" ..patch of Blue.."

"But this I call to mind,

    and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

    his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

    great is your faithfulness.

 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

    “therefore I will hope in him.”

Lamentations 3:21-24 (ESV)

"...loving Father.."

"Since we have been acquitted and made right through faith,

 we are able to experience true and lasting peace with God through our Lord Jesus,
 the Anointed One, the Liberating King."

Romans 5: 1 (VOICE)

"..large crowds..'

"Large crowds followed Jesus

 when He came down from the mountain."

Matthew 8:1 (VOICE)

" look at the birds in the sky.."

"Look at the birds in the sky.

They do not store food for winter. They don’t plant gardens. They do not sow or reap—and yet, they are always fed because your heavenly Father feeds them.
 And you are even more precious to Him than a beautiful bird. If He looks after them, of course He will look after you."

Matthew 6:26 (VOICE)

" ..Steadfast love and faithfulness meet.."

"Faithfulness springs up from the ground,

    and righteousness looks down from the sky."

Psalm 85:11 (ESV)

"Good fruit from above..impartial"

"But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere."

James 3:17 (ESV)

"..both summer and winter.."

"Yours is the day, yours also the night;

    you have established the heavenly lights

 and the sun.

You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth;

    you have made summer and winter."

Psalm 74:16-17 (ESV)

"..stirs the sea's billows or stills the waves"

"Who gives the sun for light by day

And the fixed order of the moon and of the stars for light by night,

Who stirs up the sea’s roaring billows or stills the waves when they roar;

The Lord of hosts is His name:.."

Jeremiah 31:35 (AMP)

"..Pioneer or a Settler?"

Last evening I was going through some files

and I saw this cover of a magazine from 1983 that was so motivating for me then and is to this day. "Pioneer or settler?

This morning I saw a jet traveling across the sky

 at sunrise -vapor trail was colorful

 but it was gone in a few minutes.

"You and I are a great many years older now"

Living a common life and getting through the daily challenges yet so thankful for family, friends, faith, hope and love that make it so worthwhile

 without regret.

"Pleasure and ambition are poor company in the evening years of life." 

So I will keep pioneering as able

 and a be a settler on bedrock truth-

"Behold, You have made my days as short as hand widths, And my lifetime is as nothing in Your sight.Surely every man at his best is a mere breath a wisp of smoke, 

a vapor that vanishes! 

(Psalm 39:5)

"...and the clouds,Your chariot.."

"Call Him good, my soul, and praise the Eternal.

I am here to declare my affection for You, Eternal One, my God.

You are indeed great—You who are wrapped in glory and dressed in greatness. For covering, You choose light—
Your clothes, sunset and moonrise.

For a tent, You stretch out the heavens; for Your roof, You pitch the sky.

 Your upper chamber is built on beams that lie in the waters overhead,

and the clouds, Your chariot;

You are held aloft by the wind. You make Your messengers like the winds;the breeze whispers Your words,

Your servants are like the fire and flame."

Psalm 104:1-4 (VOICE)

".. the sun comes up,,,new day dawning.."

"And by day he was teaching in the temple,

 and by night, going out, he remained abroad

 on the mountain called [the mount] of Olives; and all the people came early in the morning to him

 in the temple to hear him."

Luke 21:37-38 (DARBY)

"..laughter.."

"He will yet fill your mouth with laughter

    and your lips with shouts of joy."

Job 8:21

Mon secours vient de l'Eternel

"Cantique pour la route vers la demeure de l'Eternel.

    Je lève les yeux vers les monts:

    d'où le secours me viendra-t-il?

  Mon secours vient de l'Eternel

qui a fait le ciel et la terre. 

Psaumes 121:1-2 (BDS)

"..your God carried..."

"The Lord your God who goes before you

 will fight for you Himself, just as He did for you in Egypt before your [very] eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord 

your God carried and protected you,

 just as a man carries his son, all along the way which you traveled until you arrived at this place.

Deuteronomy 1: 30-31 (AMP)

..Bittersweet

"But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God."

Ruth 1:16 ESV

" Defend ...deliver "

"Defend the poor and fatherless;

Do justice to the afflicted and needy.

 Deliver the poor and needy;

Free them from the hand of the wicked."

Psalm 82:3-4 (NKJV)

" ...Rest .."

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

 He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters."

Psalm 23: 1-2 (ESV)

"I cared... in the desert."

"I cared for you in the desert,

 in the land of burning heat."

 Hosea 13:5

Yes, when my outward circumstances have been at the worst,

and I have wandered in a land of drought,

 Your sweet presence has comforted me.

 Others have not known me when scorn has awaited me,

 but thou hast known my soul in adversities,

 for no affliction dims the luster of thy love. Most gracious Lord,

 I magnify thee for all thy faithfulness to me in trying circumstances..."

 (CHS Evening 10/31)

"vapor.."

 "...you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away."

James 4:14(NKJV)

"putting one foot in front of the other- not giving up"

"My steps have held fast to your paths;

    my feet have not slipped."

