A Psalm

I am in the beginning chapters of a what promises to be an excellent book. Dancing in the Desert, by Marsha Crockett is about finding more of God when you are walking in the wilderness times of the spirit, often called the dark night of the soul. In that time, you are stripped of all that you once relied on so that you can learn to rely more fully on God.

At the beginning of each chapter, Marsha provides assignments to help you still your thoughts and focus on entering into God's presence. Chapter two begins with this suggestion.

Read Psalm 136. Consider how God's enduring love permeates every thought, action and circumstance. Write your own psalm in the style of Psalm 136, but use the list of faithful acts you recalled in the exercise above. Read your song of praise aloud.

I have to confess...I didn't write a list in the previous exercise, I just meditated and thought about a list. But as I wrote my psalm, the list sort created itself. Here it is, unedited, except for spelling and grammar where necessary.

Don's Psalm

When I was a child, lonely and afraid, You spoke comfort and peace to me.
Your mercies endure forever.
In my doubts about my worth, you sent teachers, friends and family to speak words of life and encouragement to me.
Your love and mercies endure forever.
When I sinned against You in my foolish rebellion, You forgave me and loved me and welcomed me back into Your arms.
Your mercies endure forever.
When I was sinned against and betrayed by those I loved most You brought assurance and peace to me.
Your loving kindness and mercies endure forever.
As my heart broke under the weight of loss You took me to places of healing and rest.
Your mercies endure forever.
You knit together what had been utterly broken.
Your mercies endure forever.
You made love grow from the ashes of brokenness and defeat.
Your mercies endure forever.
You have made wholeness and health where there was broken sickness of heart.
Your mercies endure forever.
You have given hope for today and excitement for tomorrow.
Your mercies endure forever.
You have shown Yourself faithful in all things, through all things and my love for You sings and dances in worship to You.
Your love endures forever.
You now allow me to speak, sing, dance, hug and pray Your life-giving love into others.
Your mercies endure forever.
You are greatly to be praised for You alone are worthy of all praise, honor, and glory.
Praise be to God whose mercies endure forever!

That Thing You Do

I've been thinking. Dangerous territory for me, but I ventured out there and did it anyway. :) You see, I've been trying to organize my thoughts so I can be more consistent about posting to my little online world here, but every time I think about it, I get...more confused.

Jen(n)'s commenton my last post, "Now that I've taught with you I know you have a ton to share!!!"really got my attention and made me think. The truth is, that I really do have a lot to share. So, why do I find it so hard to write a few words in a semi-organized fashion on my blog consistently? I think I may know the answer.

I am verbal. I like to share by talking. I love to share what's going on inside of me, but I also like seeing and hearing what is going on inside you. I want to hear about that thing you do. I feed on that interaction with my friends, relatives, co-workers, and strangers (friends I haven't met yet). Get me started on nearly any topic I am even remotely interested in and I am a sharing son-of-a-gun. Yakity-yak!

Writing seems like so much work, because I am constantly analyzing what I put on the page. Did I spell that right? (I'm a decent speller, but a lousy typist.) Is my "creativity" with rules of punctuation and grammar acceptable? Am I sharing something that is best left to the privacy of a conversation with close friends? All these things and more swirl around in my head and I find myself making excuses for not posting another day.

The truth is, I love receiving your comments - it spurs me on to fight through the confusion and helps me to know that someone actually gets something out of what I write. I especially like to lighten your day. But sometimes, I'll get serious too, because life isn't all about the laughs.

Thanks again readers, and especially commentators. You inspire me. I'll do my best to return the favor!