Sabbath Music - Psalm 34

I'm always amazed at how Adonai brings songs to my attention each week.  This song, titled Psalm 34, is based on the following Psalm and is sung by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.  What a great meditation for Shabbat.  I will read each verse and do what it says.  Then, I will write in my journal, remembering and recording the things He has done for me over the years.  Oh, how I can boast about Adonai.

For example, in verse five, "I sought Adonai and he answered me; he rescued me from everything I feared."  I could (and maybe should) write a book about how fearful I used to be.  It was a debilitating fear. Maybe it was a panic attack?  But I have not experienced anything like that in decades.  Why? Because I learned to push back the fear and meditate on the Scripture, "When I'm afraid, I will trust in Him."

I hope you'll try this exercise and let me know what you remember and record as you meditate on this beautiful Psalm.

Shabbat Shalom, Gail-Friends, and may your Sabbath rest be sweet.

Psalm 34

  ⁽¹⁾ I will bless Adonai at all times;

his praise will always be in my mouth.

^3 (2) When I boast, it will be about Adonai;

the humble will hear of it and be glad.

^4 (3) Proclaim with me the greatness of Adonai;
let us exalt his name together.
^5 (4) I sought Adonai, and he answered me;
he rescued me from everything I feared.

^6 (5) They looked to him and grew radiant;
their faces will never blush for shame.
^7 (6) This poor man cried; Adonai heard
and saved him from all his troubles.
^8 (7) The angel of Adonai, who encamps
around those who fear him, delivers them.

^9 (8) Taste, and see that Adonai is good.
How blessed are those who take refuge in him!
^10 (9) Fear Adonai, you holy ones of his,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
^11 (10) Young lions can be needy, they can go hungry,
but those who seek Adonai lack nothing good.

^12 (11) Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of Adonai.
^13 (12) Which of you takes pleasure in living?
Who wants a long life to see good things?
^14 (13) [If you do,] keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from deceiving talk;
^15 (14) turn from evil, and do good;
seek peace, go after it!

^16 (15) The eyes of Adonai watch over the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry.
^17 (16) But the face of Adonai opposes those who do evil,
to cut off all memory of them from the earth.

^18 (17) [The righteous] cried out, and Adonai heard,
and he saved them from all their troubles.
^19 (18) Adonai is near those with broken hearts;
he saves those whose spirit is crushed.
^20 (19) The righteous person suffers many evils,
but Adonai rescues him out of them all.
^21 (20) He protects all his bones;
not one of them gets broken.

^22 (21) Evil will kill the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
^23 (22) But Adonai redeems his servants;
no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

Sabbath Music - Battle Hymn of the Republic

While I'm preparing for Shabbat, I'm thinking that yesterday's Independence Day was one of the best I've ever spent.  We enjoyed a local small-town parade, followed by watching parades in Washington D.C. and other towns and then President Trump's speech before the Lincoln Memorial.  I felt overwhelming pride in my country and thanked God for the rise in patriotism I've seen since he took office.

Our local parade was about an hour long and a great deal of the marchers were members of our law enforcement officers.  We love the men in blue, especially our sheriff.  You can see pics from the parade on yesterday's post.  Our area is big on patriotism and we always enjoy the parades on Veterans Day and Memorial Day.

The D.C. parade included representatives from several ethnic communities such as -- Vietnamese, Formosan, Caribbean, Chinese, Hispanics, Tibetan, and East Indian Sihks.  Many of the floats were playing the song I'm Proud to be an American on their loudspeakers.  This impressed me because these people came here legally and made the effort to join our country as bonified citizens.  They kept their culture but did not try to change our laws or our American culture.  I say this because it struck me that there were no Muslim floats represented.  In America, we have the freedom to keep our cultures and religions.  Yet, it's only been the Muslims who have worked to add their laws to our land.  I'm completely against that.  We were founded on Judeo-Christian principles according to the Bible.  If this group wants an Islamic country, they should go somewhere else.

The speech made me so very proud of America.  He included so much history and hi-lighted American military heroes from the past.  The speech was inspiring and encouraged patriotism and unity.  God bless this man, and God bless America.

The event included fly-overs of military helicopters and airplanes while the military hymns were accompanied by a band and choir.  Our president believes a safe country includes a strong military, and I agree.  There were even tanks on the mall.  I loved it.

I had chills when the choir sang The Battle Hymn of the Republic.  It was good to hear the words "God" and "Christ."  I'm thankful that this was done because His Name was lifted up and it carries power.  The words "Glory Haleluyah" was sung over and over again.  The word "Haleluyah" is a Hebrew word that means "Praise God".  I'm overjoyed that our president chose that song.

