Soul Cards

These are collage cards that I've made using the Soul Collage technique. 

Illumine Creation - Sermon May 25th 2014

Matthew 5:14-16

The Voice

¹⁴ And you, beloved, are the light of the world. A city built on a hilltop cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Similarly it would be silly to light a lamp and then hide it under a bowl. When someone lights a lamp, she puts it on a table or a desk or a chair, and the light illumines the entire house.¹⁶ You are like that illuminating light. Let your light shine everywhere you go, that you may illumine creation, so men and women everywhere may see your good actions, may see creation at its fullest, may see your devotion to Me, and may turn and praise your Father in heaven because of it.

Illumine Creation, Sermon May 25th 2014

Back in September I returned to school. I am currently enrolled in the Diaconal Ministry program with the Centre for Christian Studies. This school is located in Winnipeg MB, but most of the school work is done at home. Part of the school year is do what’s called a ‘field placement’ we don’t spend a lot of time in classrooms, rather this program has us working in the community getting experience through ‘doing’.

I was lucky because the school allowed me to do my field placement here at Mount Seymour where I am also employed. It made juggling ‘school work’ and ‘work work’ a lot easier.

As part of my field placement I began a Lectio Divina practice group here. Lectio Divina is a style of meditation that involves listening too and meditating on sacred words – usually scripture.

The passage from today’s reading was one of the first pieces of scripture our group used. In Lectio we listen for a word or phrase that stands out to us; a word that would be in Bold or colour when we image them in our heads.

The rest of the meditation time is spent praying about what the words mean in our hearts, how are we touched by the words and how can we take these sacred words into our day ahead.

For me, the words ‘illumine creation’ stood out at that first reading. They are beautiful to say – illumine creation.

These words and this passage have stuck with me throughout this past year as I worked on school and my job here and contemplated my discernment for ministry.

I’ve been in discernment for a very long time. I am pretty sure that my first conversation with Nancy about discernment was more than 4 years ago as I was working on my degree and she was curious about ‘what I would do with a theology degree once I was done’.

At the time I didn’t really know and I wasn’t sure I wanted to do anything more with it than have a fancy piece of paper for the wall. But I finished the degree and the paper the university sent me wasn’t fancy at all – in fact it was disappointingly boring, so what to do?

Another conversation with Nancy of course.

I remember this conversation as if it were yesterday, but it was close to three years ago now. We were discussing discernment again and I was resisting again. She asked me a question about what I wanted to do, what I enjoyed here at Mount Seymour.

I talked about leading Life Groups and the other small groups I’ve been involved with, I talked about how much I liked learning with people, listening to their stories and their ideas. How I liked helping out people one on one.

She said, ‘That sounds like diaconal.”

And I said, “huh?”

Diaconal?

Diaco-what? Diagonal? Huh?

Seriously, I’d never heard the word before and had no idea what she was talking about.

Which, I would soon learn is the response almost everyone else has when they hear the word diaconal.

Diaconal comes from the Greek work Diakonos  – it means “to serve”.

It’s used in the Christian Scriptures by Paul to describe himself in, 1 Cor 3:5, and various other members of the church – mostly men and one woman named Pheobe in Romans 16: 1. He even uses it for Christ in Romans- 15:8. 2222

It’s where we also get the word Deacon from. In the United Church we have three options for ministry. Ordained Ministry – Nancy, Donna, Bethel are all ordained, or will be very shortly. There’s Designated Lay Ministry, and Diaconal Ministry.

What’s the difference? Depends on who you ask. Ordained ministers are ordained to do the sacraments – communion, weddings, baptisms. Diaconal’s are commissioned to often to the same things.

The biggest difference, in my mind, is our call. Diaconal’s are called to Educational Ministry, Pastoral Care and Social Justice. These are the three themes that the Diaconal program focuses on.

This isn’t to say that Ordained ministers aren’t called to these things, it’s just than most often people that go into diaconal ministry want to focus on those themes while ordained ministers tend to focus on worship and congregations.

This is true for me. When Nancy first mentioned this concept of being called – I freaked out. I was terrified of public speaking, I had no desire to stand up front and lead worship. Funny how things work out.

Yet, when I looked at what Diaconal ministers do, where their focus is I thought – yeah, that’s more my thing. Education, Justice, pastoral care. These are good things and things I like to do, working with the children, leading small groups, having spiritual practices.

But I still wasn’t sure I was ready to accept being ‘called’ by god to do anything. I wanted to be in-change of my life, my career and I certainly didn’t need Divine Intervention, thank you very much.

