His people, we are the sheep of His pasture, after all, He is our Shepherd and we shall not want. Last week we looked at how we can come to 'know' God.

There is also an attitude, a positioning of the heart that God delights in when we approach His gates and His courts. We are to enter His gates with thanksgiving (v.4) and enter His courts with praise. I thought this week, as I meditated on this, how often I have barged through those gates and blasted through into those courts with nothing on my sorry mind but my own wants and desires. Yet those gates are only open to me through the shed blood of Jesus, and those courts are only accessible to me through the rent veil of the flesh of Jesus, my Great High Priest. Surely, to stop and consider the price that was paid for me, to even enter in, would result in the bending of my knee in thanksgiving at those gates and the opening of my mouth in praise as I passed through those courts and entered into the Holy of Holies, to come before the throne of God Himself.

Did you notice the superscription at the beginning of this Psalm? It is 'A Psalm for Thanksgiving' ... not a Psalm of Thanksgiving. This Psalm is to direct us towards thanksgiving and praise, it is not in lieu of it. This Psalm is given as a directive to 'all the earth' (v.1), yet it is not for 'all the earth', it is directed to those that belong to God. Those who serve the LORD with gladness (v.2) are His servants, and those that serve Him know that the LORD Himself is God.

I'll just leave it at that for now as I give the last verse time to minister to my soul, "For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations."

Great is Thy faithfulness,
Oh God, My Father!
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not -
Thy compassions they fail not;
As Thou hast been
Thou forever wilt be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed
Thy hand hath provided -
Great is Thy faithfulness,
Lord, unto me!

I am looking forward to hearing your insights from this week when we get together in the Comment Cafe - see you there!

Blessings on My Doorstep!

Look what was placed upon my doorstep today! Fresh garden flowers, just as cheery and fragrant as could be and fresh garden vegetables ... beets and carrots and lettuce and peas it was practically dinner! And who left this bounty you ask? I have no idea! Whoever you may be, I and my family thank you... not only for the extravagance of your gift, but also for the love behind it all. I know what it is like to tenderly nurture the flowers of your garden along, and to excitedly watch to see those first little green shoots of carrots and peas and beets and lettuce poke up their little heads in the Spring.

I thank you for carrying me in your heart as you tenderly cut and harvested your own garden in order to bless me today.

Thank you!

Girls Time Out!

Just have a quick moment, but just needed to share... yesterday my granddaughter and I had a play date! Our day together began with an early morning walk with BabaLinda and her lovely daughter Laura (behind the camera!), and Laura's daughter, BabaLinda's granddaughter, the cute little Miss Sopia. My entire day was sheer bliss!

Summer in the Psalms - Week Eight Reading

Good Monday to you! This morning I have been singing that old hymn "Great Is Thy Faithfulness", what a wonderful way to begin a new day!

Another great way to begin the day is in the reading of a brand new Psalm! Our Psalm for this week is not at all 'lengthy', but it is full of joyful praise towards God. May you know the fullness of joy that is to be had through this Psalm as you read, study and meditate upon it. Our place of meditation this week girls, is Psalm 100... enjoy!

By the way, would you all join with me in wishing our Debbie a very Happy Birthday today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEBBIE!

with love,