Meditation of the Day

"Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint.  Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for You have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.  Let me dwell in Your tent forever!  Let me take refuge under the shelter of Your wings!  For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your Name.  Prolong the life of the king; many his years endure to all generations!  May he be enthroned forever before God; appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!  So will I ever sing praises to Your Name, as I perform my vows day after day." - Psalm 61:1-8 ESV

Meditation of the Day

"O God, You have rejected us, broken our defenses; You have been angry; oh, restore us.  You have made the land to quake; You have torn it open; repair its breaches, for it totters.  You have made Your people see hard things; You have given us wine to drink that make us stagger.  You have set up a banner for those who fear You, that they may flee to it from the bow.  That Your beloved ones may be delivered, give salvation by Your right hand and answer us!  God has spoken in His holiness: 'With exultation I will divide up Shechem and portion out of the vale of Succoth.  Gilead is Mine; Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim is My helmet; Judah is my scepter.  Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I cast my shoe; over Philistia I shout in triumph.'  Who will bring me to the fortified city?  Who will lead me to Edom?  Have You not rejected us, O God?  You do not go forth, O God, with our armies.  Oh, grant us help against the foe, for vain is the salvation of man!  With God we shall do valiantly; it is He Who will tread down our foes." - Psalm 60:1-12 ESV

Meditation of the Day

"But You, O Lord, laugh at them; You hold all the nations in derision.  O My Strength, I will watch for You, for You, O God, are my fortress.  My God in His steadfast love will meet me; God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.  Kill them not, lest my people forget; make them totter by Your power and bring them down, O Lord, our Shield!  For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride.  For the cursing and lies that they utter, consume them in wrath; consume them till they are no more, that they may know the God that rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth.  Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.  They wander about for food and growl if they do not get their fill.  But I will sing of Your strength; I will sing aloud of Your steadfast love in the morning.  For You have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.  O my Strength, I will sing praises to You, for You, O God, are my fortress, the God Who shows me steadfast love." - Psalm 59:8-17 ESV

Meditation of the Day

"Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me; deliver me from those who work evil, and save me from bloodthirsty men.  For behold, they lie in wait for my life; fierce men stir up strife against me.  For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord, for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.  Awake, come to meet me, and see!  You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.  Rouse yourself to punish all the nations; spare none of those who treacherously plot evil.  Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.  There they are, bellowing with their mouths with swords in their lips--for 'Who,' they think, 'will hear us?' " - Psalm 59:1-7 ESV

Meditation of the Day

"Do you indeed decree what is right, O gods?  Do you judge the children of man uprightly?  No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth.  The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies.  They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear, so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter.  O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lion, O Lord!  Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted.  Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime, like the stillborn child that never sees the sun.  Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!  The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.  Mankind will say, 'Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God Who judges on earth.' " - Psalm 58:1-11 ESV

*Sorry for not posting a Bible passage yesterday.  I was quite busy yesterday and couldn't really spare the few minutes I needed to share one!

Meditation of the Day

"Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in You my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.  I cry out to God Most High, to God Who fulfills His purpose for me.  He will send from heaven and save me; He will put to shame him who tramples on me.  God will send out His steadfast love and His faithfulness!  My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts--the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.  Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!  Let Your glory be over all the earth!  They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down.  They dug a pit in my way, but they have fallen into it themselves.  My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast!  I will sing and make melody!  Awake, my glory!  Awake, O harp and lyre!  I will awake the dawn!  I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations.  For Your steadfast love is great to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds.  Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!  Let Your glory be over all the earth!" - Psalm 57:1-11 ESV

More Blogs!

Since my friends and I have made a few more blogs very recently, I thought it was time for another list of blogs that some of you may like to visit.  I believe that there are at least three new blogs - there could be more but I think that's it.  So with that said, please consider browsing this list of blogs and consider visiting some of them.  I hope you enjoy what you see!  *Be careful because the names and web address are very close together.  I did this because some of them have longer web address and I wanted to fit each one on only one line.