Two years ago, during lent, I spoke about my call during my first ever sermon. I spoke about Samuel from the Hebrew Scriptures. Samuel is a young boy, servant to Eli in the Temple in Jerusalem. One night he hears a voice calling his name, “Samuel, Samuel.” He thinks its Eli, calling to him, so he goes to Eli’s bedroom and asks, “What do you want?”

Eli says, “nothing, go back to bed”. So Samuel goes back to bed and again he hears the voice and again he goes to Eli who tells him he didn’t call and go back to bed. This happens a few times before Eli figures it out and tells Samuel that it’s God and when he hears the voice again, say ‘here I am.’ This is what Samuel does and he becomes a great prophet.

When I first reflected on this story I talked about how I was like Samuel. I heard this voice asking me to follow and I didn’t understand who or what it was. I talked about how it took a while for me to figure out what was going on and even longer to listen and say, “here I am”.

When I think about this story now I don’t think Samuel was all that ignorant about who was speaking. Actually I’m quite positive he knew exactly what was happening, but really, really wanted it to be Eli, not God calling him.

It’s scary. It’s very scary to think, to say out loud – I’m being called to something more than myself. And it’s as equally scary in today’s very secular world to say to the world – I’m called by God to do this work.

I don’t think that’s how it works when people decide to be lawyers or Doctors or teachers or massage therapists, does it? Maybe it does, but something tells me that even if you hear it in your head – you don’t say that at job interviews.

But, you know in this industry – it’s the coolest thing around. It’s not considered out there to say you’ve been called – in fact it’s a necessary perquisite and you DO talk about it at job interviews.

So here’s the thing. I resisted. Like Samuel I pretended for quite awhile that I wasn’t hearing a call. I hummed and hawed and chose to follow my fear for a long time. Until, we read the Matthew 5 passage at Lectio Divina.

“You are like that illuminating light. Let your light shine everywhere you go, that you may illumine creation.”

I get shivers. My heart beats with excitement, not nervousness. I feel in my heart, in my gut that illuminating light wanting to burst free. I do not feel big enough to carry all of this light inside. I have to let it out, have to shine or else I might explode. Which would be messy.

And I know that is my call. My call is to try make sure that everything I do comes from a place of light. So that everything I do isn’t done from fear, but from light and love and goodness.

That’s a much easy call to accept, it doesn’t feel so big and overwhelming as a ‘call from god.’ Instead it is simple, gentle, a call to make decisions about my life from within my own inner light. When I make choices from that place, the light shines out like a candle on a table, like a city on a hill.

At school, in the diaconal program we talk a lot about authenticity, about being our authentic selves and how hard that can be sometimes when there is so much expected of us. Others have expectations and we put our own expectations on ourselves to be a certain way, to act a certain way, to live up to standards that maybe just aren’t for us.

When I do that do myself, I think – I’m a mom, I should dress like the other moms. I’m a wife, I should act or cook or clean a certain way. I work in ministry, I should definitely dress, act, be, do my hair a certain way. But these thoughts make me hide my light under a bowl.

So much of this year was about learning leadership skills for Education and Ministry, but so much more of it was learning about being myself and accepting myself for who I am and living with authenticity. Accepting who I am when I let my light shine everywhere I go.

Which can also be pretty scary. Especially when a lot of us spend our lives hiding our light, not wanting to stand out or be different.

I think Maryanne Williamson said it better than I could “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

How can we resist that call? If we make one choice each day in our lives that lets our light shine, rather than hide it away we have followed God.

We’ve heard it said that Jesus called himself the light of the world. How awesome is it to hear the lines, “You beloved, are the light of the world.” That special kind of light that Jesus carried shines in all of us. We just need to let it out.

You are like that illuminating light. Let your light shine everywhere you go, that you may illumine creation.

Amen. 

Mary and Martha Luke 10:38-42 - May 16th

Luke 10:38-42

New International Version (NIV)

At the Home of Martha and Mary

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Proverbs 8- May 9th, 2014

In this passage the voice speaking is Sophia, God's Wisdom. 

Proverbs 8:22-23, 27, 30-31

²² “The Creator brought me forth as the first of his works,
    before his deeds of old;
²³ I was formed long ages ago,
    at the very beginning, when the world came to be.

²⁷ I was there when he set the heavens in place,
    when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,

³⁰     Then I was constantly^[c] at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
    rejoicing always in his presence,
³¹ rejoicing in his whole world

John 20:19-22 - April 25th 2014

John 20:19-22

New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

Quilting, Embroidery and creating from Meditation

Since October of 2013 - to March 2014 I have participated in a form of Meditation called Lectio Divina almost every week. This form of meditation uses Sacred Words to listen for what the Divine or your own internal voice is asking you to pay attention too.

