Mind Myself: July 2012

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Last Break - Psalms Journey - July 31

Here is the reading for today...

Psalm 139-140

New Living Translation (NLT)

Psalm 139

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

¹O Lord, you have examined my heart
    and know everything about me.
²You know when I sit down or stand up.
    You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
³You see me when I travel
    and when I rest at home.
    You know everything I do.
⁴You know what I am going to say
    even before I say it, Lord.
⁵You go before me and follow me.
    You place your hand of blessing on my head.
⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too great for me to understand!

⁷I can never escape from your Spirit!
    I can never get away from your presence!
⁸If I go up to heaven, you are there;
    if I go down to the grave,^[a] you are there.
⁹If I ride the wings of the morning,
    if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
¹⁰even there your hand will guide me,
    and your strength will support me.
¹¹I could ask the darkness to hide me
    and the light around me to become night—
¹²    but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
    Darkness and light are the same to you.

¹³You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
¹⁵You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
    as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
¹⁶You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.

¹⁷How precious are your thoughts about me,^[b] O God.
    They cannot be numbered!
¹⁸I can’t even count them;
    they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
    you are still with me!

¹⁹O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
    Get out of my life, you murderers!
²⁰They blaspheme you;
    your enemies misuse your name.
²¹O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
    Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
²²Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
    for your enemies are my enemies.

²³Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Psalm 140

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

¹O Lord, rescue me from evil people.
    Protect me from those who are violent,
²those who plot evil in their hearts
    and stir up trouble all day long.
³Their tongues sting like a snake;
    the venom of a viper drips from their lips. Interlude

⁴O Lord, keep me out of the hands of the wicked.
    Protect me from those who are violent,
    for they are plotting against me.
⁵The proud have set a trap to catch me;
    they have stretched out a net;
    they have placed traps all along the way. Interlude

⁶I said to the Lord, “You are my God!”
    Listen, O Lord, to my cries for mercy!
⁷O Sovereign Lord, the strong one who rescued me,
    you protected me on the day of battle.
⁸Lord, do not let evil people have their way.
    Do not let their evil schemes succeed,
    or they will become proud. Interlude

⁹Let my enemies be destroyed
    by the very evil they have planned for me.
¹⁰Let burning coals fall down on their heads.
    Let them be thrown into the fire
    or into watery pits from which they can’t escape.
¹¹Don’t let liars prosper here in our land.
    Cause great disasters to fall on the violent.

¹²But I know the Lord will help those they persecute;
he will give justice to the poor.
¹³Surely righteous people are praising your name;
the godly will live in your presence.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%20139-140&version=NLT
New Living Translation (NLT)

Monday, July 30, 2012

Last Break - Psalms Journey - July 30

OK, this is the 30th. I just noticed yesterday I put that it was the 28th again, instead of the 29th.

So here is the reading for the 30th.

Psalm 137-138

New Living Translation (NLT)

Psalm 137

¹Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept
    as we thought of Jerusalem.^[a]
²We put away our harps,
    hanging them on the branches of poplar trees.
³For our captors demanded a song from us.
    Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn:
    “Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!”
⁴But how can we sing the songs of the Lord
    while in a pagan land?

⁵If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
    let my right hand forget how to play the harp.
⁶May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
    if I fail to remember you,
    if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy.

⁷O Lord, remember what the Edomites did
    on the day the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem.
“Destroy it!” they yelled.
    “Level it to the ground!”
⁸O Babylon, you will be destroyed.
    Happy is the one who pays you back
    for what you have done to us.
⁹Happy is the one who takes your babies
    and smashes them against the rocks!

Psalm 138

A psalm of David.

¹I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart;
    I will sing your praises before the gods.
²I bow before your holy Temple as I worship.
    I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness;
for your promises are backed
    by all the honor of your name.
³As soon as I pray, you answer me;
    you encourage me by giving me strength.

⁴Every king in all the earth will thank you, Lord,
    for all of them will hear your words.
⁵Yes, they will sing about the Lord’s ways,
    for the glory of the Lord is very great.
⁶Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble,
    but he keeps his distance from the proud.

