Snap It: Proverbs 31 Online Bible Study Blog Hop

I waited patiently for the Lord,

he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,

out of the mud and mire;

He set my feet upon a rock,

and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth,

A hymn of praise to our God. 

(Psalm 40:2-3)

Psalm 40 is a favorite of mine. About a year ago, early in the morning, while all was quiet but the lapping of the sea, I memorized these words. He tended my heart through His beauty set before me. The water, the clouds, the brilliant sun. His glory, my joy. 

It amazes me that the God who tends to all the earth, and everything in it, is the same God who redeems my life from the pit, who sets my feet on solid ground. 

The pits of life will come, be it the ones we hastily dig ourselves, or the ones in which we are shoved. In the end, it doesn't really matter. There is mercy in the pit, and we aren't meant to live there. Pits of any kind give us the opportunity to remember Who we belong to, and to call out "Abba!" He will come, and lift us up, and give us solid ground to stand.

 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8: 15-17)

 

Summer: It's Just the First Week

It's delicious, this time of year, when the whole summer is set before us. As I type, I have (officially) been on summer vacation for about a week.

I've already dipped my toes in the Atlantic with a handful of friends. I took the puppy to the river for her first swim, and met (from afar, but still too close for comfort) one of my least favorite woodland creatures. Isn't it bad enough that Copperheads are slithery and poisonous? And now they swim? Ridiculous.

I wrapped up my last art class with my 3rd-5th grade girls. I cannot express how much I liked working with this group of girls. They are fun, sweet, and talented. They jumped into every project with excitement, and encouraged one another the whole way through. I just enjoyed being with them.

The day after the class ended, I received a book The Mister gave to me at Christmas. The Charlie Harper Coloring Book of Birds had been on back order for 6 months, but it came just on time. I cannot wait to decide how I am going to work Harper's art into next years curriculum.

Yesterday I took The Girl and her friend to the pool and they asked if I would take their picture while they flipped there wet hair back. It only took 147 shots (give or take a 100) to catch the double-flip action, but it made for some great fun, and I got to sit pool side on a lovely morning snapping away with my camera. Win-win.

The Boy started his new job as a lifeguard at a Country Club in our neighborhood. Because I do not belong to that club, and sixteen year old boys tend to frown on their mothers visiting them at work to take pictures, I did what any logical mother would do: I went covert. Which means I convinced my husband to drive me around the backside of the club, so I could lug my big old camera and snap away like some international spy. It would have all gone as planned, except I didn't count on their being two life guards. Apparently, the second guard, located just on the other side of that chain-link fence (but whom I did not see) took notice of the crazy person snapping pictures from a car through the gate. I may, or may not, have freaked out the second life guard (so much for covert.) But I got the shot I was looking for, and when The Boy got home and said that his shift was great, "except for when some weird person was taking pictures through the gate." I shook my head and said, "Huh, that is a little crazy."

So it starts. The days when the calendar has a few beautiful blank spaces left to breathe. And I get the opportunity to enjoy my family, my friends, and my home. It's gonna be a good summer...