In my group we have been using Sacred Writing from the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, however this practice does also work with any sacred or meaningful writing, even poetry or Shakespeare or anything that holds meaning to listener.

During this mediation you listen to the sacred words allow a word or phrase to come forward. It's as if a section of the writing is in BOLD or colour. This words or phrase is the focus of silent meditation. You would repeat it over and over, like a mantra. Later in the meditation you ponder what the word or phrase means to you and what's going on for you in your present day life.

I love this practice because it bring ancient and sometimes rather obscure writing new and contemporary meaning.

For these last months I have posted the passages our Lectio Group has used here on this blog. But I have not posted the word or phrase that stood out for me from those readings. Those I've kept person, yet their list creates a sort of poetry that is very beautiful.

Also during this time I have been thinking about Quilts. Back in the fall I commented to a number of people that I felt like my life was all in pieces. I have my family, my husband, my son, my work, my school, my friends, my garden, my hikes, my yoga etc.... and somehow all these pieces of my life didn't quite all fit together; like pieces of a patch work quilt.

All the pieces were there, but I didn't know the design of the quilt; how to fit it all together.

Over this period of time I've given it a lot of thought and in March it all came together.

I was thinking about all of these things the Lectio passages, the patches of my life, the quilt and also my desire to DO SOMETHING CREATIVE!

And cue brain exploding.

I began to design a quilt. A quilt that had different patches with pictures on them. Each picture connects to one of the words or phrases from my Lectio Mediations. I bought some embroidery thread, a couple of embroidery hoops, found some fabric and began to create.

I have some fabric pastels, which work like oil pastels. I drew on the fabric with them, and when ironed it gets sealed in.

This is a work in progress and I am allowing the creativity to direct my work. I have discovered that I love embroidery (never having done it before) as it is meditative in it's own right. It calms me, it relaxes me and I love creating with it.

"Where is he?" Lent Sermon, March 16th 2014

Based on John 4: 1- 14 The Woman at the Well

(http://illuminelectio.blogspot.ca/2014/03/john-4-5-14-march-7-2014.html)

The Well is Deep (soul card)

Where is he?

The first time I read of this story I was struck by how Jesus didn’t even say please when he asks for a drink. In my head he seemed brash and a bit arrogant –“if you knew the glory of God” “if you knew who I was” – This arrogance challenged me. This is not the Jesus that I know.

Other elements in the story, the Samaritan woman, the well, the hot dry desert, none of these things I related too.  I live in a rain forest, there’s water everywhere. I know rivers and streams, not wells. For I while I didn’t know how I was going to speak about this passage at all.

When this happens to me, I try to imagine myself back in time; experiencing the gospel as a person for whom it was written. So let’s imagine that to start, so we can all get to know this story better.

The book of John is the last of the gospels to be written. It was likely written about 90 – 100 ce or Common era.

Knowing this is important. General consensus places Jesus’ death around 30ce. John was written 60 - 70 years after all the events in his story happened.

That’s like someone in the 1990’s writing about the Great Depression – without the benefit of written or visual material from the time – no newspapers, newsreels, photos or books. Just stories past down the generations.

I feel that it is important to note that length of time between the events that occur in the Book of John and when they were recorded because a lot happened in the world during those 60 years.

And I believe that changes how the stories get told.

In 66 ce the Jewish people in Judea rebelled against Roman Rule. Jerusalem was surrounded by Roman forces and held in siege for 4 years. The rebels held Jerusalem until 70 ce when the Roman army breached the walls and destroyed the city, including the Temple – the house of God, which had stood on the Temple Mount for the last 500 years. From the end of the Babylonian captivity.

Pause to let that sink in.  This was the Roman Army, mercy and compassion -not their strong suits. When they destroy something they destroy it. Everyone was slaughtered or taken into slavery.

What was going on for Christians at this time? Christianity was still relatively new and very misunderstood. Many scholars believe that just prior to the siege of Jerusalem the Christians fled the city and took refuge in Pella, a city in the north, on the Jordan river.

Christianity was in a very precarious situation. The Jewish people had distanced themselves from Christians because Roman’s held it in contempt. An example of this contempt --is in 64ce a fire broke out in Rome destroying much of the city. Nero, the Emperor at the time, blamed the Christians. He had many of them rounded up and then fed to lions in the Amphitheatre.