⁷Though I am surrounded by troubles,
    you will protect me from the anger of my enemies.
You reach out your hand,
    and the power of your right hand saves me.
⁸The Lord will work out his plans for my life—
    for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.
    Don’t abandon me, for you made me.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%20137-138&version=NLT
New Living Translation (NLT)

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Last Break - Psalms Journey - July 28

Here is the reading for today.. This is a good one!! Talk about LOVE!!

Psalm 136

New Living Translation (NLT)

Psalm 136

¹Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
²Give thanks to the God of gods.
His faithful love endures forever.
³Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His faithful love endures forever.

⁴Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles.
His faithful love endures forever.
⁵Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully.
His faithful love endures forever.
⁶Give thanks to him who placed the earth among the waters.
His faithful love endures forever.
⁷Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights—
His faithful love endures forever.
⁸the sun to rule the day,
His faithful love endures forever.
⁹and the moon and stars to rule the night.
His faithful love endures forever.

¹⁰Give thanks to him who killed the firstborn of Egypt.
His faithful love endures forever.
¹¹He brought Israel out of Egypt.
His faithful love endures forever.
¹²He acted with a strong hand and powerful arm.
His faithful love endures forever.
¹³Give thanks to him who parted the Red Sea.
His faithful love endures forever.
¹⁴He led Israel safely through,
His faithful love endures forever.
¹⁵but he hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea.
His faithful love endures forever.
¹⁶Give thanks to him who led his people through the wilderness.
His faithful love endures forever.

¹⁷Give thanks to him who struck down mighty kings.
His faithful love endures forever.
¹⁸He killed powerful kings—
His faithful love endures forever.
¹⁹Sihon king of the Amorites,
His faithful love endures forever.
²⁰and Og king of Bashan.
His faithful love endures forever.
²¹God gave the land of these kings as an inheritance—
His faithful love endures forever.
²²a special possession to his servant Israel.
His faithful love endures forever.

²³He remembered us in our weakness.
His faithful love endures forever.
²⁴He saved us from our enemies.
His faithful love endures forever.
²⁵He gives food to every living thing.
His faithful love endures forever.
²⁶Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His faithful love endures forever.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%20136&version=NLT
New Living Translation (NLT)

Saturday, July 28, 2012

In The Second Place...

Picture of our apartment in Elkhart

So we moved to Elkhart into a 2 bedroom apartment. I think we liked this apartment a little more than our first. We didn't like because of the area or the neighbors or the view. (We had a nice view of the parking lot.) We like it because Brooklynn had her own room and we got to decorate it!!

These are some of the things we hung on her wall to help the plain white walls out.

Then we waited and waited for her to get here. Then finally she arrived.

We brought her home and introduced her to Lilly, but it was a few months before we put her in her room. We actually needed a crib first. We had a bassinet for her in our room. So that is where she slept for a few months.

We stayed in the second place for a year as well. But then we had a better offer for rent. FREE!!! So we moved to the third place.

Last Break - Psalms Journey - July 28

Here is the reading for today...

Psalm 134-135

New Living Translation (NLT)

Psalm 134

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.

¹Oh, praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
you who serve at night in the house of the Lord.
²Lift up holy hands in prayer,
and praise the Lord.

³May the Lord, who made heaven and earth,
bless you from Jerusalem.^[a]

Psalm 135

¹Praise the Lord!

Praise the name of the Lord!
Praise him, you who serve the Lord,
²you who serve in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.

³Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
celebrate his lovely name with music.
⁴For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel for his own special treasure.

⁵I know the greatness of the Lord—
    that our Lord is greater than any other god.
⁶The Lord does whatever pleases him
    throughout all heaven and earth,
    and on the seas and in their depths.
⁷He causes the clouds to rise over the whole earth.
    He sends the lightning with the rain
    and releases the wind from his storehouses.

⁸He destroyed the firstborn in each Egyptian home,
    both people and animals.
⁹He performed miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt
    against Pharaoh and all his people.
¹⁰He struck down great nations
    and slaughtered mighty kings—
¹¹Sihon king of the Amorites,
    Og king of Bashan,
    and all the kings of Canaan.
¹²He gave their land as an inheritance,
    a special possession to his people Israel.