Psalm 17:5 (ESV)

".. Let praise cascade off my lips.."

"Let my cry come right into your presence, God;

provide me with the insight that comes only from your Word.Give my request your personal attention,rescue me on the terms of your promise.

Let praise cascade off my lips;after all, you’ve taught me the truth about life! And let your promises ring from my tongue;every order you’ve given is right.

Put your hand out and steady me since I’ve chosen to live by your counsel.I’m homesick,God, for your salvation;I love it when you show yourself! Invigorate my soul so I can praise you well,use your decrees to put iron in my soul. And should I wander off like a lost sheep—seek me! 

I’ll recognize the sound of your voice."

Psalm 119:169-176 ( The Message)

"...fresh streams in the cracks between hills..."

"You send fresh streams that spring up in the valleys,

    in the cracks between hills.....

And the clouds, too, drink up their share,

    raining it back down on the mountains from the upper reaches of Your home,

Sustaining the whole earth 

with what comes from You.

    And the earth is satisfied."

Psalm 104:10,13 (VOICE)

"..you make known the path of life..."

"You make known to me the path of life;

    in your presence there is fullness of joy;

    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Psalm 16:11(ESV)

"Veil was torn... rocks split.."

"And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.

Matthew 27:51 (ESV)

"tired and heavy...rest.".

“Come to me, 

all of you who are tired 

and have heavy loads,

 and I will give you rest."

Matthew 11:28 (NCV)

"perfect and constant peace..."

“You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character],

Because he trusts and takes refuge in You

 [with hope and confident expectation].

Isaiah 26:3 (AMP)

" Hope does not disappoint"

"Now hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

 For when we were still without strength,

 in due time Christ died for the ungodly."

Romans 5: 5-6 (NKJV)

A Far better country..

"Each one of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing. How did they do it? They saw it way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. People who live this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home. If they were homesick for the old country, they could have gone back any time they wanted. But they were after a far better country than that—heaven country. You can see why God is so proud of them, and has a City waiting for them."

Hebrews 11:13-16 ( (MSG)

".. unchangeable ... completes.."

"But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back?

    What he desires, that he does.

For he will complete what he appoints for me,

    and many such things are in his mind."

Job 23:13-14 (ESV)

"...sweet fragrance.."

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us spreads and makes evident everywhere 
the sweet fragrance
 of the knowledge of Him. For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which ascends] to God, [discernible both] among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; .."

2 Corinthians 2:14-15 (AMP)

" letter ..written.."

"..You yourselves are all the endorsement we need. Your very lives are a letter
 that anyone can read by just looking at you.
 Christ himself wrote it—not with ink, but with God’s living Spirit; not chiseled into stone,
 but carved into human lives—and we publish it. .." 
2 Corinthians 3:3 (The Message) 

" ..faith in adversity.."

"so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

1 Peter 1:7 (ESV)

"No flowers wear so lovely a blue as those which grow at the foot of the frozen glacier;

.... and no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs in adversity."(CHS-Morning 11/12)

"waiting..hope.."

I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, 

and in his word I put my hope.

Psalm 130:5 (NIV)

"crowds.. compassion"

"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." 

Matthew 9:36 (ESV)

"...Stone .. rejected..."

Jesus said to them, 

“Have you never read in the Scriptures:

‘The stone the builders rejected

    has become the cornerstone;

the Lord has done this,

    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?"

Matthew 21:42 (NIV)

"...I will sustain.."

"Even to your old age and gray hairs

    I am he, I am he who will sustain you.

I have made you and I will carry you;

    I will sustain you and I will rescue you."

Isaiah 46:4 (NIV)

"..Precious treasure in a field..."

"Fear not, for I am with you;

Be not dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you,

Yes, I will help you,

I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." 

Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV)

" refreshing..and being refreshed..."

"A generous person will prosper;

    whoever refreshes others will be refreshed."

Proverbs 11:25 (NIV)

" rising of the sun to its setting.."

"From the rising of the sun to its setting,

    the name of the Lord is to be praised!"

Psalm 113:3 (ESV)

" plans for you.. future and a hope"

"For I know the plans I have for you,says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil,

 to give you a future 

and a hope."

 Jeremiah 29:11

"Great is the Lord..One generation.."

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,

    and his greatness is unsearchable.

One generation shall commend your works 

to another,and shall declare your mighty acts.

Psalm 145:3-4 (ESV)

".. evening .. meditate and pray.."

"And Isaac went out to meditate

 and bow down [in prayer] in the open country in the evening; and he looked up and saw that,

 behold, the camels were coming."

Genesis 24:63 (AMP)

"rainbow..promise"

"I will remember my covenant

 that is between me and you

and every living creature of all flesh.

 And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh." 

Genesis 9:15 (ESV)

"...broken vessels..jars of clay..."

" It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light 
as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ,

 all bright and beautiful.

 If you only look at us, 

you might well miss the brightness.

 We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives."

2 Cor 4:6-7 (The Message)