Great peace have those

     who love Your law;

nothing 

      can make them stumble.

                             Psalm 119.165

(God's Word is my strength and shield.

      God changes me through it.)

You are my hiding place
                 and my shield;
I hope in Your Word.

                        Psalm 119.114

(God's Word empowers me
          to see this situation differently
   and move with grace within it.)

O give thanks to the LORD,
           for He is good;
for His steadfast love
                     endures for ever!
Let the redeemed of the LORD
                                 say so....

                               Psalm 107.1-2

(And not just once a year!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

It has seemed good to me
to show the signs and wonders
that the Most High God
         has wrought toward me.

                      Daniel 4.2

(Acknowledge to others,
        acknowledge myself,
               God at work.
For He is good,
      His faithfulness endures forever.
Even when we don't quite understand
                     yet.)

If Your law had not been my delight,
I should have perished in my affliction.

                                  Psalm 119.92

(Hold fast to God's Word.
God strengthens through it
            more than we can ever know,
   in ways beyond all measure.)

Always be prepared
to make a defense
to any one who calls you to account
         for the hope that is in you,
yet do it with gentleness and reverence...

                           1 Peter 3.15

(Not by a script memorized,
    but by a life transformed.
What is the difference in you?)

And the name of the city
henceforth shall be,
             The LORD is there.

                         Ezekiel 48.35

(Wherever God has placed me,
              no matter where,
His Presence changes everything.)

...and I shall walk at liberty,

for I have sought Your precepts.

                             Psalm 119.45

(Obedience provides not limitations,

but a tremendous sense of freedom.

God's Word changes how I see everything,

          His scaffolding within)

Your testimonies are my delight,
they are my counselors.

                         Psalm 119.24

(Have I sought the counsel of God
                        in this?
         Even in this?)

...the sound of His coming...

                   Ezekiel 43.2

(Enter, O LORD.
my every situation,
every decision,
every relationship)

This is the day which the LORD has made;
let us rejoice
             and be glad in it.

                              Psalm 118.24

(How I view God
        -- even how I view this day --
changes everything
      I do and say and think.
Even in this.)

...when My sanctuary
           is in the midst of them.

                         Ezekiel 37.28

(What we worship
          is made evident by how we live.
O LORD, let others see Your presence,
                              Your grace,
                     Your love
                                   in me.)

Let every man be quick to hear,

            slow to speak,

                    slow to anger,

for the anger of man

does not work 

               the righteousness of God.

                                 James 1. 19-20

(God's Spirit in me

          impacts every conversation.

What is evident in my words,

              actions,

                     and attitudes?)

Do not neglect to show
        hospitality to strangers,
for thereby some have
        entertained angels unawares.

                              Hebrews 13.2

(Love God,
love others)

...desiring to act honorably
                   in all things.

                          Hebrews 13.18

(Live above reproach.
Remember who you are.
Remember Whose you are.)

As in water
         face answers to face,
so the mind of man
          reflects the man.

                   Proverbs 27.19

(What is at the core is always revealed.
And on what I reflect,
impacts everything
I do, say, think , feel,
       and even alters my appearance.)

For the moment
    all discipline seems painful
                     rather than pleasant;
later it yields
      the peaceful fruit of righteousness
   to those who have been trained by it.

                                  Hebrews 12.11

(the strength I will need
             for a long enduring)

A continual dripping on a rainy day

        and a contentious woman are alike;

to restrain her is to restrain the wind

or to grasp oil in his right hand.

                             Proverbs 27. 15-16

(Contentious means to always be looking for an argument,

                  always seeking imperfections in others.

Every day I make a choice 

             to be a CCO or a CGA,

a Chief Contentious Officer

              or a Chief Administrator of Grace.)

Rule in the midst of your foes.

                               Psalm 110.2

(Rise above the fray
        in order to bring grace to it)

With God we shall do valiantly;
it is He who will
              tread down our foes.

                                  Psalm 108.13

(You are not in this alone.
Don't even try to do it yourself
         but with His wisdom and strength.
His presence changes everything,
                           including me.)

He turns a desert
             into pools of water,
a parched land
             into springs of water.

                          Psalm 107.35

(God delights
      in providing the unexpected)

...and the hand of the LORD

               was upon him there.

                        Ezekiel 1,3

(Even on the most ordinary of days,

               even in a place of exile)

...and Aaron's road that budded...

                            Hebrews 9.4

(A reminder,
        a keepsake,
of what God has done
and what He can do,
that which is
          impossible in our eyes.)

...and make a dry tree flourish.

                            Ezekiel 17.24

(God can do that,
    no matter where we are,
deeply rooted,
               bearing fruit
 in the most impossible places)

Seek the LORD
       and His strength,
seek His presence continually.

                      Psalm 105.4

(Show me, LORD,
         how to navigate this.
We were not meant to
          do this life on our own,
     nor go forth
        without His presence
        and strength)

He rebuked the Red Sea,

          and it became dry;

He led them through the deep

                   as though a desert.

                                Psalm 106.9

(What is my Red Sea today?

Navigate me, LORD, through it.

                   Show me how.)

...seize the hope
              set before us.

                     Hebrews 6.18

(It will change everything in your life
           and transform everything about you.
In this world,
           hope is that evident,
that on which we stake our lives.)
     

For lack of wood the fire goes out,
and where there is no whisperer,
                        quarreling ceases.

                                       Proverbs 26.20

(Am I spreading peace or arson by my words?
We are to be bearers of grace,
                                   not ammunition.
God can be glorified,
                    even in this.)

May my meditation be pleasing to Him,
for I rejoice in the LORD.

                           Psalm 104.34

(What I think about,
       what I dwell on,
will manifest itself
        in words, actions
        and attitudes.
God's Word literally
                changes me.)

But exhort one another
                    every day
...that none of you may be hardened
by the deceitfulness of sin.

                       Hebrews 3.13

(Who can I encourage today?
A little kindness
               is never small.
It matters in ways
     you will never comprehend.)