¹³Your name, O Lord, endures forever;
your fame, O Lord, is known to every generation.
¹⁴For the Lord will give justice to his people
and have compassion on his servants.

¹⁵The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold,
    shaped by human hands.
¹⁶They have mouths but cannot speak,
    and eyes but cannot see.
¹⁷They have ears but cannot hear,
    and noses but cannot smell.
¹⁸And those who make idols are just like them,
    as are all who trust in them.

¹⁹O Israel, praise the Lord!
    O priests—descendants of Aaron—praise the Lord!
²⁰O Levites, praise the Lord!
    All you who fear the Lord, praise the Lord!
²¹The Lord be praised from Zion,
    for he lives here in Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord!

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%20134-135&version=NLT
New Living Translation (NLT)

Friday, July 27, 2012

In The First Place...

Well, as I said at the end of post "...1096..." we moved into our first place together. Well, here are some pictures that I took from the area.

So the picture on the left is the front of our very first apartment building. We lived in the apartment in the top left corner. (That is actually the bedroom window!) We had a really nice neighbor that lived in the apartment below us.

The picture on the right is what we could see out of our balcony/patio window. If you sat just right in the living room all you could see was the water. We fed ducks, and I mean alot of ducks were fed, while standing on the balcony. We also got to see some baby ducks during our time there.

I think this picture was taken within the first week that we had her.

In the first place is when we got Lilly as well. We got the little bundle home and she peed on the floor. She couldn't even get up the stairs. She was so little.

The man that we got her from told us that she was older than she really was. So the first few weeks were really hard. But she got the hang of it.
She didn't like being locked her cage while we were gone. In fact she still doesn't like that today. But we have since done away with the cage and she gets a blocked off portion of the hallway.

We lived in the first place for a year. We loved that apartment complex and the apartment itself. It was just right.

But... Then we decided that a bigger place was in order due to the arrival of little Miss Brooklynn. So we moved to the second place.

Last Break - Psalms Journey - July 27

Well, we are back on our Psalms journey and we are almost done. Today we pick it back up at Psalms 132.

Here you go.

Psalm 132-133

New Living Translation (NLT)

Psalm 132

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.

¹Lord, remember David
    and all that he suffered.
²He made a solemn promise to the Lord.
    He vowed to the Mighty One of Israel,
³“I will not go home;
    I will not let myself rest.
⁴I will not let my eyes sleep
    nor close my eyelids in slumber
⁵until I find a place to build a house for the Lord,
    a sanctuary for the Mighty One of Israel.”

⁶We heard that the Ark was in Ephrathah;
    then we found it in the distant countryside of Jaar.
⁷Let us go to the sanctuary of the Lord;
    let us worship at the footstool of his throne.
⁸Arise, O Lord, and enter your resting place,
    along with the Ark, the symbol of your power.
⁹May your priests be clothed in godliness;
    may your loyal servants sing for joy.
¹⁰For the sake of your servant David,
    do not reject the king you have anointed.
¹¹The Lord swore an oath to David
    with a promise he will never take back:
“I will place one of your descendants
    on your throne.
¹²If your descendants obey the terms of my covenant
    and the laws that I teach them,
then your royal line
    will continue forever and ever.”

¹³For the Lord has chosen Jerusalem;
    he has desired it for his home.
¹⁴“This is my resting place forever,” he said.
    “I will live here, for this is the home I desired.
¹⁵I will bless this city and make it prosperous;
    I will satisfy its poor with food.
¹⁶I will clothe its priests with godliness;
    its faithful servants will sing for joy.
¹⁷Here I will increase the power of David;
    my anointed one will be a light for my people.
¹⁸I will clothe his enemies with shame,
    but he will be a glorious king.”

Psalm 133

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.

¹How wonderful and pleasant it is
    when brothers live together in harmony!
²For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil
    that was poured over Aaron’s head,
    that ran down his beard
    and onto the border of his robe.
³Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon
    that falls on the mountains of Zion.
And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing,
    even life everlasting.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%20132-133&version=NLT
New Living Translation (NLT)