My son was riding through the little town of Nashville on his bicycle on his way to school one day looking upward at the sign his dad had made for a business there in town. Because he wasn't watching where he was going, he ran into the back of a truck and landed sprawled across a big machine part in the back of the truck. Fearing the owner would come out of the business and wonder what he was doing in the back of his truck, he climbed out in a hurry and walked his bike the rest of the way to school because it was no longer rideable. When he got home he told me what happened in his laid-back way and when he finished I asked if anyone stopped to help him. He said, "Yow one man stopped but he just laughed and laughed."
Contemplations
MY SON JOHN
My son was riding through the little town of Nashville on his bicycle on his way to school one day looking upward at the sign his dad had made for a business there in town. Because he wasn't watching where he was going, he ran into the back of a truck and landed sprawled across a big machine part in the back of the truck. Fearing the owner would come out of the business and wonder what he was doing in the back of his truck, he climbed out in a hurry and walked his bike the rest of the way to school because it was no longer rideable. When he got home he told me what happened in his laid-back way and when he finished I asked if anyone stopped to help him. He said, "Yow one man stopped but he just laughed and laughed."
DEALING WITH A PERSON WITH DEPRESSION
BEST FRIENDS UNTIL DEATH
THE FIRST KING
FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
23 The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
Genesis 2:23-24
To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” Genesis 3:16
Do not be like your parents...who were unfaithful to the Lord,...II Chronicles 30:7
1 Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction;
pay attention and gain understanding.
2 I give you sound learning,
so do not forsake my teaching.
3 For I too was a son to my father,
still tender, and cherished by my mother.
4 Then he taught me, and he said to me,
“Take hold of my words with all your heart;
keep my commands, and you will live.
5 Get wisdom, get understanding;
do not forget my words or turn away from them.
6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
love her, and she will watch over you.
7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get[a] wisdom.
Though it cost all you have,[b] get understanding.
8 Cherish her, and she will exalt you;
embrace her, and she will honor you.
9 She will give you a garland to grace your head
and present you with a glorious crown.”
10 Listen, my son, accept what I say,
and the years of your life will be many.
11 I instruct you in the way of wisdom
and lead you along straight paths.
12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered;
when you run, you will not stumble.
13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;
guard it well, for it is your life.
14 Do not set foot on the path of the wicked
or walk in the way of evildoers.
15 Avoid it, do not travel on it;
turn from it and go on your way.
18 The path of the righteous is like the morning sun,
shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
they do not know what makes them stumble.
20 My son, pay attention to what I say;
turn your ear to my words.
21 Do not let them out of your sight,
keep them within your heart;
22 for they are life to those who find them
and health to one’s whole body.
23 Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
24 Keep your mouth free of perversity;
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead;
fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the paths for your feet
and be steadfast in all your ways.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil.
13 Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer looks with favor on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. 14 You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.
15 Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.
16 “The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,” says the Lord Almighty.
So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful. Malachi 2:13-16
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4
Corinthians
Exodus 20, Deut.
(Ex. 20:1-17 & Deut. 5:6-21)
You shall have no gods before me.
Do not make or pray to an idol.
For I am a jealous God,
On your heart I want a bridle.
Do not misuse my name;
In a way without true meaning.
I am outraged when my name is exclaimed,
I think of it as demeaning.
Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy;
Six days you shall do all your work.
The seventh day is mine alone,
So relax; your work you can shirk.
For in six days I made the heavens,
And all life in the earth and sea.
I rested on the seventh day;
I blessed it and declared it holy.
Honor your father and mother,
So you may live long in the land.
Do not murder, be true to your spouse,
And do not steal with your hand.
Do not lie about anyone.
Don’t covet what belongs to your neighbor.
If you will keep these commandments,
With Me you will find favor.
--Becky Wall
WHEN NATURE IS FULLY ALIVE
God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy. You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it. You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops. You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance. The grasslands of the wilderness overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing.” Psalms 65:1-13 NIV
Job 38:41
Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?
Habakkuk 2:11
The stones of the wall will cry out, and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.
Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
Psalm 98:8
Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy;
Psalm 148
Sing for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done this; shout aloud, you earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees...
rejoice, you earth;
burst into song, you mountains!
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”