Good Morning, Dear friends and Prayer Partners! This is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! Sunshiny,, windy and still humid, but it is a beautiful day! The squirrels continue to fuss and zip up the trees very fast, and the acorns continue to fall, so there is always some activity in the front yard.
I still have not been out, while regaining my strength, but it looks like today is the day. I have some errands to run, so I will do it while I still have the energy. I have seen big blotches on the front sidewalk, which look like the birds have been enjoying the Beauty Berry Bush. I am so glad I don't hang sheets out, any more! And I am thankful for the dryer and washer and all my appliances. We all wear out, including the appliances, but our spirits are renewed day by day. God is good!
From the devotional book Quiet Moments with God for Teachers:
How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
Psalm 137:4 KJV
George Gershwin was talking to a friend on the crowded beach of a resort near New York City when the joyous shrieks of voices pierced their conversation. Clanking tunes ground out from a nearby merry-go-round, while barkers and hucksters shouted themselves hoarse. From underground came the deep roar of the subway; beside them crashed the relentless waves of the ocean.
Gershwin listened and then remarked to his friend, "All of this could turn into a magnificent musical piece expressive of every human activity and feeling with pauses, counterpoints, blends and climaxes of sound that would be beautiful....But it is not that...it is all discordant, terrible, and exhausting -----as we hear it now. The pattern is always being shattered."
What a parable of our time! So many confusing sounds and noises, so much unrest, so much rapid change. But somewhere in the midst of it, a pattern could emerge; a meaning could come out of it.
Our job is to hear the music in the noise.
Sometimes, finding the melodic line is a simple matter of listening selectively---mentally tuning out all but one sound for a while. That's what happens when we sit for a few minutes over a cup of tea and listen intently to that coworker, student, or friend. Once we listen and truly hear the "tune" they're playing, their unique melody will always be distinct to us, even in the cacophony of busy days.
If we are intentional about what we hear, the conflicting chaos swirling around our own symphony will be weeded out; God's music will be easier to hear.
This afternoon take time to be a creative listener!
I have shown you thepower of silence. How thoroughly it heals and how fully pleasing it is to God. It is by silence that the Saints grew. It was because of silence that the power of God dwelt in them: because of silence that the mysteries of God were known to them.
Father Ammonas
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs, Amaryllis
