Posted by Rebecca
Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:17:00 GMT
An Evening Prayer for Sanctification and Protection.
A Psalm of David.
O LORD, I call upon You; hasten to me!
Give ear to my voice when I call to You!
May my prayer be counted as incense before You;
The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.
Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice deeds of wickedness
With men who do iniquity;
And do not let me eat of their delicacies.
Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me;
It is oil upon the head;
Do not let my head refuse it,
For still my prayer is against their wicked deeds.
Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock,
And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.
As when one plows and breaks open the earth,
Our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
For my eyes are toward You, O GOD, the Lord;
In You I take refuge; do not leave me defenseless.
Keep me from the jaws of the trap which they have set for me,
And from the snares of those who do iniquity.
Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
While I pass by safely.
Posted in Along the Way | no comments
Posted by Rebecca
Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:44:00 GMT
I had a great weekend this weekend. It is the first weekend in a very long time that has been great. I’ve spent so much time giving my time away to other people that I have neglected to care for myself and as a result I’ve been a ticking time bomb ready to explode all over the next person who looked at me the wrong way.
Friday I helped Dom finish priming his house. I was very happy to have that behind me - it’s progress and now we can move forward on getting the house up to speed.
Saturday I spent the day getting an oil change for my car, cleaning my bathroom and getting it set up (finally), cleaning my room and unpacking, and taking stuff to the dumpster and to goodwill. I am now down to only 2.5 boxes that I need to deal with. In short, my room is set up and everything that I needed to finish before school starts on the 14th is done.
Sunday I rested. I slept in, went grocery shopping, rented a movie, watched it, played video games, and ate a good meal for dinner.
Monday I finished cleaning my room which only took about 45 minutes, played some more video games, and went kayaking on the Colorado River with Dom. The weather was perfect - overcast and windy which made for an 85 degree day on the water. We raced, we coasted, we traversed Class negative 1 rapids (haha) and we beached and relaxed. We finished our trip with excellent burgers.
Today my attitude is 900 times better than it has been since I can remember. I helped someone, I took care of myself, I rested and I played all in one weekend. I’m doing so much better today that I’m not even annoyed by the most annoying people that I work with. It’s great. I feel more like myself again.
Now, the key is to figure out how to keep this going so I can be myself all the time - not just in between bouts of severe stress and mild depression.
Posted in Various and Sundry | no comments
Posted by Rebecca
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:50:00 GMT
Take a shortened citizenship exam here. I scored 75% - could have done better, but one question was worded a little tricky.
Posted in Various and Sundry | 3 comments
Posted by Rebecca
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:05:00 GMT
I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the L-RD.”
Our feet are standing
Within your gates, O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, that is built
As a city that is compact together;
To which the tribes go up, even the tribes of the L-RD–
An ordinance for Israel–
To give thanks to the name of the L-RD.
For there thrones were set for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
“May peace be within your walls,
And prosperity within your palaces.”
For the sake of my brothers and my friends,
I will now say, “May peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the L-RD our God,
I will seek your good.
–Psalm 122, A Psalm of Ascents, of David (NASB)
Jerusalem Bulldozer Terrorists Kills Three in Rampage
Dear Jerusalem, for the sake of the house of the L-rd our G-d, I will seek your good.
Posted in Along the Way | Tags Jerusalem | no comments
Posted by Rebecca
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:48:00 GMT
…that heaven is a place where chewing gum and other noisy candy doesn’t exist, and where people chew quietly with their mouths closed when they eat.
Posted in Oh, the silliness of me! | no comments
Posted by Rebecca
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:08:00 GMT
From The Barna Group.
Posted in Various and Sundry | no comments
Posted by Rebecca
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:19:00 GMT
Hello, L-rd.
This is what I feel.
I feel overwhelmed by the number of responsibilities that are on my shoulders, and by the number of commitments I’ve made. I very much want to be a person who keeps her word, but I am so very exhausted by everything I’m juggling that I often feel like keeping my commitments will result in my physical death. As such, I am hesitant to make any commitments to even hang out with friends. Now I’m worried that I’m becoming non-committal. Can people trust me? Can they count on me? Probably not. I don’t like that.
I chose to commit to everything with very good intentions. Sometimes the road to hell and the road to heaven are difficult to distinguish. I hope I’m on the right road, even if that means for a time I have to be completely exhausted, drained, and empty.
I am not satisfied with life because I feel like I have to squeeze You in to my tight schedule, L-rd. It should really be the other way around and I know this but I don’t know how to get there. I don’t want to establish this over-activity as a pattern for my life. I want it to be a season, and I want to know that this season has a definite end.
I want to experience joy as a result of what I do. But if I’m exhausted at the very thought of doing anything, there’s no room in my heart for joy to flourish. I want to live life abundantly, not barely get through each day on a half-whispered prayer and jar full of hope. I want to conquer. I want to defeat. I want to live victoriously. How can I get there if I’m too tired to move? Sometimes I’m so tired I can’t even sleep. How does that make sense?
I feel so wiped out. I feel wiped out spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically. The trouble is that there is more work ahead. It is work that will require energy on all these levels. How can I do it if I’m empty?
This is what I know.
I know that I am justified before You, my Creator. Because Your Son gave me faith, I can stand before You, or fall flat on my face before You, and You will always accept me. I know that Your grace is sufficient and that You will supply all my needs according to Your riches and glory.
I know that You have plans to prosper me spiritually and that You are molding me into the person You already see me to be. I know that this will pass and that abundant blessings are waiting for me on the other side of this situation.
I know that You love me unconditionally, and that in You I am completely secure. I know that the condition of my heart is what you judge, and the works of my hands earn me nothing.
Knowing these things, I ask You to please honor the desire I have deep in my heart to love You above everything else that exists, and that You honor the desire I have deep in my heart to serve you willingly, no holds barred and no matter the cost. You said You would give me the desires of my heart. These are the desires of my heart, L-rd. Trembling with fear and awe, I am boldly extending my open hand to You, expecting You to make good on Your Word. Your character, after all, is unshakable and unchanging, and Your Word does not return to You without accomplishing the purpose You sent it for.
Please L-rd, enable Your word to do Your work in my heart. It’s all I want.
Posted in Along the Way | no comments
