whereisjodi.

I was doing my Daniel study this morning and was moved by this reference:

Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name. Malachi 3:16

That's quite similar to what I felt happened over the weekend -- almost like we who feared the Lord got together and opened the earthly scrolls of our lives for one another. How marvelous it will be one day when we get to hear the heavenly scrolls read and everything that didn't make sense starts coming into focus. 

And speaking of those who fear the Lord, I received an e-mail today <forwarded from a missionary in Africa> which described torrential rainfall in the region. On a recent Sunday they walked eight blocks through knee-high mud and sewage <because the sewage lines had overflowed> to make it to their church fellowship. Would you walk even one block through knee-high raw sewage to meet with your church? What a testimony!

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I asked God for strength that I might achieve,
I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health, that I might do greater things,
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
I asked for riches that I might be happy,
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men,
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need for God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life,
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for - but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all men, most richly blessed.
- by an unknown soldier

I was especially moved by the line about weakness "that I might feel the need for God." Boy how that resonates today.

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One of my favorite Michael W. Smith songs is on my mind today, Never Been Unloved:

I have been unfaithful
I have been unworthy
I have been unrighteous
And I have been unmerciful

I have been unreachable
I have been unteachable
I have been unwilling
And I've been undesirable

And sometimes I have been unwise
I've been undone by what I'm unsure of
But because of You
And all that You went through
I know that I have never been unloved

I have been unbroken
I have been unmended
I have been uneasy
And I've been unapproachable

I've been unemotional
I've been unexceptional
I've been undecided
And I have been unqualified

Unaware, I have been unfair
I've been unfit for blessings from above
But even I can see
The sacrifice You made for me
To show that I have never been unloved

It's because of You
And all that You went through
I know that I have never been unloved

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I was reading in Daniel and came across the oft-quoted lion's den story. What stood out to me this morning was the jealousy of the other administrators because of Daniel's success. They determined to find something against him, but after careful study could not:

They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally these men said, "We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God."

What an awesome statement of Daniel's character, that they could find nothing against him excepting his faith in God, which conflicted with the practice at the time of worshiping the king and other various gods. That is something to strive for!

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I love hymns. It doesn't identify me very well with my own generation, but somewhere along the line I picked up that preference. Anyway, we sang a marvelous one this morning that had me feeling waves of joy:

We have heard the joyful sound: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Spread the tidings all around: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Bear the news to every land, climb the mountains, cross the waves;
Onward! tis our Lords command; Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

Waft it on the rolling tide: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Tell to sinners far and wide: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Sing, you islands of the sea; echo back, you ocean caves;
Earth shall keep her jubilee: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

Sing above the battle strife: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
By His death and endless life Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Shout it brightly through the gloom, when the heart for mercy craves;
Sing in triumph oer the tomb: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

Give the winds a mighty voice: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Let the nations now rejoice: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Shout salvation full and free; highest hills and deepest caves;
This our song of victory: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

Posted by authorjodi at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Thought I'd share my sort of theme song for this trip. It's a song called Devotion by the Newsboys:

all my world
all i've lost
the wrecks i've made here
the lives it cost
Your hand restores
Your words make whole
with all my soul
i thank You
i owe You

all my devotion
all that i have to give
here's my devotion
You're all that it means to live

Continue reading "Muzak." »

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I have to say, now that I'm on my self-imposed no bad news kick til Christmas...I have trouble finding things to post about news-wise. I completed my tour-de-internet this morning and just found more and more bad/sad/chilling news articles. So...I'm going to revert to printing the best news out there.

Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. Romans 6:16-18

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I just turned on my computer to blog and up pops a wireless network labeled “Jesus.” Too bad it’s security-enabled or I might pop onto it… ;)

I’m in San Luis Obispo visiting one of the gals who used to be in my high school Bible study when I lived in California. She goes to Cal Poly and drove me around campus before taking me downtown for breakfast. We ate very near the Christian bookstore I went into yesterday. I can tell I’m making progress because I didn’t break into a cold sweat when I gave them a business card and asked them to look into ordering one. My friend said she’d get all her friends to go in and request it…so maybe they’ll order a couple. :p

I was a guest of the California Park system last night – $20 to park on a gravel turnout alongside the road. Here’s a picture:

Now I’ll show you a picture of the other side of the road and, quite possibly, why they can get away with charging so much:

I listened to crashing waves and barking seals all night -- it was lovely. Apparently they have a lot of shark attacks around here because of all the seals so I'm glad I decided against taking a dip!

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Sometimes there aren't any words better than those already written down:

Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits -- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. (Psalm 103:1-5)

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