Nature's Song-create247.blogspot.com
A + J Crafts-lovetocraft216.blogspot.com
ManiCURE for Leukemia-leukfight34.blogspot.com
Bits and Pieces-simplyfun72.blogspot.com
Wonderful Recipes-wonderfulrecipes10.blogspot.com
Animal Lovers-al1123.blogspot.com
Sweet Treats & Yummy Goodies-sweetyummygoodies.blogspot.com
Sister Creativity-sistercreativity13.blogspot.com
DIY Crafts-diycrafts9.blogspot.com
The Mr. Buckley Memorial Bible Mission-themrbuckleymemorialbiblemission4.blogspot.com
Ruth-Anna Mason of Maplewood Forest-ruthannamason.blogspot.com
The Online Cookbook-theonlinecookbook479.blogspot.com
Everything Imaginable!-everythingimaginable62.blogspot.com
Cookin Kids-cookinkids5.webs.com

 

Meditation of the Day

"Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me; my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly.  When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.  In God, Whose Word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.  What can flesh do to me?  All day long they injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil.  They stir up strife, they lurk; they watch my steps, as they have waited for my life.  For their crime will they escape?  In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!  You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in Your bottle.  Are they not in Your book?  Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call.  This I know, that God is for me.  In God, Whose Word I praise, in the Lord, Whose Word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.  What can man do to me?  I must perform my vows to You, O God; I will render thank offerings to You.  For You have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life." - Psalm 56:1-13 ESV

It's Finally Snowed!

Maybe New England is finally experiencing the "winter" that it's been experiencing for almost a month.  Except for a couple of little snow showers, we had no snow before the New Year; therefore making our Christmas not a white Christmas, but a green Christmas.  That's exactly the reason why I put the word "winter" in quotation marks, because winter is supposed to bring snow and cold weather, right?  Well except for the Sunday night snowstorm we'd basically had no snow.

At about 12:30am Christmas morning, my family and my aunt's family were still at my grandparents' for our Christmas Eve gathering (yeah, we're of Swedish descent so we go by the Swedish Christmas tradition which is to have your major celebration on Christmas Eve.  My great-great-grandfather came to the United States from Sweden in the 1800's).  So, well after midnight, my cousin M, my sister S and I are all standing out in the driveway; my sister in a sweatshirt and my cousin and I in short sleeves.  This was while we were getting ready to leave while everyone was packing up inside.  Yeah, it was ridiculous.  For some reason, to me, Christmas feels more like Christmas when there's snow on the ground, and even more so when it's snowing on Christmas Day.  

Well, that's all right that we didn't have snow for Christmas.  What am I going to do, fly up to Heaven and blame God for not giving us snow on Christmas?  Unheard of and just plain impossible.  It's not the snow that inspires the Christmas spirit, it's Jesus, the real cause for Christmas.  The first Christmas was when Jesus Christ was born to Mary and Joseph, hence the word "Christmas."  He is the One who inspires the Christmas feeling.  Although a lot of people don't know the true meaning of Christmas, I do and it's not watching the snow fall, decorating a tree or hanging stockings.  It's a time to celebrate His birth, and it's also a good time for family time.  Very rarely is the entire family together except for holidays and birthday celebrations.

So this year we didn't have snow for Christmas, but at least we're getting some during the wintertime.  For New England, there is a huge snowstorm on the forecast for this upcoming weekend.  Snow isn't everything.  Winter is still something to enjoy.  So why not enjoy it while it's still here? 

Meditation of the Day

"My companion stretched out his hand against his friends; he violated his covenant.  His speech was smooth as butter, yet war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords.  Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved.  But You, O God, will cast them down into the pit of destruction; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days.  But I will trust in You." - Psalm 55:20-23 ESV

The Voting Poll Has Closed!

All right everyone, I just closed the voting poll and Scene 2 won with 4 votes.  Thank you all for voting and be sure to keep watch for more votes in the future. - Chandler S.