As a Christian at this time; this time of John’s Gospel, some of us have been witness to horrific atrocities. Some of us have had to flee our homes or be killed. We’ve heard stories of fellow Christians being killed for sport. We are fearful and unsure. Perhaps questioning our beliefs and feeling very lost.

What we need is a message that is powerful.

We, the readers of John need a leader, someone who is strong, certain and can provide assurance.

What I read as arrogance in the way Jesus spoke becomes confidence. His message is clear, he doesn’t have time for parables; rather he’s straightforward with his words to the Samaritan woman, recognizing her as a person needing a positive message.

Jew’s and Samaritans had a long history of animosity. Samaritans were a sect of Judaism ostracised by the Jewish priests for worshiping God on a mountain, not at the Temple in Jerusalem.

The woman at the well is an outcast.

At this time, being a Christian would have made you an outcast. The Jewish people did not like you because they did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah.

Believing in Jesus challenged Roman authority; Christians used words for Jesus that were reserved only for the Emperor – Son of God, Light of the World, Prince of Peace, Lord. Any talk of Jesus’ coming Kingdom was treason.

I see the woman at the well as a frightened doubting young Christian terrified of persecution and very unsure of the future. She comes to the well during the heat of the day, because as an outcast it’s the only time left for her. Those who belong can come in the morning, when it is cool. This women, who is insecure cannot.

They meet at a well. An old well to be sure, but a mundane place, an everyday place one goes to as a chore. Not a place that is Holy.

There are no Holy Places during John’s time. The temple is destroyed, God’s home is gone. There are no churches, Christians meet in secret, in private homes and very carefully. The only place to meet Jesus is somewhere outside. In the heat; in a place that is hot and dry and knows thirst.

So then this message of Living Water, of Eternal Life is comforting and very reassuring. It is a message of hope and of life given to a person who does not belong, doesn’t have a holy place to pray and thirsts for something sacred and something sustaining during a time of uncertainty.

It’s a wonderful story then. This message of Living Water, free for the asking, free of the taking, anyone who thirsts and drinks this will never be thirsty again. In the hot dry desert water is life, water is everything. If I were a person in that position I would drink and drink until I burst.

But I am not a woman in John’s time. I am me. I am neither an outcast, nor fearful of persecution from my beliefs.

We read this story in The Lectio Divina Group two Fridays ago. If you are unfamiliar with Lectio Divina I will give a very brief summary. Lectio Divina means ‘divine word’.

During Lectio we read a passage of scripture listening for a word or a phrase that stands out from the rest and we focus on it during silent meditation. For me, the phrase the stood out that day was “The Well is Very Deep.”

I found this to be a very comforting thought; nothing more. Just the comfort of knowing that there was an abundance of water down in the well was enough.

Another member of the group also focused on this phrase and for her it meant that the surface of the water was very far away and hard to reach sometimes.

While for me it wasn’t about how far away the surface of the water was, but that once reached there was more than enough of it. Lectio is like that.

Shortly after Lectio Divina ended two Fridays ago I found out that the little boy who drowned in a nearby creek was a child that I knew. And after that, none of this mattered for a time. (Breathe)

Water is sacred. We are born out of water; we use it in our baptisms. It sustains us and without it life on our planet could not exist.

Water is powerful. It shaped our coastlines and mountains. It weaves it way through canyons, carving out gullies and ravines. It tumbles on the shore, wearing away at the beach, rubbing rocks and shells together making them smooth and round. It creeps into cracks, where, if it freezes can fracture the strongest stones.

Water is destructive. It can submerge, overflow, overwhelm and while we need it for life it can also destroy. Rivers flood, tsunamis turn cities into flotsam and jetsam. Hurricanes, cyclones and storms change the face of the planet.

 Water is taken for grated when we have it in abundance and we just buy more when it’s not.

I have come to love water for being soothing on a hot day, for being cleansing both physically and emotionally. My most sacred places in the world are places where I am surrounded by water.

I understand this concept of living water; the feeling of spirit bubbling up inside me like a fountain; the feeling of God’s presence like a cooling mist across my face; going down to the river to be cleansed.

But not today. Not this week. Not right now. I do not like water today because as much as it sustains me it has also hurt me. As I grieve for a child who should still be here playing with his friends that living water in the well is very, very far away. The well is very deep and I do not have a bucket. 

So where is he? Where is the presence when I need the most? I stand at the well, lost, displaced, looking down into the darkness. I am the woman at the well parched, dry and hot. I thirst.

Where is he? Where is this living water? I know that deep down in the darkness there is an abundance of water, more than enough -  for me - waiting.

The well is very deep and I do not have a bucket.

Selah. 

