In the mornings after breakfast we clear away the dishes and have a devotional time--just the four kids and Momma, since Daddy leaves while we're still asleep. We have another devotional at dinner with Daddy, but the morning session is to dedicate the day to the Lord, asking him to order our steps. We read Scripture and pray in turn, including prayer about our attitudes toward each other and toward our work. It really sets a nice tone for our school day.
Today we read Psalm 1 and it filled me with such peace!
Psalm 1
Blessed is the one
who does not walk
in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
Oh, Dear Lord, thank you. Thank you for saving us and taking us off the wicked path. Day by day you make our hearts new, never leaving nor forsaking us.
but whose
delight
is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
Lord, we delight in you. May we wake each day and dedicate the day to you, meditating on your Scriptures day and night, letting you fill us with your Holy Spirit.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
You, God, will complete your work in us; you promise us that and we thank you for your faithfulness and graciousness. Thank you that our lives will bear fruit and our spirits will not wither.
whatever they do prospers.
From Matthew Henry's Commentary:
Of the promised blessing; he is blessed of the Lord, and therefore he shall be like a tree. The divine blessing produces real effects. It is the happiness of a godly man, [1.] That he is planted by the grace of God. These trees were by nature wild olives, and will continue so till they are grafted anew, and so planted by a power from above. Never any good tree grew of itself; it is the planting of the Lord, and therefore he must in it be glorified. Isa. 61:3; The trees of the Lord are full of sap. [2.] That he is placed by the means of grace, here called the rivers of water, those rivers which make glad the city of our God (Ps. 46:4); from these a good man receives supplies of strength and vigour, but in secret undiscerned ways. [3.] That his practices shall be fruit, abounding to a good account, Phil. 4:17.
and who meditates on his law day and night.
Lord, we delight in you. May we wake each day and dedicate the day to you, meditating on your Scriptures day and night, letting you fill us with your Holy Spirit.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
You, God, will complete your work in us; you promise us that and we thank you for your faithfulness and graciousness. Thank you that our lives will bear fruit and our spirits will not wither.
whatever they do prospers.
From Matthew Henry's Commentary:
Of the promised blessing; he is blessed of the Lord, and therefore he shall be like a tree. The divine blessing produces real effects. It is the happiness of a godly man, [1.] That he is planted by the grace of God. These trees were by nature wild olives, and will continue so till they are grafted anew, and so planted by a power from above. Never any good tree grew of itself; it is the planting of the Lord, and therefore he must in it be glorified. Isa. 61:3; The trees of the Lord are full of sap. [2.] That he is placed by the means of grace, here called the rivers of water, those rivers which make glad the city of our God (Ps. 46:4); from these a good man receives supplies of strength and vigour, but in secret undiscerned ways. [3.] That his practices shall be fruit, abounding to a good account, Phil. 4:17.
Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
Matthew Henry's Commentary:
In general, they are the reverse of the righteous, both in character and condition: They are not so. The LXX. emphatically repeats this: Not so the ungodly; they are not so; they are led by the counsel of the wicked, in the way of sinners, to the seat of the scornful; they have no delight in the law of God, nor ever think of it; they bring forth no fruit but grapes of Sodom; they cumber the ground. 2. In particular, whereas the righteous are like valuable, useful, fruitful trees, they are like the chaff which the wind drives away, the very lightest of the chaff, the dust which the owner of the floor desires to have driven away, as not capable of being put to any use.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
Matthew Henry's Commentary: that is, they shall be found guilty, shall hang down the head with shame and confusion, and all their pleas and excuses will be overruled as frivolous. There is a judgment to come, in which every man’s present character and work, though ever so artfully concealed and disguised, shall be truly and perfectly discovered, and appear in their own colours, and accordingly every man’s future state will be, by an irreversible sentence, determined for eternity.
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
Matthew Henry's Commentary:
In general, they are the reverse of the righteous, both in character and condition: They are not so. The LXX. emphatically repeats this: Not so the ungodly; they are not so; they are led by the counsel of the wicked, in the way of sinners, to the seat of the scornful; they have no delight in the law of God, nor ever think of it; they bring forth no fruit but grapes of Sodom; they cumber the ground. 2. In particular, whereas the righteous are like valuable, useful, fruitful trees, they are like the chaff which the wind drives away, the very lightest of the chaff, the dust which the owner of the floor desires to have driven away, as not capable of being put to any use.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
Matthew Henry's Commentary: that is, they shall be found guilty, shall hang down the head with shame and confusion, and all their pleas and excuses will be overruled as frivolous. There is a judgment to come, in which every man’s present character and work, though ever so artfully concealed and disguised, shall be truly and perfectly discovered, and appear in their own colours, and accordingly every man’s future state will be, by an irreversible sentence, determined for eternity.
For the Lord watches over
the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
Oh, Lord, it is because of you we are called righteous. Thank you for your grace and for imputing your righteousness to us. In you, we have enough. We have everything. May we live each day in thanksgiving and thanksliving.
Giving Thanks Today:
~ God is helping me work the kinks out of our daily school/chore schedule. Thanks be to God for that.
~ A very imaginative, delightful four year old in my midst, bringing so much joy and blessing each day. Okay, and messes too. But I'll take them with the smiles and hugs.
~ My Mary reading on her own more and more, praise be to God. It's so exciting for both of us.
~ Fall weather...a million thanks Dear Lord.
~ He keeps our paths straight and our hearts full.
~ Beth's arthritis is still in a flare, but praise God she doesn't seem miserable. Her new AWANA Cubbies teacher said she was so cute...so delightful and full of joy. That is grace, because her joints are still swelling.
~ Christian radio
~ Switching from a Wednesday night AWANA to a Sunday night AWANA. Oh, Lord, thank you for a lighter Wednesday. It wasn't easy to do, but I see blessings from it already. They changed the structure of our old AWANA and it didn't allow for much one-on-one mentoring with individual handbook leaders for each of my children. Though they studied and knew their verses, it was still a special time with the handbook leader every week.
Because we have too little support and so few Christian relatives, they really need another special person speaking Christ into their lives once a week. Since some of that got lost in the new structure, and since Wednesday was always so hard for us anyway (with physical therapy and speech on the same day), it seemed like a good time to make a switch, although saying goodbye about broke our hearts.
But, we can now have 7 family dinners a week (AWANA now ends at 6:16 PM rather than 8 PM.) and Momma won't ever wake up and dread a Wednesday again. They made for some long days.
~ Husband and I filled out volunteer forms to be handbook (verse) leaders at the new church, but until they process those and do background checks, we can actually have a date or two from 4:30 - 6:15 on Sundays. It's been years, people. Though we don't have any money for dates, we'll think of something (hot chocolate maybe?). Part of me fears we might just sit there and stare at each other, wondering where the noise went, not knowing what to say.
~ A Christian husband, gentle and good, to do life with.
~ My Paul's sincere, righteous heart.
~ God provided nice verse teachers for my children at the new AWANA church. It did my Momma heart good to see them so excited.
~ Some flowers still blooming and tomatoes still ripening.
~ My 90-year-old father-in-law is not out of rehab yet, but his arm is out of the sling and he can walk with a walker. Praise God!
What are you thankful for today?
Prayer Request: Father-in-law is overwhelmed about the decision concerning where to live. Please pray? He doesn't seem to want to live with us, and if he chooses an assisted-living establishment, it's better that he chooses here in our town, rather than in Florida. These establishments treat you better when you have frequent visitors. We think he has about 3 more weeks in the rehabiliation center, barring any health problems that might crop up. The travel up here seems overwhelming to him, for one. Thank you for your prayers.
image