Meditation of the Day

"Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues; for I see violence and strife in the city.  Day and night they go around it on its walls, and iniquity and trouble are within it; ruin is in its midst; oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace.  For it is not an enemy who taunts me--then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me--then I could hide from him.  But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend.  We used to take sweet counsel together; within God's house we walked in the throng.  Let death steal over them; let them go down to Sheol alive; for evil is in their dwelling place and their heart.  But I call to God, and the Lord will save me.  Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and He hears my voice.  He redeems my soul in safety from the battle that I wage, for many are arrayed against me.  God will give ear and humble them, He Who is enthroned from of old, because they do not change and do not fear God." - Psalm 55:9-19 ESV

Just a Couple of Announcements

This is just an impromptu announcement to tell you of a couple of things.  First, the voting poll closing is being put off till tomorrow morning.  I will close it around 10:30am.  SO VOTE IF YOU WANT TO AND IF YOU HAVEN'T YET!!!!!!!!!!  Also, I made another blog today for my recipes and since somehow links won't appear well on Blogspot, I will just give you the address -

theonlinecookbook479.blogspot.com

Thank you for reading!  

Light Trifle

INGREDIENTS -

1 1/2 cups cold 2% low fat milk
4-serving package sugar free instant vanilla pudding
Large tub frozen lite whipped topping, thawed
13-ounce angel food cake, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 pint strawberries, sliced - about 2 cups
1 cup blueberries

INSTRUCTIONS -

Pour milk into bowl.  Add pudding mix; beat with wire whisk 1-2 minutes or until well blended.  Stir in 3 cups topping.  Place half the cake cubes in large serving bowl.  Top with half the fruit.  Garnish with remaining whipped topping.  Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until ready to serve.  Makes 12 servings

*This recipe was taken from the Quidnessett "Quisine" cookbook


 

Meditation of the Day

"Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not Yourself from my plea for mercy.  Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan, because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked.  For they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me.  My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me, and horror overwhelms me.  And I say, 'Oh, that I had wings like a dove!  I would fly away and me at rest; yes, I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness; I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest.' " - Psalm 55:1-8 

Also, if you'd like to vote on my voting poll that I shared last week, please do so TODAY!  I will be shutting the poll down between 8:30 and 9:00 tonight.  So if you look at my blog later tonight and then you plan to vote tomorrow morning, the poll will be gone tomorrow morning!  So just please keep that in mind and head over to my featured post to vote!

Venus de Milo soup

Finally, here's something other than the Meditation of the Day or an announcement about something.  I'd like to share with you a recipe for one of my favorite dinners, Venus de Milo soup.   The recipe says that it yields 12-15 servings but I think you really could get more.  If you have leftovers, this will make a perfect lunch the next day!

INGREDIENTS -

1 pound ground beef or turkey
1 large onion, chopped or 3/4 cup frozen chopped onion
3 quarts water
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 package dry onion soup mix
1 package frozen mixed vegetables
1 can tomato sauce
1 can whole tomatoes, chopped up
1 cup orzo pasta
Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS - 

In a stockpot, brown the ground beef with onion.  Drain and discard fat.  Add water, celery, and soup mix.  Simmer 20 minutes.  Add vegetables, tomato sauce, tomatoes and orzo pasta.  Bring to a boil again.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer 15 minutes.  My family usually eats biscuits with this soup and it's a great complement.  Enjoy!  Serves 12-15

*This recipe was taken from the O Taste and See Some More Cookbook, published in 2003 


 

Time for Announcements!

A couple of announcements on this post, so please pay attention!  First, I have changed my template and even if it still seems the same, I've also changed my normal blogging font.  

Also, please keep in mind that the voting poll ends tomorrow.  Please see today's Meditation of the Day fore more information, such as what time it's expected to end.  Eventually, I'm considering changing this blog's name but I won't change the web address for the sake of my readers.  If I decide to, I will give you plenty of notice and will advertise the new address well in advance.  But since I have to think of a new name first it should be awhile!

When we finish our study in the Psalms, which I think will be anywhere between March and June, depending on how long the Psalms are, we will be moving on to a study in Proverbs.  However, when we move on, I will not be posting verses every day because sometimes I don't get around to it till the end of the day.  

