Good morning. It is Monday, again, June 29, 2015. Only one more day left in June.
Today’s word of the day, from Dictionary.com, is piebald. This is an adjective, meaning, “having patches of black and white or of other colors; parti-colored.” I’ve seen that word before, and always wondered what it meant. Now I know.
Today is Please Take My Children to Work Day. I think there should be extra emphasis on the “Please.” PLEASE take my children to work. This day is for stay-at-home moms who never get a break.
Yesterday was a really good day, although extremely busy. It started with Christi and me driving to Southlake to get this!
Yes, we got one! It’s a very beautiful Bach 42TG with a Thayer valve. Very nice horn. The slide is amazing, the tone is very nice, and it plays nicely, too. I can’t wait to play it at our band practice tonight.
On the way home from Southlake, we stopped by the tire place, where we picked up Christi’s car. We had taken it there on Saturday, to get four new tires, but they didn’t get it ready before we had to go to church, so we told them we would just pick it up on Sunday morning. After that, it was off to the grocery store to get groceries for us and for Christi’s mom and stepdad. We had a few minutes to sit and rest after that, before taking Tessie, the dog, up to Petsmart for her regular check up and shots. She is such a joy to take up there! She actually seems to enjoy the experience. Yesterday, they had some cats there for adoption, and Tessie was calmly sniffing at their cages, and they were calmly sniffing back. When the vet came out to talk to us, she told us that Tessie doesn’t know she’s a Corgi. We replied that she probably thinks she’s a cat, as that is what she has grown up around.
After all of those errands, we finally had some time to sit and relax. We ordered food form Tony’s Pizza and Pasta, and sat down to watch TV. After a couple hours, I got up and came back to the study to play on my new trombone for a bit, working on some of the music for Friday evening’s concert. Good times!
TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL
Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call upon your name!
For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation.
Do not remember against us our former iniquities; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low.
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name’s sake!
Psalm 79:6-9
(From Daily Guideposts 2015)
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!
Psalm 107:1
In today’s reading, Katie Ganshert writes of a ministry “on the outskirts of Nairobi,” called Beacon of Hope, where, every morning, “a man with a smile a mile wide would spread his hands and declare, ‘God is good!” The people with him would respond, exuberantly, with “All the time!” The man would raise his arms even higher and shout back, “All the time!” They would respond, “God is good!”
Many of us who attend church on a regular basis have experienced this same routine. And, how often do we see Internet or Facebook updates declaring “God is so good,” along with some good news that people are celebrating?
The reason I chose to include this in my blog today, is that, I have experienced what the author has experienced. She states that, after reading some of those Internet updates, it caused her to pause and reflect. “What about when bad things happen? What about when life feels disappointing or hurtful? Isn’t God good then too?”
We know the answer, don’t we? But do we declare it as exuberantly? “Perhaps it’s in the valleys when our declarations of God’s goodness mean the most.” And don’t misunderstand. I’m not talking about putting on a show to the outside world. It is during those times that we need to declare the goodness of God to ourselves! Because it is those “low times when we need to cling to the truth of God’s goodness all the more fiercely.”
One of my strongest recollections of will be of my family declared this to each other during the days immediately following my father’s passing.
“Because God is good! All the time!”
Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!
Psalm 31:19
But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
Psalm 86:15
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
Father, you are good, all the time! This is not just a cliche that we repeat to make ourselves feel better. It is truth. You are good when miraculous plane landings save hundreds of people’s lives. But you are also good when those planes don’t land miraculously and hundreds of lives are lost. We don’t understand, necessarily, but it is not up to us to understand. We are not you. I trust you, Father, and I trust in your grace, mercy, and justice. I know that you are just, and in your justness, you are good, all the time! You make the rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike, and in that, are even good to those who deny your very existence. In the end, your goodness will shine brighter than the largest star in the universe. I so long for the day when I will praise your goodness in person, before your face! Maranatha, Lord Jesus!
I pray for this day. I pray for safe and smooth travel to work and home again. I pray for Christi’s day at work, that it will go smoothly for her. For my work, I pray that we will not have overly heavy days, leading up to our day off on Friday. Give Stephanie a vision of your great love for her, today. I pray for Rachel and Justin, that you will draw them to your heart, and show your love to them. For my mother, I pray that you will continue to hold her up, provide for her, and protect her. We look forward to some time with her, this weekend.
May your grace and mercy rain down on us all today.
I also lift up Vickie, a cousin of a friend, that you would be with her during her heart surgery today. I pray for steady, sure hands for the surgeon, and acute vision that can see everything that needs to be done. May her healing and recovery be quick.
You are good, all the time!
It’s not just a clever phrase that we repeat to each other, although it can become that. It should be something that we declare to ourselves and to each other, even in the darkest of times.
God is good! All the time!
Grace and peace, friends.
Spaces of Beauty, Grace, Prayer, and Mercy 