Today, I'm sharing the song, performed by the U.S. Army Field Band, and I hope you will enjoy it, too.
The Battle Hymn of the Republic.

I pray your Sabbath is sweet.  Let's meditate on the blessings of living in this wonderful country and give Him praise that we are blessed to be here.  God's truly shed his grace on the USA.

Thankful Thursday - Small Town Life

I am so very,. very thankful that we live in a small town.  When I moved here from a large north Florida city, I thought I'd arrived in Green Acres*.  But, this area has become dear to my heart.

One thing we have here are lots of  lizards (that jump -- hence the name "leaping lizards"), mosquitos, gators, and . . . FROGS. The one in the photo above nearly scared me to death.  In his position there, he's as long as my hand. . . maybe longer.  He was outside the screen, but I still called dear hubby and told him to come home asap and fill any holes on the patio so it couldn't get inside.  I was SO scared, Gail-Friends.

One of the things I love are our local parades.  There were lots of Trump supporters out today, and they were loud and proud!  Elvis even showed up (see below).

#MAGA - MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

There was lots of excitement when the Trump float came by because they gave out free popsicles.  That was great because it was 100 degrees.  (When the Democrats came by, there was only very quiet, polite applause.)

When the Betsy Ross flags came by, everybody cheered, "USA! USA!" Oh, and about the controversy over that flag this week -- Jem threw away his Nike shoes and went out to buy a Betsy Ross flag.  They were SOLD OUT, but have lots on order.  I don't think Nike understands how OFFENDED people are over their bowing down to that football player (we don't say his name).  If he's so offended and hates this country so much, why doesn't he just leave it?

Daughters of the American Revolution.

And they even had (gasp) military vehicles!! This is a snarky remark due to the mockingbird media's angst over tanks being at the Trump speech tonight.  Well, there have been tanks at other events in D.C.  We're proud of our military!!!  God bless President Trump for his support of them.  I'm thankful for him as our president and I'm thankful for our men and women who serve.  I'm also thankful for his pride in America!  He has encouraged and developed a great revival of patriotism and I'm thankful for that.

And lots and lots of our beloved Old Glory!  The blue striped flag means we back the BLUE (policemen).

And our fabulous Sheriff Wayne Ivey walked the entire parade route.  God bless this man.  He has videos on YouTube that everybody should watch. I'm thankful for his service to our county.

Oh, and (I almost forgot) . . . Elvis was there!  I thought he was dead didn't you??????  LOL! I think he's one of the sheriff's officers.

We were planning on having the kids over for a cookout, but our grandson was sick, so they had to cancel.  So, Jem and I've spent the day watching the parades in D.C. and other towns.  We are looking forward to hearing President Trump's speech tonight at 6:30.  He's gonna have tanks!  Yessir, buddy.  And we like that!  He believes a strong military is a safe America and we do, too.

Jem did a great job of putting out the flags this year!  We usually put them out for Flag Day, but it was raining.

Here's Jem with his masterpiece:

We're proud of his hard work - 101 flags to celebrate Independence Day.

Jem's mortified by his lawn.  It's a long story . . . suffice to say he'll never put that spray-on grass stuff you see advertised on tv.  He's working on bringing it back to life.  I'm so thankful for my gardener.

 Our two rescued kitties were nearby while we were having fun with flags:

Freckles aka Scaredey Cat - he's very loving, but everything scares him.

And Toonie decided to make the trash pile by the road his temporary throne.  He's such a sweet boy.  He has a rash on his nose.  The vet says it's a reaction to mosquito bites and put him on antibiotics.  It hasn't helped.  If anybody knows of a treatment for this, please tell me.

We put him in ICU (the screened room) for ten days to administer the meds.  He enjoyed being pampered.

Anyway, then Freckles got ear mites so the vet gave us meds for that.  We put him in ICU (the screened room) when Toonie got out, but he didn't like it.  That night, he busted through the screen and is avoiding us like the plague.   We rescued them when our neighbor moved and left them behind.  They have always been outside cats and don't like being inside.  Not good, right?  Anyway, please pray for our boys.

We've had lots of baby birds lately.  I've seen tit-mice, cardinals, wrens, and blue jays being fed by parents.This young one has learned to use the feeder.

My peace lilies have twenty-seven blooms right now.  Aren't they gorgeous!

Speaking of peace, I pray for you to have the peace that passes understanding.  It comes from knowing Yeshua as Messiah and Lord, and obeying His Word.  His ways are LIFE!

I hope you and yours have a blessed Independence Day.


*Green Acres was a television show about a couple from New York who move to the country.