And last but not least, the interest level of this blog hasn't been high lately.  I haven't been abiding by its name, Everything Imaginable!  It's mainly been the Meditation of the Day each day, but that will be changing.  I will frequently share recipes, stories and other stuff with you.  So if you're not a frequent reader of Everything Imaginable! I encourage you to visit more often because you may just see some pretty neat stuff featured from time to time!  

So with that said, I think that's it.  If you have any questions please comment or contact me via the contact form.  Thank you for reading!

Meditation of the Day

"O God, save me by Your Name, and vindicate me by Your might.  O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth.  For strangers have risen against me; ruthless men seek my life; they do not set God before themselves.  Behold, God is my Helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.  He will return the evil to my enemies; in Your faithfulness put an end to them.  With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to You; I will give thanks to Your Name, O Lord, for it is good.  For He has delivered me from every trouble, and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies." - Psalm 54:1-7 ESV

Also, please don't forget to vote!  I have changed my plans and tomorrow night I will shut down the vote but will announce the winning scene Monday morning.  The voting poll will be shut down between 8:30 and 9:00pm tomorrow night, so if you haven't voted but would like to, please consider doing so!  Scene 2 is in the leading now so if someone wants to vote for it or another scene, do so in advance of 8:30pm tomorrow.  Thank you!

Meditation of the Day

"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'  They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.  God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.  They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.  Have those who work evil no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God?  There they are, in great terror, where there is no terror!  For God scatters the bones of him who encamps against you; you put them to shame, because God has rejected them.  Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!  When God restores the fortunes of His people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad." - Psalm 53:1-6 ESV

Meditation of the Day

"Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?  The steadfast love of God endures all the day.  Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit.  You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking what is right.  You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.  But God will break you down forever; He will snatch and tear you from your tent; He will uproot you from the land of the living.  The righteous shall see and fear, and shall laugh at him, saying, 'See the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction!'  But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God.  I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.  I will thank You forever, because You have done it.  I will wait for Your Name, for it is good, in the presence of the Godly." - Psalm 52:1-9 ESV

Meditation of the Day

"Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will turn to You.  Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of Your righteousness.  O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise.  For You will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; You will not be pleased with a burnt offering.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.  Do good to Zion in Your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; then You will delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on Your altar." - Psalm 51:13-19 ESV

Meditation of the Day

"Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your steadfast love; according to Your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.  Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!  For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.  Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be justified in Your words and blameless in Your judgment.  Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.  Behold, You delight in truth in the inward being, and You teach me wisdom in the secret heart.  Purge me with hyssop; and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.  Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that You have broken rejoice.  Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit." - Psalm 51:1-12 ESV

Meditation of the Day

"But to the wicked God says: 'What right have you to recite My statutes or take My covenant on your lips?  For you hate discipline, and you cast My words behind you.  If you see a thief, you are pleased with him, and you keep company with adulterers.  You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit.  You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother's son.  These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself.  But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.  Mark this, then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!  The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!' " - Psalm 50:16-23 ESV

Don't Forget to Vote!

So remember the voting poll I opened yesterday?  Well, this post features a couple of announcements about that.  First of all, I made that poll my featured post, and after the vote closes it will not be the featured post as it is now.  Also, I didn't say when the vote would close.  I have decided, therefore, that it will close next Sunday, January 17.  I will announce the winning scene then.  I forgot to vote myself, so I think that Scene 1 is my favorite.  So that's one vote for Scene 1 and one vote for Scene 2.  Only 7 days left, please don't forget to submit your vote into the comments! - Chandler S.

Meditation of the Day

" 'Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you.  I am God, your God.  Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me.  I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds.  For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.  I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine.  If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.  Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?  Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.' " - Psalm 50:7-15 ESV

Vote For Your Favorite!