John 4: 17 - 26 - March 14th 2014

¹⁵ The woman said to Jesus, “Sir, give me this water. Then I will never be thirsty again and won’t have to come back here to get more water.”

¹⁶ Jesus told her, “Go get your husband and come back.”

¹⁷ The woman answered, “But I have no husband.”

Jesus said to her, “You are right to say you have no husband. ¹⁸ That’s because, although you have had five husbands, the man you live with now is not your husband. That much was the truth.”

¹⁹ The woman said, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.^[b] 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain. But you Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where people must worship.”

²¹ Jesus said, “Believe me, woman! The time is coming when you will not have to be in Jerusalem or on this mountain to worship the Father. ²² You Samaritans worship something you don’t understand. We Jews understand what we worship, since salvation comes from the Jews. ²³ But the time is coming when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. In fact, that time is now here. And these are the kind of people the Father wants to be his worshipers. ²⁴ God is spirit. So the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

²⁵ The woman said, “I know that the Messiah is coming.” (He is the one called Christ.) “When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

²⁶ Then Jesus said, “He is talking to you now—I am the Messiah.”

John 4: 5 - 14 - March 7 2014

John 4: 5 -7, 9-11, 13-14

ERV

⁵ In Samaria Jesus came to the town called Sychar, which is near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. ⁶ Jacob’s well was there. Jesus was tired from his long trip, so he sat down beside the well. It was about noon. ⁷ A Samaritan woman came to the well to get some water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”...

⁹ The woman answered, “I am surprised that you ask me for a drink! You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman!” (Jews have nothing to do with Samaritans.)

¹⁰ Jesus answered, “You don’t know what God can give you. And you don’t know who I am, the one who asked you for a drink. If you knew, you would have asked me, and I would have given you living water.”

¹¹ The woman said, “Sir, where will you get that living water? The well is very deep, and you have nothing to get water with...

¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. ¹⁴ But anyone who drinks the water I give will never be thirsty again. The water I give people will be like a spring flowing inside them. It will bring them eternal life.”

Feb 27th 2014 - Matthew 17:1-9

Matthew 17:1-9

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Transfiguration

17 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. ² And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. ³ Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. ⁴ Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

 ⁵ While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” ⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear.⁷ But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” ⁸ And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

Feb 20 2014 - Matthew 5:43 - 45

^{Matthew 5: 43- 45}

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies. Pray for those who treat you badly. ⁴⁵ If you do this, you will be children who are truly like your Father in heaven. He lets the sun rise for all people, whether they are good or bad. He sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong. 

Feb 13th 2014 - Psalm 119

Psalm 119

Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

 How happy are those whose way of life is blameless,
who live by the Torah of Adonai!
² How happy are those who observe his instruction,
who seek him wholeheartedly!
³ They do nothing wrong
but live by his ways.
⁴ You laid down your precepts
for us to observe with care.
⁵ May my ways be steady
in observing your laws.
⁶ Then I will not be put to shame,
since I will have fixed my sight on all your mitzvoth*.
⁷ I thank you with a sincere heart
as I learn your righteous rulings.
⁸ I will observe your laws;
don’t completely abandon me!

*mitzvoth – 613 commandments 

The Lord’s Prayer, one Aramaic translation - Feb 6th 2014

O Birther! Father-Mother of the Cosmos,

Focus your light within us – make it useful;

Create your reign of unity now –

Your one desire then acts with ours,

An in all light, so in all forms.

Grant what we need each day in bread and insight.

Loose the cords of mistakes binding us,

As we release the strands we hold of others guilt.

Don’t let surface things delude us,

But free us from what holds us back.

For you is born all the ruling wil,

The power and the life to do,

The song that beautifies all,

From age to age it renews.

Truly- power to those statements –

May they be the ground from which all

My actions grow: Amen. 

The Lords Prayer - from the Message - Jan 30 2014

Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
    as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
    Yes. Yes. Yes.

Psalm 27: 1, 4-5 Jan 23rd 2014

¹ The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
    of whom shall I be afraid?

⁴ One thing I ask from the Lord,
    this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
    and to seek him in his temple.

⁵ For in the day of trouble
    he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
    and set me high upon a rock.

Psalm 40: 1 - 3 Jan 16th 2014

 I called to the Lord, and he heard me.
    He heard my cries.
² He lifted me out of the grave.
    He lifted me from that muddy place.
He picked me up, put me on solid ground,
    and kept my feet from slipping.
³ He put a new song in my mouth,
    a song of praise to our God.
Many will see what he did and worship him.
    They will put their trust in the Lord

 (ERV)