Okay, so I decided to make a post other than the meditation of the day to sort of spice up this blog's appearance in interest.  We all know that the season is winter now, right?  Right.  So I decided to hold a voting poll having to do with winter.  So, of these three wintry nature scenes, which one is your favorite?  Please answer in the comments.  When you answer, just call the pictures 1, 2 and 3, top to bottom.  Thank you for voting!

Meditation of the Day

"The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.  Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.  Our God comes; He does not keep silence; before Him is a devouring fire, around Him a mighty tempest.  He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that He may judge His people: "Gather to Me My faithful ones, who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice!"  The heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is Judge!" ~ Palm 50:1-6 ESV

Meditation of the Day

"This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts.  Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd, and the upright shall rule over them in the morning.  Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.  But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for He will receive me.  Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases.  For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him.  For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed--and though you get praise when you do well for yourself--his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light.  Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish." - Psalm 49:13-20 ESV

Meditation of the Day

"Hear this, all peoples!  Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor together!  My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.  I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.  Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches?  Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, that he should live on forever and never see the pit.  For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others.  Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names.  Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish." - Psalm 49:1-12 ESV

Meditation of the Day

"Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God!  His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, in the city of the great King.  Within her citadels God has made Himself known as a fortress.  For behold, the kings assembled; they came on together.  As soon as they saw it, they were astounded; they were in panic; they took to flight.  Trembling took hold of them there, anguish as of a woman in labor.  By the east wind you shattered the ships of Tarshish.  As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God, which God will establish forever.  We have thought on Your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of Your temple.  As Your name, O God, so Your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.  Your right hand is filled with righteousness.  Let Mount Zion be glad!  Let the daughters of Judah rejoice because of Your judgments!  Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers, consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever.  He will guide us forever." ~ Psalm 48:1-14 ESV

An Announcement

Hi everyone!  Sorry that I didn't share a Psalm with you yesterday - you must understand that I was very busy yesterday and forgot about it until late.  So anyway, that's one day missed on my record, but hey - it's not the end of the world!

There probably won't be much posting here until this evening at the earliest.  Today after our schoolwork and chores are done my mom, my sister and I are emptying out our kitchen and totally reorganizing it.  So I'll post later!  Bye!

Meditation of the Day

"Clap your hands, all peoples!  Shout to God with loud songs of joy!  For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared, a great King over all the earth.  He subdued peoples under us, the pride of Jacob whom He loves.  God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.  Sing praises to God, sing praises!  For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!  God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.  The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham.  For the shields of the earth belong to God; for He is highly exalted!" ~ Psalm 47:1-9 ESV

Meditation of the Day

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.  There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.  God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.  The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; He utters His voice, the earth melts.  The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.  Come, behold the works of the Lord, how He has brought desolations on the earth.  He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the chariots with fire.  "Be still, and know that I am God.  I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"  The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." - Psalm 46:1-11 ESV

Meditation of the Day

"Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear: forget your people and your father's house, and the king will desire your beauty.  Since he is your lord, bow to him.  The people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts, the richest of the people.  All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold.  In many-colored robes she is led to the king, with her virgin companions following behind her.  With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king.  In place of your fathers shall be your sons; you will make them princes in all the earth.  I will cause Your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore nations will praise Your forever and ever." ~ Psalm 45:10-17 ESV

Welcome 2016!

I can't believe it's 2016!  I'm so excited to see what this year will bring.  How do you think you'll enjoy this year?  Do you think it'll be great, abundant and plentiful?  Or do you think it will be otherwise?  Please feel free to answer this question in the comments.  Thank you all for the support you gave this blog for the couple of months in 2015 that it was open.  I plan to carry on this blog through 2016 and way beyond that.  Have a Happy New Year!  Thank you! ~ Chandler S.

Meditation of the Day

"My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.  You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever.  Gird Your sword on Your thigh, O mighty one, in Your splendor and majesty!  In Your majesty ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!  Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under You.  Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.  The scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness; You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.  Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond Your companions; Your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.  From ivory palaces stringed instruments make You glad; daughters of kings are among Your ladies of honor; at Your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir." ~ Psalm 45:1-9 ESV